9: A game of seduction

**Tristan**

I refused to tell anyone about the encounter I had had the previous night, and as a result, had begun avoiding phone calls from my father. I'd face his wrath another day, on a day when I wasn't so completely shocked about all of what had happened. Even now, as I walked towards the giant Morningstar Advertising building, I couldn't forget those golden eyes of my mate’s. They really had a way of making me feel sick to my stomach: my palms would sweat; my heart would thud, and my throat would dry up.

"Good morning Miss Creed." Said a security guard at the biometric gates. I nodded in acknowledgement of his presence and proceeded to push forward into the place I now already considered hell. Goddess, I still had to deal with that idiot today. Just thinking about all the work he'd given me the previous day gave me a headache. No wonder the last PA of his quit.

"Hey Miss Creed!" Another colleague of mine yelled. I nodded, again in acknowledgement, and then again as more people began to recognise me. I took another turn around the corner, walked up the stairs for some of Mr Michaels' paperwork, taking care not to spill his morning coffee, which was five minutes away from being late, and then began making my way to the elevator with quick, long strides, making my heels click against the marble floors of the place.

Once inside I began to check my watch, I still had a minute or so left. I was, however not alone in the elevator.

"Tristan, was it?" London asked.

I nodded and replied with a curt, "Yes. Good morning."

"Good morning. You don't seem very... how do I put this... you seem quite robotic. You know you don't need to be so formal around me. I don't bite."

But I did. Of course, I only thought this, figuring it better to keep such words to myself. Instead, I said, "I don't know what you mean. This is how I normally act."

Startled, London stared at me with wide eyes, but could not speak any further as the doors to the lift began to open. I took my first step out of it, and immediately regretted it. The room was filled with *that* scent, that dreaded, delightful scent which had my skin now crawling. I was just about ready to get the hell back into the elevator when I realised that the doors had already closed. It now seemed that I had no choice but to face the man who'd chase me into the woods last night... wherever he was.

"Are you alright there Tristan? You look a little pale." London said from beside me.

"I... I. Is there someone from your family here?" I asked, as an attempt to stall, yes, but also as a last little reassurance to make sure that I was not, in fact, crazy.

"Well yes my-"

"TRISTAN CREED!" I heard booming from further into the office. Great, I was fucking screwed.

"You better go. My brother can be a prick if he doesn't get his morning coffee." London said, motioning for me to go to Damon's office. Not doubting her, and now more annoyed than anything, I began walking towards Mr Michaels’ office, all the while still picking up the decadent scent. What the hell was my mate doing here anyway? He didn't work here... did he? And as this thought made its way into my mind I shuddered. I didn't have time for a mate, in fact, I didn't need one. They were, as my father had said, "A waste of time. A burden." And I had enough burdens already.

My hand reached out for the doorknob ready to twist at it and to meet my doomed fate when all of a sudden, it swung open and a tall, hard body collided with mine, sending the coffee spilling onto my white shirt. The hot liquid not only burned at my skin but exposed my undergarments. Slowly I began lifting my head up, curious as to whose head I was just about to rip off. My cruel thoughts were, however, put to an immediate halt the second I met with a familiar pair of golden eyes and for a moment, I just stared at them, and they just stared back at me.

"So, it *was* you I smelled." He uttered and then his eyes began to gaze down, inspecting my coffee-stained clothing. "Nice bra." He uttered sheepishly. Immediately I brought my hands to my chest, covering it. The strange man took a step nearer, tilted his head and began to reach out toward me. But I grabbed his hand just before he could touch me and growled lowly. It was then, however, that I realised that sparks were beginning to emit from our hands, making my heart thud faster beneath my chest and my cheeks flush red. What was this peculiar feeling? It was something so painful and yet so pleasant that I found myself unable to free his hand from my grasp.

"Well, that's new." The man uttered lowly beneath his breath. I looked up at him when he said this and realised that the colour of his eyes had changed to a light shade of red and that his cheeks were flushed too. I gulped at the sight of this, his face was giving me the strangest tug at my stomach, again, a peculiar side effect of all of this, perhaps.

This little curious moment was, however, disrupted by Mr Michaels who was just about to yell at me, when he caught a glimpse of the wet state, I was in. His eyes then wandered to Lucien's hand in mine, and he stared at the both of us in confusion.

"What the hell is going on here?" He uttered. Immediately, both mine and the stranger's hands fell, and I gazed up, not sure how to answer.

"I... well... um I accidentally knocked into this young woman. I'm afraid I made her spill your coffee. I'll go help her out!" He said hurriedly before grabbing my hand and tugging him along with him. I made no effort to struggle against him. I couldn't because if I did, I'd have to explain this all to Mr Michaels, and I honestly didn't feel like exposing the fact that I was not only his relative's mate but had also snuck into his house the previous night. On that note, I'd have to *make* this man who was dragging me off to who knows where swear to keep the fact that he'd met me last night a secret. Perhaps threatening would work?

We rounded another corner, passed a few more doors and then finally, my mate stopped in front of a random office door, tugged at the doorknob and led us both inside. The office, I noticed was vacant, and I stared around it curiously. The only thing inside was a desk and a chair- a rather uncomfortable chair.

"This," the handsome young man began, "is my office. Well, it will be my 'temporary' office while I work here, alongside my brother."

"Brother?" It was the first word I'd uttered to him, and it came out in a startled whisper. Damon's brother was my mate? All hell was clearly breaking loose in my life and now it seemed that my task would be that much harder with this strange man already so invested in destroying everything. First, he robbed me of my opportunity to spy on Mr Michaels, and now, he had ruined my shirt, not to mention just being around him made me terribly ill.

The handsome man's eyes widened, and then he said, "Your voice is much more soothing and softer than I thought it would have been. Tristan, was it?"

I arched a brow, folded my arms again, aware that he was still staring at my wet shirt and then nodded.

"Well, I think it's time I introduce myself. My name, Love, is Lucien." He said confidently.

"Lucien." I tested his name on my tongue and he smiled the moment it left my mouth, making my heart thud even harder. What the hell was this feeling?

"Yes," he began nearing me, "Lucien." Within a few moments, he was right in front of me, staring at me, analysing me from head to toe. I took the time to analyse him as well. He was well-built and dashingly handsome but in a different way than Damon was. Lucien's handsomeness seemed to be designed to want to catch the attention of others. It was striking beauty aimed at attracting and luring in. It was actually quite strange to believe that such beauty could exist in one family. The Michaelses were perhaps the most aesthetically pleasing to look at, but it was clear their personalities were beyond awful. Lucien, his flirty and forward self being no exception.

Lucien then leaned down towards me, and his eyes widened slightly. “You smell so… different. Unlike any other she-wolf I’ve ever met.”

Afraid that he’d read more into it, I took another step back. He chuckled when he saw this and then asked, "Trying to escape are we? You are really such a peculiar woman. Most women find me so irresistible that they fight over my attention, but you seem to want to ignore it. What, are you afraid you won't be able to handle it, to handle me?"

And this made me stop. This behaviour I was portraying was absolutely illogical. I needed to stand my ground and ignore the searing sensations he was giving me.

"I'm sorry, but I don't recall inviting you into my personal space." I uttered, reaching out and placing my hands on his shoulders to keep him away from me. He smirked, feeling the tingling sensations of me touching him, beneath the fabric of his shirt.

"I think it's you who is entering my personal space, Love."

"Don't call me that," I retorted.

Lucien then pushed my hands away and wrapped his arm around my torso, bringing me right against his chest. The heat and electric pulses between the both of us was unbelievable and it was then that I began to understand. These physical feelings were nothing, but our mate bond and I had the right mind to sever it, but according to what I'd heard, rejection took its toll on one's body, and with mine already significantly impaired on several occasions, I decided against the idea, at least not until I consulted with my father.

Lucien then reached out and lifted my chin up with his fingertips, allowing me to stare up directly into his honey eyes.

"It's so strange. Every inch of me is attracted towards you physically, more than I’ve ever been physically attracted to anyone. I practically want to rip your clothes off and take you right here, right now. However, when I look at you, I can't seem to muster up anything other than lust and desire. Shouldn't there be more than just this physical connection?"

"What were you expecting, to fall in love?" I asked sarcastically.

"Yes." He uttered, leaving me quite speechless. Love? How could two people who had just met fall in love?

"I expected to fall in love with you the moment I laid eyes on you. I must, however, admit that you are quite beautiful. In fact, you have to be the most beautiful woman I have ever seen. It's quite disappointing."

"Disappointing!" I hissed, now angered for no good reason.

Lucien nodded, but still kept me close to him. And then again, his eyes trailed down to my shirt and his hands moved up towards the clip of my bra and immediately I tensed up.

Lucien then leaned in swiftly, bringing his lips just inches away from mine, making me gulp involuntarily, and shake in a sort of thrilling excitement. In fact, my whole body shook now in his touch, and I found y palms sweating and my heart thudding loudly against my chest. My body was beginning to betray me by reacting to Lucien.

"I can smell your lust, Love. It's lingering in the air, enticing me to touch you like this-" his left hand then moved down towards my leg and then gripped at my thigh sending soft sparks against the surface of my skin. His hands gently slid up my thigh, pushing my skirt further up my leg and I bit back a moan at the decadently delicious feeling his fingers gave me.

Lucien then smirked mischievously at me and bit at his perfect lower lip leaving me absolutely entranced by him. "There's nothing I love more than playing games, and I so desperately want to play one with you, Love. A dirty, naughty Game of Seduction." As he said this, his lips made their way to my neck and he began leaving soft kisses, making me clutch onto him. His lips then caressed against my jaw and were just about to reach my lips when all the warning signs finally went off in my mind and I pushed at him, trying my best to get away from his touches.

"N-no!" I stuttered out, still flustered, "stay away from me!"

Lucien arched a brow and suddenly his eyes began turning into a bright shade of red, and a low growl ripped from his chest. "I'm sorry, I don't follow commands, Love. I give them." And it then became apparent that I wasn't the only one high on lust.

Desperate not to be touched by him again- all logic went out the window when his hands were involved- I backed away from him slowly until I felt the surface of the hard door collide with my back. It was then that a brilliant little idea formed in my head. I waited for him to come closer before I opened the door, slipped outside and then swung it into his face, knocking him to the ground. This simple little trick of mine did the job of snapping Lucien out of his lust-crazed daze and when it did, he was livid.

"What the fuck! You broke my nose!" He yelled. I peeked over the opening between the door and doorpost and found myself staring down at Lucien who clutched at his bloodied nose. The sight was quite humorous to behold and inside my head I was doing that thing that most people did in funny situations. What was it again... oh yes, laughing!

"You bitch!" He uttered, getting himself up off of the ground. As he did so, he began spilling blood all over his white shirt- karma, was it?

"It's not my fault you can't keep your hands to yourself!" I yelled.

Lucien tugged at the bridge of his nose, making a loud crackling sound and then he grunted before looking back up at me. "Damn it! All I wanted to do was ask you if perhaps you'd like to get to know me better-"

"-In bed?" I retorted.

Lucien sighed, but did not deny it. "You're a real piece of work. Nonetheless, the offer still stands."

I scoffed before uttering a very loud, "No."

His face fell immediately, and he began storming up towards me and once again, I swung the door at him. This time, however, I missed, but Lucien still stayed where he was, clearly not up for another broken nose. "Come on. Who knows, we might grow to fall in love with each other."

"Please, do you hear yourself? Only fools fall in love. You're my mate and I'm yours, that's where this all ends. There will be no feelings and definitely no love."

"Fine then, I guess I'll just tell my brother that you were sneaking around his house last night." He said.

Immediately when he said this, my eyes widened, and my breath hitched. Lucien picked up my distress and smirked evilly. "Oh, you thought I forgot. You are one suspicious little thing, Love. So why don't you accept my offer, and I won't say a thing?"

"I-"

But just before I could answer, Damon's voice boomed against the walls of the corridor outside of the office and I knew then that I was in a whole new kind of trouble, once again, thanks to Lucien.