The Vessel - Jenika Snow Page 0,3

in. And the fact that Mr. Blacksmith was staring at me—at that part of my body—had this flash of heat stealing over my entire body.

He slowly lifted his eyes to look up at me, and if I thought he’d act shamed or even guilty that he’d been caught checking me out, I was sorely mistaken. There wasn’t one ounce of embarrassment over the fact that I caught him looking at my ass. Instead, he brought the bottle up to his mouth and finished it off as he stared me in the eyes, this heaviness coming from him.

I could have sworn he almost seemed… proud that I’d seen him.

“That’s good you’re doing well.” His voice was so thick and deep. He set the empty beer bottle down on the counter and shoved his hands in the front pockets of his slacks.

God, he looked good in that dark suit, the white shirt underneath crisp, the red tie a contrast. He had the shirtsleeves rolled up his forearms, and I couldn’t help but notice how muscular they were, vein-rippled, with a light sprinkling of dark-blond hair covering them.

I straightened and tried to breathe through this sudden arousal. If Merla saw me not doing work, she’d probably be pissed despite I was conversing with the boss. Merla was a stickler for procedure and professionalism; that was for sure. And I didn’t think Lucius checking out my ass fell into that category.

I licked my lips and gave him another smile. “Thank you. I hope your day is going well too, Mr. Blacksmith.”

“Call me, Lucius. Mr. Blacksmith was my father.” His voice was deep and authoritative. I could picture him in a boardroom, commanding everyone with a simple string of words.

I wasn’t sure what else to say, how to respond. For long seconds, we just stared at each other, this intense moment in which we held each other’s gaze. It felt extremely… intimate.

“Elise, we need to start getting to work on the second level.”

I heard Merla call out to me, and a second later, she stepped into the kitchen. I glanced over my shoulder at her, saw her posture stiffen as she took in Lucius standing just a couple feet from me. I looked over at him and saw he still watched me, paying no attention to the fact that we were no longer alone.

“My apologies, Mr. Blacksmith. Is Elise bothering you?”

I bristled at her tone and glanced at her. The fact that she implied me just being in his presence was some kind of hindrance pissed me off. I gnashed my teeth together, and when I cut my stare back to Lucius—his focus still on me—I could see a smirk start to form across his lips. It was clear I wasn’t even trying to hide my annoyance.

“No, not at all. In fact, I’m very much enjoying her company.”

I felt my cheeks heat once again and quickly put all the cleaning supplies back before putting what I needed in the bucket. I kept my head down and looked at him from under the fall of my lashes, suddenly feeling awkward and embarrassed, like a child who’d just gotten scolded.

“Have a good evening, Mr.... Lucius.” I shouldn’t have called him by his first name in front of Marla. She would most likely reprimand me, even if he told me to call him by that. But I felt a spark of rebellion, this pleasure that he wanted me to call him by his given name.

I wasn’t one to break the rules or toe the line, and certainly wasn’t unprofessional, so the fact that I felt this way so instantly didn’t sit well with me.

But as I made my way out of the kitchen, I still felt him watching me. And a look over my shoulder right before I turned the corner showed me I was right.

Lucius Blacksmith was checking out my ass again.

3

Lucius

I wasn’t even trying to hide the fact that I checked Elise out. In fact, she’d seen me looking at her ass as she bent over, and what a fine fucking ass it had been. It was grossly inappropriate for me to have done that, but after getting the news of my father’s beyond-the-grave demands, I was in a mood where I just didn’t give a shit.

I inhaled deeply, still able to smell the scent of lemons and lavender that clung to her. I didn’t even try and tame my desire, now that I was alone, and the result was my cock starting to harden.

Elise Coral