Chapter 10 Today Is Not the Time for Flirting
Lia darted across the street.
Lukas’s expression darkened, but before he could scold her recklessness, she threw herself against him, wrapping her arms tight around his waist and pinning him against the car door.
He looked down at the head buried in his chest. His irritation softened. He touched her hair gently. “Who upset you?”
“No one.”
Her muffled voice vibrated through his shirt, her breath slipping through the gap in his buttons, warm against his chest.
She lifted her head. She hadn’t cried back in the villa. Not when she stood against her family, not even when she unearthed her mother’s ring. But now, seeing Lukas, her eyes brimmed over.
She clung to him like a child who had finally found a parent after being lost too long—aching, dependent, desperate for comfort.
“I feel so miserable,” she whispered, her voice trembling.
Lukas frowned slightly. “What’s wrong? Tell me.”
“I just feel terrible. Only you can make me feel better… just hold me.”
He sighed. His hands had been on her since the moment she ran to him. “How do you want me to hold you?”
“Like this.” She tightened her arms around his neck. Then she lifted her legs and wrapped them around his waist, clinging like an octopus.
“Lukas, I can’t hold on anymore,” she pouted, looking for all the world like a spoiled child denied her candy.
Dazed but steady, Lukas gathered her into his arms, carried her into the car, and never once let her go.
In the driver’s seat, Erik silently raised the partition. His thought was simple: I value my life. I didn’t see anything.
“Did you get it?” Lukas asked.
“Yes.” Lia pulled the ring from her pocket and held it up. “It’s my mother’s. I had to take it back.”
She said nothing of what it truly meant—or of the shadowy people connected to it. She only knew that in her past life, they had appeared whenever she was in danger. But she never learned how to summon them.
For now, the ring alone wasn’t enough.
If Lukas noticed it, he might recognize something. That thought panicked her. She closed her fist tightly over the ring and looked up cautiously.
“Can I keep it?” she asked, almost timid.
Her uncharacteristic softness intrigued him. Before, she had treated his presence like poison, throwing things and hurting herself if he came near. Never this close. Never like this.
Everything about her had changed since that night.
“Keep it,” Lukas said.
Her face lit up. “Thanks!”
By the time they returned home, dinner was ready. Afterward, Lukas met in the study with his assistant Ober Dunkels and the company’s financial director, Moritz Fleisch.
Lia retreated to her room, played a game, then went to wash up.
A piercing scream shattered the quiet.
In the study, Ober and Moritz froze. When they turned back, Lukas was already gone.
He stormed upstairs in two strides. Through the frosted glass of the bathroom, he saw Lia’s frantic silhouette.
The doorknob rattled under his hand—it was locked. “Lia, open the door.”
“Is that you, Lukas? The pipe burst—I can’t stop it!”
“Open the door first.”
“Oh—okay!”
In her panic, she aimed for the handle but instead kicked it clean off. The lock shattered. Oh no. Too strong again.
The door flew open. Lukas filled the doorway, his gaze sweeping over her.
She spun back toward the tub, fumbling with the faucet. Her towel was already soaked, clinging to her skin.
For a moment, Lukas froze. His eyes darkened. Then he strode forward, pulled her gently behind him, and opened a hidden cabinet to shut off the water supply.
“I’m sorry,” Lia murmured, cheeks flushed, voice small and guilty. “I don’t know why it broke…”
In truth, she had been distracted—wondering how to bridge the distance between them. In her past life, she had hated him so much she wished him dead. The closest they had ever stood was two steps apart.
Now, she was the one who wanted closeness.
Lukas straightened, about to leave.
“Don’t move,” he ordered when she shifted.
She froze instantly.
Rolling up his sleeves, he knelt by the tub, calm and efficient, swapping out the spare faucet.
When he finished, he glanced at her again—at the way she clutched her bathrobe tight over her chest. “Take another shower. It’s fixed now.”
He turned for the door.
But Lia’s heart lurched. Without thinking, she stepped sideways, blocking his path. She grabbed his arm, pressed her damp body against him, and pushed him gently back against the wall.
Her eyes shimmered with anticipation. “Are you sure it won’t break again? What if it does? Can I use your bathroom next time?”
He appeared calm. But as she turned her face away, he rested a hand on her waist. Slowly. Firmly. As though he had no intention of letting go.
His gaze locked on hers, dark and steady. The faintest glimmer burned deep within.
Her pulse raced. Her confidence wavered.
Maybe tonight wasn’t the right time to seduce him.
She knew his temper. Once provoked, he was more terrifying than a demon.
