Chapter 8
8
VIKTOR
F uck him. Fuck him . I hate this. I hate him .
I want him. I want him to own me.
I can’t fucking sleep because he’s so close to me.
No, it’s not because of that. I’m awake to make sure he doesn’t die. Not because I’m fighting with the ache deep inside of me, spiraling slightly as I think about what I could do to him. Of what he could do to me.
Own me.
Make me his.
He shifts near me, turning onto his side, his leg brushing against mine. The sensation of him against me sets my skin on fire.
Fuck. Anyone but him.
I think back to when we first met. I was straight off the street, haggard and beaten, when Anthony took me in. One of my eyes was swollen shut when I first laid eyes on Luca. He was younger than he is now, almost thirty, but he was just as potent, and I hated myself for having an instant reaction to him. For letting my eyes follow his every move, for letting my hormone-riddled mind conjure up scenarios.
Alone with him.
Him touching me.
He never looked my way, though. I was just a kid then, a kid with a silly crush. He never paid me any notice. And with each ignored encounter, with each brush-off from him, I got angrier.
I despised myself for wanting someone I could never have. Hated him for making me feel this way.
I’m prideful and arrogant, and I hate that the man I want doesn’t want me in return.
And yet, here I am. Still lusting after him.
But you did have him. For a few minutes, you were between his thighs, submitting to him.
I won’t go crawling back to him. He’s wrong. I fucking won’t.
I throw an arm over my eyes and try to sleep, but it’s elusive, a slippery thing. It’s only made worse when he turns slightly and his hand brushes against my skin. He does that a lot—touch me.
It’s gotten worse over the past three years.
It’s almost like it’s on purpose.
“Fuck. Fuck ,” I murmur as his fingers curl against my abdomen.
I can’t take it anymore.
Shoving him off me, he rolls onto his back, his eyes snapping open.
“Vik, what the hell?” It comes out on a grunt, and I sit up, pushing the heels of my palms into my eyes.
“Please stop fucking touching me.”
He’s silent for a moment and then I feel the crawl of his hand up over the back of my neck and into my hair.
“Come here.”
I try to shake him away, but don’t manage. He just pulls me closer and closer until my face is pressed against the skin of his abdomen. I can feel the ripple of muscle beneath my cheek, the scent of his soap and I whimper slightly .
“I’m not crawling,” I murmur, but he doesn’t respond, just pulls me closer to what I want—his dick, hard and straining against the curve of my lips. I can’t help but engulf it. The weight of it on my tongue, the taste of him, makes everything else I was previously struggling with disappear. Evaporating instantly.
I’m nothing but the mist of need between us.
Everything seems to fall into place as I suck him, and I fucking hate that it’s Luca I want.
I turn slightly at the same time he does, an orchestrated move, slotting his cock right down my throat.
He groans low as I swallow around him and then proceed to let him fuck my mouth. Over and over until I’m mindless, a toy to be used. A hole.
For his pleasure.
For him.
Always him.
And even so, my own body is at the precipice of falling, of exploding into a million pieces. My cock is so hard it throbs in my lace panties as he continues to take me, use me, make me his.
I didn’t crawl , I think as he wraps his leg around my shoulder and arches his hips up into me. The way he tunnels inside of me, the way I’m drooling for it.
The sounds I’m making.
Feral, unhinged, desperate.
His fingers tighten in my hair and he whispers my name as he empties himself down my throat. I drink all of it, keeping his length in my mouth as I will my own body not to release. To hold onto that euphoria for a little bit longer.
As I lie there, his cock softens against my tongue and still, I don’t move.
Not yet.
“Greedy boy,” he murmurs, his fingers no longer tugging, but carding through my hair. Making me almost purr at the tenderness of it .
Luca’s never touched me like this.
What’s changed?
Maybe that knock to the face did it.
“Did you come?” he asks after a few minutes of me continuing to tongue his dick.
I make an indiscernible noise and his hand stops moving.
“Take your dick out and come.”
It’s like my entire body was waiting for his permission. I turn slightly and arch into the mattress, grinding frantically, unloading in seconds. Shudders wrack my body, my moans vibrating around his cock.
Luca. Luca.
He pets me through the shudders and when my body is finally satiated, I feel my eyelids start to droop.
I’m going to regret this in the morning , I think as I curl up against him, not letting myself pull away from him entirely.
And he doesn’t make me. He lets me stay.
I fall asleep with the taste of him still on my tongue.
The way Luca looks at me the next morning makes my skin flame.
I want him to never look at me again.
I’ve made a huge mistake.
“You should be resting,” I say, grabbing my cup of coffee from the kitchen counter. “Doc’s orders.”
“I don’t rest, Vik. You should know better.”
I sip on my coffee, my throat sore from last night. But I’d be lying if I said I didn’t like it.
He’s right. I’m such a slut.
But we knew this.
I turn my gaze away from him and out the window, watching the rain patter on the ground. Seems it’s going to be a wet winter. I remember ten years ago when we had a winter surge like this one, watching Luca run into the house, his body soaked from the rain. The way his white shirt stuck to his skin, revealing the tattoos hidden beneath the fabric.
He’d caught me staring then.
The smirk he gave me made me not look in his direction for an entire month after that. I didn’t want him to see the way I wanted him.
“I received a phone call from Sabrina while you were snoring.”
“I don’t fucking snore.”
He smirks at me, and my dick hardens between my legs. Fuck.
“Anyway, I need to approve some…design choices she has for me for the big reopen.”
I know who Sabrina Nightingale is, and the fact he has a meeting with her rubs me the wrong way.
She’s never bothered me before, but she is beautiful and runs a sex-worker business, and I know that when she’s near Luca, she tends to flirt.
A lot.
Luca must see something in my expression because he says, “And no, I’m not going to fuck her. Or anyone else there. In fact, you’re coming in with me. I also have some contracts to go over with her for opening night.”
“Fine,” I say and then add, “And I don’t give a shit who you fuck, by the way.”
He sets his coffee mug down and pulls out a cigarette, placing it between his lips. I grab the lighter in my pocket, and he inhales deeply when it’s lit.
“See, the thing is, Vik, you may not care who I fuck, but it seems I care who you fuck. We keep this between us.”
I stare at him in disbelief, and he grins.
“Like I said, I own you now.”
“No. You don’t.”
He cocks his head to the side and steps closer until his chest is pressed against mine. His hand cups the front of my neck, his thumb tilting my head to the side. And then his lips are on my skin, sucking roughly, making my eyes roll into the back of my head.
I know what he’s doing.
He’s marking me.
Showing everyone I’m his.
His teeth drag against my sensitive skin, my body trembling, a tightness forming between my legs. A minute later, he pops off, his gaze solely on where his mouth just was. His finger reaches up, brushing across the smarting skin.
“Better. Now let’s get ready to go.”
With shaking hands, I finish my coffee despite the sting of my skin and the weight of those words. He owns me? Who the hell does he think he is? And why am I going along with it? Why did I let him mark me?
I know the answer. I’m really far fucking gone. I need to find someone else to fuck , I think as I move out to the SUV and grab my go-bag, showering, dressing, and brushing my teeth in record time. I refuse to look at the mark he put on my skin when I glance in the mirror, just flip the collar of my shirt up so no one can see it.
By the time I’m done, Luca is ready to go, looking suave and put together in his three-piece suit. His eyes move to my hidden hickey and he smirks.
“You can pretend all you want, Vik, but we both know the truth. It was crystal clear to me last night.”
I grab the keys and stalk to the car.
I don’t know what he’s talking about.
Not a fucking clue.
As I start the ignition and back out of the driveway, Luca flicks his cigarette out into the rain and sighs.
“You know, I remember when I first met you,” he says as I follow the GPS to Sabrina’s office. “All knees and elbows. Swollen eyes, dirty clothes.”
“Yeah, that’s what happens when you’re starved and tortured. ”
His eyes land on me, and they don’t move from the side of my face.
“Tortured?”
I swallow and purse my lips. “Yep.”
“What happened to your parents?”
“Didn’t Anthony tell you?”
“He did, but I admittedly didn’t pay much attention at the time.”
“They were drug users. Got into a lot of bad shit. Dad overdosed when I was eleven. Mom died in prison shortly after that.”
“And then?”
“Foster care until the abuse there had me running away. I lived on the streets awhile.”
Luca’s silent a moment and then he turns his gaze forward. “I’m assuming Anthony took care of the foster parents?”
“He did.”
“Good.”
We’re quiet for a moment, and I twist my fists on the steering wheel. “Just because I suck your dick now doesn’t mean you have to give a shit about me.”
He huffs a low laugh. “You think that’s what this is?”
“I don’t fucking know what it is.”
He doesn’t answer, and I’m left wondering what he wants from me the entire drive to Sabrina’s. Does he want to continue to play with me? Is this some kind of game for entertainment? Something he’ll eventually grow bored with? I have no idea what his end goal is. I don’t know if I want to know either.
When we finally arrive, Luca turns his body toward mine in the car and adjusts my collar.
“You don’t hide it. You’re mine.”
“I’m not,” I reply, even though my stomach flutters with those razor-sharp butterflies at his clipped words.
“You are, kitten.” His finger smooths over my bottom lip and then he steps out of the car, his phone to his ear as he speaks to someone. I can’t help but follow .
The place Sabrina operates out of is on the outskirts of the city, in a secluded building near the beach. It’s a wealthy area and offers privacy for her repeat customers, but it’s not too far away from the amenities the city has to offer. It’s the perfect place for those looking for a good fuck before going out on the town.
“Ah, you made it,” Sabrina says as she flips her long black hair behind her shoulder. “And you brought Viktor. Wonderful. He can assess the men I’ve provided.”
“ Design choices ? What the fuck, Luca?”
I stare over at him, but he doesn’t look my way, just runs his tongue along the front of his teeth. He doesn’t meet my gaze as we follow Sabrina to a large back room. Standing inside are a dozen women and a handful of men, all scantily clothed, wearing nothing more than slips of fabric over their private parts.
As our gazes scan over the people, Sabrina leans into Luca a little too closely, saying something in his ear that only he can hear. I don’t like that. Not at all.
Always fucking flirting, the two of them.
Hate it.
“Gorgeous,” Luca says a moment later, his eyes flitting over the women before him. I purse my lips and move away from him, not wanting him to feel my jealousy. My eyes land on the first man standing before me. He’s large, tattooed, and oiled up. I take a step closer to him and he offers me a small smile.
“Hi,” I say softly, and he winks at me.
“Hey.”
Well, he’s hot, I’ll give him that. And he seems nice. Why can’t I want someone like this?
I peer over at Luca, who is, of course, ignoring me, and my jaw clenches.
I’m fucked up. So fucking fucked.
“Will they be working the floor on opening night?” I ask, and Sabrina wrenches her gaze away from Luca and nods.
“Yes, and some in the back rooms as well. ”
I move to the next man. He’s not as big, but just as gorgeous, with nipple piercings and a six-pack. I wet my lips and stuff my hands in my pants pockets, moving down the line, taking in each man, their differences and their beauty. Sabrina has good taste.
“You approve?” she asks, stepping toward me.
I turn to her and see Luca watching me from behind her.
“They’re perfect.”
Luca’s eye twitches, and I can’t help but add, “How much for the night?”
Sabrina blinks at me and then shifts out of the way when Luca moves to my side, his hand grabbing the front of my neck.
His thumb presses against the hickey as he drags me closer, tilting my head up and slanting his mouth over mine.
It’s an open-mouthed kiss, our tongues tangling for a minute before he pulls away. I’m left panting, the front of my jeans tight.
“You were saying?” he growls, and I wrench myself away from him and walk outside, gulping down lungfuls of air as I try to right myself. He keeps kissing me, claiming me. What the fuck is he doing?
I’m not his?—
Suddenly, a van screeches up to where I’m standing and the door slides open, a body rolling out and landing with a sickening thud on the ground.
I’m dumbfounded for just a second before moving into action, grabbing my gun with one hand and snapping pictures of the disappearing vehicle with the other, all while rushing over to give aid to the person lying face down on the ground.
With a punch to my phone screen, I call Luca and shout at him to come outside, my fingers looking for the nonexistent pulse of the young man before me.
Fuck. He’s dead.
Who the hell was that?
Why did they dump him here?
Are the police on the way? Shit.
Shit !
I lean back on my haunches just as Luca steps to my side, pulling me up and wrapping his arm around my waist.
“He’s dead. They dumped him right in front of me. We need to move him. Right now,” I say in a rush.
Luca’s gaze never leaves the body. Sabrina moves up next to us and is on the radio immediately, asking for someone to put the body inside.
“Call the brothers,” Luca says as Sabrina’s guards appear and drag the young man inside. My gaze follows them until they disappear, and then I move my eyes back to Luca.
“I got some pictures of the van. I may have caught the license plate number as well.”
“Send them to me. I’ll have my contact in the police force look up who it belongs to.”
I do as he says, airdropping the pictures and hoping it’s enough to get an ID. When I’m done with that, I call the brothers. I don’t mince words.
“I know you want a video. But can you meet us at the address I just sent you?”
They hesitate a moment. “That was quite rude.”
I roll my eyes so hard they stick in the back of my head for a whole second. “ Please .”
“Of course. We’ll be there,” they say in tandem.
They hang up and Luca leads me inside the building. The guards stay outside, surveying the area intently. They don’t show it, but they’re armed. Sabrina doesn’t mess around when it comes to her employees.
Luca deftly swipes through the pictures on his phone as we move, calling up his contact within a few minutes and rattling off the plate number I provided for him.
“It’s probably a fake,” he says.
“Yeah.”
“He’ll get back to me with information. For now, all we can do is wait. ”
“Seems to be all we do these days.”
“It seems that’s mostly what the mafia is. All boring business deals in back rooms, contracts, and the occasional strong drink. There is very little action anymore.”
“You’re such a thug,” I tease.
Luca huffs a small laugh as Sabrina comes over to us, looking completely put together despite the earlier action.
“I have the security footage of the drop being looked over now. Hopefully, we’ll have something useful to give you. It shouldn’t take long. How about a drink?”
“Please,” I say, and Luca turns toward me slowly.
His voice lowers and he leans into me. “You say please so prettily.”
A scowl overtakes my face, and Luca smirks, reaching down behind me and squeezing my ass cheek roughly.
It still smarts from the spanking he gave me, still hurts to sit.
He has to know this. He does it anyway.
Sabrina pours us a drink, something strong, and I throw it back, needing something to keep me from rubbing up against Luca and begging. I won’t give him that.
“Would you like another?” Sabrina asks with a smile.
“No, he doesn’t,” Luca responds for me, and I know he’s right. I have to drive.
Fuck him for answering for me though. He’s not my father.
“But he will have something to eat.”
I glower at him, knowing where this is coming from. “I don’t need anything.”
“Get him a fucking snack. Please, Sabrina.”
Sabrina nods and walks to a cabinet, grabbing a few items and depositing them in my hands. All are luxury snacks, surely from overseas. I nod my appreciation, and her eyes sparkle.
She knows what this is, what Luca is doing.
Before I can say anything, a woman appears from the hallway, her hair up in a messy bun, her jeans ripped. She ignores us completely, speaking entirely to Sabrina. “Got some info. Not much, but more than we were expecting. If you want to see, I have it up.”
Luca, Sabrina, and I move to a small office where a few computer screens are set up. The woman pulls up some footage of the van, the quality better than I was expecting, and zooms in.
“We got a partial face,” she says. “It’s not that clear, but maybe you recognize him?”
Luca and I lean in further, our cheeks nearly brushing as we peer at the man’s face in the photo. It’s half-hidden, but something about it is familiar.
Someone I can’t quite place.
“Print that out—or better yet, send it to me,” Luca says, his hand landing on my ass once more.
Can’t keep his fucking hands off me.
The woman nods and a moment later, Luca’s phone pings as he receives the image.
“I’ll ask around. Thank you for getting that to me.”
We all move out of the small room, and Sabrina eyes us.
“Let me know who it is. They’re messing with me and my employees now.”
“I will.”
Luca’s gaze travels to mine and then snaps behind us when the twins appear, being escorted in by the two guards. I don’t know how they arrive so fast, but they do. It’s like they travel through a wormhole or something.
I’ll have to look into that.
Because if they’re stalking me, I may have to give them to Bane.
Teach them a lesson.
“Do you have a portal you come through?” Luca asks, as if reading my mind, and the twins turn their heads to stare at him.
“No. Why would you think that?”
He huffs and then points toward the hallway. “This way.”
I follow behind Luca, and the twins move to my sides, crowding in around me .
They both inhale deeply, and I can’t help but growl. “Are you sniffing me?”
“Yes,” Cain replies. “You smell like smoke.”
“Like him,” Ezra chimes in and points to Luca, who is standing near the body.
I don’t say anything in response, just move to where Luca is standing, looking down at the shape of a person, a sheet over him. At least Sabrina has some respect for the dead.
The twins approach it and peel the sheet down, examining the man.
“He’s hot,” Ezra says.
“He is,” Cain replies.
“Please stop talking about a dead body like that,” Sabrina says, but she goes ignored.
Ezra peers closer as Cain ruffles around in his bag, grabbing some clear vials for blood, when all of a sudden, the body gasps and gurgles.
Ezra leans back, and Cain snaps upright. The room is deadly silent as the young man we all thought was dead takes in a deep lungful of air.
“What the fuck?” I murmur.
“Ooh, he’s not dead,” the twins say in tandem. Cain reaches out and pokes him in the arm, and the young man’s wide eyes swivel toward him.
“He’s not a corpse,” Ezra adds, leaning in and sniffing long and hard, like a dog.
The man’s eyes are wild now, his hand moving up to his chest, as if feeling his heart beating. Or maybe he’s freaked out by the twins being all up in his space.
Luca pulls out a cigarette and places it between his lips, and without thinking, I light it, letting smoke filter across my face.
“Fuck, we should get him on an IV,” Sabrina says, snapping her fingers. “Call Doc and get him over here ASAP. We need to know what he knows.”
One of the guards pulls out his phone while Sabrina pushes her way forward, jostling the twins slightly.
They’re bothered by this, apparently fascinated with the resurrected man before them.
“Do not touch us,” Ezra hisses, but Sabrina is unbothered.
“I don’t know you assholes, and this man is hurt. So move the fuck out of my way. We need him alive.”
Cain grabs Ezra’s shoulder and moves him to the other side, the two of them kneeling at the same time. Their heads cock as they watch him, eyes never leaving him.
“Where am I?” the man manages to ask after a long moment, and Sabrina presses a hand to his shoulder.
“You’re safe. You were dropped here. Do you remember what happened?”
He shakes his head. “No. I don’t—I don’t remember anything. I can’t remember?—”
He looks panicked, his eyes wild and round, but then Ezra and Cain reach out and touch him.
The man’s eyes swivel to where he’s being touched and he looks frightened.
“We will take care of you.”
They say it in unison, and Luca huffs out a laugh. “Fucking creepy. Think I’d rather be dead than with those two.”
He murmurs this but the accuracy makes me bite back a smile.
“Leave him alone, for god’s sake. He needs a minute to breathe and a doctor,” Sabrina bites out.
“No. He’s ours now. We found him.”
“Technically, Vik found him,” Sabrina counters. The twins’ eyes snap up to mine and they narrow, as if challenging me to a game I want no part in.
“He’ll share. He’s good at that.”
My cheeks flame when Luca chuckles.
“Viktor, control your goons. I’m about ready to murder them,” Sabrina says, but I don’t move to help. I won’t accomplish anything by interfering. The twins always do what they want.
“We aren’t goons. We are the Andromeda brothers.”
“I don’t give a fuck if you’re Jesus. Just stay the fuck out of my way,” Sabrina counters, but the twins just ignore her.
They continue to hover over the man until Doc arrives. Sabrina is agitated by their eerie presence, but Doc’s arrival makes everything a little less tense. He thoroughly checks the guy out, questioning him a bit from which we get no new info—not even a name—and then gets a blood sample before giving him a clean bill of health. Just memory loss and dehydration. There is the stipulation that he’ll need to be watched over for a few days, and the twins volunteer.
Luca leans toward me. “What are the chances they leave you alone now?”
“Hopefully.”
As if hearing me, Ezra turns toward me and cocks his head. “We heard that and still require payment.”
“Prostate stimulation,” Cain adds, and the poor guy hooked up to the IV stares at me in confusion. “That is what we require. By him.”
They point to Luca, and I hear a small huff of acknowledgment.
“Seems they’re not through with you yet.”
“And we have specifications,” Cain says.
Everyone is staring at me now, making me cross my arms over my chest and square my shoulders.
“Send them to me. I’ll make sure it happens,” Luca says.
I scowl at him and watch as he pulls out another cigarette.
He can light his own this time, goddamn him.
“Ass up,” Luca says, and I glare at him from over my shoulder.
I’m naked on his bed. Once again.
The list of things the twins want to see in this video is absurd. They can’t keep asking this sort of thing from me .
I won’t do it.
But they’re expecting it, so I have to.
I’ll take one for the team.
That’s the only reason I’m doing this. It’s not because I’ll enjoy it.
“Spread your legs. Ass up further.”
“What is this? Some kind of porno?”
He huffs a laugh. “I mean, yeah.”
I can’t help but send a glower his way once more, which only ends with my ass being slapped.
The sting of it has me arching back slightly. Traitorous body.
I hear the cap of the lube being flicked open, and I push my face into the pillow, breathing deeply when he trickles it down my crack, his finger swirling around my rim.
It flexes under his touch, and when he pushes two fingers in, I can’t help but let out a small groan. Pain mixes with pleasure and my cock throbs.
“Look at that,” he says as he twists his wrist slightly and scissors me open. “Look at how good you take it.”
“Just…shut up and…oh fuck.”
A helpless moan slips from my mouth as he spreads me, making my hole open wider for him.
“What are you doing?” I gasp.
“Trying to find it,” he murmurs, and then his finger brushes over that little bump, and I arch my back, gasping, my fingers curling into the sheets.
“ Luca .”
“There it is,” he says, not letting up, not giving me any reprieve. Not that I want it. Oh fuck, this feels so good. So, so good. And it’s made even worse by the fact he’s the one doing this to me.
He’s the one inside of me.
“You are always so responsive.”
His fingers continue to move inside of me as I writhe beneath him. I’m not going to last. I’m not going to make it.
This is too good .
“He’s tight. Wet,” Luca narrates.
Oh god. I am. I so am .
“He could take more. Want to see?” I feel him push three fingers into me, and I gasp as I push back against him.
“There it is, pretty boy.”
I melt at those words, unable to stop the full-body tremble that slides through me. I never want this to end. I want him to stay inside of me until I expire.
He presses against my prostate again, and I cry out, pulling the corner of the bedding off the mattress and pressing my forehead into the pillow to keep myself from screaming.
But then suddenly the sensation stops and his fingers slip from me.
I turn to stare back at him, my throat dry from groaning.
“Wh—”
“Turn over, kitten. They want to watch you come.”
“Oh, fuck.”
He just stares at me through hooded eyelids as I flop onto my back, my legs hanging off the side of the bed. Luca spreads my thighs farther apart and then grabs my right leg and places it over his shoulder, opening me up to him once more.
His eyes meet mine, his cheeks flushed slightly, his throat bobbing. He angles the phone down, and I follow it, seeing the bulge in his pants.
He likes this, fucking me with his fingers.
Just like he liked it three years ago.
He puts more lube on his fingers, bringing them to my already open hole, and pushes inside.
I gasp, fisting the sheets once more, needing something to hold me down, to ground me. Because when he touches me, anytime he lays his hands on me, I feel like I’m flying. My cock jerks between my legs, and I reach out to touch it, but Luca clicks his tongue at me.
“No touching. Remember? ”
Oh shit, yes, I remember. Those sick fucks want me to come untouched.
“Hands above your head.”
I do as he says, my body stretched out before him as he continues to torture me, my hole flexing around his fingers, my cock leaking as he slowly works an orgasm out of me.
But it’s not quick. He draws it out, almost as if he knows exactly what to do to drive me insane. He derives pleasure from it.
His finger presses on my prostate in quick succession, making me bend my knee and arch my hips up.
“You want more?” he asks, and I bite my lip and nod.
“Look at that face. Look how desperate he is for it.”
The camera is trained on me, as are Luca’s eyes, and I know what he sees—pupils dilated, my lips dark red from where I’ve bitten them.
He slows his movements, and I writhe against him, my dick leaking profusely.
He angles the camera on my cock, his eyes intent on it as he watches it leak. He’s fascinated with my response to the stimulation.
I hate that he likes watching me.
Oh fuck, I love him watching me.
“Come for me,” he says, and then whispers, “Kitten.”
That sets me off, my cock twitching between my legs, and a steady stream of lust pulses through my veins and straight out of my cock. My body shakes with such force that my neck arches back, cum spilling over the head of my cock.
My knuckles crack as I hold on for dear life, and when he doesn’t let up, just keeps massaging my prostate, I let out a shuddering breath.
“One more. They want two.”
“Fuck them,” I wheeze, but he only shifts closer, my leg straight up now, my cum-smeared abdomen flexing as I feel pleasure move through me, my muscles relaxing and yet tensing at the same time .
Luca’s phone is moving from my face to my chest, to where his fingers disappear inside of me.
“You’re such a desperate little slut, I know you can do it.”
“I can’t,” I gasp, but he doesn’t let up, his fingers continuing to toy with me, his face turning slightly, his teeth grazing my calf. The way his mouth feels on my skin makes something inside of me twist.
His tongue flicks out and then his teeth sink into me, making me moan.
The pressure against my prostate grows, and I’m almost crying now, my entire body taut and ready to snap.
“Such a good boy,” he whispers, and that pushes me over the edge, a pathetic burst of cum sputtering from the tip of my cock. It’s embarrassing, really.
He wets his lips as he trails the camera over my body once more, catching everything from my watering eyes to my puckered nipples, to my cum-splashed stomach.
“We got what we needed.”
He thumbs at his phone, his fingers still inside of me.
“Sent.”
I can’t move, my eyelids fluttering as I flex around him.
“You can—you can take your fingers out of me.”
He hesitates a moment and then slowly pulls them out.
I feel his absence. It almost hurts. I want more.
“I’m going for a smoke,” he says, his voice rough, his pants tight. He’s hornier than he wants to admit in this moment.
But I don’t offer to suck his dick, even though I’d let him slide down my throat. Instead, I just lie there, watching as Luca disappears from the bedroom before I close my eyes and drift off.
The smell of smoke wakes me, my body jerking upright, my mind in a fog. My gaze swivels over to the chair where I see Luca slumped over, a glass of alcohol on the ground, tipped over, small flames lapping at the rug where I’m sure his cigarette fell.
That asshole probably fell asleep with it in his hand. I jump from the bed.
“Luca! Luca !”
The flames seem to be growing larger, and suddenly Luca is sitting upright, his legs pulled up to his chest, his eyes wide. He’s paralyzed.
I grab the blanket off the bed, flinging it over the small fire and stomping on it before dragging him off the chair and toward me. He stumbles, his fingernails digging into my skin, his breathing raspy.
He looks like he’s miles away, not truly present. He’s back in his nightmares.
“It’s okay. It’s okay. It’s out. The fire is gone.”
He doesn’t seem to believe me, so I pull the blanket back and see the charred rug, but no embers, no flames.
“See. It’s gone. It’s fine.”
Luca lets out a shuddery breath, and I see his hands flexing next to his sides.
Oh fuck.
“Hold on. Just?—”
I rush to the window and pull it open. The sound of the rain outside drowns out the sound of his panicked breathing.
“Come here. Come on,” I say as I approach him. His eyes are glued to the place where the flames had started to lap at the upholstery of the chair he was just in, so I pull him into me once more. He stumbles to the right and my arms wrap around him. I feel the tremble of fear move through his entire body, making his teeth rattle.
I don’t know what happened in his past that made him so afraid of fire. I don’t know because he’s never told anyone that I know of. Anthony might know. I should ask him, despite knowing he may never tell me. The two of them are as close as two men can get.
Like brothers .
I grab my phone off the bedside table and lead a rigid and silent Luca from the bedroom.
“Let’s go somewhere else.”
Halfway dragging him into a guest room on the far side of the house, I open the window so he can hear the rain, and then pull him to the ensuite bathroom. I turn the shower on, knowing he’ll want to wash the smell of smoke from his body. The smell reminds him of it, whatever happened. And I want to bring him back to the present. I strip him until he’s completely naked and help him inside. I use my hands to scrub at his skin, the fresh smell of soap washing everything else away.
Fuck. I should probably shower too.
I’m still naked from earlier, so I just step into the narrow stall with him, leaning into his wet body and holding him to me.
He’s quiet, so I just let him be.
I get it.
I fucking get it.
The way certain things trigger me. Trauma has a way of burying itself deep inside, worming its way into your bones, and never leaving.
My hands move up his back, and he leans into me. My fingers spread across his shoulder blades and he turns his face into my neck.
“Let me wash myself and then we can lie down,” I say gently, and he huffs.
He probably hates that it’s me in here with him, comforting him, but fuck it. I’m the only one here.
I pull away for a moment, scrubbing the bar of soap over me and rinsing off before turning off the water and stepping out. Luca is just standing there, his gaze on me.
I toss him a towel and he catches it, holding it against his chest. He makes no move to dry off, so I do it for him, dragging it over his skin until he’s no longer wet.
Then I pull him into the bedroom and onto the mattress, tugging the covers over us .
It smells like rain in here, wet and earthy. The sound of it pounding the ground outside has me relaxing slightly. Not that Luca is. He seems to be back in that dark place, his gaze slightly far away. So I pull him into me, both of us on our sides, our knees pressed together, my arm wrapped around him, and my hand settled on his back.
Our foreheads are just inches apart, and I press my nose against his.
“Come back, Luca. You’re safe. You can come back now.”
He blinks up at me, those dark eyes meeting mine.
But he says nothing, so I just press in closer to him. I can feel his heartbeat against my chest and I drag my fingers across the skin of his back.
He shivers, so I do it again.
“How about we play a game?”
When he doesn’t answer, I add, “I’m going to draw a letter on your back and you guess what it is.”
He swallows and so I drag my finger over his back.
A moment later, he murmurs, “C.”
“Yeah. Okay, ready for the next one?”
He nods, that faraway look starting to disappear. I draw another letter on his back.
“O.”
“Mhm. Next?”
He nods and my fingernail traces a shape on his back, bumping over his spine as I go.
“C.”
I huff a laugh, and his lips start to turn up. “Such a fucking slut.”
“I am,” I say, my own lips turning up as I draw out the last letter.
“K.”
“You guessed it. Want to go again?”
He nods, his hand bringing my leg up over his hip, our bare cocks slotted together, our lips too fucking close.
“Will it be another dirty word? ”
“Maybe,” I say, and his nose brushes against mine, his hand dragging up the side of my thigh to my hip.
My fingers slide up and down his back, spelling out dirty words, making him shiver and smile.
By the time he’s fully back to the present, our lips are brushing with each exhale.
“You saved me,” he whispers, his hand sliding into my hair and tugging on the strands gently.
“That’s my job.”
“It’s more than the job,” he adds, and I swallow roughly. “Admit it, Vik.”
I don’t. I can’t. Instead, I just say, “Tell me what happened. Tell me your secrets.”
“Admit it and I will.”
I hesitate a moment, not wanting to give in, but also wanting to know more about him. It’s detrimental to me in the long run, the way he’ll use my truth against me, but I do it anyway.
“Fine. It’s more than the job. Right now, it’s more.”
He huffs but accepts my admission.
“You start,” he says, his fingers massaging my scalp, making tingles erupt across my back.
“Why do I have to be the one to fucking start?”
“Because I’m your boss and I say so.”
The way he murmurs that, with such authority, makes my cock perk up. Hell, who am I kidding? I was half-hard just from being near him, but this pushed me over the edge. Blood flows to it and it settles between our bodies, pressed against his stomach.
He feels it, I know he does, but he doesn’t say anything. Just watches me intently.
“Fine. I have siblings in Oregon.” He blinks at me, and I sigh. “They’re much older than me. I didn’t even know about them until a few years ago. Anthony looked into it and found them.”
“Have you met them? ”
“No. I don’t know if I want to. Me showing up in their lives would only ruin things.”
“Are they good people?”
I roll my lips between my teeth. “You first. Tell me something. I can’t be the only one with secrets.”
“I have many, but you only get a few, kitten.”
“Fine.”
His lips move against mine, a soft brush and I hold my breath when he pulls away.
“My parents and sibling were murdered.”
I don’t breathe as he opens up, just a crack, but it leaves me wanting more.
“Where were you?”
“I was there. Hiding. That’s when the fire started. I almost didn’t make it out but the firefighters came.”
He shudders, and I rub gently at his back.
“Did you find who did it?”
“No.”
He closes his eyes, and I can’t help but stare at him. Fuck, he’s so beautiful.
Something possessive moves through me, but I squash it. This, right here, means nothing.
“I like the sound of the rain,” Luca finally says, and I let my hand thread through the hair at the base of his neck.
“Me too.”
His eyes open and meet mine, something intense flickering through those depths.
“Kiss me,” he whispers, those words piercing my chest.
I can’t help but do it. I lean forward and press my lips to his, gently at first and then it grows more urgent. Luca’s fingers dig into my skin, his hard cock brushing against my abdomen, and then he rolls me onto my back, his body on top of mine.
His arms bracket my face, his teeth sinking into the flesh of my lower lip.
Our eyes are still open as he licks his way into my mouth. The taste of him, the way his warm breath tunnels down my throat.
The way he possesses me.
He’s had me in a chokehold for years, almost half my life, if I’m honest.
I let out a shaky breath as he grinds his hips into mine. I didn’t realize this closeness, this awareness of him, would bring me so close to the precipice, but I’m teetering right there. The feel of him, the way he kisses me, filthy and domineering.
Everything about him is my kryptonite.
My body arches up, my legs tightening around his waist as my fingers sink into the flesh of his ass, and I explode on a cry.
Luca swallows it down, grinding into me as wave after wave crashes over me.
And when I’m done, lying there, sucking in deep breaths, Luca stares down at me, his pupils blown out. Our lips hover centimeters apart, and then I open wide for him.
His lips twitch and he crawls up my body, slotting his cock at my mouth and pushing inside.
I hold onto him tightly, forcing his cock down my throat as I swallow around him. He groans, his chin on his chest, his eyes watching me take him.
When he comes, it’s with a low moan, his body trembling over mine. I hold him inside, breathing through my nose as he softens against my tongue.
His finger traces a line up my cheek as he slowly pulls out of me, a string of cum slipping from my lips as he falls to my side. He reaches over and swipes at my swollen lips, smearing his release across my skin.
“You’re mine.”
I just stare at him, as a flutter builds in my chest.
Fuck.