Free Web NovelChapter 56: At the gala II
The party continued after the gift reveal. Mark was busy mingling with potential business partners. He hadn’t asked her about the gift yet.
Clarisse, unable to bear the snickering and the cold stares from the other women, had quietly slipped away.
Lyvana stood alone by the tall windows, a glass of champagne in her hand.
Tonight had gone better than she expected.
She had even made a few new friends.
A memory surfaced from her previous life. After the disaster gift, she had been walking towards the entrance with her head down, feeling ashamed.
Then someone — she never saw who — had stretched out a foot tripping her.
She had stumbled straight into a passing waiter.
She remembered the sound of breaking glass. She remembered the cold champagne soaking her dress.
And the sound of laughter.
The cruelest memory of all was Mark’s voice cutting through the room.
"Clumsy fool."
"You look like you’re plotting a coup," a voice whispered behind her bringing her back from her memory.
Lyvana didn’t have to turn around to know who it was. The scent of the expensive sandalwood perfume and the low, confident tone were unmistakable.
"Maybe I am," she replied turning around, a small smile playing on her lips. It was Julian, the last person she had expected to see that evening.
She wanted to throw her arms around him. She wanted to hide her face in his chest and tell him how much she had missed him. But they were in a room full of people, so she forced herself to stay still. freewebnσvel.cøm
"Surprise," he said in that cool voice.
"How long have you been here?" she asked softly.
"Long enough to see how everyone liked your gift."
Lyvana laughed. "Thank you for sending it to me."
He stepped closer, so close that she could feel the heat radiating from his body. He didn’t touch her, but his presence felt like a warm embrace.
"I would give you the world if you asked for it," Julian murmured.
He leaned in, his breath brushing against the shell of her ear.
"You look breathtaking in that dress, Lyvana," he said, his voice dropping to a rough, private tone. "It took everything in me not to walk over and take you away from here the moment I saw you."
Then he reached out and placed a hand on the small of her back. The touch sent a spark through her that made her breath catch.
"One dance," he murmured. It wasn’t a question.
He led her toward the center of the floor just as the music shifted into a slow melody. He pulled her close and wrapped his arms around her waist.
For a few minutes, they stayed in each other’s arms.
"I missed you," she whispered, her voice so low only he could hear.
Julian tightened his grip, pulling her even closer until their chests brushed.
"You have no idea how hard it was to stay away."
They swayed together, lost in each other, until the song began to fade.
A waiter approached quietly, holding out a silver tray with two chilled glass of champagne.
"Champagne?"
"Thank you," Lyvana said, picking a glass.
The waiter bowed and moved back into the crowd. She took a sip and few seconds later she froze.
A wave of dizziness hit her so hard the floor seemed to tilt. A strange, suffocating heat crawled under her skin, spreading from her chest to her fingertips.
Her breath hitched.
"Lyvana?" Julian was by her side. "You’ve gone pale."
He tilted her chin upwards and checked her eyes. "You’re drugged babe," His eyes scanned the crowd looking for the waiter. He sniffed the glass.
Euphoryl.
Julian led her out of the back area to avoid the press, then signalled to Marco. "Get rid of our exit footage and find out who that waiter is who gave Lyvana the drink."
"Done."
His black sedan arrived and he slid her into the passenger seat.
Lyvana’s head fell back against the leather seat. Her breath came in short, jagged gasps.
A sudden jolt of electricity snapped through her nerves. Her back arched slightly, and a small, broken moan escaped her lips. She felt a desperate, heavy ache deep in her bones — a hunger for his touch.
Julian’s jaw tightened. Whoever did this is dead meat.
Julian," she whispered. "What... what is happening to me?"
"Euphoryl," Julian explained. "It was in your drink. It’s an aphrodisiac, Lyvana. A lethal one."
Julian didn’t drive toward the city. Instead, the car sped towards a private pier where a white yacht sat waiting in the dark water. Its name, The Obsidian, was written in dark letters.
He had called ahead to the dock hand, ordering him to leave the boat immediately. He didn’t want anyone to see Lyvana like this — shaking and flushed from the drug.
He carried her down the stairs into the master suite. The room was large and quiet, with a massive bed covered in silk sheets. When he laid her down, the coolness of the fabric felt good for only a second before the burning heat returned.
"Julian," she gasped, her eyes fluttering open. They were dark and clouded with a hunger she couldn’t hide. "Don’t... don’t go."
"I’m right here," he said, closing his eyes for a brief second, mastering himself. Whoever had slipped that poison into her drink had known exactly what they were doing.
Euphoryl was expensive. Rare. And vicious.
Someone had intended to ruin her tonight.
He undressed her. Her skin felt feverish.
"How do I make the ache stop?" she asked.
"You can wait it out for a few hours, or you give in to it. The drug wants pleasure. If you give it what it wants, the ache will stop."
She reached up, her fingers sliding into his dark hair, and pulled him down toward her.
"Make love to me," she whispered. ƒrēewebnoѵёl.cσm
Julian’s heart hammered against his ribs, but he shook his head. "Not like this, babe. If I take you, I want to know it’s because you want me — not because you’re drugged."
Lyvana looked deep into his eyes. "There isn’t a world where I don’t want you, Julian."
She moved closer cupped his jaw, and kissed him. He tasted amazing. Then she broke the kiss, only to push him on the bed.
