Chapter 22
22
CELIA
I ’d found the camera long before Luca came home.
I caught sight of the car’s lights, winding up the road through the tombstones until it reached the house. At first, my heart froze in panic at the sight of the car. For the thousandth time, I began to rehearse my spiel for if my father caught me.
Then I saw Luca driving, and I relaxed, letting my forehead rest against the glass. Just for a heartbeat, because I had work to do.
I went to the bed, slipping beneath the sheets, and silently kept track of time in my mind as best I could. I imagined how long it would take Luca to enter the house. Would he go to wherever he could watch me from first, to check in on me? Or would he come here in person?
Either way, when enough time had passed that I imagined Luca was on his way to me.
I slipped my hand between my thighs and began to stroke through my folds. I imagined Luca, which was no hardship. Hell, after a heartbeat, I found myself imagining Luca and Dante. Ever since Dante soothed me during my panic attack, I’d been thinking of him. I could imagine myself pinned between them, with Luca’s strong fingers pressing urgently against my clit, with Dante’s mouth kissing and teasing my throat.
Gabriel rose to my mind, too, and the way I had felt pinned between him and Luca…until I remembered what he had done to David. For a moment, anger overwhelmed my lust, and I tried to push Gabriel out of my mind.
It wasn’t hard to lose myself in my daydreams.
But I didn’t lose myself completely.
“Luca,” I murmured as I began to thrash in the throes of my orgasm. I threw the blanket off myself, my hips bucking as I called his name.
It was a real orgasm, but it had a lot of dramatic flair that wasn’t truly necessary.
When there was a rattle at the lock outside my room, I turned my face into the pillow to hide my grin from the camera.
Luca was easy.
As he entered the room, I flew out of bed and ran to wrap myself in the towel I’d left on the chair beside it. I turned to him with my lips parted and eyes wide, full of fear. Part of my emotion was genuine—in case it wasn’t Luca entering—but then I saw his broad shoulders, his dark hair over that handsome face.
“Luca,” I stammered. “What are you doing?”
He arched perfect eyebrows. “You didn’t call me?”
“I—oh…” I shook my head. The way he was looking at me made me blush, as if I were something he wanted to eat.
“I’m sorry,” he said with an easy smile. “I was walking down the hallway, and I could’ve sworn I heard you calling my name.”
“I wasn’t.” I tried to anchor the towel more firmly around my breasts, without much success.
“Do you want something, starlight?” He let the question linger, then asked, “Are you hungry?”
“Yes.” I’d found a carafe of water and a glass on the nightstand, and a mini-fridge of my favorite drinks concealed in the closet. But I hadn’t eaten. And I needed an opportunity to seduce Luca.
Luca seemed like he should be very willing to be seduced.
But I didn’t really know how to get started.
I’d spent most of my life trying to avoid the attention of dangerous men. It felt reckless to try to gain it…and given how worthless Royal and my father had made me feel, it seemed arrogant, too. What if I was only imagining the way Luca seemed to look at me? What if he was playing his own game with me, and his seeming desire for me was just another con?
He held out his arm to me and gave me a smile that didn’t hide how weary he was. “Come on, starlight.”
“Why do you call me starlight?” I headed toward him, noticing how when he raised his arm that way, the drape of his jacket pulled tight to reveal the outline of the gun he carried. How was it holstered? Would I be able to get it out of the holster quickly enough—before Luca could reach me with his bare hands?
“ Princess is overused.”
“So do you call a lot of girls starlight?” My voice was light.
“No.”
When he opened the door, I caught a glimpse of the hallway beyond, and I catalogued as much as I could in the flash before he said, “I don’t think so.”
The next thing I knew, he caught me up in his arms again. I breathed in the crisp scent of his cologne, feeling the hard planes of his muscles against mine, the way his bicep flexed against my back. I looped my arm around his neck, laying my head against his shoulder, and closed my eyes.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
We’d see if he felt that way once I had his gun in my hands.
He turned his face and pressed a kiss to my forehead. His lips were soft, dry, and it was a nice feeling, although I wasn’t sure why he kissed me like that…as if he were pretending we were boyfriend and girlfriend instead of captor and captive.
Still, sometimes it was nice to pretend.
He carried me down the stairs—I could tell by the way his body moved against mine—and then as we were entering the kitchen, I breathed in the scent of fresh-cooked bacon and of brownies. I opened my eyes as he set me gently down on my feet.
He obviously hadn’t prepared the food that was laid out, but the table was set with BLT sandwiches, tomato soup, and fresh-baked brownies.
“I thought you might be hungry.”
“Is it a magic house that gins up whatever food I’d like?”
“Yes.”
“I thought so, because BLTs happen to be my favorite sandwich in the world.” I bit into one.
I could seduce him after I ate. Sometimes, a girl had priorities.
He watched me eat with a faint smile on his face as if he liked the sight.
It made me self conscious, though. “Don’t you want to eat? And also, don’t you want to tell me more about what’s going on with my father?”
He scoffed. “Talking about your father kills my appetite. What a fucking prick.”
“What did he do?” I put down my sandwich. Mal Carmichael obviously had the same effect on me.
“He’s too stupid to see what’s right in front of his face. Which is a good thing for us, given what we’ve both done.”
I leaned forward. “What are you talking about? And…do you know what happened to the other girl from the club?” I wanted to poke around the edges of his knowledge, curious if he thought I was plotting alone or if he knew my girls were involved.
“You’re so concerned about your worst enemy.” He leaned his chin on his hand, studying me with faintly narrowed eyes.
“Moriah is hardly my worst enemy. She’s just annoying. But we have spent quite a bit of time together in the daughters’ lounge?—”
“Plotting,” he interjected.
I shook my head. “Why do you think that?”
He pulled a nondescript gray Android phone out of his pocket, and my heart flip-flopped.
It was the same phone Moriah had slipped to me that night in the club. I’d left it in my bedroom…
Come to think of it, I’d left it hidden in my bedroom, with the battery popped out and the phone wrapped in my…favorite band t-shirt. I glanced down at the tee, which I was wearing again now.
“What did you do?”
“I think the question is what did you do, and more interestingly, what were you going to do?”
All he needed to do was show my father that phone and I was a dead woman.
Unless I killed him first.
He tossed it in his hand, then slipped it into his pocket again. I had to warn Moriah.
“You and your girlfriends are plotting a coup.” He made a tsk-tsk sound, then said, “Those men were stupid to leave you alone together. You really managed to convince your father and Royal that you’re an empty-headed idiot, didn’t you?”
“They were very eager to be convinced,” I told him, and a shadow crossed his handsome features.
“I don’t like how they insult you,” he said.
“Neither do I. Hence the coup.”
“You’re going to get yourself killed, little girl.”
“I don’t think so…and I’m not a little girl.” I slipped out of my chair, trying to move gracefully. I banged my hip into the table, though. My powers of seduction were unparalleled.
Still, he pushed back from the table, an amused smile crossing his lips as I straddled his lap. There was no denying the way his eyes lit with desire.
He brushed my hair back from my shoulder—the gentle touch sent a dangerous flutter through my stomach. I hadn’t been touched so tenderly very often. “Did you come over here to show me you’re a woman?”
No one ever talks about how hard it is to straddle a man’s lap when he’s sitting on a dining chair. It was so awkward. I’d imagined myself kneeling with my knees on either side of his hips, but instead, I had to just sit on him with my feet on the ground. Our faces were so close together I could see the gold in his irises, the way his dark stubble was growing out over his jaw.
I nodded, feeling suddenly shy.
“Don’t quit on me now, starlight.” His hand brushed over my hip, then went higher, pushing up the edge of my t-shirt. His bare fingers on my skin felt hot, and I was keenly aware of his touch. I bit down on my lower lip, then caught his gaze drop to my lips.
“Do you want to kiss me, Luca?”
“Do you want me to kiss you?” His fingers trailed up my skin, igniting fire everywhere he touched.
“Yes,” I whispered. Then, having the distinct impression he would like it, I whispered, “Yes, sir.”
His eyes smoldered. Level two, unlocked.
His hand wrapped my hip, his fingers resting lightly against the curve of my ass. His other hand moved to cup my cheek, his thumb gliding gently over my cheekbone.
“You’re beautiful,” he murmured. “I think you haven’t been told that enough.”
I smiled, but it was a sad smile. I could feel how half-hearted it was.
“There’s still time to make up for that,” he told me. “Just because people told you nasty lies for the first twenty years of your life to try to bring you under their control doesn’t mean the next twenty years can’t make up for it. I’m going to tell you that you’re beautiful every day. Until you believe it.”
“What makes you think I don’t believe it now?”
“The way you just smiled.” His fingers brushed lower over my face, then traced the curve of my lip. “It makes me want to do two things.”
“What are those?”
“One, kill the people who hurt you. And two, kiss you.”
For now, he went with the second option. He leaned forward, and I closed my eyes. His lips brushed mine softly.
When he deepened the kiss, my fingers tightened on his shoulders. His shoulders were wide, thick with muscle, despite how lean his frame was. If he had been a trustworthy man, his size would’ve made me feel safe.
But Luca wasn’t safe.
Still, his hands dropped to cup my waist, and I ground against him as the two of us kept trading long, soft kisses. He kissed me like he’d been waiting a long time to kiss me.
The two of us went on, my body igniting more and more.
I slid his jacket down his shoulders. He leaned forward to remove it, tossing it onto an empty chair. I made sure not to look at his gun or his holster, instead leaning forward to pepper kisses over his sharp jawline, those beautifully etched cheekbones. He cupped his fingers in my hair, kissing me back hard.
When he finally broke away, I was breathless. He reached for his holster and unstrapped it, laying it on the table—out of my easy reach.
“What are you doing, Celia?” he murmured against my mouth. “Don’t tell me you trust me already.”
“I don’t,” I admitted. “But that doesn’t change the fact that I want you.”
He let out a groan and stood, picking me up with him. His hands wrapped my thighs, and he carried me as if I weighed nothing. As he held me, his lips sought mine, and we traded kisses over and over again.
He laid me down on the table. “You’re the only meal I need,” he murmured, his hands skating down my thighs. “May I?”
“I’m surprised you’d ask.”
“I’m a murdering, thieving mafia piece of shit, but even I care about consent.” He flashed me a smile that was panty-melting.
“Please.” I managed, and his grin widened.
He leaned down and pressed a kiss to my inner thigh, then let out a groan. “I should play with you, but god, I want to eat this pussy more than I’ve ever wanted anything in my life.”
He pulled my panties to one side in his eagerness, pressing a kiss to one side of my vulva. I bit my lip, trying to hold back a moan of need.
He kissed the other side, slowly, reverently. Then he put his mouth square on my slit and kissed it before he began to tease his tongue through my folds.
My heels planted against the cool wood of the table as the intense sensation lit through my body. He gathered my thighs onto his shoulders, shifting me around so that I was at his mercy as he began to eat me out as if his life depended on it.
He pulled away just far enough for me to feel the warmth of his breath against my wet clit when he breathed out, “This is the best pussy I’ve ever tasted.”
I let out a shaky, disbelieving laugh, but he was diving back in again, his tongue stroking through my folds and pumping inside me as if I were indeed the best thing he’d ever had.
My hips bucked. The holster was almost within reach, but I’d only have one chance, and…fuck.
I let him tongue-fuck me until I screamed his name for real.
He sat back with a grin across his face. “I knew you were calling my name.”
“Sorry,” I told him, sitting up on the table.
“You don’t have to be embarrassed with me. It’s nice to know you want me a fraction of how badly I want you, starlight.” He stood, taking a step back, adjusting his shirt. He gave me a grin that was pure charm.
He was also far enough away that I could grab the slick leather holster before he could process what I was doing and stop me.
I seized the gun and pulled it free. He lunged forward, but then I was holding it out, dropping the holster so I could grip it with two hands.
I trained it on the center of his chest. My thumb slid along the side of the gun until I found the safety and released it.
“That wasn’t why I was apologizing,” I admitted. “That was really nice?—”
“Really nice?” His brows arched, and he crossed his arms over his chest, looking quite nonchalant for a man with a gun aimed at him. “Jesus, it was just nice ? You know what, go ahead and shoot me now.”
“I don’t want to be pointing a gun at you,” I told him. “But I need to take care of myself. So why don’t you take a few steps back for me, Luca?”
“You’re in charge.”
He took a few steps back, though he still looked far too comfortable.
“Keep going. Until your back is against the wall.”
He moved back until he reached the wall, his back bumping it.
“Kneel for me.”
“You don’t have to point a gun at me to get that, starlight.” But he went down on his knees.
Something was wrong…or he was unhinged. He seemed so confident, even now. Alarm bells were going off for me wildly, but I was committed.
“Where are the keys to your car?” I eased off the table, expecting him to lunge forward at any moment, but he didn’t. It made me nervous.
“In my pants pocket. Do you want them?”
I nodded. I’d known that; I’d felt them against my thigh.
He reached into his pocket and pulled out the keys. He showed them to me, then threw them across the floor. “The key fob controls the gates.”
Yeah, he was too helpful.
I kept an eye out with my peripheral vision, expecting whoever else was in the house to appear at any moment and attack me. But we still seemed to be alone. The windows looking out to the dark night reflected us back now, in the brightly lit kitchen. It was so different from the way we had looked this morning when he stood behind me.
I reached for his jacket and decided to take the whole thing. Inside was the phone. I needed to make sure no one ever got their hands on it.
“Don’t follow me,” I said.
He let out a soft scoff of a laugh. “I’m not going to make promises I won’t keep. Wherever you go, I’ll follow.”
“I’ll kill you,” I warned. “I don’t want to, but I will.”
“I doubt that very much. Do me a favor, starlight—feel the pocket of that jacket.”
It was very heavy.
I shifted it in my hand as I backed toward the door, and I felt the way the contents of the jacket pocket shifted under my touch. It was full of small objects. Bullet-shaped objects.
He gave me another cocky smile as he rose to his feet. “I think you should be the one on your knees.”