Page 77 of Bonds of Starfall

"Hi," she whispered against his chest, breathing him in. His sandalwood cologne was muted, cut with a thick medicinal scent. "Did you come straight from the hospital?"

"Yes." His voice rumbled through her. "As soon as you told me you were back, I moved all my appointments out." He held her away from him, green eyes searching her from behind his glasses. "How did the mission go? Was Sibeth as sinful as they all say?" He infused a false sense of brevity into his words. He seemed tense, on edge, eyes darting around.

She took his hand and stepped back into her apartment, her door shutting behind her. She didn’t need any gossip about why she had two men standing on her doorstep within an hour of each other. She stalled at the beginning of the kitchen, not daring to venture deeper into her apartment, lest Cy make any noise.

The words stuck to the inside of her throat.

"It was…" Rin swallowed, dragging a finger over the edge of the countertop. "Interesting," she finally settled on. That didn’t even begin to explain it. How could she tell him she had lain with another man, when all she truly wanted was to turn back time and make Kit still be alive, while also maintaining this newfound care she and Lucien had forged?

Sweat prickled on the back of her neck, trickling down her spine. She fanned herself with a hand, angling her body so her back hid the hall leading to her room.

Lucien studied her, brows knitted.

A soft thump from her bedroom made her eyes widen. She blurted, "Thank you for the flowers. The forget-me-nots… I put them on my dresser, so every time I go to sleep, I’ll think of you."

Fuck. Why did she say that?

She was on edge, running on no sleep, and tense because of the incubus hiding in her room. She had to get Lucien out of here—no matter how pleased she was to see him again, and no matter how desperately she wanted to hug him and never let him go. Let him taste her lips and replace Cy’s berry scent that still clung to her skin, even though she had scrubbed her flesh raw under scalding water.

The furrow between his brows grew deeper at her words. Lucien took a step closer to her, hand raising to push the hair off her forehead as he pressed his palm to her skin. "Are you feeling well, Vesperin? You’re warm." His hand moved, brushing down the side of her cheek to touch the pulse point under her jaw. Hermouth grew dry. His shirtsleeves were rolled up, revealing the veins and cords of lean muscle on his pale skin. His lips moved as he counted under his breath. "Your heart rate is a little fast. One hundred beats per minute—no, one-ten. Sit down." Lucien ushered her to a seat at the kitchen bar, helping her onto it. The action made them move closer to the hall. Her heart thundered in her chest. If only he knew why…

Lucien moved to the cabinets, looking wholly out of place in his impeccable clothes; though, there were faint smudges under his eyes, nearly hidden by the frames of his glasses. He fixed her a cup of water, sliding it across the counter, as he uncapped her pill bottle, tipping the contents into his palm, and counting out how many of the small white pills she had left.

He appraised her. "You haven’t taken your medication today or yesterday. Would you like to tell me why?"

Rin shot a surreptitious look over her shoulder, toward the hall. "I f-forgot."

Lucien rounded the counter, standing at her side, nearly boxing her in. Her breath hitched as he held one of the pills up to her lips. He pressed it against her closed mouth. "Open." Unbidden, her body obeyed him. He dropped the pill on her tongue, achingly careful not to touch her. He nodded toward the cup, and she reached for it, lips closing around it as she took a heavy gulp, swallowing the pill. "Now, will I have to watch each time to ensure you take your medicine?"

Even though she just took a sip of water, her mouth was still so dry. "No."

Another thump from her bedroom. Lucien stared toward the sound, lips parting with a question.

She was a fool; she couldn’t hide anything from Lucien. He was too observant.

But he may just have one weakness. Her.

"I’m hungry," Rin said in a rush. "Yeah, famished, really. Turns out food on Sibeth isn’t the best." She laughed nervously.

Lucien focused back on her. "Let me make you something." He turned to the fridge.

Shit, this wasn’t good. He needed toleave.

"No!" Rin exclaimed. "No. There’s, uh, nothing here. Just a bunch of Xara’s health food." She scrunched up her nose. "Could you go get some of that fried chicken from the place we tried the other day?"

"That’s further than the hospital." Lucien pulled his phone from his pocket, tapping away at the screen, regardless. "What do you want?"

"Extra spicy."

"Done," he said, grabbing his keys and wallet from his back pocket. "Go lie down, Vesperin. I do not want to see you up when I get back. You need some rest. The flight took a lot out of you."

Rin nodded furiously. "Got it." She hopped off the stool and walked him to the door.

"When I get back, you’ll tell me how the mission went." It wasn’t a question.

When the door clicked shut behind him, she breathed a sigh of relief, waiting a beat to make sure he was truly gone.

Then, she scrambled back to her bedroom, throwing open the door with a curse. "I told you to be quiet."