56 (Lucian’s POV) Dealing With It
Lucian
Mara and I woke up early, ready to skip breakfast and head straight to the office. We needed distance-from the chaos, from the politics, from them. But of course, my father ruined that plan when he linked me:
“Family breakfast. My lounge. Be there.”
I almost crushed the tablet in my hand.
Mara’s idea of getting a ‘holiday home’ was no longer a distant plan. It was happening. The mansion might have been
home once, but now it felt like a web of manipulation. And I was done getting caught in it.
Our family was a disaster. But Mara and I-we’d found our rhythm, our peace. The last thing I needed was the rot in the Nighthorn house creeping into what we were building.
If it were up to me, Tina would never see my face again.
In the shower, Mara lathered a sponge and began scrubbing my back, soft and slow. We were delayed now, but I wasn’t
wasting the morning. Not when I had her.
I took the sponge from her, gently turned her around, and pressed her back against the cool tile wall. Then I dropped to my knees and kissed her thighs, parting her legs.
“Lucian… what about work?” she asked breathlessly.
I grinned. “Father wants us to have breakfast first.”
She sighed, but I didn’t give her time to dwell. My mouth found her clit, and she gasped, clutching my hair. She came fast -too fast-and I knew I’d caught her off guard.
Before she could recover, I lifted her, her back still against the wall, and drove into her. Her heat clenched around me like
she’d been waiting for it all night.
I pumped hard and fast, matching the fire in her eyes, the way her body moved with mine. My wolf growled low in my
chest as the bond between us crackled, raw and alive.
“Lucian,” she called out, her voice desperate and wild.
I wasn’t stopping. Not until I felt her break-again and again.
She came twice before I spilled into her, both of us crying out as we shattered together a third time.
We stayed there for a while-breathing, wrapped up in each other, letting the water cool our skin but not the burn beneath
Later, as we dressed, I leaned in and whispered, “I want you to bear my mark today, Mara.”
She smiled at me knowingly.
“There are some blouses in the closet. Wear something sexy for the office,” I added, lips grazing her ear. “All work and no play makes Lucian a dull boy… and I don’t plan on being dull, Mara.”
She moaned softly, and I smelled her arousal spike. Just what I wanted.
“Hold that, I said, my voice low. “I’ll make it worth your while.”
She didn’t let me see what she picked out underneath, but I caught her thumbing through her lingerie drawer with intent.
{Cucian’s POV) Dealing With it
When she finally emerged, she was wearing a cream off-shoulder blouse and a deep brown pencil skirt that hugged her perfectly. Her legs looked divine, and I couldn’t help but stare.
I felt proud.
Possessive.
Grateful.
She was mine.
And the world would see it.
Mara looked stunning-professional, polished, and irresistibly sexy. Cream blouse, brown pencil skirt, heels that turned her walk into a statement. She had a way of balancing elegance with fire, and today, I was reminded of just how wrong I
had been about her before.
I used to think she was uncultured.
But now, married to her, I saw the truth: Mara was deeply feminine, fiercely intelligent, and effortlessly sensual. Every
move she made spoke with quiet power.
Then I heard the raised voice at the door and didn’t need to be told who it was. Tina.
I linked the staff stationed at the entrance. “Take her to the breakfast lounge.”
A moment later, I heard the muffled exchange.
“Mr. Nighthorn said you should go to the breakfast lounge, Miss,” the servant said politely.
“I demand to see him. We’re supposed to go there together,” Tina protested, her voice sharp and entitled.
“Miss, please…”
Before it could escalate, Mara was already walking to the door, done with the noise. She flung it open without hesitation.
“What the f**k do you want with my husband, Tina?” she asked, her voice calm-but edged like a blade.
“I have no business with you…” Tina tried to respond, but Mara let out a cold, amused laugh.
“On the contrary, the arrangement hasn’t changed. You deal with me, Tina. Lucian and I are one. We’ve been kind. Don’t make the mistake of confusing kindness for weakness. It won’t be good for the baby.”
Tina stood there, stunned and silent.
“Now, respect yourself and go to the breakfast lounge,” Mara continued. “And let this be the last time you knock on our door. I’m not as patient as my husband.”
She didn’t wait for a reply. She turned and walked back to the room like the door-and the woman behind it-meant
nothing.
I watched her go, speechless for a second. She’d handled it without breaking a sweat.
“I’m sorry you have to deal with this,” I said as she passed me, hating the uselessness in my own voice.
She looked over her shoulder. “She’ll get tired eventually.”
We made our way to the breakfast lounge.
Everyone was already seated-except my father. Tina was sitting between my chair and Mara’s. It wasn’t subtle. That was Martha’s handiwork. She might as well have drawn a line in permanent marker.
I didn’t say a word. I walked over, picked up Tina’s chair-with her in it-and moved it to the side. Then I pulled up a chair
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50XLucian’s POV) Dealing With it
for Mara and placed it beside mine.
* Ponts
“My wife and I sit together at this table,” I said, my voice low but final. “You’re new, so I’ll excuse it this time. Don’t test it again.”
Tina’s eyes brimmed with tears.
“Give me a chance to fight for your love, Lucian,” she linked, her voice shaking. “I’m carrying this baby because I love
you.”
I said nothing.
I helped Mara into her seat, sat beside her, and kept my gaze fixed ahead, waiting for my father.
Darian glanced over and smiled-subtle but knowing. He was linking Mara, probably trying to lift the tension, but I didn’t
bother to listen in. I trusted her.
I didn’t need to monitor her loyalty.
It was Tina’s desperation I needed to worry about.
57 (Lucien’s POV) Dealing With It 2
Foints
