Chapter 3

KIRA POV

"You're... Lucian Brookmoore?"

The name slipped from my lips in little more than a whisper.

And for a heartbeat, the room disappeared.

LB.

My mind raced back to every message, every text, and conversation. The truth had been there all along, hidden in plain sight.

Lucian Brookmoore.

And the realization slammed into me so hard that my stomach lurched.

No. No...

It couldn't be.

The man whose words had got to me first, whose response has been just right, was the same man newspapers called ruthless.

The same man people lowered their voices to talk about.

The Devil.

I stared at him, searching his face for something that would tell me this was some cruel joke.

But instead, I found the same blue eyes that had looked at me so gently over dinner as I made a complete fool of myself.

The same quiet patience. That almost seemed like warmth.

Only now I knew whose eyes they truly belonged to.

Air refused to fill my lungs. And without another word, I turned and ran.

I barely noticed the startled faces around me as I pushed through the crowded clubhouse. Conversations blurred into meaningless noise. And laughter echoed somewhere behind me.

My heels struck the polished floor in frantic rhythm before I burst through the glass doors.

The cold night air slapped hard against my face.

But still, I couldn't breathe.

The city lights blurred into a curtain of tears as I reminisced about my stupidity, how I had gossiped about a man in his very own presence.

Oh goodness’

I exclaimed. Wondering how they could be the same man, how someone like him could be on a pen pal community.

How could LB be Lucian Brookmoore?

The stranger who had patiently listened while I poured my heart onto the internet.

The man who remembered what I have forgotten about myself.

and Lucian Brookmoore.

Nothing seemed to make sense anymore.

"Kira!"

His voice called through the night.

Deep and steady.Like he knew me too well all along.

But I didn't stop. Neither did I look back.

I heard footsteps follow behind me, not hurried, not desperate, just deliberate.

Then headlights swept across the pavement as a black SUV pulled alongside me. And it rolled to a stop.

One of his men climbed out and opened the rear door.

"Miss Kira," he said with a respectful nod. "Mr. Brookmoore asked us to drive you home."

But I shook my head long before he had even finished speaking.

"No."

"Please, it's late..."

"I said no."

The words came out sharper than I intended, trembling around the end..

I ignored the ache already spreading through my feet, as I picked up my pace yet again.

And to make it worse, the thin straps of my heels dug painfully into my skin, but I welcomed the sting. Since it was easier to focus on that than allow the Devil to get me.

The steps never receded and I saw him again,exchanging a glance with someone inside the SUV.

And just within seconds , the rear door opened again.

And deep silence settled over the Blackthorn streets, his street.

I didn't have to turn around to know it was him.

And his footsteps stopped only a few feet away.

"Kira."

My name sounded different in his voice.

Not like a command, not even like a plea.It sounded... careful.

As though he was afraid saying it too loudly would shatter whatever plot he had got for me.

But I folded my arms tightly across my chest.

"You lied."

The words scraped out against my throat. And a long silence stretched between us before he answered.

"I didn't."

Something inside me snapped. And I spun around to face him.

The city lights caught the sharp lines of his face. His suit jacket was open now, his tie loosened as though he'd been on a rough side of divorce.

And for the first time that evening, Lucian Brookmoore looked less like the untouchable billionaire everyone feared and more like a man who had run after someone he couldn't bear to lose, as though he had forgotten we just want to experiment a little bit.

"You hid who you were from me."

"I hid my name." He defended almost inaudibly.

"That's not any better."

His jaw tightened, though his voice remained calm.

"If I had introduced myself as Lucian Brookmoore..."

He held my gaze as he spoke, and I almost swear I liked how he stared at my bust, like he truly admired it, not like it was ugly and too much.

"would you have replied to that first message?"

He asked and the question settled between us like a falling star.

I opened my mouth to talk but nothing came out. Perhaps because we both knew the answer. That I would've deleted the message.

Blocked him. And run before he had the chance to write another word.

I saw his shoulders rose with a slow breath.

"I knew what my name would make you think."

He said but his eyes never left mine.

"So I gave you the chance to know me first."

The sincerity in his voice made my chest ache. And I hated that. I wanted arrogance. And ruthlessness that he was known to possess.

Anything that would make it easier for me to hate him. But instead, he looked almost... vulnerable.

"I never deceived you, Kira."

His words were quiet enough that the wind nearly carried them away. He was breaking, but why?

"I meant every word I said."

He said and I laughed, but it came out broken.

"Do you even hear yourself?"

I asked. My eyes burning like I was drowning in smoke.

"Do you have any idea what people say about you?"

He was silent, tired and I couldn't resist thinking if he had done this so many times or perhaps I was his first, running from him like he was a danger I was warned about.

"They're terrified of you."

I said, yelling. But still he said nothing.

"They call you the Devil."

And then a flicker crossed his face but it was gone almost instantly.

"I know." He said softly.

"Then why didn't you tell me?"

"Because I didn't want you to meet my reputation before you met me."

His honesty only made everything worse. Like a perfect man pulled straight out of a fictional story.

The man standing before me wasn't matching the monster I had imagined. And that frightened me more.

"What do you want from me?"

I asked, thinking he would sell himself out, and I would really fled without wanting to touch him and him to touch me ever again.

"Everything you give."

He said.

"But let me make you see how real you are."

He added and I swallowed hard.

"I can't trust you."

The words lingered in the cold air.

But he didn't move. And for one long moment, neither of us spoke. Then something shifted behind his composed expression but weirdly not anger.

It flashed through his eyes so quickly I almost convinced myself I had imagined it.

And finally, he lowered his head in a small nod.

"I won't force you to."

"If that's what you want..."

His voice was barely above a whisper.

"I will respect it."

And he turned toward his men.

"Take Miss Kira safely back to her dorm."

And I frowned. Hating why on earth I have to be in this kind of situation when I am just meeting this man and as much as I hated it, it feels right yet wrong.

"I'm not getting into your car."

"You are."

His answer came without hesitation. And my temper flared.

"You don't get to decide that."

His gaze slowly returned to mine.

"I know."

His voice softened.

"So let me explain."

He took a careful step closer to me. Stopping just a step backward.

"It's after midnight."

A cold breeze lifted a strand of my hair across my face. And I saw how he resisted the urge to brush it away. And I hated that I wanted him to.

"I don't care."

"But I do."

There wasn't a trace of authority in his voice. Only concern and I almost thought if the Lucian Brookmoore said to be the devil was perhaps just a rumor as this man was the first man to treat me right.

"I would never forgive myself if something happened to you tonight."

And for one dangerous second I believed him. And that frightened me enough to look away.

Before I could protest again, two women dressed in black approached me quietly.

One of them offered me an apologetic smile.

"We're sorry, Miss."

They stayed close enough that refusing would only create another scene. Exhaustion settled over me all at once and with trembling legs, I climbed into the SUV.

The door closed softly behind me.

But Lucian didn't get in.

He stood alone under the streetlight, his hand tucked into his coat pocket.