Page 86 of Coveted

I can work with denial.

All I have to do is get her alone and make her understand.

CHAPTER 20

Sadie

Clara addresses me over the gala’s classical music. “Would you actually date Lucan?”

“It’s not like he’s asked,” I say. “He seems to want to control my every movement, not date me.”

“How romantic.” Juliette toasts with her flute. “Don’t forget he smeared his blood on your face too.”

“Only the second wildest thing he did to her that night,” says Clara.

Wild is one word for what happened on the rooftop. The experience of going down on Lucan feels like a dream to me now. A vivid, filthy, mortifying dream.

What disturbs me the most is how turned on he made me. Ever since, I lie awake at night, plagued by it. His fingers tangled in my hair, the glide of his shaft against my tongue, the hot propulsion of his cum down my throat.

I drink more champagne. “I shouldn’t have told you guys.”

“I’m afraid it was obvious what the two of you were doing.” Juliette pats my arm. “We knew as soon as we opened the door.”

I groan. “Great. So I really did look as bad as I thought.”

“Not bad,” says Clara kindly. “Unkempt, in a very specific sort of way.”

Lucan stands alone in the gala crowd, glowering at us.

Does he know what we’re discussing? God, I hope he can’t lip-read.

“Whatever you want to do, we support you,” says Juliette.

The trouble is, I don’t know what I want.

In the heat of the moment, I felt lust for Lucan. There’s no way I can deny it.

But succumbing to an attraction to a man like him is a recipe for disaster. Once I’m caught in his web, I can’t imagine escaping unscathed.

“It’s his sense of entitlement that bothers me so much,” I say. “Why does he assume he’s in charge?”

“Because he is.” Clara shrugs. “His family is. It’s all he’s ever known.”

Champagne tingles through my bloodstream, dampening my inhibitions just enough to make bad ideas appealing.

“Maybe I need to teach him a lesson,” I say, swigging more champagne.

My friends exchange glances.

“As long as you understand that the lesson he learns will probably be that he needs better control over you,” says Juliette. “You’re fighting the effects of a lifetime of people blindly obeying him.”

I place my drained champagne flute on a tray. “I’m game.”

Juliette nibbles her lip. “Is it bad that I want her to succeed?”

“Yeah, I do too,” says Clara. “I’ve never seen anybody get one over on him.”

“That’s all the encouragement I need,” I say.