Chapter 34: Is this a gift?
Ruelle awoke to the warmth of the couch, the softness beneath her far better than anything she had known in years. The air in the room was still, but there was a faint sound—a rhythmic shuffling that made her blink away the last remnants of sleep.
Lucian was already awake.
When she dared to glance in his direction, all she could see at first was his tall frame silhouette against the faint glow of early dawn. The dim light filtered through the heavy curtains, casting his form in shadow. For a moment, she thought he was simply standing there, but as her eyes adjusted, she noticed the fluid, controlled movement of his body.
He was working out.
Leaning forward, Lucian’s hands pressed against the stone floor as he moved through a series of pushups. His muscles flexed and stretched with each movement. His shirt clung to him, slightly damp as if he had been working for a while now, and Ruelle could see the faint sheen of sweat glistening on his skin. He had clearly been at this for a while, his body working with a silent intensity that matched the quiet of the room.
The room was quiet, save for the soft sound of his controlled breathing, the rise and fall of his body, and the occasional scrape of his boots against the floor as he shifted to a different exercise.
Ruelle’s gaze lingered on him longer than it should have. He was handsome in that cold, untouchable way—his features sharp, his presence commanding, as if he existed on a different plane from everyone else. His dark hair, slightly tousled from his workout, framed his face perfectly, drawing attention to the hard lines of his jaw and the slight furrow of concentration in his brow.
But it wasn’t just his looks that made Ruelle’s heart race—it was the aura of danger that seemed to radiate from him. Every movement, every glance, held a quiet, lethal power. He wasn’t just strong. He was controlled, disciplined, as if he had spent his whole life honing himself into something... formidable.
She shifted, trying to sit up quietly so as not to disturb him, but her foot caught the edge of the blanket. Before she could catch herself, she tumbled to the ground with a dull thud. The sound was deafening in the stillness of the room, and her eyes darted to Lucian.