A dark chuckle escaped from Lucian. "Relax. I only want to untie your hands. I'm not doing anything to you," he answered, then moved his hand to the ropes holding her hands captive.
He had already told her he wouldn't touch her because of Marlowe. Seeing her reaction now, she obviously didn't believe him. Not that he was expecting her to—or maybe he was.
"I've chased away my call girl because of you. You've hated her from the first day you heard her name, even before meeting her." His shoulders shook once more from a silent laughter. "And she is never coming back because she has breached our contract. Now, who is going to take care of my needs, huh? You owe me another call girl," he uttered, just at the same moment the ropes gave way and Serena's hands became free.
Instead of a response from her, what he received was a blinding slap on his left cheek that got him stunned for a moment. He blinked, as the stinging after effects of the slap persisted on his skin for a while.
