Page 116 of Coveted

He touches my chin, disappears into the bathroom, and returns with the wooden case.

“It’s for you.” He sits beside me. “This pendant has been in my family for a long time.”

No way. No way.

This is too much.

If I lost the necklace, I’d have to sell a kidney on the black market to pay him back. Or my first-born child, and even that mightn’t cover it.

I shrink away. “You want me to just wear it, right? Not keep it?”

His eyes narrow slightly, like he’s trying to figure out if I’m serious. “I’m not in the habit of asking for things back, Sadie. Here, let me put it on you.”

“I can’t. It’s a family heirloom.”

“We have hundreds of pieces in our collection, if it makes you feel better. I thought this one would suit your taste.”

The old-cut diamond is set in complicated gold filigree. My heart twinges at the idea of Lucan looking through a collection of jewels for one I’d like.

He was right too. As with the dress, he picked something that feels like me.

“What if I lose it?” I ask.

“Don’t. Never take it off, okay?”

I bite the inside of my cheek. “Okay.”

He fastens the chain around my neck while I hold my hair to the side. Lucan’s lips brush against my nape in a gentle, deliberate kiss that sends shivers down my back.

Privately, I decide to return the necklace to him when he lets me. Whatever he says, I can’t possibly keep an heirloom.

“How did you find that lipstick?” I ask. “And how did you know it’s my favorite?”

Lucan toys with the pendant in the hollow of my throat, like he’s glad for any excuse to touch me. “Your social media. Had to go back several years, but it was there.”

I pause to remember. “I made a post in high school? I think I mentioned being disappointed it was discontinued.”

“Correct.”

“Did you get it from a collector or something?”

He takes a mouthful of whiskey. “Hale Enterprises owns the cosmetics company. I had them resurrect the patent and manufacture the product for you.”

I stare at him. “I can’t believe you would do that for me. Wow.”

He just shrugs and rotates his crystal tumbler, but I also notice the pleased smile flicking briefly across his face.

As I sip my drink, I realize that Lucan might be ruining me for all other men. He’s totally overwhelming at times, but how could anyone ever follow him?

What am I going to do?

I can’t just… be with him, can I? Live happily ever after? Experience has taught me that nothing is ever so simple or sweet.

Even if it were, I doubt that I deserve happiness after what I did to Russell. My worst sin is like a demon on my back, gnawing at me, no matter how much I try to ignore it.

Maybe my past will continue to haunt me until I face what I did, instead of pretending nothing happened. Because no matter how far I push it down, the demon persists.

Night falls as we cross from the endless ocean to the sparkling lights of land, and the pilot’s voice comes over the speaker.