Chapter 37 #2
I blinked, my face splitting into a smile. “That’s incredible, Luca. You’ll be an amazing Alpha, just like you’re an amazing father to your son.”
A genuine smile spread across his lips. “That means everything coming from you, Leila.” His thumb brushed against my cheek, though I could see the weight in his expression. “It was just unexpected, the timing of it all. I mean, we haven’t exactly been seeing eye to eye lately.”
“How are things with your father?” I asked.
His jaw flexed, then he gave a slight shrug. “We barely talk unless it’s about the company. I can’t look at him the same way. I can’t see past the man who lied to me for twenty-one years, the man who made me grow up without a mother. Being around him just reminds me of that betrayal.”
“I understand,” I said softly.
I had urged him to mend things with his mother, but his father was different.
What his father had done was a wound that tore his family apart.
That kind of hurt couldn’t be patched over with a conversation.
I wasn’t going to push him. If the day ever came when Luca was ready, it would have to be his choice.
Luca smiled faintly as his hand caressed my cheek, but then his expression shifted to something serious. Unyielding.
“You know what—fuck it,” he muttered, stepping back slightly and reaching for his pocket.
My brows knit in confusion—until he pulled out a small velvet box. When he opened it, I stilled.
Inside sat a ring. A single oval stone, brilliant and sharp, set on a thin band of platinum, with smaller diamonds that glittered like scattered stars.
My hand flew to my mouth, trembling against my lips as tears glossed over my eyes.
“I had this whole elaborate plan,” Luca said with a wry twist of his lips.
“Charles insisted on what he called a ‘proper’ proposal, something grand and staged.” He rolled his eyes, and I let out a shaky laugh, tears spilling down my cheeks.
“But I can’t wait any longer, Leila. The conversation with my father only made me realize how badly I want to start this next chapter as Alpha with you by my side—as my wife. My Luna.”
“Oh, Luca…” I whispered, my voice breaking with emotion. My chest ached with joy so sharp it almost hurt. My heart had never felt so full, so certain, so home.
He dropped down on one knee, looking up at me with hope burning in his eyes. “So, Leila Carter…would you do me the honor of being my wife?”
I didn’t have to think. I’d known my answer since the day I met him, even if it took us almost six years to arrive at this moment.
“Yes!” My voice cracked as I fell to my knees, throwing my arms around him. “Yes, Luca. I would want nothing more than to be your wife.”
His shoulders sagged with relief as he wrapped his arms tightly around me, burying his face in my hair.
Later that night, while Ollie was asleep with Valerie keeping watch, Luca and I slipped away to the observatory rooftop.
“Do you think he’ll notice we’re gone?” I asked as I spread the blankets and scattered throw pillows across the concrete floor.
“We’ll be back before he wakes,” Luca promised, his voice low and rough, already stirring that familiar heat inside me.
It was thrilling—sneaking out into the night with him, as though we were doing something forbidden. It made me feel light, giddy, like a teenager experiencing first love…even if my actual teenage years hadn’t been filled with anything remotely romantic.
Before I could fuss with the corners of the blankets, Luca swept me into his arms and lowered me onto the soft fabric, hovering just above me, enough for me to feel his erection pressing insistently against me.
“God, that car ride was torture,” he rasped, his mouth grazing mine. “I was this close to pulling over, dragging you to the back seat, and tearing off every damn obstacle between us—passersby be damned.”
His gaze burned into me, dark and clouded, before his lips captured mine. The kiss was hungry, consuming. Desire curled hot and heavy through me as I slid my tongue against his, savoring him.
Luca was usually the one in control, but tonight I wanted to claim him. I rolled on top of him, straddling his hips, and tugging my dress over my head.
I unbuckled his belt with shaking fingers, urgency pulsing through me, until his cock sprang free. Then I sank onto him slowly, inch by thick inch, until he filled me completely.
A guttural groan tore from Luca’s throat, his grip tightening on my hips as I began to move. The cool night air brushed my damp skin, but I was sweating profusely as I rode him hard, chasing the dizzying high only he could give me.
His hands slid from my hips to my breasts, thumbs circling my nipples until I cried out, my voice breaking into the night.
Pressure coiled tight in my core, winding higher and higher.
Luca’s muscles strained beneath me, every line of his body taut with the effort to hold back, but he let me lead, let me drive us both to the edge.
Right before my release hit, Luca sat up, gripping my waist tighter as he buried his face into the curve of my neck, before sinking his teeth into me.
A sting shot through me. But almost as quickly, it melted into something else.
Euphoria. Warmth. A connection so deep it felt like fire and electricity surging from him to me, sealing us together.
“You’re mine, Leila. Only mine.” He whispered into my ear, his teeth grazing my earlobe. “And I cannot wait for the whole world to know that when I claim you as my Mate.”
With one final thrust, Luca drove upward inside me, and I shattered.
My body shook violently around him as I toppled over, moaning his name. He followed with a growl, burying himself deep as we shattered together.
I collapsed against his chest, trembling and breathless, and he wrapped me in his arms, murmuring tender words against my hair.
God, I loved this man. At one time, the depth of that love had terrified me. But not anymore.
If the last five years had taught me anything, it was that fear is the first thief of happiness. It steals and withholds until there’s nothing left but regret. We had lost time, yes—but we’d found our way back, against all odds.
And now I knew with bone-deep certainty: nothing could come between us again. We had already survived the worst. Whatever the future held, we would face it together.
I drifted to sleep in Luca’s arms with a smile on my face and the comfort of knowing that I would spend forever with my Fated Mate.
THE END