Again, his teeth scraped to her flesh, the stubble on his cheek irritating her smooth jaw. There'd be a redness left behind by that tomorrow, too.
It was magnificent.
Aching.
She burned.
Tantalizing.
She wanted more.
"Harder," Jordyn breathed out.
"Yeah?" Lucian asked, as breathless as she was.
"Fuck, harder … please."
"How about a little more instead."
Jordyn didn't know what he meant by that until she felt his hand finally let go of her shoulder. Then, it was between her legs, caressing along her slit and his cock before sliding up the crack of her ass. Two fingers pressed at the puckered hole of her backside. That was the only warning she had before they plunged in knuckle deep, penetrating the tight ring of muscles.
Blissful disbelief shredded what rational she had left.
Lucian spread his fingers wide on the withdrawal from her ass as his cock slammed back into her pussy. While his cock opened her sex, stretching her full of him, his fingers fucked her ass to the opposite beat.
Pleasure licked through her veins like a fire.
Jordyn could feel her juices soaking them both further. The slaps of skin meeting skin matched their moans. He'd never quite taken her so hard before, or used her body until she was a quivering, jumbled mess beneath him. Lucian always took his time, adoring every inch, drawing out the beautiful end.
But not this time. He did what he wanted to, she realized.
Fucked her like he didn't love her, but it was impossible not to feel it, even so.
As Jordyn shattered with another orgasm, Lucian didn't bother to stop or slow down.
She didn't quite know it then, but he wouldn't for hours. It was one of the only good things she could think of about him mixing pain pills with whiskey.
• • •
Jordyn woke to a quiet condo, but for the ring of her cell phone alarm clock. Morning light was only starting to filter in through the bedroom window. The soreness in her limbs and down between her thighs was a swift reminder of the night before.
That didn't much matter, though. She had to get up, say goodbye even if she didn't want to, and go about her day like everything was fine and normal.
Certainly not like her heart and soul was breaking.
She didn't want Lucian to see that anyway.
Jordyn took her time getting out of bed, mindful of the tenderness spreading through her muscles. In the bathroom, she took inventory of her body and what he'd left. Teeth marks on her breast and shoulders that nearly broke the skin. Redness on her cheek and jaw from his stubble scratching to her skin. The kiss that sent her flying to the floor had swelled her lips and reddened them more than they usually were. Marks from his fingernails, imprints from his fingers, and discoloration from her clothes being pulled from her body. Her curls, usually messy and out of control, were a total lost cause.
Those were only the things she could see.
What she couldn't visibly find, she could feel.
Deep in her bones. A burn in her thighs. Weakness, fatigue, and melancholy.
She didn't want to say goodbye. Unfortunately, she couldn't tell Lucian that. It was safer for him to go. Even if it was only for a short time.
Pulling on something to be decent enough for Lucian's parents' visit that morning, Jordyn followed the scent of coffee to the kitchen. The people who waited for her there were not who she expected so early.
Antony cleared his throat as Jordyn walked into the space. She was well aware she looked thoroughly fucked and exhausted. She also didn't care. Lucian should have warned her they were there and she would have been more presentable.
"Good morning," Antony said quietly.
Jordyn glanced at a teary Cecelia sipping coffee at the table.
"Where's Lucian?" Jordyn asked.
"We were hoping you could tell us that, Jordyn."
"Excuse me?"
Antony sighed, leaning into the counter. "Security was advised to let us up this morning and not to bother calling through to the condo first."
Jordyn wasn't understanding what he was saying. "So?"
"So, I suspect Lucian didn't want them to wake you up to give the okay because obviously he knew he wasn't going to be here. I called down a little while ago, they said he left around six this morning."
Something awful stabbed into her heart.
He wasn't here.
Lucian was already gone, and he hadn't even woke her up to say goodbye.
"I thought you were supposed to send him off somewhere," Jordyn accused. "How are we going to know where he is or if he's safe if we don't know where he is?"
Antony shrugged. "I have the distinct feeling Lucian did this on purpose. Gio said it himself last night. Whoever is behind the attacks could be a lot closer than we think. Even one of his family members knowing could be very dangerous. Lucian isn't stupid. He has the ability to blend in well with normal people, he's got more than enough cash to stay off anyone's radar. Knowing my son, he's close. And I'll bet given his attachment, he won't be too far from you, however I doubt he'll show himself."
Jordyn bit the inside of her cheek until pain saturated her mouth to keep her from shouting her frustrations. "What now?"
Finally, Cecelia spoke up. "My birthday is in two weeks. He won't miss that. I know it without a doubt. He's never missed my birthday."
"You're sure?"
"Yes. We've had Cecelia's night out planned for a while, so Lucian is aware of the place and time. But until then, he's as safe as he's ever going to be, Jordyn," Antony said. "I don't like how he did it, but he did what I asked, nonetheless. That's what's important and more than I thought he would do, frankly."
Jordyn forced herself to be calm, and then decided it didn't really matter. "I'm taking a fucking sick day."
Antony coughed away his surprise, muttering, "I think that'd be okay today."
Yeah, like he had a say.
• • •
"ID to confirm check-in, sir?"
Lucian tossed the fake driver's licence to the counter.
"Okay, John Antony. I have that room ready," the clerk said. "Do you need someone to take your bags up?"
"No," Lucian replied. "I think I can handle it."
"Two weeks, yes?"
"That's the plan."
The girl smiled a little too widely, but Lucian wasn't paying her any mind. "Do you want to put a credit card on the account for-"
"No," he interrupted. "I'll pay in cash."
Surprise registered in the woman's eyes. "But usually our guests who stay for an extended period prefer to pay one final bill at the end, not many smaller ones."
"I'm not a regular guest," Lucian muttered. "Can I have my key card?"
It took the woman a minute to fumble around with getting the information loaded on the card before she handed it over with another big smile. Lucian was far too exhausted and annoyed to bother with pleasantries.
He hadn't even showered before leaving the condo earlier. After taking a cab downtown, then switching to another to take him half way back the way he'd come, he paid the driver, got out, and walked into the morning crowd of people just beginning to flood the streets.
Wearing a leather jacket, dark wash denim, and a ball cap, he looked like any other New Yorker on their way to wherever, constantly in a rush to get nowhere. Briefly, he'd stopped at a café to eat something worthy of being called breakfast, but even feeding himself felt robotic. Just another motion he had to go through.
Without Jordyn, he was feeling particularly unsettled.
Lucian didn't like being so far from her. He also couldn't bear to wake her up and see how sad and pained she would be when he said goodbye. Hopefully she wasn't too angry with him over that. If she was, he'd spend however long it took to make it up to her.
After settling into his suite, Lucian unpacked the one bag he brought along. It was only enough clothes to do him a few days, nothing over the top. The hotel offered laundry service and he would definitely be using that. Other than the clothes, he hadn't brought along much else. Twenty-thousand in cash from his safe. His gun, of course, with a fully loaded clip and a backup, just in case. A book from his library, though he doubted his mind would calm enough to read it.
There was no phone other than the one in his room which he wouldn't use. No tablet to check his emails and such. Nothing to keep up with his businesses, though he'd taken care of that earlier by leaving messages for the managers of his places that would be curious about his sudden vacation.
Vacation. That was a damned joke.
Lucian didn't know how to relax when he wasn't working, or next to Jordyn.
Strange how that worked.
Lucian put the shower to use, cleaning off the smell of sex and sweat still lingering from the night before. While he cleaned the stitches around his bullet graze, he kept his mind on Jordyn and how absolutely amazing she looked underneath him to stray away from thinking much about the pain radiating through his arm.
The first day after anything was always the worst.
Paulie had given him a round of antibiotics to take for a couple of weeks, so Lucian popped the pills back before deciding he couldn't stay still much longer.
A half hour, two cabs, and short walk later, Lucian found himself staring at a payphone.