"Lucas…" Claire wanted to tell him that she really didn't mind. What bothered her more was seeing him in so much pain—it made her heart ache.
Lucas Zeller stared at her, noticing the concern in her eyes, and felt his chest tighten. Ugh, she still thought there was something wrong with him! Fine. He had to take that call and clear his head before proving himself.
With that thought, he abruptly sat up and walked to answer the phone, completely unclothed. He didn't seem to care that Claire could see him fully exposed. In fact, as he moved, she suddenly felt something strange between her legs—something hot, pressing against her. And it definitely wasn't just his body.
The realization startled her. Wait… wasn't he supposed to have ED? But just now... did he... did he get hard? Oh my god, no, stop thinking about that! This is so embarrassing! How could her mind be so dirty?! She wanted to fast-forward this entire moment, hiding under the covers, her face burning red with shame. But then Lucas's voice broke the silence, and she remembered he was on the phone.
"...When?"
"..."
"You'll be back in a few days? How many exactly?"
"..."
"They're not coming back? So it's just you?"
"..."
"Alright. Yeah, you definitely interrupted something… Goodnight. No more nonsense. I need to sleep."
Claire heard his footsteps approaching, and her heart raced so fast it felt like it would burst out of her chest.
This was so awkward. What was going to happen next? Would it be like earlier or…
"Are you not suffocating under those covers?" His deep, soothing voice came from above her. Suddenly, the dim room brightened as he lifted the corner of the blanket. Claire blinked and saw that he had already put on his pajamas. But why was he still looking down at her like that?
Confused, she followed his gaze and immediately turned beet red. Oh no! She was still completely naked! She quickly yanked the blanket from his hand, covering herself back up.
Lucas raised an amused eyebrow, his dark eyes twinkling with interest.
He had seen and touched every inch of her, yet she was still so shy. It was… just too cute.
Maybe, he thought, liking her wasn't such a bad thing after all.
"Your pajamas are outside the blanket," Lucas said, his tone lighter as he placed her cartoon pajamas on top of the covers. "Be careful not to hurt your wound while putting them on." Then, without another word, he walked around the bed and lay down on his side, his back to her.
It took a long time before Claire finally mustered the courage to emerge from under the blanket. Sure enough, her pajamas were right where he had left them.
She put them on quickly and, like usual, lay down beside him, back to back. But she couldn't sleep. Her eyes were wide open, her thoughts racing. Every time she remembered the way his hand had felt on her skin, she shivered. The warmth of his touch lingered, making it impossible to relax. And then there were the questions swirling in her mind, unanswered and refusing to go away.
Please, don't judge her for having such dirty thoughts! She just couldn't understand how Lucas, someone who supposedly had ED, had... gotten hard? Earlier, even though they hadn't gone that far, she had definitely felt something. But then, after the phone call, he didn't seem to care anymore. Was it some kind of temporary condition? Ugh, thinking about it was giving her a headache!
Frustrated, Claire rolled over and accidentally bumped her nose against his back. She let out a small yelp of pain.
"Lucas… are you asleep?" she asked, staring at his back.
Silence.
"Did you fall asleep that fast?" she muttered, disappointed. Her body moved on its own, her arms and legs wrapping around his waist and thighs. "I still wanted to ask you some things… It's so annoying… Why did you ignore me after that phone call?" She pouted, mumbling to herself. Moments ago, everything had been so heated, and then just like that, after one phone call, he cooled off completely.
This man really changed moods faster than the weather. Ugh! Why couldn't she sleep? Why was it so hard to fall asleep? She must have reached her hundredth thought before sleep finally overtook her.
Once Lucas heard her breathing even out, he knew she was finally asleep. Only then did he shift, gently pulling her limbs off him and turning to face her. His strong arms possessively wrapped around her, drawing her close.
"It's not that I don't want you," he whispered softly. "It's that I can't right now. If I let myself go, the fire will burn out of control."
After realizing how much he liked her—and especially after what just happened—his feelings for her were no longer as simple as before. He had never imagined his body would react to her so strongly. Sure, men could separate emotions from physical desire, but now he knew for certain—after what happened with Lulu at the bar—he wasn't unaffected by other women because of anything physical. It was because Claire had already taken root in his heart. She was the reason he felt no attraction toward anyone else.
The heated moment they'd shared earlier still burned vividly in his mind. The tension in his body hadn't fully subsided, and he was aroused again before he could even stop himself.
This side of himself felt so unfamiliar, like a wild animal lurking beneath the surface, waiting to break free and devour her. If it hadn't been for that phone call reminding him that now wasn't the right time, he might have…
Suddenly, a soft kiss landed on his lips, snapping him out of his thoughts. Surprised, he looked over to see Claire smiling in her sleep, her lips curving into a sweet, satisfied grin, as if she had just received the most precious gift.
Even in her dreams, she managed to sneak a kiss from him. This girl… maybe she really did like him after all. The rumors at the office about her having a secret crush on him might just be true.
Smiling to himself, Lucas leaned down and stole a gentle kiss from her lips before pulling her closer and drifting off to sleep.
Sure! Let's proceed with translating and slightly expanding on the scene to ensure that the flow fits well with the existing story. Here's the translated and adapted section: