Maya POV
If someone ever told me that I had a bad fate, or that I was jinxed, I wouldn’t even try to prove them wrong. I would look them dead in the eyes and agree.
I have always suffered from wretched luck and terribly unfortunate timing. I constantly cross paths with the exact people I am meant to stay as far away from as possible. The Moon Goddess definitely has a personal vendetta against me; why else does she keep dropping me into these impossible situations?
Lucas Grey stood in front of me, close enough to steal the very air from my lungs. His sheer presence was heavy enough to suffocate. His gaze didn’t just land on me; it looked right through me, as if he could see every secret I had ever buried—the fragile, hidden parts of myself I never allowed anyone to touch.
His eyes drifted slowly, lazily, from my face down the length of my body. It felt like he was undressing me with a single glance, peeling away my defenses layer by layer. By the time his gaze returned to mine, a subtle shift flickered in his expression. Was it amusement? Satisfaction? Surprise? Or was it just my panicked brain signaling that this was officially the end of me?
"You certainly take your time speaking," he said, his voice low, almost bored. "Would you rather I choose the punishment for your crimes?"
My eyes widened. "N-No!"
The word exploded out of me before I could stop it.
His brow lifted slightly at the sudden outburst. That tiny, dangerous curve playing on his lips made my face burn hotter, and a cold sweat broke out across my palms. I instantly slapped a hand over my mouth.
"Sorry," I mumbled through my fingers, my voice coming out hoarse and squeaky. "I didn’t mean to yell."
He leaned back against his desk, looking as though he had just discovered a mild curiosity finally worth his full attention. "Then tell me, Maya. What exactly are you doing in my study, sneaking around and touching things that aren’t yours—"
He paused midway.
The words didn’t just stop; they completely vanished from the air. The mask of the bored, untouchable leader cracked, and for a fleeting moment, Lucas looked entirely human. And entirely breathless. His gaze drifted down from my face, losing its sharp, authoritative edge and turning into something heavy, slow, and completely transfixed.
He took in the sleek, midnight fabric of the dress, watching the way it hugged the curve of my waist and dipped low at my collarbones. It cast every single line of my body in sharp relief, highlighting the soft swell of my hips before ending precariously high on my thighs. The silence stretched between us, no longer suffocating, but thick with a strange, magnetic heat. He looked like a man who had completely forgotten his own train of thought, entirely lost in the sight of me. When his eyes finally dragged themselves back up to meet mine, his pupils were blown wide.
"Maya," he murmured, his voice losing all of its roughness, replaced by a quiet, fascinated curiosity. "Why are you dressed like that?"
I swallowed hard, my hands trembling violently. "N-nothing," I said quickly, the words falling out of me in a frantic rush. "Zain asked me to bring something to you."
I pointed a shaky finger at the folder sitting on the desk. My heart pounded so hard it felt like a bass drum echoing in my ears.
God, this was so messed up. Of all the people to run into tonight, why did it have to be him? The one man I had been desperately trying to avoid, and the exact one I couldn’t seem to scrub from my mind. I had managed to escape this house without a single guard noticing. But now, here I was, standing right in front of Lucas while he stared at me like some kind of prized possession he had just caught slipping through his fingers.
The silence stretched, agonizing and thick. Nervously, I peeked up at him again, but he was no longer looking at my face.
Huh?
I followed the heavy line of his gaze downward, and my breath hitched as a wave of pure mortification washed over me.
Because the dress was cut so tightly, the deep neckline had shifted when I moved, revealing a blatant, undeniable sliver of my black lace lingerie beneath. It wasn’t just suggestive—it was scandalous. The low cut of the fabric practically framed my breasts for display, pushing them up and leaving them completely exposed to his lingering stare. Was he actually checking me out?
I shook my head wildly, trying to clear my thoughts. What was I even thinking? There was no way a powerful, high-ranking man like Lucas would look at someone like me with genuine desire.
"I-I was just here to deliver a file from Zain, that’s all, I swear! I wasn’t doing anything," I stammered, inching closer to the desk and gesturing frantically at the folder to draw his attention away from my chest. "Trust me, I definitely wasn’t doing anything wrong. I came in here because I thought you were asleep, and I didn’t want to disturb you. I promise, Lucas, that’s all it was."
His expression remained completely unreadable, but his dark eyes stayed utterly fixated on me, burning right through the thin fabric. I wanted to evaporate. I wanted the floorboards to open up and swallow me whole.
"I mean, I just saw a book on your shelf, and it just randomly drew my attention," I continued to ramble, my voice stumbling significantly faster than my brain could keep up. "That’s all. I wasn’t even planning to read it, or touch it, or open it. I–"
His voice cut in, slicing effortlessly through whatever fragile defense I was trying to cook up. He tilted his head, studying me with a slow, calculating intensity. His eyes never left mine. The frantic thumping of my own heartbeat filled my ears, and despite the cool, air-conditioned chill of the room, my skin felt flush and overheated.
"Where did you meet Zain?" he asked. His voice was incredibly low, vibrating with a quiet command that made me swallow hard against the lump in my throat. "And why would he give you a file to give to me?"
"W-What?"
He took a slow, deliberate step forward, completely invading my personal space. My feet instinctively shuffled backward to escape the intoxicating heat radiating off him.
Big mistake.
The back of my knees abruptly hit the hard edge of the wooden bookshelf, and I froze. He was towering over me once again, trapping me against the dark wood. There was absolutely nowhere left to run, and the sheer proximity made it impossible to find the air to breathe.
I knew I should be panicking, but my treacherous eyes betrayed me. I found myself tracing the lines of his frame before I even realized what I was doing. How could a man look so effortlessly devastating this late into the night?
His sleeves were rolled up to his elbows, revealing strong, powerful forearms lined with prominent veins. The top few buttons of his dress shirt were undone, exposing the sharp, rugged edge of a chiseled collarbone, and glimpses of a muscular chest I spent far too many nights fantasizing about.
Was he terrifying? Yes, absolutely. But he was also completely breathtaking.
Standing this close to him, I finally understood why women constantly swarmed him, why they were so desperately obsessed with his every move. He had always been the better brother. Caleb might be handsome, sure. But when it came to Lucas?
When it came to Lucas, he wasn’t just a man you admired from afar. He was a beautiful, dangerous storm—and I was caught right in the center of it.
I stared up at him, my hands trembling so violently that I had to ball them into fists against my sides just to keep myself steady.
"Um... I-I... Okay, fine!" The confession tore out of me, shattering the suffocating quiet. "I snuck out of the house without any guards or protection. I just felt like being alone for once, without anyone tracking my every move like I’m some kind of fragile target that needs a babysitter! I just wanted a normal night out with Katherine. But then Zain caught me. He made me promise to deliver those files to you tonight in exchange for his silence. I’m sorry, Lucas. I didn’t tell anyone because I knew you all wouldn’t let me step a single foot outside alone. Please... please don’t tell Alpha Ian."
I blurted it all out in a single, desperate breath, squeezing my eyes shut as the final words left my lips.
The silence that followed was deafening. It stretched so long that the anticipation became agonizing. Slowly, hesitantly, I cracked my eyes open.
Lucas hadn’t moved an inch, but the cold boredom was entirely gone. A small, dangerous dark smirk played on his lips. He was looking at me with an expression I couldn’t quite name—a heavy, knowing gaze that drifted lazily from my flushed face down the entire length of my body, as if he were studying a piece of art he finally owned.
The sheer intensity of his scrutiny made a wave of electric heat crawl up my skin. Beneath the short hem of my dress, I instinctively clenched my thighs together, desperately trying to shield myself from the way his eyes tracked my curves. My throat felt bone-dry. I swallowed hard, using the back of my trembling palm to wipe a bead of sweat from my temple.
Lucas let out a low, quiet breath. He ran a hand through his dark hair and finally stepped back, giving me room to breathe. His gaze lingered on my bare legs for one last, heavy moment before he turned around and crossed the room.
He reached his desk and slid casually onto the edge of the wood, looking entirely relaxed, as if he had all the time in the world. He picked up the book I had been holding and placed it down beside him, his movements smooth and unbothered.
I stood by the bookshelf awkwardly, my pulse still racing. My face was burning so hot I was certain it was a dark, crimson red. But at least the explosive anger I expected hadn’t come. Well, at least he didn’t look angry yet.
Nervously, I cleared my throat, taking a cautious, tentative step toward the door.
"So... does this mean I can g-go?" I tried to sound casual, but the lie failed miserably as my voice cracked halfway through the sentence.
He remained completely calm, his posture relaxed. "No," he said flatly.
I frowned, fear and confusion twisting together in my chest. "No? W-What do you mean?"
I took another small, wary step toward the exit, tracking his expression like a hawk. It was still utterly unreadable, still terrifying, and still completely, unfairly handsome. As he sat there watching me, I felt a sudden, sharp ache twist low in my stomach—a dangerous spark of arousal that I had no business feeling right now.
His dark gaze lifted, locking instantly onto mine. When he spoke, his voice was incredibly low, vibrating with absolute, unyielding command.
"Get on your knees."