Chapter 7: Haunted By His Words
1193 Words
-Cecilia-
I will make you fall in love with me…
Lucian’s words had haunted me the entire night, so I hadn’t gotten any sleep at all. His words and the memory of his touch had kept me awake. It was hard to forget how good it felt.
He had brought me to climax twice before he reached his own peak. I had rarely experienced such pleasure with Nolan, and when I did, it was often with my own assistance.
But Lucian seemed genuinely eager to please me, reveling in seeing me lose myself to the pleasure he brought. Yet, I couldn’t allow the euphoria of last night to cloud my judgment.
While Lucian might be interested now, I knew it wouldn’t last, and I refused to sit around and wait, only for him to discard my heart. I simply couldn’t do it.
“Cecilia?” I looked up from my computer to see Lara studying me.
“Yes, Luna?” I inquired.
“Are you okay?”
I nodded.
“Fine,” I lied.
“You look tired. Did you not sleep?” she inquired.
I sighed. “Not… really.”
Lara regarded me with concern, and I tried my best to feign composure so she wouldn’t worry, though I was clearly failing.
“Listen, it wouldn’t have anything to do with last night, would it?”
Last night? Did she know something? Had she seen or heard something? Oh, Goddess, no! No one could know about Lucian and me. They would incessantly remind me of the wonders of having a mate, unable to comprehend what I went through. I didn’t want to discuss it.
“Eh… last night?” I asked.
“About Lucian.”
“Lucian?!” I exclaimed.
I was scared now. She did know something… Oh Goddess, no, no…
"Yeah, and what he said," she continued.
"Said?" I asked, confused.
Wait… what was she talking about?
"I know he scared you away," she said.
"I…"
I felt so confused right now. I had been so certain that she had heard something or knew that Lucian had come to visit me last night, and I had… given myself to him. But now it seemed like I was wrong.
"I know he scared you away from the dinner," she said.
“Well…” I murmured.
“He admitted it himself,” she continued.
“And… what exactly did he say?” I inquired.
“Not much. Just that he scared you off,” she explained.
I breathed a sigh of relief. It seemed Lucian hadn’t divulged anything. He had merely led everyone to believe he had wronged me in some way, causing me to flee. Good to know.
“Yeah, well… it doesn’t matter,” I dismissed.
“It does if it keeps you awake,” she mentioned.
“I’m fine.”
“Yeah, I used to say that all the time too,” she remarked. “'I’m fine. I don’t need your help. A mate? Who needs it?'”
She recited all the old phrases she had repeated like a mantra, a way to deflect attention and avoid interference. But now, she had changed. She had become mated and was better at admitting when she might need assistance.
However, I couldn’t let my guard down because it was still different. Lucian said he wanted me, but he had no idea what it would be like once the honeymoon phase was over. He would realize I was only dragging him down.
“You can be honest,” she proposed.
“I would rather just work,” I replied.
“Cecilia…”
“Please, Luna, we’re not really… friends,” I stated.
She seemed taken aback by my bluntness.
“Am I wrong?” I asked.
“No, I guess not,” she acknowledged. “But I would like for us to be.”
“Why?”
“Because I believe we might work together even better if we knew more about each other,” she explained. “I know in the beginning I wasn’t really open to any friendship, but I have learned how important it is to have people around you that you can trust.”
“I’m good,” I assured her.
“Cecilia, I just want us to be able to talk about more than work.”
“Why? What else is there?” I inquired.
“Like what Lucian said to you,” she mentioned.
“He just made some inappropriate joke, that’s it,” I informed her, eager to end the conversation.
“It must have been a very bad one if it scared you away,” she observed.
“I just didn’t feel like eating dinner with him.”
“They are not all like him,” she assured.
“I know, but I just… I didn’t want to be there already, and he gave me a reason to walk out,” I confided.
“I really want you to come back with me and try again. I can tell Lucian not to be there. He doesn’t join the dinners a lot,” she offered.
“He doesn’t?” I asked.
I looked up and saw her shake her head.
“No, he doesn’t.”
“Why?” I probed.
I knew I shouldn’t ask. I shouldn’t want to learn more about him, but I couldn’t help myself. The words had left my lips before I could stop them.
“I think it is hard on him," she admitted.
“In what way?”
“I know he wants to find his mate,” she said. “And he sees all of us so happy and in love, and I think it pains him.”
“So, he really does want a mate?”
She nodded. But even though I knew this now, it didn’t change the fact that he would get bored later on. Maybe it was just the idea of a mate he really liked. He had no idea what it even meant to be connected like mates were, and I just knew someone like him wouldn’t enjoy it.
“So, if he isn’t there, won’t you come?” she asked.
“I thought I only had to do this once,” I said.
“Yes, but you only came over with me. You didn’t stay to eat,” she said.
“Lara, you said I only had to do it once, and then you would never ask me again.”
“It doesn’t really count.”
“It does to me,” I asserted.
“Cecilia…”
“Can we just focus on work?” I suggested.
“I just don’t want you to miss out,” she expressed.
“I’m fine. Really. You might not believe me, but I am fine. I like being on my own. I was born to be a lone wolf. It is where I thrive,” I stated.
“I don’t believe that.”
“That’s fine, but I am not coming back with you,” I informed her.
It was too risky… I couldn’t end up running into him again. It would hurt too much.
- Writer
