The Vessel - Jenika Snow Page 0,29

that hung between us, and I could practically see his mind working to come up with an excuse or maybe the answer he thought was right.

“I did,” he finally said after a moment, and his tone brokered no remorse.

I couldn’t lie; that actually turned me on knowing he was proud of what he did. He was proud of standing up for me and my family.

“Why?” Truth was, I didn’t care why he did it. But I was curious about his motives.

He glanced over at me for only a second before returning his attention back to the road. “Because it was important to you and your family. And I saw that bruise on your face, and it infuriated me.”

I exhaled slowly and licked my lips. “Did you hurt him?”

Again, Lucius tightened his hands on the steering wheel. He slowly shook his head. “No, but I wanted to. I wanted him to push my buttons so it’d come to that.” He glanced at me again, and I knew he was trying to gauge my reaction. “And if I would’ve hurt him, what would you have thought about me then, Elise?”

I heard his unspoken words. A monster. A bastard. Unstable and violent.

But I didn’t think any of that to be honest.

I pictured it in my head, played that scenario out, with Lucius decking the landlord in the face. I didn’t feel disgust or anger. I didn’t feel anything on the negative side. In fact, a part of me wanted him to hurt the asshole.

A very big part.

“What would you have thought about me?” His voice was pitched low, with a note of uncertainty, as if he really didn’t want me to answer.

“I wouldn’t have said anything. I wouldn’t have thought anything bad about you, Lucius.” He glanced at me again, and my body heated. “In fact, I actually like that you stood up for me and my family. Maybe I shouldn’t, but I do.”

I should have asked how he found the landlord, but the logistics of it didn’t matter. Lucius had money and a wide variety of help at his disposal. I had no doubt he could find just about anyone or anything if he wanted.

He didn’t say anything for long seconds but then turned off onto a side road, taking it down to an alley before pulling to a stop at the curb. We were alone, with just a few cars parked down the street and no one in sight.

I was a little taken aback by his sudden actions, not sure what he was doing, but then he put the car in park and shifted on the seat to face me.

“Lucius—” Before I could ask him what he was doing, he had his hand on the back of my neck, a very dominant act that had me melting for more. I found myself leaning forward involuntarily.

He had his lips on mine, and for a second, I felt my eyes widen. This was sudden and unexpected, but God it felt so good.

I closed my eyes and moaned, tilting my head to the side to accept his kiss, to deepen it.

I couldn’t breathe as I let him kiss me. Here I was, making out with my boss in his luxury car, heading to his home because I worked there. It all seemed so unbelievable… but also right in every single way.

“You feel so good,” he murmured against my mouth. “You smell so good.” He groaned and kissed me harder.

I reached out to hold him, pull him closer, but one of my hands landed on his hard, muscular thigh, the material of his slacks silky under my touch. The material was soft, and my hand slid forward on its own. It was then I felt the very hard, very large outline of the erection he sported.

He was massive.

I went to pull away, suddenly feeling embarrassed, but Lucius clamped a hand right over mine… right over his cock. I gasped again, and he pulled back, this drowsy expression on his face.

“You feel that?” he asked so softly it was barely audible.

I licked my lips and nodded slowly.

“That’s all for you.” He applied pressure on my hand, and when my palm pressed harder to his erection, he groaned. “God, it feels good having you touch me, Elise.” He rested his forehead against mine. For long seconds, we didn’t speak. I had my hand on his big dick, he cupped my cheek gently, and the flavor of him laced my lips and covered my tongue. I was already