Heartless Prince by Brook Wilder

 

Chapter 43

Leda

 

I pushed the plate away and groaned, rubbing my completely full stomach. “I’m going to be sick if I keep eating.”

 

Lucas chuckled lightly as he leaned back in his chair, his eyes on me. “You liked it?”

 

I winced. “Far too much, I’m afraid. You might have to roll me out of here.”

 

“I don’t know, I think they might ask you to stay,” he replied, standing. “I’m going to go and settle the bill.”

 

I watched Lucas walk away, my heart sighing in contentment. Never would I have thought he would be like this. He seemed to genuinely care for this old couple, and the way they had interacted with him—with their own pet name for him—told me that they reciprocated the way he felt.

 

Which meant he couldn’t be this heartless Don with a chip on his shoulder all the time.

 

Tonight, I saw a side of Lucas that probably wasn’t brought out much, if ever. It was a side that I wanted desperately to hang onto. If he could be open and sincere with the Wongs, then he could be with me as well.

 

Whatever this was between us could be more than just awesome hot sex.

 

I was alone in this restaurant, with Lucas in the kitchen talking with the Wongs, I had a clear path out. Any other person in my shoes would have already run for the door by now. But he didn’t seem worried about me leaving, and honestly, I wasn’t either.

 

I no longer wanted to escape. I hadn’t been lying to him on the yacht. I was—well, I felt happy, and it terrified me to be happy with someone like him.

 

He was going to break my heart. I already knew that. Whatever he was playing up to with his sudden and drastic change wasn’t going to last forever.

 

Won’t it? I asked myself.

 

Was he testing the waters to see if he could let down his guard around me? Maybe he thought I was some sort of spy for my father, and once he realized how much I hated my father, he started to relax.

 

Or maybe I had punched through some sort of walls to him and earned his trust. He certainly wanted mine. He had said as much on the boat, and while I had told him I trusted him, I didn’t.

 

Not completely.

 

Not until I could figure out what drove him.

 

Lucas returned, but this time the couple was trailing behind him, carrying a few boxes. “Food for later,” Ruhua said, as she shoved them at me.

 

“Take them.” She said in English for my convenience. “Stubborn man won’t.”

 

I took them, mainly because she frightened me a bit, and stood up. “Thank you so much for the lovely dinner,” I told them both. “It was delicious.”

 

The little woman smiled and, in the same breath, socked Lucas in the arm. “Bring her back, or else you no longer eat here.”

 

I muffled a laugh as he peered down at her. “What happened to my free food for a year?”

 

She huffed. “Only if she’s with you.”

 

Lucas just shook his head as he took the boxes from me. “Fine. I will bring her back.”

 

My heart warmed at the thought. Was he thinking something more, well, permanent between us? This was a much better setup than I could have dreamed of on the day that my father had me dragged away for marriage.

 

Was I misreading this all? Was he not interested in anything long term?

 

What if it was just the here and now? The thought didn’t sit well with me. I didn’t want to be just the instrument of his revenge. I wanted him to care about me as Leda, not as Carmine’s daughter or any other motive he had in his mind.

 

I wanted Lucas to let me into his world, to move the darkness that surrounded him and bring something special into his life.

 

I wanted to be his personal heaven.

 

We said our goodbyes and climbed into the car, but instead of pointing it back to the yacht, we ventured further into the city. “Where are we going?” I asked as familiar buildings passed by. We were only a few blocks from Nico’s penthouse, and I longed to see my brother, to let him know that I was okay.

 

“My penthouse,” he said, tapping his long fingers on his thigh as he stared out of the window. I bit my lip and did the same, wondering what sort of fresh hell would await me there. Was that where he was going to turn me loose? Was that why he was bringing me into the city? Had he figured out who my father was going to give me to, and now that he had had his fill of me, he was going to turn me over to another sort of future?

 

My heart hammered against my rib cage as the car pulled up to a building not far from the Flatiron District, his guard helping me out and onto the nearly empty sidewalk.

 

“This way,” Lucas said near my ear, his hand on my lower back as he led me into the lobby. The building itself was old, and I watched as he swiped a card from his pocket against the elevator button, having it open nearly immediately.

 

“Wait,” I stated, turning to face him. “Just tell me what’s up there.” I needed to steel myself against what might be waiting and start to purge all of these feelings for Lucas at the same time.

 

He arched a brow. “Leda, I told you to trust me.”

 

Oh, I wanted to! I wanted to trust him, but I was also a D’Agostino, raised to trust no one in case they stabbed you in the back the moment they needed something else.

 

“Please,” I begged, my voice faint. “I can handle it.”

 

Really, I didn’t know if I could handle walking away from him, but I would have to. Lucas didn’t want anything long term from me.

 

Why would he? He had gotten what he wanted, and now it was time to move on.

 

Tears pricked my eyes, and his gaze narrowed. “I’m not going to let you go.”

 

I drew in a breath as the first tear spilled over, and he caught it with his thumb, brushing over my cheek lightly. “Trust me,” he said softly.

 

There was a lot of weight in his words, but what else could I do? I was his prisoner, and if he were lying to me, I would have to deal with it.

 

Even if it meant risking that he might break my heart.