Craved by the Wrong Volkov-Chapter 279: Until you forget him

Braelyn’s POV

My entire body melted in his arms. I was completely exhausted, and the warmth I felt in his hold made me relax fully. He held me for a while before whispering something in my ear I could barely hear.

I felt him shift from the bed. The scent of our sweat and sex filled the room. Lucien’s footsteps faded and my eyes grew heavy. I slowly closed them, almost falling into a nap, until I felt the bed dip again.

His musky scent mixed with my faint jasmine perfume wrapped around me. Lucien quietly gathered me into his arms and lifted me easily, cradling me like something fragile even after everything he had just done. I was half conscious at this point. The exhaustion was almost unbearable.

He carried me through the dim room toward the bathroom. Steam rose from the tub he had already filled. The air smelled of lavender and candle wax. Rain still pounded the windows in heavy sheets.

He lowered me into the warm water carefully. My body sank in with a soft sigh I couldn’t hold back. The heat soothed the worst of the aches. My eyelids fluttered, too heavy to keep open.

Lucien knelt beside the tub. One hand supported my head so I wouldn’t slip. The other dipped a cloth and began to clean me with slow, gentle strokes between my thighs, over the red marks on my hips and arse, along my wrists where the rope had bitten. He took his time, handling me like a porcelain doll. The bathroom was completely silent, only the sound of heavy rain filling the space.

My eyes closed.

I almost fell asleep in the tub while he washed me, his fingers careful in my hair, his low hum the last thing I heard before darkness took me completely.

After he was done, he let me relax in the tub while he went back to the bedroom. A few minutes passed before he returned. At that point I was almost asleep, barely keeping my eyes open.

He carried me from the tub and back to the bed. I was gently placed on the mattress. That’s when I noticed the covers had been changed. This one felt fresh and smelled like flowers.

Wrapped under the covers, he placed a soft kiss on my temple.

"Sleep tight, Viper..." he whispered.

I didn’t fall asleep immediately.

The bed felt empty after he left. I kept drifting in and out of sleep until the bed dipped again. A pair of large arms pulled me close against his taut muscles. He smelled fresh.

Water drops clung to his skin. He had just showered. I snuggled into his arms. It had been so long since I felt like this. Minutes passed and I felt his gaze burning on me. He just stared at my sleeping face... or that’s what he thought.

But I wasn’t asleep. I felt every second of his gaze. Soon his low voice came close to my ear, almost lost under the drumming rain.

"I’ll wait, Viper," he murmured. "As long as it takes. Until you have no choice but to love me. Until every thought in your head is mine. Until you can’t remember what life felt like before I owned you."

My heart raced.

"If destroying Raphael is what it takes, that’s what I will do."

The words drifted through the haze like smoke. I eventually fell asleep.

******

I don’t know how long I slept, but cuddling under the sheets while it rained was soothing to my nerves. By the time I woke, it was already 12 pm.

Lucien was gone. There was a handwritten note on the bedside table.

(Sorry I couldn’t wait until you woke up. I had to leave for an emergency. I am travelling to handle some family business. My phone might not work because I will be on a flight.

Please take care of yourself. I prepared breakfast but it might be cold already. The housekeeper will make fresh food for you. Also check the wardrobe, I bought some clothes you can use.

You are free to stay as long as you want. I will try to return early.

Love, Lucien.)

I stared at the note for a while. His handwriting was so elegant it felt like script. His beautiful writing reminded me of Raphael, who had similarly alluring handwriting.

I loved Raphael’s handwriting so much I made him write me handwritten love letters in the past.

I chuckled. It was hilarious how similar Lucien and Raphael were. At times they strangely felt like the same person. I had just woken up from a long night with Lucien, and I was thinking of Raphael. He wasn’t the only one in my heart.

I got out of bed and got ready for the day. I didn’t ask the housekeeper to make fresh breakfast. I told her to heat the one Lucien made.

I had breakfast, but I didn’t stay at Lucien’s place. Even if I wanted to, I couldn’t. It was almost December and Volkov Apex’s end-of-year celebrations were coming up.

I was the one in charge of planning.

After a full breakfast, I took a taxi back. I hadn’t left with a car yesterday.

*******

The taxi pulled into the driveway and I got out. I stood outside for a while before stepping in. What I didn’t expect was to run straight into Raphael, who was standing at the foot of the stairs staring into his phone screen, a heavy atmosphere around him that made me freeze.

Raphael had moved out of the master bedroom upstairs to a room opposite mine on the ground floor because it reminded him of Amelia and what he destroyed. The house had a lot of rooms, so it never bothered me.

The only thing left upstairs was his study.

He sensed my presence and lowered the phone. I caught a glimpse of the screen. He didn’t bother hiding it.

It was an image of me, naked, snuggling against a man’s abs. Half my body was covered by the sheets, but my breasts were visible from the side, pressed to the man’s chest.

My eyes twitched. Why was Lucien so shameless and petty? Luckily the picture was view-once.

Raphael stared at me, his eyes bloodshot, but he remained calm.

His lips parted like he wanted to say something, but in the end he changed his mind. He gulped, his Adam’s apple bobbing.

"I am going for a stroll," he said, which I found weird at noon.

I just nodded. "Don’t overwork yourself."

He strode past me, then paused. His gaze zeroed in on my neck. "You should wear a turtleneck," he said before storming away. I blinked at his departing back.

He saw the hickey.