Chapter 16
Sixteen
AMARA
I convinced Ciro to take me to Luka’s apartment. I’d only been once and didn’t make it any further than where he parked his car before Ciro ambushed us in the dark. I was beginning to learn that if I included Joey and Ciro in my plans, they helped me. I wouldn’t go so far as to call them co-conspirators, but they were at least willing to follow my orders.
I recognized the tall building when we pulled into the alleyway. Luka’s sports car was parked diagonally in front. I hadn’t been able to take in the features of the alleyway or the design of the row houses the first night. I barely had time now, but it was in a charming part of the city.
“Wait here,” I instructed Ciro. “And before you say anything, you know I’m not in any danger. I have my phone.” I held it up so he could see it. “He has security. I’m perfectly safe.” I saw the look on Ciro’s face. “Do not walk into that apartment, do you understand?” I had to make it clear. “This is a personal visit. Do you get what I’m saying? ”
“Yes.” His face tightened at what I implied I was about to do.
I exited the car and jogged up the stone steps. I knocked and was startled when a man with white hair opened the door.
“Hello.”
“Hi.” I smiled. “I’m here to see Luka. I’m a friend of his.”
“I’m afraid he’s not here.”
I frowned. “He left his car out front. I just saw him an hour ago driving that car. He was at my house.”
The man blushed when he realized he was caught in a lie. I couldn’t blame him for covering for his boss.
I pushed past him. “Is he upstairs?” There were no noticeable doors in the foyer, only a staircase that led to the second story.
“Yes, but I wouldn’t?—”
I ran quickly to the second level. “Luka? Luka?” I stopped when I saw him sitting in front of a baby grand piano. The windows to the courtyard thrown open. Sheer curtains danced in and out of the room like ghosts.
“Luka, what happened?” I approached him cautiously. There was a full bottle of gin on the piano. “What did my father say to you?”
“I told you I can’t talk about it.” His back was to me. His broad shoulders stretched for most of the keyboard. I lightly placed my palm on his shoulder. He jumped.
“I just want to know what happened. That’s all.” I kept my voice quiet. “I’m an expert on the man. I know he can be harsh. Push buttons. Just tell me so I can help.”
He shook his head. “No. ”
I took a step toward him, sitting on the edge of the bench so that my back was to the keys, and I faced him. He didn’t make room for me or acknowledge that I had broached his space. There was something dark and haunting in his eyes. It gave me chills.
“Please,” I whispered. I didn’t want to beg him. But nothing felt right. It was as if there was a fracture between us, but I didn’t know where it was. How could I mend it if I didn’t know how to find the break?
“No.” He was firm.
“What about the tickets? The trips? Are they here? Do you want to show me?” I was trying to think of anything to shake his mood. To bring back the enthralling man I was falling for. “Only an hour ago you wanted to take me somewhere.”
“I don’t want to talk about the trip.”
“What then?” I questioned.
His chin drifted toward me. I caught the hollowness in his eyes. A depth of pain I didn’t expect to see. Not on him. Not on a man who dripped with confidence and charm. I didn’t know any other way to erase it, but with my lips. I kissed him fully and passionately. I nipped at his mouth and lashed at his tongue with my own. Did kisses heal? Could this one?
I tugged on his shirt, quickly unfastening the buttons. I pushed it open, admiring the lines of his torso. The way muscle met muscle. Luka threw the shirt on the floor. I hadn’t seen the tattoo that wrapped his entire bicep before. It was breathtaking. He was breathtaking. I let my nails rake over his abs. He tossed my hands off his body.
I moaned when his fingers wrapped to my waist, drawing the thin sundress around my hips. My breath caught against his. My heart beat faster. The blood pumped in my veins as I crawled into his lap.
I felt the hard ridge of his cock through my satin underwear. I rocked against the bulge, closing my eyes. I wanted the friction. I craved it. I whimpered when he pressed my back into the keys and began to kiss my neck. His lips trailed my throat until he was between my breasts. The sundress fell to the side when he pushed the fabric out of the way. He palmed a generous portion of my breast.
“Ohh,” I gasped as his tongue lapped before he sucked my tit to a hard point. He gazed at my nipples with lust, yanking the other one free and kissing it with a roughness that made my body feel alive.
Our mouths met again, and he kissed me harder. With more force. More passion. It was as if there was something tangible swirling between us. A force of nature beyond our control.
The keys clanked as we moved together. I worked the top button on his pants, easing my hand inside.
“Fuck,” he groaned as I slid my palm along his cock. If I could free it with some maneuvering. One thrust and he’d be inside me. Fucking me on the piano. I’d watch the pain in his eyes drain as the desire won him over.
“Luka,” I pleaded as he pushed the satin fabric between my legs aside, circling my clit with certain strokes. He growled as he plunged his fingers inside me. I eased up and down, letting them fill me, stretch me. Things had ended too quickly in the cabana. I needed this. I needed him.
His teeth took my nipple with authority and I panted, knowing the more his fingers penetrated me, the closer I was to coming. I worked his cock, trying to concentrate on bringing our bodies together, but he was relentless. I lost control. I lost my senses. He yanked my hand from his pants and planted me higher on the baby grand.
“All I want is to fucking devour you,” he growled. I should have taken it as a warning. I watched in awe as he peeled the panties over my knees and down my shins. They tickled my ankles before he tossed them over his couch.
I slammed the keys with my palms when he spread my thighs. Our eyes met once before his head dipped, and he began devouring me. The first swirl of his tongue was torture. I raised my hips, whimpering for more.
“Fuck me,” he growled, diving between my legs again. He feasted. My knees wrapped around his head as his tongue darted in and out. My feet banged out notes high and low. A barrage of random sounds, louder than my moans.
I pressed into the baby grand. I needed leverage. Gravity. A way to belt out what this man was doing. He pried my velvet lips wide and ran his tongue around my clit.
“Holy shit,” I hissed.
But he wasn’t done. Every time he dragged his tongue over my clit, I thought it was it. Release was near. But he sucked. He nipped. I begged for more, grinding my hips toward his mouth. My nipples were hard and puckered. I dared run my fingers over my tits and I whispered his name toward the ceiling. My breath was ragged, and the juices flowing from my entrance were slick from him. From this unequivocally dominant sex god lapping at me.
I was in heaven. Maybe it was hell. I couldn’t tell the way my body rode the sensations. He kept me wanting. Needing. Pleading .
I felt the first quiver snap like the release on the end of a bow. I waited for the next vibration. My belly burned from wanting him so badly. Suddenly he thrust a thick finger inside me, and a long moan ripped from my throat. I’d never made that sound in my life. I couldn’t hold off the orgasm any longer. I pounded the keys as it took over, crashing through me. Tearing at my veins. Breaking me. Ripping me apart. Luka pumped in and out, filling me, stretching me, kissing my clit, and sucking my entrance until I was a ragged mess. A second orgasm tore through my body.
The keys clanked while his mouth claimed me. My eyes opened when I realized my body had stilled. Luka was staring at me. He had lowered my legs.
“You’ll hate me if we don’t stop now.” His eyes were darker than usual.
I shook my head, finding my balance on the floor. I threaded my fingers through his. “How could you say that?”
I tugged him to follow me, navigating my way to his bedroom. The bed was a wreck. Sheets strewn across the mattress. I didn’t care. I wanted to be in the center of it with Luka looking down at me. Inside me. Fucking me.
“Amara,” he whispered.
“You told me you wanted me. Didn’t you?”
“I did,” he answered. His voice was deep and husky. His hand slid to my cheek, cupping the side of my face.
“You said we didn’t have to be caught up in our fathers’ wars. Whether it’s the Russian or Italian mafia, we can make our future. Us. The two of us. Didn’t you?”
“I did.” His thumb ran over my lips. They parted and I tasted the end pad of his thumb. My eyes closed, overwhelmed by him. Even this gentle moment was erotic. My core ached and throbbed for him. I wasn’t going to be satisfied until this man was inside me.
“Then why won’t you give me what I want?” I looked into his eyes. His obsidian pupils swirled. Fire danced with midnight. I saw lust and desire. I saw a dark need. For me.
I shivered. For the first time, I was scared of what I was about to let Luka Novikov do to me.