Light.

Yes, this was the first thing that the young lady saw when she opened her eyes.

Everything was completely illuminated as if it wasn’t the middle of the night. In fact, she was quite certain it was brighter than the daylight as well!

Blinking, she tried to adjust to the sudden change in light exposure, a headache slamming into the back of her head like a bag of stones.

A cool hand against her temple made the headache immediately stop and the black fingers curved themselves in a position to partially block some of the light, giving her a few more moments to adjust.

“Thank you,” she murmured in sincere relief.

“Of course,” came the deep, familiar voice’s reply.

With her eyes adjusting, the young woman started to turn her head to take in the place Luther had brought them. But the black man’s firm grip at her chin forced her gaze to stay on him. The look in his gold eyes was quite intense, causing her stomach to twist with more nerves. Licking her dry lips, she waited for him to say what he needed to.

“I have come up with your name,” he started.

A swarm of butterflies took flight in her stomach as she waited, nodding her head slightly to show him that she understood. Her pale gaze was glued to his lips, waiting to hear what name he would grace her with eagerly.

“...Lucia,” he nearly whispered, his handsome face softening. “Lucia,” he called out gently, moving his hands to cup her face as he gazed down at her. “I’ll let you keep your family’s name, for now. Your name will be Lucia Castell from now until you and I are joined.”

A wave of tender, warm light washed over all of her senses.

>Lucia Castell<

The words imprinted themselves inside her heart and soul, making her body feel light and hot all at once. Fainting, she swayed forward while Luther kept her from falling as the Name nestled inside her being.

A few minutes later, once Lucia had regained her consciousness, she stared up at Luther’s dark face with a bewildered expression of joy.

For just a brief moment of time, warmth and excitement had taken over her mind and heart at the sight of him.

While Lucia had never personally experienced it, it had felt like how the supposed ‘love-at-first-sight’ was described in the novels young noblewomen loved to secretly read and daydream about. Knowing, all the while, that it could never truly happen.

The cynical side of herself had always thought it was foolish and a waste of time. But the more human side hadn’t been able to completely squash her desires, so she had read a few of those books herself.

Realizing she was acting out of line, Lucia quickly schooled her features and stepped back to place space between Luther and herself. “Apologies, my lord.”

“...I prefer for you to speak to me informally,” Luther muttered. His expression was twisted in bitter disgust. “No need for any of that ‘my lord’ business. Call me Luther,” he requested firmly. “I like the sound of your voice saying my name. It sends shivers down my spine,” he suddenly grinned wickedly.

Blushing in disbelief, Lucia gaped at the dark man in exasperation. He merely smiled in return, an expression of delight dancing over his handsome features.

Stuttering a bit, since he’d called her out on the spot, Lucia begrudgingly gave in. “Al, alright...L, Luther.”

White teeth flashing in a smirk, Luther nodded his head sagely. “Was that so hard?” He stepped closer, a light of wicked fun taking over his golden gaze. “Say it again,” he ordered, reaching out to pull Lucia into his embrace.

“L...Luther,” she slowly repeated, gazing up at him with a plea for mercy in her blue eyes.

Licking his lips, Luther lowered his head down until they were nearly close enough to kiss. “Again,” he muttered in a harsh, husky voice.

Face flushing so badly that her ears and neck turned red, Lucia tried to avert her gaze. “Luther!” she cried out, nearly squealing in embarrassment. Her heart rate kicked up from the instinctual understanding her body had about what his tone of voice meant.

A low, throaty chuckle brushed over her face, causing her skin to break out in gooseflesh while her belly started to grow hot and tight. Her eyes widened with confusion as to what was happening to her body, but she didn’t have long to think about it.

“...So, since you’re eating dinner, can I stay for the show?”

A feminine voice broke apart the hot and heavy atmosphere that had fallen over the couple.

Jerking out of Luther’s embrace, Lucia let out a breath of relief.

Sighing in annoyance that his fun had been cut short, Luther turned to look at the intruder. “Thanks a lot,” he muttered darkly. “I’ll make sure to remember this.”