116 So Far So Good
Mara
“I’ve emptied my father’s personal account,” Lucian said quietly. “He knows. Martha won’t get a cent more than her allowance. No extra money. No access to the estate’s funds.”
I looked at him, surprised.
“If she’s telling the truth, she should be fine-no reason to keep paying off this guy once her parents are under our roof. But if she keeps scrambling for cash after that… we’ll know she’s lying.”
I understood the strategy instantly. It was smart. A trap disguised as control. My chest tightened-not with fear, but with anticipation. I wanted to see how it would all unfold.
“I’ll still look for this Moongrove guy,” Lucian added. “If he’s real, I don’t want anything touching Darian’s name.”
That made me smile, despite everything. They still had each other’s backs. Even after everything. Darian had found Jones
for Lucian. And now Lucian was hunting down Alaric for Darian’s sake.
They were closer than either would ever admit.
Then his voice shifted, softer. Serious.
“Mara,” he said, and I turned to him. “I need you to stay out of Darian’s relationship. If anything happens to that baby, Martha will blame you. No matter what. So stay away from Tiffany. Don’t talk about them. Don’t interfere. Please.”
His eyes were pleading. Not in fear-out of care. I nodded slowly. He was right.
He reached over, dragging the cooler toward us. “I brought beer.”
I raised an eyebrow. “It’s the middle of the afternoon.”
He smirked. “It’s five o’clock somewhere.”
I couldn’t help but laugh. For the first time all day, it felt easy.
“You weren’t really going to the defense center, were you?” I asked, grinning.
Lucian burst out laughing. “Mara, it’s Saturday. I’ve only been married six months. You really think I’d spend the day at work? No way. I just needed an excuse to leave the mansion. That place is cursed.”
He wasn’t wrong. Nighthorn mansion was heavy with tension-Martha, Tina, all the ghosts we hadn’t buried. I didn’t blame him for wanting out.
“Lucian,” I said, the laughter fading just enough to ask, “how are you going to handle co-parenting with Tina? With Joey in the picture?”
He sighed, opened a beer, and handed it to me. I took a sip. He cracked another for himself.
“My father wants to raise the child. He’s already making plans,” he said. “I’ll figure it out. But not now. Not here. I didn’t drag you out here to talk about them.”
His voice dipped, warm and low, and suddenly I was back in last night-his hands, his mouth, his body against mine. He looked at me like he knew exactly what I was thinking.
Lucian reached out and gently caressed my cheek between his thumb and forefinger. The touch was slow, careful-
almost reverent.
116 Safar So Good
“You weren’t meant to enjoy your punishment, Mara,” Lucian murmured, his voice laced with teasing authority.
I exhaled, heat blooming in my chest at the memory. That night had been… more than I ever expected. If that was punishment, maybe I needed to misbehave more often.
“Who said I did?” I said, feigning innocence.
Lucian c****d an eyebrow, unconvinced. “Your eyes say otherwise. Your body language says otherwise.”
He leaned in, breathing deep. “Your arousal definitely says otherwise.”
My cheeks flushed. He wasn’t wrong. I could still feel the ghost of the cuffs on my wrists, the tension of held-back
pleasure, the way he’d undone me completely. That helplessness. That surrender. It wasn’t just physical-it was
consuming.
Lucian set his beer aside and reached for the buttons on my dress. Slowly, deliberately, he undid them until my bra was
exposed. With practiced ease, he unhooked it from the front and slid it away, leaving me bare beneath the soft air. His
hands cupped my breasts, warm and sure, and he leaned in close, lips grazing my ear.
“Next time,” he whispered, voice rough and thick with promise, “I’ll spank you. And I won’t be gentle.”
My breath caught. My mind raced somewhere dark and delicious. But before I could respond, his mouth crashed onto mine, claiming me with a hunger that left no space for thought-only need.
He pulled back just enough to speak, his lips brushing mine.
“I want pups, Mara,” he said, eyes searching mine. “I know it’s soon-maybe too soon-but I want them. With you.”
Something in me cracked open at those words. Because I wanted them too. I wanted his children. A future. A life that felt real, not just wrapped in politics and power.
“I want them too,” I whispered, and his mouth was on mine again-urgent, deep, needing.
It didn’t matter that it was midday. The world could wait. Right now, I was burning-burning for him. The rest of it-Martha, Darian, the lies, the mansion-faded into silence.
When he took my n****e into his mouth, I moaned, surrendering completely. The heat, the connection, the craving-they pulled me under.
And I didn’t want
