My stomach twists from the force of acceleration pressing down on my body. “Why the blindfold, though? I’d at least like to see death before it hits me.” I squeeze the edge of the seat, desperate to hold onto something.
The sound of his chuckle is one I’ll never tire from. Dark and wicked, it seems to have a direct link to the muscles in my thighs and prompts me to cross them all the time. “I promise it’ll be worth it.”
“Death?”
He chuckles again, twitching my thigh. “The blindfold.”
“If you say so.”
Ten minutes later, I can hardly stand it anymore. My temples itch with the silky fabric tied tight enough to keep me from peeking.
Thankfully, the vehicle rolls to a stop. His hand slides out of mine. The car door slams. In seconds, a blast of autumn air hits my side, and at the warm grip on my arm, I climb out of my seat. A gentle tug prompts me to step cautiously, one hand out in front, while the other remains imprisoned in his grasp.
We come to a stop, and something is curled into my palm. Cold and metallic, with teeth along the edge. I’m guessing it’s, “A key?”
The blindfold slips away, and I focus past the floating objects, my vision coming into sharp focus on the sign overhead.
Vellichor.
I glance down to the key again, and to Lucian standing beside me. “What is this?”
“Yours.”
A cold, tingly sensation slithers beneath my skin. Confusion renders me momentarily dizzy, and I stumble back a step to be caught by his arm. I open my mouth, my throat tight, trapping words inside my chest.
Shock, I’m guessing. Icy, numbing, can’t-spit-out-a-single-word shock.
“I finalized the paperwork with Rhea the other day.” His words add to the confusion, spinning in my head like an alphabet hurricane.
“Rhea?”
“The day I accompanied you on errands. You went out to the car. I told her if she was interested in selling at any point, I’d like first refusal.”
“So, you ... you … bought this? For me?” I swallow hard at the first sting of tears. Trembles settle in, and I exhale a shaky breath. Any minute now, I’m going to wake up. This will all have been a dream. Lucian. Laura. Blackthorne Manor. All of it.
Don’t wake up. Please don’t wake up!
“If you’re not interested in running it, we can hire management staff. Whatever you nee--”
Before I can stop myself, I leap into the air, wrapping my arms around his neck, and he catches me. Tears swell in my eyes, which I fight to hold back, because why the hell am I crying when I’m happy?
He sets me down on the pavement and seizes my lips in a kiss. “This place brought you comfort, when everyone shunned you. I’d have paid twice as much. For you.”
The blur in my eyes sharpens to his face as the tears slip down my cheeks. “I can’t believe you did this. Thank you.”
He thumbs the moisture away and tips his head, staring at me as if he’s searching for any sign of doubt. “I take it that’s a yes? You’re interested?”
With a chuckle, I nod. “Definitely.” I rise up on my tiptoes and kiss him again.
“So, then, are you going to stand out here in the cold, kissing me all day, or are you going to open the door to your bookshop?”
My bookshop. Mine. Excitement swells in my chest at the thought of that.
“Rhea agreed to help you out, show you the ropes, though she mentioned, you had a pretty good handle on things having spent so much time here. I have someone who can help you with the financials. If you’d like, we can hire a cleaning crew and contractor to fix the place up a little.”
“That doesn’t leave much for me to do.”
“You’ve got books to read. Lots of them, because a good saleswoman should know her product inside and out, after all.”
A giggle escapes me. A freaking giggle. I never giggle, but this man has me so giddy, I can’t help it. “Lucian, did you buy me a bookstore just so I’d have a place to read books? You know I’d do that just about anywhere, right?”
“I’ve spied on a few of your baths, yes. But in this case, no. I bought it as an option for you. And to piss off the Township.” His finger hooks my chin, and he lifts my gaze to his. “There are no obligations with this, Isa. You can walk away any time.”
“Even if I wanted to, which I don’t, you’ve probably had a tracking chip installed while I was asleep.”
“Did you feel it, or something?” His stern face breaks into a smile when he kisses me again. “Go. The suspense is killing me.”
I could pass for a clown with the permanent smile on my face, as I turn around and make my way to the front door. The skeleton shaped key slips into the lock, and the bell chimes as I push through the door.
A warm familiarity embraces me when I step inside, breathing in the scent of old books. My shop. My very own bookstore. It doesn’t even feel real.
As I pass the shelves of old books, I run my fingers over their spines, and pause mid-row to find the glass encased copy of Dracula.
“I paid a little extra for that one. It’s not for sale. It’s yours to keep.”
“Why did you do this for me?” I turn to face him, blinking hard to ward off the oncoming tears.
Hands tucked casually in his pockets, he looks around the place and shrugs. “I want you to be happy.”
I’m glutting with happiness right now, and I can’t help but feel like, any minute, the carpet will be pulled out from under me. In my world, happiness is fleeting, the high at the end of a long stretch of lows. In my world, when you hit a streak of good luck, you duck, because right around the corner is the next swing of bad.
This feels unbalanced, for the lows I’ve suffered in my life.
“What about you? Are you happy?” I ask.
“More than I’ve ever been, which I guess proves that we’re not as fatalistic as we’d like to believe.”
“How so?”
“When you feel dead inside, you inevitably reach for things that make you feel alive. Pain. Adrenaline. Drugs. That’s how vices are born. That’s how you became my obsession. You are what makes me feel alive. Like a breath of air after drowning.”
Setting my hand to his cheek, I run the pad of my finger across the grisly scars there, ones I hardly notice nowadays. “I think I’m in love with you, Lucian Blackthorne. And you don’t have to say it back to me.” I can’t be certain, because I’ve never loved a man in my life, and likewise, no man has ever spoken those words to me in return.
“Everything I’ve ever loved, truly loved, has been ripped away from me.” Brows stern, he tucks a strand of hair behind my ear. “And that scares the shit out of me, where you’re concerned.” Even the times when he’s hard and aloof, I’ve felt his care for me. I know something’s there, just like the shadows on the walls back at the manor. I don’t have to see it, or hear it, to feel it everywhere. He doesn’t have to say it.
I push up onto my tiptoes to kiss him. Glancing around the shop, I sigh. “I’m a business woman now. You know what that means?”
“You’ll be wearing skirts more often than not?”
“It means you’ll get to see my ruthless side.”