his pleading, hurt expression.
This is everything I’ve wanted from him for the last three months—him to say he’s sorry and that he doesn’t want to be without me. This is what I wished for when I cried myself to sleep for weeks after we split.
He steps forward, reaching out and taking my hands in his. I let him because I’m too shocked to protest.
“I was stupid. I should never have cheated. I don’t know what I was thinking. It must have been a moment of insanity or maybe the strain of work. You know I was stressed over that Apollo account all that week; maybe the pressure got to me, and I had a psychotic break or something. That’s the only explanation I can come up with. It was only a one-time thing, just a mistake. I’m not with that girl. I haven’t even seen her since that night.” He shakes his head, his expression imploring as his thumbs stroke the backs of my hands.
“Did you stop going to the gym then, or did you have to find another? Bet that was a shock to the system, having to fill out your own membership paperwork for once. Is that why you want me back?” I don’t know where the dig comes from. My brain still isn’t engaged, so it must have just been bitterness dripping from my tongue automatically.
Lucas can’t do anything for himself. I took care of everything for him. I single-handedly ran his office and did most of his job for him. A little bit of menial paperwork to fill out is below his pay grade.
Lucas’s eye twitches at the disrespect, but he lets it slide. I’m never normally this bold with him. Usually, I let him steamroll me into things.
“I want you back because I love you,” he replies. “Lucie, give me a chance to make it up to you. I’m sorry I hurt you. I wish I hadn’t done it. I miss you. You’re the one for me; you always have been. Please come home, sweetheart. It’s awful, being without you.”
He pulls me towards him, raising my arms and guiding them around his neck, and then his hands gently stroke my face, my neck, my shoulders. My eyes flutter closed, and my heart aches in my chest. Dipping his head, he plants soft, persuasive kisses at the corner of my mouth, peppering them across my cheek as his arms wrap around me, his embrace cloaking me in such familiarity that it’s almost like sinking into a warm bath after a long and weary day.
I gulp, and emotion swells inside me. All my adult life, all I’ve ever wanted is to be loved by this man, and here he is, showering me with affection, telling me his life is awful without me.
With his arms still around me, he walks me backwards until I’m pressed against the wall. He crowds in, every part of his body touching mine, smothering me with affection until he’s all I can think about.
His aftershave fills my senses. I recognise it immediately—Creed Aventus. He’s always worn it; it’s so Lucas that I could pick him out of a line-up with my eyes closed. This is the same expensive aftershave he would spray on me before we went out to meet his friends, so everyone would know I was taken. I used to love the smell. I used to revel in the knowledge that Lucas was so low-key obsessed and possessive of me that he felt the need to mark me with his scent, so he could keep me to himself.
But now …
A shiver tickles down my spine, and my eyes pop open. A cold sensation spreads across my insides, but I don’t know why.
He pulls back, his hands cupping my face as he stares down at me. “I love you, and you love me.” It’s not a question; it’s said with the confidence he’s always had.
As he leans in, his nose traces up the side of mine, and his breath blows across my mouth, making my lips part as I suck in a ragged breath. My head is fuzzy, my mind all over the place. I don’t even know what I’m doing right now. I’m kind of lost.
As his mouth slowly heads towards mine, my eyes flick down to his lips, and my heart thumps wildly against my ribcage. When his lips finally close over mine, I whimper, and my arms tighten around his neck as I automatically kiss him back.
The kiss is