Chapter 17

Starlet woke up to Lucien shaking her gently. She wanted to go back to sleep, so she kept her eyes shut, groaned, and snuggled deeper into the bedding.

"Wake up sleepy head," Lucien whispered into her ear playfully.

"Go away," Star groaned out and edged away from him.

"You do that one more time and you'll fall off the bed," he warned her not bothering to lower his voice anymore.

Starlet opened her eyes to glare at him. He was right. She was at the edge of the bed and he was lying next to her. She wanted to sleep. He was wide awake shirtless. With the night they'd had she didn't care to admire the marks she'd put on his skin. She needed sleep more and he wasn't letting her have it. It was his fault she was this tired.

"I don't like you right now," she told him blandly.

"I know," he said with a mock sigh, "But we have to go home. You can sleep on the way home."

Star ignored him and closed her eyes again. She heard and felt Lucien move off the bed and sighed her satisfaction then tried to go back to sleep.

She heard the bathroom door open and heard the water running in the tub. He was running himself a bath and Star mentally pat herself on the back. She had won this one and could sleep a little more. After a few minutes, she heard the water shut off. She didn't hear him come back and yelped in surprise when the bedsheet was yanked off her and the cold air hit her skin.

Her eyes flew open when Lucien picked her up and threw her over his shoulder... In all her naked glory.

"Lucien, you idiot!" Star yelled at him, "Put me down!"

"I will," Lucien said to her as his legs ate up the distance between the bed and the bathtub.

Starlet realised where he was taking her and opened her mouth to yell threats at him but she was too late. Lucien deftly deposited her into the tub with a small splash.

Starlet spluttered and Lucien walked out of the room, leaving her furious with him. She wanted to hurt him. She sat there in the tub fuming.

"You may as well bath!" Lucien said as he peeked back into the room.

Starlet picked up the nearest thing, a towel, and threw it in his general direction. Lucien ducked out of the way and walked off giggling. Star gapped at him. She realised with a grimace that he had some of Tristian's bad traits. At least the water was warm and not freezing cold.

She took his advice and took her bath and when she got out, she was sulking.

Her husband was already dressed and waiting for her to finish up.

"Jillian brought you warm clothes to change into." Lucien nodded to the neatly placed pile on the bed.

Starlet didn't respond but changed into the indicated clothes and packed her things away into her overnight bag. She was still upset with him. She loved him but not enough to be manhandled out of her slumber. Lucien took her hand and Star shook his grip off.

"Come on you can't be that mad," Lucien tried.

"Looks like I am, doesn't it?" Star snapped at him waspishly.

Lucien looked at her consideringly and then extended his hand. Starlet made no mood to take it and her eyes shot daggers at his face and hand.

"I promise not to do it again," he said gently his gaze searching hers.

Star scrutinized his face looking for insincerities and when she was satisfied there were none she nodded and took his hand.

Lucien smiled at her and gave her a quick peck on the lips. Starlet's eyes glazed over a little and she dreamily smiled at him.

Star let her husband guide them to the roof where they found the helicopter waiting this time with the rotor blades running. Jillian was already in her seat and strapped in. The pilot opened the back door for them and they got in. The pair strapped themselves in as the pilot closed the door and then secured himself into his seat. Once he had strapped himself in, and everyone had their headsets on, the pilot fiddled with the controls and the little aircraft began to ascend.

Starlet looked outside hoping to see the whale again but there was nothing to see but boats. Starlet suppressed her disappointment when they were over land. She should have fallen asleep on the ride but she doubted she could find a comfortable spot in that harness. Even if she could, she couldn't get over the indignity of it. To her, it was too much like how babies looked in their car seats.

The helicopter landed gently on the helipad at Blade Inc. and Lucien helped Star get out. They picked up their things and went hand in hand out of the building and into the waiting car. Lucien had opted for their chauffeur to pick them up and they sat together at the back of the car.

Starlet leaned her head on Lucien's shoulder and closed her eyes. The chauffeur looked back at this in his rear-view mirror and smiled. The older Mrs Blade would be happy with this development. He smiled at the couple and hoped they would stay like this. Their past drama had not affected just them but put tension on their parents.

***

Starlet felt Lucien pick her up and she put her arms around his shoulders and clung to him. She'd fallen asleep somewhere along the way home and she was grateful he chose to not wake her up. She snuggled into him and she felt him pause and adjust his grip on her.

He carried her up the stairs and into a room where he laid her onto a bed. He moved to withdraw from her but she clung on to her neck and opened her eyes.

"What do you need?" Lucien said with humour in his eyes.

"Can you stay?" Star asked him blinking her eyes at him innocently.

"You sure?" Lucien asked softly leaning into her face.

"Just hold me till I fall asleep," Star said as she gently brushed her fingers on her cheek.

Lucien kissed her gently and leaned back.

"I wasn't going anywhere," he told her with a little smirk.

"What do you mean?" Star asked him.

"You're in my room," Lucien told her and placed a kiss on the top of her forehead then straightened up

Star leaned onto her elbows to notice he was right. Lucien grasped her foot and removed one high-heeled slipper then did the same with the other.

He then sat at the edge of the bed and removed his shoes and socks then climbed into bed behind her. He wrapped his arms around her and Star leaned into his warmth. She turned around so that her body was facing his and moved in to bury her face into his chest.

She inhaled his scent and felt her body relax and sink into the warmth that was him. She closed her eyes. She was happy. For the first time in two and a half years, she felt content. She had everything she had ever wanted. She had Lucien in her arms She laid her hand over his heart and prayed she'd get that too one day. She wanted that organ to beat for her. She would wait. She was a step closer. She could take what she had now. She hoped nothing would come and mess it over for her. Nothing with Lucien had been easy and she hoped that she was not dreaming. If it was a dream she hoped to never wake up.

***

Starlet slowly woke up and instantly felt she was alone. She reluctantly opened her eyes and was delighted to find that she was in her husband's bedroom. It hadn't been a dream. Lucien was closer to her now. She smiled and the door opened. Lucien saw that she was awake and smiled at her.

"Oh good," Lucien said as he stepped into the room with a tray in his hands.

Starlet smiled at him and sat up. She could see there was toast, jam and the smell of coffee wafted towards her from the cups on the tray.

"I don't have to call your wrath onto myself by waking you up," he walked over to her and placed the tray onto her lap.

"You'd do that by not feeding me," Starlet said and her stomach rumbled. She was hungry.

Lucien grinned and plucked a piece of toast from the tray and put some jam onto it then offered it to his wife's lips. Star smiled at him and then took a bite. Lucien took a bite of that toast, picked up the second coffee cup on the tray and walked off.

"Where are you going with my toast?!" Star asked.

"Who said it was yours?" Lucien asked as he paused at the door. "Jam your own. I'm going to get some work done and after that, I'll be all yours." He winked at her and left the room.

Star knew she was blushing as she picked up a piece of toast and put it into her mouth.

When she was done with her meal, Star checked the time on her phone to discover it was just an hour before noon. She resisted the urge to call her friends and update them about her relationship. She got out of bed and went down to her studio. She fished out painting supplies she hadn't used in a very long time and began to draw on an A2-sized canvas.

It was hours later when Lucien walked into the room and she was putting some finishing touches onto her work.

"You are done?" she asked him glancing out the window to the sky that told her nothing about the time. It had been cloudy the whole day.

"Yes, I am for the day," Lucien told her as he wrapped his arms around her waist from behind.

Star swatted at him with her free hand and he let go.

"Too busy for me?" he pouted as he studied her painting.

It was a painting of an angel in white flying with a limp woman in his arms his head bent over her in a way that was sad.

"You don't paint a lot," he observed as Star stepped away from the canvas and examined it.

"I prefer clay," she said as she nodded to herself. The painting came out better than she expected.

She collected her brushes, took them to the sink, and began washing them. Lucien kept examining the painting and he was seeing something. The woman in the angel's arms looked suspiciously like herself and the angel's face was hidden by a curtain of hair that was the same shade as his own.

"What inspired this one?" he asked her and she shrugged.

"Nothing in particular," she said with her back to him. She had just drawn it not expecting him or anyone but herself to see it.

"I didn't want to get into my clay and I wanted to create something." She explained to him.

"The painting just came out like that." She put her brushes on a drying rack and got a towel to wipe her hands.

"You don't usually finish work this early," she changed the subject and he smiled at her.

"You want to get rid of me already?" Lucien asked and she grinned at him.

"You fed me, so you're safe." She said referring to the breakfast in bed.

"You want to go out for dinner tonight?" Lucien asked.

"Where?" Star asked and he mentioned a fancy French place that was hard to get into.

"Who are you bribing to get in?" she teased.

"The owner is a friend's cousin," Lucien told her shamelessly and she laughed.

"Well?" he asked as he invaded her personal space and pressed his forehead to hers.

"Okay." Star agreed and then realised it meant she had to dress up. She drew away from him.

"What time are we going?" she asked him.

"You set the time and I'll get it done," he replied.

Star thought about it and decided she wanted a proper date.

"How about," she slung her arms around his neck, "We go to movies first and then we go to dinner."

"No problem," he said and gently dropped kisses on her lips, nose, between her brows and forehead.

He drew back looked at her and then as if he couldn't resist, he leaned in and thoroughly kissed her on the lips and drew back.

"I'll go make the necessary arrangements." He told her huskily and walked out of the room.

Star took a moment to compose herself then ran off to her room to get ready. She realised they didn't discuss what time they were going out so she took out her phone and sent him a quick text.

What time are we going out?

She set her phone on her dressing table and a second later it buzzed moving slightly from the vibration. She picked up the phone and smiled when she saw it was from him.

We can have dinner at 7:30 and catch a movie after.

She preferred to watch a movie first but she understood that the restaurant might not have an open spot after whatever film they chose to watch was done.

OK. :-)

She texted back and set on to getting ready she had two hours to get ready. She went into the bath and drew a bath. She dropped a scented bath bomb and some oils into the water. She would treasure every moment and treat this like their first date.

***

Starlet walked downstairs to her husband and she blushed when he whispered into her ear what he wanted to do to her later.

They got a chauffeur to drive them to the restaurant. The hostess greeted Lucien by name and the two acted like old friends. Something about the familiarity didn't sit well with Star. The woman was nice enough to Star but she sensed there was something under the surface.

Star shook off the dark cloud forming in her thoughts and focused on her husband. He was holding her hand in his and stroking it gently with her thumb as they walked to their table. He let go of her hand only when they got to their table. He drew a chair for her and bent down to kiss her cheek from behind before going to his side of the table.

A waiter came to ask for their order. Lucien ordered duck as the main course for both of them. They ate while flirting with each other. When dessert rolled in Lucien stole half of Star's cake and she retaliated by taking some of his crème brulee.

Starlet decided to use the bathroom before going to the theatre. She stepped away from the table and Lucien told her he would wait for her by the exit.

When she got out of the toilet stall, she was surprised to see the hostess there.

She gave the woman a little smile and moved to wash her hands.

"Congratulations, you have successfully trapped him." The woman said mockingly.

"What?" Star looked up at the woman through the mirror.

"How does it feel to have his body and not his heart?"

"What is this about?" Star asked.

"You trapped him," the hostess said her tone going cold. "He can treat you with affection like a dog to its master, but he can never truly love you."

The woman walked out of the washroom and left Star standing there, reeling.

Who the hell was this woman and what was this about?