Heir of Night (The Thorne Hill)

Lucas chuckles and slides his hands from my stomach to my back. “Being able to surprise you and give you a night away is worth every cent, my love. If it makes you feel better, I’m selling one of the cars to a collector for over a million.”

“Which car?”

“A 1954 Bentley. It’s in the garage in California, remember?”

“Maybe.” I make a face, thinking back to when we spent a glorious two weeks at the vineyard. Lucas did take me on a “garage tour,” excited to show me all his prized cars. “I drank a lot of wine on phase one of our honeymoon.” I shrug. “You’re not sad to part with that car?” I’m not a car person by any means, but I do think it’s pretty fucking neat that Lucas has bought all his classic cars brand-new and has held onto them since.

“Not this one, and it’s going to an automotive museum on the East Coast. Others will get to look at it and enjoy it as well.”

“You are such a nerd,” I tease. “Which is a huge turn-on.”

“For your sake, I won’t mention Star Wars then. You won’t be able to resist me. You’re struggling already.”

I sink my teeth into my bottom lip and tilt my hips up, trying to rub against him, but my stomach just gets in the way. “Let me finish eating and then I’ll rock your world.”

Lucas chuckles again. “Save it for tonight. We’re staying at the apartment at The Waldorf.”

“Eliza’s fancy apartment?”

“Yes, that’s the one. It has a fantastic balcony view of Lake Michigan, and I intend to fuck you on it tonight.”

“I expect no less.” I run my hands down his arms and then splay my fingers over his chest. “We can pretend to be fancy people tonight.”

“We don’t have to pretend. We are fancy people.”

“You are, since you’re basically Batman. Hot, rich, and able to beat up bad guys.” I gasp. “I do have a type!”

“I will take one for the team and dress up if that gets you going.”

I narrow my eyes. “Why do I feel like you already have a Batman costume hiding in a closet somewhere?”

“I might have a Darth Vader helmet I bought back in the eighties, but no Batman.” He kisses my neck and warmth goes through me. “Finish your lunch,” he says, pulling away.

“When are we leaving?”

“Whenever you’re ready. Our reservation is right after sundown, and I’ve arranged for Eliza to watch Scarlet for us tonight.”

“And she willingly agreed?”

“She did once I told her I’d go shopping with her.” Lucas makes a face, very much looking like a dad who just got suckered into a day at the mall with his teenage daughter. Really, that’s what Eliza is. Just a lot deadlier.

“You’ll have fun with that.” I sit on a barstool and pick up my burger. “Since Eliza is moved into the house on North Orchard, does anyone stay at the Waldorf apartment anymore?”

“Eliza does occasionally.”

“Are you going to sell it?”

“In a few years. I won’t get much more than what I paid for it yet.”

“I don’t stop and appreciate this side of you enough. I’m more into the fangs and the super strength. I’m a very lucky lady to get both brawn and brains.”

“You are,” he says matter-of-factly. “Feel free to show your gratitude in the form of sucking my cock when we’re fifteen stories up in the Chicago skyline.”

God damn. This man.

“Wow,” Eliza says when I come down the stairs after getting dressed. “You look hot.” I didn’t want to put on the fancy dress and then sit in the car from Thorne Hill to Chicago in it. We ran into traffic too, and since Scarlet was in the back of the Range Rover, Lucas was all huffy by the time we finally got to the house on North Orchard Street, grumbling about how she’s going to get fur and drool on the leather. But it’s not like I suggested we take my Jeep, which I don’t care if it gets covered in fur or drool…noooo, I didn’t suggest that at all.

“I’m not sure if the shock on your face is insulting or not.” I narrow my eyes and come down the last few stairs. “It’s almost as if you didn’t expect me to look good.”

“I didn’t,” she admits, and I love her bluntness. “You’re pretty but pregnant.”

“Okay, now I am insulted.”

Eliza rolls her eyes, and if she weren't holding a guinea pig, she’d follow through with putting her hand on her hip as she stares me down. “Lucas might be into pregnant women, but I’m not. If my head was between your legs, all I’d be thinking about is the baby only being a few inches from me. I have no prejudice against pregnancy, but sexually, it doesn’t do it for me.”

“But right now, I do?”