11. Luca
“And they’re going to be safe?” The anxiety behind Emilia’s question is touching. There’s genuine concern swimming in her eyes when they meet mine as she sits beside me in the car.
Covering her knee with one hand, I murmur, “Sure, they will. They’ll be fine.” They say patience is a virtue. Tell that to my hand where it is when what I want is to run my hand up her thigh until I’m between her legs, sinking my fingers inside her quivering pussy.
Either she’s too busy worrying to care that I’m touching her, or she doesn’t mind. “How can you be so sure?”
“Trust me. That’s all I ask.” She doesn’t look convinced as she nods, settling back against the leather seat with a weary sigh.
“You did very well back there.” I don’t know why it feels necessary to encourage her. She’s not a child, but she has been through a hell of a lot, and I couldn’t help but love her if I tried. She infuriates me and challenges everything I thought I knew about myself, but none of that will keep me from loving her.
“You were the superstar,” I scoff, but she doubles down, scooting closer to me. The effect is magic, warming my blood and making my pulse pick up speed. That’s all it takes—simply having her close to me. “You saved the night. There aren’t many people who can shut down an argument my dad is trying to make, yet you did it.”
“I wanted to make sure they knew the score. All I want is to love you.” It’s getting easier to say things like that, though not much. I can still barely manage to get the words out without flinching, cringing at my awkwardness. It’s pitiful and not something I’m practiced in.
She’s worth bearing a little embarrassment. Sitting with her at dinner, holding her hand, it was all a reminder of why I was unable to get her out of my system no matter how I tried. Knowing she was wrong for me, I was helpless to do anything about it. It is too easy to love her.
She blushes and lowers her gaze before suddenly letting out a yawn so wide that I’m surprised it doesn’t dislocate her jaw. She laughs at herself before shrugging. “I guess I didn’t get much sleep last night. I was a little nervous.”
“You’ll sleep better knowing there’s nothing to worry about.” I, on the other hand, am sick to death of staying in the main house. It’s comfortable but not nearly as comfortable as I’d be lying beside her. I know she’s safe, yet all I can do is worry and want, rubbing my dick raw out of frustration.
“You look tired too,” she observes. I didn’t realize she was studying me until she notes her gentle observation.
“I’ll be fine.” Especially while she’s this close, smelling as good as she does, looking like sex on two legs, even though she chose a modest dress for dinner. If anything, she’s sexier this way, more tempting than ever. “Why don’t you close your eyes?” It’s clear she’s fighting to keep them open.
“Maybe I will. It’s like now that it’s over, all I want to do is sleep.” My heart skips a beat when her head touches my shoulder. It’s the simplest gesture, yet it means everything. It isn’t long before her breathing slows, and her body goes limp against me. It makes me consider telling the driver to take the long route. I don’t want to give this up.
Stop being a fucking child.Rather than indulge my little fantasy, my thoughts turn to the business of keeping the Washingtons safe. I didn’t bother telling Emilia about the detail I assigned them since she almost blew up when I suggested keeping them under surveillance.
I feel a hell of a lot better with eyes on them. That’s more important now than ever since they’ve been out in public with me. It didn’t seem like there were any threats in the restaurant, and we kept our plans quiet. I can’t let her fears paralyze me. I know what I’m doing.
Is there any way to feel confident about what you’re doing when you love someone?
Her head is still on my shoulder when we roll through the gates. I hate to wake her when we stop in front of the house since it means losing this moment and the trust that goes along with it. I can’t help but take the opportunity to stroke her silky cheek, half-hidden by hair. My hand trembles when I remember everything we’ve come so close to losing. I can’t allow it. I can’t let her slip any further away.
“We’re here.” I give her a gentle nudge that makes her stir, blinking sleepily.
“Already?” She fights to rouse herself and needs a hand getting out of the car. “Wow, I really dropped off fast,” she mumbles.
“I’m sorry I had to wake you up.”
Fuck, is she tempting, leaning against me and yawning as I unlock the door. She’s warm and trusting now, and I don’t know whether my performance at the restaurant is the reason why or if it’s simply that she’s too tired to think. Not that it matters. I get to lead her inside and walk her to the bedroom, where she immediately kicks off her heels and lets her coat drop to the floor.
There’s something wild in her eyes when they meet mine—something I’ve missed. “Do something for me?” she asks, turning around and brushing aside the loose, golden waves flowing down her back. “Unzip me?”
I don’t know if she’s trying to seduce me or what, but it’s working. Not that she would have to try hard. As it is, I have to remind myself to breathe as I lower the zipper to her waist, revealing her creamy skin, all of it practically begging to be touched.
I would swear there’s an electric charge in the air by the time she turns back to me, swaying a little, brushing against my chest. “Thank you.”
“I do what I can.” My voice is hoarse, and my chest is so tight it’s a struggle to take a breath. The way she’s looking at me, her warmth, her familiar body, it’s all working together to make it impossible to hold myself back.
The thing is, I would swear she doesn’t want me to. “Do something else for me?”
“Anything,” I vow.
“Stay.” With that, she lets the dress fall, the fabric pooling at her ankles to reveal her luscious tits encased in a strapless bra that matches the lacy thong she wears.
“And do what?” I have to ask. I can’t help it. My hands settle on her hips, and she closes her eyes, sighing softly.
Then she winds her slim arms around my neck, one hand cupping the back of my head so she can pull me down into a soft kiss that doesn’t stay soft for long. There’s no hope of that, not when an inferno erupts when her juicy lips meet mine.
My tongue slides against hers, and she moans, opening her mouth wider so I can probe and explore while her fingers run through my hair. I can’t help but touch any part of her I can reach—her silky skin and the goose bumps that erupt over her arms, shoulders, and back. By the time her ass rests in my palms, she’s moaning helplessly, offering no resistance as I back her up against the bed, then sit her down.
I slowly sink to my knees, letting my hands play over her curves before I break our kiss and ease her backward. She goes stiff, and her breath catches, but I undo her a little at a time, kissing my way down her body until she arches her back, offering herself to me. I reach behind her to deftly release the bra clasps, then take hold of her tits and thank whatever or whoever is making this possible.
“Fuck, you’re beautiful,” I groan out before taking one of her nipples into my mouth, my cock throbbing with every guttural moan filling the room. Her head falls back, and her legs wrap around my waist, pulling me closer. Demanding.
She’s going to get everything she wants.
Once I’ve worked her nipples into tight peaks, she falls back onto the bed, and I continue my tour of her writhing body. With my tongue, I trace a line down to her navel. “Luca…” She moans, lifting her hips when I tug at the waistband of her thong with my teeth.
The scent of her arousal is overwhelming and only gets stronger when I’ve dragged the scrap of lace over her legs. She spreads them for me without any prompting, treating me to the sight of her smooth lips and the juices already glistening on them. Her short, sharp breaths fill my ears along with the pounding of my heart as I run my flattened tongue up her slit.
“Oh my God!” She grabs my head, pulling it against her pussy and grinding her hips. I would normally take the lead, but there’s something electric about letting her take what she wants. My aching cock drips in my pants, and I use one hand to free myself while she rides my face, grunting and moaning in abandon, coating my chin with her sweet juices.
“So good… just like that…” she breathes out, tightening her legs around my head. “Ah… there, yes. Fuck!”
Fuck, yes, I’ll do that. I will do anything she wants, fisting my cock and flicking my tongue over her swollen bud. “Yes!” she sobs out, hips bucking, legs tightening until she’s squeezing my head. Tighter, tighter, I ride it out until she goes still in the final moment before her orgasm takes hold.
“Yes… oh God, yes…” Spasms wrack her body in the wake of pleasure, and every quiver of her dripping hole sends a fresh wave for my tongue to savor. It’s been too long, and I’ve needed her too much to hold back now.
Once her legs fall open and she’s caught her breath, she sits up and wastes no time peeling away my suit jacket. I stand to let my pants drop, and she takes hold of my cock, guiding it to her open mouth before I know what’s happening.
“Suck it,” I grit out, closing my eyes and sinking into the blissful sensation of her tongue running up and down my shaft, her lips sealed tight around me. She hasn’t lost any of her passion or her skill. “You’re so fucking good to my cock, baby.” My praise makes her head bob faster until my world spins, and my balls begin to pull up, already on the edge.
Which is what cues me to take her by the shoulders and pull back. “Let me fuck you.” I take her chin in my hand and tip her head back. She’s fucking gorgeous—flushed, lips swollen, lust dancing in her baby blues.
Her body does the talking, slowly sliding back along the bed until she lies flat with her arms outstretched. Hovering over her, between her thighs, I could cry with relief. She’s mine again.
The instant I push inside her, I’m fucking home. All tight and perfect, I could explode in her right now, she’s sucking me in so deep. She arches against me and almost deafens me with a surprised shout. “I’m coming!” she gasps out, nails sinking into my shoulders, her cunt clenching around my cock.
There’s no taking my time. Instinct and need demand I drive myself deep, hard, and mercilessly. The bed rocks in time with my pounding strokes and the high-pitched gasps coming from Emilia. “Yes… oh, fuck, yes… harder…” Her legs close around my ass, demanding all of me, and I don’t deny her. I give her all of me in a roaring release that shakes me from the inside out.
“Oh, shit!” She flinches under me, gasping. “When was my last Depo shot? I can’t remember.”
Neither can I. I don’t know much about that and think she might have gone to the doctor once we got together, but I don’t know for sure. “We’ll be fine,” I pant, rolling away from her. It wouldn’t be the worst thing in the world for her to get pregnant, anyway. In fact, I wouldn’t mind if she did after tonight.
The idea leaves me smiling as I roll away from her, triumphant. Whole again. She fits her heaving body against mine, and I hold her close. My woman. “I’m never letting you go,” I tell her once I”ve caught my breath.
“You’re going to have to.” Her breath fans across my chest when she chuckles. “I’m not sleeping on top of the covers all night.”
“Fine. We take a short break to get under the covers, but that’s it.” As an afterthought, I add, “And I’ll let go of you to make breakfast in the morning.”
She chuckles again. “I hope you’ve gotten better since you made me those pancakes.” Her head snaps up, shock registering on her face. “Oh my God. I remember.”
My heart skips a beat soon after having slowed to a regular pace. “What do you remember?” I ask, cupping her cheek.
“We were in a cabin.” Her brows draw together. “Why were we in a cabin? I can see it in my head. You made pancakes for me.”
I thought this night couldn’t get better. “See? It’s coming back. It’s all coming back.”
Yet when my arms tighten around her, she only pushes herself up on her elbow to stare down at me. “What does it mean?” What a shame something that should make her happy only causes her more distress. “Why were we in that cabin?”
Why now? Why, when everything was perfect for the first time in weeks? “It’s a long story,” I hedge.
“Do I look like I have anywhere else to be?”
“All right. I think you’re well enough to handle it.” Her throat works, but she maintains her steely gaze while I slowly stroke her back and choose my words carefully. “We were hiding in a safe house in the Poconos because, as far as my family knew, you could have been a Vitali spy. You were spotted at my club. Vitali thought you were doing recon, and… you saw something you weren’t supposed to see. Long story short, both sides thought you were a threat.”
Her brows knit together while she processes this. I can’t tell if my story has frightened her. “Not you, though?” she asks.
That, I don’t have to think about. I was a little too busy becoming obsessed with her to consider her a threat, not to mention I knew she had no evidence against us. “Not me. I wasn’t about to let anyone hurt you, so I took you up there, and we hid out. Unfortunately, we were tracked somehow by Vitali.”
She looks at her right bicep, studying her scar. “Is that where this happened?”
“It is.” Lifting my head, I press my lips to the scar before murmuring, “Do you remember anything about it?”
Her brow furrows before she shakes her head. “No, but it makes sense.”
“That’s where it happened. I could have lost you, and I’ve never stopped blaming myself. I had no choice but to bring you here because you needed help. I wasn’t about to trust anyone else with your safety, and it seemed too risky to take you to a hospital.”
“I see.” Her confused expression tells another story.
“Craig fixed it so it looked like the Vitali men kidnapped you, and he was the one involved in the shoot-out instead of me. So there was no hint of you being involved with me. Nothing to ruin your reputation.” It’s important to me that she knows.
“That’s enough for now.” She shakes her head hard before returning it to my chest. “I don’t need to know anymore right now. At least I know where the memory came from.”
“I’m here,” I remind her, my hand running up and down her back. Slowly, she relaxes again. “I’m always here whenever you have a question. No more half-truths. No more trying to protect you from the past. It’s time to start moving forward.”
She heaves a sigh, and I’m sure she’s about to answer, but instead, she whispers, “Let’s get covered up. I’m cold.”