Page 61 of Lucas (The Valeur Billionaires #2)

AVA

I packed up all my belongings and moved them into the mansion a few days ago.

We agreed to keep my house for those nights when we want to stay in the city, but from now on, we won’t be sleeping apart. Not if I have any say in it.

I wander over to the window overlooking the manicured grounds where a veritable army of black-clad security guards patrols the perimeter, alert and stone-faced. Lucas insisted on tripling security after the talk with his siblings.

He hasn’t received any new threats since the accident, and there haven’t been any further incidents. Part of me wonders if he’s going a tad overboard with the Fort Knox approach, but I trust his judgment, even if his overprotective streak can be smothering.

I’m head over heels in love with that man, flaws and all. Bossy, domineering control-freak tendencies included .

I’ve even grown to love his family, who welcomed me with open arms as if I’d always been one of them. For the first time, I feel like I’ve gained not just a partner, a husband, but an entire family. A genuine sense of belonging, something I’ve never had before.

I survey our bedroom, taking in the walls adorned with fresh artwork.

Lucas’s familiar footsteps come from behind, and I turn just as he enters our palatial bedroom.

His face lights up when he sees me, blue eyes crinkling at the corners.

In a few long strides, he’s across the room and enfolding me in his arms. I melt into his embrace, savoring his warmth and masculine scent.

“Like it, Wifey?”

“When did you get these?” I ask, leaning back into his solid warmth.

“Purchased them while you were gone.” He nuzzles my neck, his stubble rough. “They arrived today.”

I tilt my head to look at him. “You bought the paintings even though I wasn’t here?”

He captures my hand and presses a kiss to my palm, his eyes burning into mine. “I knew you’d come back to me,” he says. “There was never any other possibility. You’re mine, Ava. Just like I’m yours. Forever.”

Warmth floods my cheeks at his fierce declaration, but I can’t resist needling him a bit. “Awfully sure of yourself there, aren’t you, Valeur?”

He nibbles my earlobe, sending shivers down my spine. “That’s how you like me. Cocky, in more ways than one.” He grinds his growing erection against my backside for emphasis.

“Mmmm...” I moan, struggling to keep my composure as heat pools between my thighs. “These are some of my favorite artists.”

“I know. I saw their work hanging in your house and wanted you to feel at home here. We can swap them out if you prefer.”

I shake my head, touched by his thoughtfulness. “No, I love them. Thank you. They’re perfect.”

“This is your home now, too. You can do whatever you want—just spare me the agony of pink sheets,” he jokes.

I grin. “I think I’ll buy those hot pink satin sheets. With ruffles. Just to torture you.”

With a playful growl, he throws me over his shoulder. I shriek and pound on his back with my fists. “Lucas! Put me down, you brute!”

“Not until you promise no pink sheets.”

“Never!” I declare.

“Mouthy woman. You still drive me crazy. You know that?”

“I changed my mind. I want a divorce,” I deadpan. “A girl needs her space, you know. Can’t let you go thinking you’ve got me tied down already.”

He growls and tosses me on the king-sized bed, crawling over me with a predatory glint in his eye that makes my heart stutter and my thighs clench. “Tied down, eh? Don’t go giving me ideas, you naughty woman.”

I roll my eyes even as I loop my arms around his neck. “In your dreams, Valeur.”

“Every night,” he purrs, nipping at my earlobe. “I’ve got a vivid imagination and an array of silk ties.”

“Insufferable,” I accuse, arching as he blazes a trail of passionate kisses down the column of my throat .

“I don’t hear you complaining.”

“Less talking, more ravishing,” I order, tangling my fingers in his thick, unruly hair and dragging his mouth to mine.

He kisses me like a drowning man gulping air, and just like that, the playful mood evaporates, replaced by a tidal wave of raw need.

Clothes go flying as we tear at each other, skin hungry for skin. The slick slide of his tongue against mine sends molten heat straight to my core.

In a flash, he has me naked, his erection heavy and insistent against my belly. I reach between us to wrap my fingers around his thickness, shuddering at the steel encased in velvet.

My retort dies on my lips as I drink in the glorious sight of his chiseled body, all tanned skin and rippling muscle. Desire throbs in my core.

I rise from the bed and sink to my knees on the floor. He sucks in a sharp breath. “Ava, what are you doing?”

“Shhh,” I whisper, wrapping my fingers around his thick length. “Let me show you how much I love you.”

He falls silent, head lolling back as I take the tip into my mouth, swirling my tongue around the sensitive head. I lap at the bead of moisture gathered there, moaning at the salty, musky taste of him.

“Fuck, Ava,” he grits out between clenched teeth.

Emboldened, I try to take him deeper, but he’s too big. I gag, and he pulls out, chest heaving.

“On the bed. On your back,” he commands, and I readily comply, desire coursing through my veins.

He yanks me to the edge of the mattress and kneels in front of my face, his impressive erection filling my field of vision. My thighs are slick with arousal.

“Tilt your head back. Open up, baby. Take me.”

I part my lips, and he feeds himself into my mouth, thrusting shallowly at first, then deeper, faster, his control slipping.

I love how I can make him lose control like this. That I have this power over him.

Drool trickles from the corners of my stretched mouth as he hits the back of my throat, but I don’t care. I’m drunk on his pleasure, his desire.

Fumbling a hand between my legs, I rub tight circles over my aching clit, chasing my release.

“Fuck, you’re so gorgeous like this,” he rasps. “Lips stretched around my cock, taking me so deep in your sweet heat. I’m close, Ava. So close.”

Humming, I add a bit of suction, and he comes with a hoarse shout, spurting the salty bitter cum over my tongue.

I pull off and swallow it all down, licking my lips.

“Christ, woman, what are you doing to me?” he pants, looking down at me in awe.

I arch a brow. “What you’re about to do to me.”

A wicked smirk curls his lips as he pushes me flat and buries his head between my thighs, determined to give as good as he got.

Minutes later, I’m sprawled in his arms, my body still trembling with aftershocks. “I could get used to this,” I mumble.

He kisses my damp temple. “That’s the plan. I’m going to spoil you so rotten you’ll never think about leaving again.”

Rolling over, I snuggle into his broad chest, soothed by the steady thump of his heartbeat. “I’m not going anywhere. You’re stuck with me, Valeur.”

The ring of his phone interrupts our playful banter. He tenses but makes no move to untangle our limbs.

It rings again, more insistent.

I prop myself up on an elbow. “You should get that. Could be important.”

“More important than basking with my gorgeous wife? Not bloody likely,” he scoffs, but there’s an edge to his voice now.

On the third ring, he swears under his breath and rolls away, snatching the phone off the nightstand. “What?”

I watch as the color drains from his face, his expression morphing into one of shock and horror. An icy tendril of dread unfurls in my stomach.

“Lucas? What is it? What’s wrong?” I ask, sitting up.

He grips the phone so hard I fear it might shatter, knuckles white as bone. When he speaks, his voice trembles.

“It’s Cora. She’s been attacked. Beaten and mugged right on the damn street. She’s in a hospital.”

Dive into "Cora," where a grumpy ex-military bodyguard meets his sunshine match in a thrilling tale of forced proximity and sizzling tension.