Page 30 of Sensual Games

What would it be like, crossing the marble floor every day, taking an elevator up to my apartment instead of walking up three flights through a narrow stairwell that always stank like mouse piss? To feel safe? Hell, when was the last time I wasn’t afraid of something? Someone breaking in or following me inside and forcing their way through the door, stealing what little I had. All kinds of terrible things went through my head while I tried to fall asleep at night with a wailing baby on the other side of the thin wall separating my apartment from the one next to it.

When the elevator doors opened on the top floor, there was nothing but quiet. It was almost eerie. Lucian’s door sat directly in front of me, and my heart lodged itself in my throat before I forced myself into the hallway and blew out a deep breath. Running a shaking hand over my hair, I checked in with myself again. Was this worth it? Nothing was stopping me from turning around.

My heart seized when the lock clicked, and, to my surprise, the door swung open to reveal a smirking Lucian. So much for making a quick escape. “How did you know I was out here?” I asked.

“My spidey sense was tingling, telling me there’s a gorgeous woman outside my door.” He pointed up to the corner of the door frame, where a small camera was mounted. “Turns out, even an expensive security camera can’t come close to displaying your beauty. Come in so I can get a better look, Poison.”

He was still dressed in his work clothes, though he had taken off his tie and popped the top two buttons of his striped shirt. The expanse of tanned chest left exposed set off a familiar fluttering in my belly as I stepped inside the apartment.

“Wow.” The only thing that could have stolen my attention from his chest was the apartment he led me into. This was how he lived?

It was a palace. Sleek, modern, but not cold or sterile. There was a warmth here, dark woods, leather furniture, and a fireplace that would have made for a romantic night in colder weather. I could imagine—no, don’t even go there.I tried to focus on something else like the high ceilings and enormous windows overlooking the Upper East Side. “It’s like you’re on top of the world up here,” I marveled. Was I whispering? I sort of felt like I should.

“It feels that way sometimes.” He crossed the living room, heading for a bar set up in one corner. I noticed the photos on the walls, particularly one of him and Connor. The woman with them had to be his mother, a beautiful brunette with a mega smile which I now remembered from Rose’s wedding. She had absolutely torn up the dance floor.

He noticed me admiring the photo and chuckled. “The three of us. Can I get you something to drink?”

I would need one. Something to ease my nerves. “Vodka tonic?” I suggested.

“A twist of lime?” he offered, and I nodded.

There were other photos and mementos. A lot of the same people in the pictures. “Your family?” I asked as he fixed my drink.

“Some of them. We’re all pretty close, me and my cousins.”

“That’s right. Rose married your cousin, Colton. I forgot you were related.”

“Correct.” He brought me my drink, carrying a glass of whiskey in his other hand. “What about you? Is it just you and your mom?”

Somehow, I was surprised he remembered anything about me as he handed me the glass, but it was wiped away when his fingers grazed mine and set off a chain reaction of goose bumps, tightening nipples, and a shiver down my spine.

Taking a few sips of my drink, I nodded and tried to pretend I wasn’t drinking the smoothest vodka that had ever crossed my lips. “Just us. She was an only child, and my dad… I don’t know him. I could have half a dozen half-siblings and fifteen cousins, but I would never know.”

“You could find out.”

“I have everything I need.” Taking another sip, I turned away from the photos to admire the rest of the grandeur around me. The floors were actual wood, not some cheap laminate. From here, I could see into the kitchen with its quartz countertops and stainless steel appliances. “A six-burner gas range?“ I whispered, thinking about the tiny four-burner electric antique in my apartment. There were times I was afraid to use it.

“Do you like to cook?” he asked, seemingly genuinely interested in me.

“I love it. But I don’t get much of a chance.” Not to mention, most of the time, ramen noodles and cereal comprised my diet. Some months, almost everything had to go to the nursing home.

“Why do you look sad?” He touched the hand to my bare shoulder, and it was warm. Comforting.

“Do I?” I forced a laugh as I turned to him. “I don’t mean to. This is all a little overwhelming.”

He fell back a step, frowning. Probably upset I didn’t walk in, drop my jeans, and beg him to put his dick in me. “Come, sit down,” he offered, gesturing toward the black leather sofa. “I was going to put on some music. It might relax you.”

“Sure, whatever you want.” It was his place, after all, and he was only trying to set the mood. This was all wrong. I was fucking it up.

Soon, soft jazz filled the air. “Nice choice,” I decided, smiling in appreciation, looking around to find the speakers discreetly mounted in the corners of the large room. The acoustics were incredible.

“I’m not just some uncultured swine,” he pointed out with an easy grin that was so sexy. There was nothing hotter than a man comfortable in his skin, in his surroundings. A body like his didn’t hurt, either.

“So you like jazz, you have tons of family photos around the apartment, which tells me family means a lot to you. You shoot a mean game of pool. You’re full of surprises, Lucian Diamond.”

He sat at the other end of the sofa, angling his body until he faced me. My heart skipped a beat when our eyes met, and his twinkled when he smiled. “What’s on your mind, Poison?”

Now, I felt stupid for revealing what was going on in my messed-up brain. “It’s nothing. I shouldn’t have said anything.”

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