Chapter 24
I shouldn't have done it.
I shouldn't have answered.
But I did.
What do you want, Nico?
The message had barely been delivered when the typing dots appeared. My heart pounded as I stared at the screen.
A response came almost instantly.
You.
I exhaled shakily, my fingers tightening around the phone.
It was always you, Alessa.
My stomach twisted.
Another message followed.
Luca doesn't see you, not the way I do. You don't belong with him. You never did. But it's okay. I will wait. Because I know in the end you will come to me.
I sucked in a sharp breath and blocked the number, my fingers shaking as I slammed my phone down on the nightstand.
Breathe.
Just breathe.
I pressed my hands against my thighs, grounding myself but the words clung to me like a stain I couldn't wash away.
I didn't hear the door open.
Didn't hear Luca enter.
Only when his deep voice cut through the silence did I jolt.
"You look like you have seen a ghost."
My head snapped up to find him standing by the door, pulling me back into the present. My pulse stuttered as I turned toward him. His sharp eyes were scanning me, his dark brows drawing together in the slightest furrow.
I swallowed, forcing my face into something neutral. "I was just lost in thought."
His brow lifted, unconvinced.
I pushed myself up from the bed, brushing my hair back in a way I hoped looked casual. "It's nothing."
Luca studied me, his gaze lingering like he didn't quite believe me. For a second, I thought he had press but he didn't.
"Long fucking day," he muttered. "I need a shower."
He started toward the bathroom but then paused, glancing at me over his shoulder, "Join me."
I hesitated, fingers curling into my palm.
He had no idea what was going through my head. No idea that only minutes ago, I had let Nico's words crawl under my skin. That I still felt like I was suffocating under the weight of them.
Maybe that was exactly why I needed this more. Also we hadn't been involved in any intimate act since our fight that night.
My legs felt unsteady as I stepped toward the bathroom.
Steam curled against the glass as Luca stood under the water, his broad frame drenched, droplets sliding down the ridges of muscle. His head was tilted back, eyes closed, dark strands of wet hair slicked away from his forehead.
Slowly, his eyes opened.
They found mine instantly.
Luca just watched as I reached for the hem of my shirt, peeling it off and letting it drop to the floor. My shorts followed, pooling at my feet.
His stare darkened, raking over my bare skin as I reached behind me and unhooked my bra. I let it slip from my shoulders.
Luca's jaw flexed, his fingers curling against the glass.
Finally, I slid my panties down my legs, stepping out of them before pushing the glass door open and stepping under the hot spray.
His hands found my waist the second I was close enough.
Luca pulled me against him and I gasped as my skin met his. The heat of the water was nothing compared to the heat of his body, his muscles tense beneath my palms as I steadied myself.
His hands slid down, fingers pressing into my hips before trailing lower, gripping the backs of my thighs. Without a word, he lifted me and I instinctively wrapped my legs around his waist. My back pressed against the cool tile.
"You have been acting strange," he muttered, his mouth brushing the corner of mine. "Like you are keeping something from me."
I swallowed hard, my fingers threading through his wet hair. I didn't answer.
"You know I don't like secrets, Alessa." His lips ghosted over my jaw, down the column of my throat, pressing into my skin. "If there is something you need to tell me" His teeth scraped over my pulse. "Now would be the time."
I should have told him. I should have said something. But if I told him, it would ruin this. Ruin us. Luca would go after him and I wasn't ready for that war.
My fingers curled into his shoulders, nails digging in as I whispered, "Luca..."
A slow exhale left him, his grip tightening. "Yeah?"
"I don't want to talk."
"You don't want to talk" he repeated, voice dripping with amusement. "You just want me to fuck you, then?"
"Yes."
Something dark flickered in Luca's gaze. He pressed himself against me, letting me feel exactly how much he wanted this.
"Tell me" he muttered against my lips. "Tell me how bad you want it."
A breathless whimper left me as he rolled his hips, dragging a delicious friction between us.
"So bad," I gasped. "Luca, please-"
Luca didn't waste time.
His mouth was everywhere, claiming me like he had something to prove. His hands parted my thighs, gripping them hard enough to bruise as he pinned me against the cold tile.
He dragged his lips down my throat, pressing slow, open mouthed kisses along my pulse. I gasped when his teeth bit my skin, his tongue soothing the bite a second later.
He rocked against me, the hard length of him pressing right where I needed him most and my fingers tangled in his wet hair, tugging him closer.
"You are not thinking about anything else right now, are you?" His voice was dark, taunting but there was an edge to it like he could sense something was off.
I wasn't.
I wasn't thinking about Nico.
I wasn't thinking about the messages, the unease creeping under my skin.
Because Luca was here. Solid. Real. Mine.
And the way he touched me? Like he owned me? Like I was meant to be his and no one else's?
It made everything else fade.
"No," I whispered, my fingers dragging down his wet skin, feeling the way his muscles tensed under my touch. "Only you."
His pupils darkened, something primal flashing in his eyes. "Good."
He lifted me higher, positioning himself between my thighs before he sank into me with one deep, claiming thrust. My body stretched around him, the sting mingling with pleasure as he filled me completely.
The water streamed over us, heat curling in my belly as he set a slow, deep pace. Each thrust sending me higher, unraveling me piece by piece.
My nails raked down his back as he angled his hips, hitting just the right spot. A broken moan escaped me, my head falling back against the tile.
"Look at me" he commanded, voice rough.
I met his gaze, chest rising and falling rapidly. His dark eyes burned into mine.
Luca's mouth found mine again, devouring every gasp, every moan as he set a punishing rhythm.
Water sloshed between us, steam curling around our bodies but all I could focus on was him.
His hands gripping my hips, his mouth pressing heat into my skin, the way he filled me so perfectly, like he was made for this.
For me.
"Mine" he growled against my lips, his thrusts deep and unrelenting. "You are fucking mine, Alessa."
I couldn't speak, couldn't think, only feel.
A sharp gasp left my lips as he slipped one hand between us pressing on my clit, circling slowly, teasingly to make me arch against him.
I whimpered as he picked up the pace, his hips snapping against mine, the sound of skin against skin mixing with the water still pouring down around us.
His movements turned rougher, deeper, sending waves of pleasure crashing through me.
I arched against him, body tensing, heat curling tight in my stomach.
I was close. So close.
And when release finally shattered through me. It came in waves, leaving me breathless, shaking, Luca's name falling from my lips like a prayer.
He followed a second later, a rough groan rumbling through his chest as he buried himself deep, holding me tight as pleasure ripped through him.
For a long moment, neither of us moved. Our breathing slowed, the sound of water filling the heavy silence.
Finally, Luca pulled back just enough to look at me. His thumb brushed against my cheek, a flicker of something possessive in his gaze.
"Next time" he murmured, "I'm not waiting this long to take you."
I exhaled a shaky laugh, my head resting against his shoulder.
But even as my body melted against his, even as his arms held me close, Nico's words still echoed somewhere in my mind.
Luca doesn't see you, not the way I do.
I squeezed my eyes shut and buried my face in Luca's neck.
Because right now, I didn't want to think about Nico.
I just wanted to forget.