Chapter 143- Dragons

Arabella:

We looked at each other, and suddenly I was painfully aware of his hand, which had stopped moving.

His eyes were searching mine quietly, as though he was waiting for something... a word, a movement, anything that told him whether to continue or pull away. I squeezed my eyes shut and let out a nervous little chuckle.

Did I want him to move his hand? Yes.

Did I want him to stop? No.

Was I actually ready for whatever came after that?

That was where my brain conveniently stopped giving me answers.

"You’re taking too long to think," Lucien murmured.

My eyes opened again. "And you’re enjoying this too much. Aren’t you?"

A faint smile touched his lips, but his hand remained exactly where it was. "I’m waiting for you to stop looking at me like you want to kiss me and kill me at the same time."

Despite the heat rushing to my face, I refused to look away. His gaze dropped to my lips. "You need to make up your mind, Arabella. I’m not a patient man," he muttered, leaning closer until his breath warmed my mouth.

My fingers curled into his shirt. I knew he was giving me an easy way out. All I had to do was tell him to move. But I didn’t. I couldn’t.

Instead, I wrapped my arms around him and pulled him into me. Lucien took the answer as a yes.

His eyes stayed on mine for another heartbeat before he lowered his head. I closed my eyes just as his lips touched mine.

The kiss was surprisingly gentle at first, almost careful, as though he was still giving me time to change my mind. But I didn’t pull away. My fingers tightened in his shirt instead, and when I kissed him back, the last bit of hesitation between us seemed to disappear.

His lips moved against mine more firmly, and my heart began pounding so hard I was sure he could hear it. When his tongue brushed teasingly over my lips, I parted them, welcoming him... to let him taste me.

Neither of us seemed to be in a hurry anymore. My fingers curled around the back of his neck, pulling him closer while his tongue kept moving, filling my mouth, letting me feel him.

Without thinking, my other hand slipped beneath his shirt. My palm met the warm, firm muscles of his back, and for a second, I forgot how to breathe. My fingers moved higher, tracing his shoulder blades.

This was the same body I had once admired from a safe distance, stealing glances whenever I thought he wouldn’t notice. Now there was no distance at all.

A soft sound escaped me when he broke the kiss and bit my lower lip lightly. "You’re the death of me, Princess."

Instead of pulling my hand away, I let my palm travel slowly over his muscles again, enjoying the way his body seemed to tense beneath my touch.

When at last Lucien lifted his head, his eyes met mine, heavy with desire. From the way he was looking at me, I was almost certain mine were giving away just as much.

My hand was still beneath his shirt, resting against the taut muscles of his back. Reluctantly, I slid it out and brought my knuckles to his face instead, slowly brushing them over the rough stubble along his jaw.

He turned his face slightly into my touch and kissed my palm. "Sometimes you scare me, Bella." He whispered, but my heart was stuck on the word, Bella. People close to me usually called me Ara. Never Bella.

"Why?" I asked him, scared that maybe I had destroyed the moment.

His gaze moved over my face for a moment before he finally answered. "Because I’m scared. His voice dropped. "I let you get close once, Arabella, and you left. I don’t know if I can go through that again."

My hand went limp against his face. The words hit harder than I expected, mostly because he wasn’t wrong.

I had been the one getting closer to him to make Jasmine jealous. I wanted to hurt her pride after everything she had done to me. But what was Lucien’s fault in any of that?

My eyes dropped from his. After solving the case, I was supposed to walk away from all this madness.

Holding his face, I raised my head and pressed a quick kiss to his lips. "I want you..." I said in a whisper. The moment I said the words, the naked desire was back in his eyes. "But this ..." I dropped my head back to the mattress. "I ..."

"Relax. I understand. I want you too, and you know that... but..." His eyes gleamed with unshed tears. "I also want your happiness, Bella."

With that, Lucien rolled onto his back beside me and pulled me with him until my head rested against his chest, one arm wrapping securely around me.

This wasn’t the same Lucien I had left behind. The old Lucien was stubborn who wanted everything his way, and once he decided something, he expected everyone else to fall in line. Three years back, he never talked about my happiness, but tonight...

For a while, I said nothing. I simply lay there with my cheek against his chest, listening to the steady beat of his heart beneath my ear.

However, our peace was disturbed by the sudden ringing of his phone. Lucien cursed under his breath and reached for it without letting go of me. "Yes, Bradley?" he snapped as he pressed the speaker button. "What is the problem now?"

"You need to come here," Bradley’s panicked voice filled the room. "The room where Arabella’s friend Toby is staying... is on fire. We’re still trying to put it out." I shot upright, and Lucien was already pushing himself up.

"What?" I was off the bed before I even realized. Fear rushed through me as I ran for the door.

"Arabella, stop!" Lucien called behind me, but I didn’t.

By the time I reached Toby’s room, smoke was already spreading through it. Several male Omegas stood outside his room with hoses in their hands, desperately spraying water through the open doorway. The smell of smoke and something burning hit me so strongly that I covered my mouth for a second.

"Maya! Toby!" I shouted, trying to walk past them. "Where are they?"

Bradley stepped into my path before I could get any closer to the room. "Our warriors already took them to the hospital." Bradley’s face was grim. "Toby seems alright, but Maya..." He trailed off.

Lucien pulled me into his arms as he watched Bradley. "What the hell happened here? How did the fire start?"

"We found two baby dragons inside," he stated. "When the warriors tried to catch them, they jumped out of the window."

My entire body went still. Two baby dragons? For a few seconds, I could only stare at Bradley while Toby’s words replayed in my head.

He had asked me to say it. Two baby dragons in the corner of the room... spitting fire. Something ridiculous... something impossible... just to test ...

And now two baby dragons had set this room on fire.

Goddess. What the hell had I done?