Chapter Seven
Luca closed the latest file and placed it back into the pile. He had already let go of the PA who caused Tillie some trouble when she arrived for lunch the other day. Running a hand down his face, he sat back in his chair and allowed himself a few seconds to relax. Once again, his thoughts drifted toward Tillie. His wife.
From the moment she stepped into his office several months ago, she had been causing him nothing but trouble.He’d never been this controlled by a woman before, or acted totally irrational. Staring down at his wedding ring, he shook his head. This was insane. Luca had promised himself many years ago that he would never make himself vulnerable. Growing up without being wanted had been as vulnerable as he was willing to go.
Every night he went home, he did so with the intention of not allowing Tillie to get close to him, and each time he failed. He didn’t like any distance between them.
Running a hand down his face, he clenched his hand with the wedding ring into a fist, and took a deep breath.There was a sudden knock on his office door, and he sat up, pressing the tips of his fingers together, and told them to enter. He had yet to find himself a new PA, not that he needed one. He was quite happy to do most of the work himself.
Much to his surprise, David entered his office.
“Hi,” David said.
Helooked toward his brother-in-law, he’d not spoken to him much other than work. Even at his wedding to Tillie, they hadn’t socialized.
“Is there anything I can help you with?”Luca asked. He and David were civil to one another, and everything had always been focused on work. He wasn’t a fool, he knew David was close with his sister.
“Actually, I think you and I should talk.”
Luca raised his brow and waited.
David lowered himself into the chair opposite. “I know there is not a lot of information about you.You date beautiful women and you move on.” He stopped to clear his throat. “You can imagine my surprise when you decided to marry my sister.”
Luca continued to stare at his brother-in-law.
He laughed. “You know, this is usually the part where you convince me you have good intentions for my sister.”
“You’re attempting to show brotherly concern now? I’ve been married to your sister for over a month, and then there was the brief engagement, and you didn’tsay anything.”
David ran a hand down his face and blewout a breath. “I knew there was nothing I or anyone else could do. We needed you to marry my sister, for the company. I’m not a fool, Luca. I know the only reason you have taken extra time with us and not stripped it apart is because of her.”
“So what is your problem?” Luca asked.
“I don’t have a problem but I need to know that you’re going to treat my sister right.”
“I’m not going to hurt her.”
“There are a lot of different ways you can hurt someone.”
Luca sighed and dropped his arms. “Why don’t you enlighten me as to what you clearly think I’m going to do?”
“You can cheat.”
“Not going to happen.”
David snorted. “You’ve gone from dating beautiful models to my sister, and you think you can convince me you’re not going to cheat?”
Luca got out of his chair and rounded the desk. “First of all, I don’t do the whole family crap. I never had one, nor do I care to have one. If you had any concern about how I treat Tillie,you should have stepped up before now and said ‘fuck it’ to your company. You didn’t. You put the company before your sister so I don’t care for the brotherly love you’re showing.” Luca held up his hand as David went to interrupt. “As for my dating models, they meant nothing to me. As it happens, I consider Tillie, my wife, to be one of the most beautiful women I have ever seen or had the pleasure of spending time with. In the short time she was in my office, fighting for this company, I knew what a treasure she was, and I was not going to allow her to get away so easily. You’re right, David, you don’t know me, because if you did, you wouldn’t come into my office right now and insult me.”
The other man threw his hands up. “I surrender, shit, fuck, I am so sorry. I wasn’t trying to insult you orTillie. She’s my sister and I care about her a lot, and I want what’s best for her. With everything going on, between the company takeover and Uncle Ed’s betrayal, I haven’t had a single minute to care about what really matters, and that is my sister. I’m not an asshole, although the more I talk, the more I sound like an asshole.”
Luca was more than happy for him to keep talking, because he was right, it wasn’t exactly helping his cause, and he had nothing more to say. All he had to do was wait.
“I know there is a lot more to life than earning money. Fuck!” David threw his arms up in the air. “I quit. I just … I like to think of myself as the good big brother. The one that always looks out for his sister. I have donethat my whole life. I was the one who told her years ago to tell Dad about the whole beauty pageants thing.”
“Beauty pageants?”
David waved his hand in the air as if it wasn’t too much of a concern. “You don’t need to worry about it. Tillie hated it, and it kind of putMom and Tillie’s relationship on a bad note, but she got to stop going. Hasn’t she told you?”
They hadn’t exactly gotten around to talking much about their pasts, but thathadbeen discussed. It was a small snippet into Tillie, and Luca had appreciated it, especially when Tillie had been the one to tell him. Luca didn’t say a word, he just looked at David and waited.
The other man seemed to get nervous quite easily, or at least he did in his company. Luca had watched him at work, and when the man was focused, nothing could sway him, not even beautiful women.
When he first took over this company, he thought David would be his weakestlink and he’d have to cut him out of it. In fact, David had proven to be one of the strongest, and his dedication to the company was exemplary. They all had a burning respect for their grandfather, like Tillie, but for different reasons.
Their grandfather helped bring this company into what it’s known as today, or at least the good and admired aspects of the company. Something Uncle Ed had gone out of his way to destroy, and Luca hadn’t understood why, considering it was his livelihood.
David got to his feet and shoved his hands into his pockets. “I didn’t come here to insult you. I came here to offer friendship, not because you’ve helped bail out the company and kept me on.”
“You talk a lot, don’t you?”
Luca watched as he burst out laughing.
David pressed a hand to his stomach, almost as ifwhat Luca had just said was the most hilarious thing in the world. He wasn’t entertained.
“I’m sorry. Believe it or not, I’m considered the quiet one of thefamily. My mom is the talker. Tillie and I, we’re kind of on equal footing in the whole not-talking department. Hopefully, you won’t get mad with her for me putting my foot in it?” David asked.
“If you’re implying that I’m going to hurt Tillie, then I have to warn you I don’t like being threatened twice in the same day.”
“You’ve been threatened?” David asked.
Once again, Luca didn’t say a word, but he reached behind him and grabbed the small file with the note that had been left for him this morning. He figured it was the PA’s parting gift, and she did it for Uncle Ed. Just a simple letter, written in red pen, stating that he was going to kill him.
“Fuck, man, did you call the police?”
“There is no need. It’s merely an idle threat.” Luca snapped the file closed.
“Do you know who sent it?”
“Your Uncle Ed.”
“Uncle Ed? What the fuck?”
“I had no idea you cursed a lot.”
David put a hand over his mouth. “Yeah, ugh, if my grandfather were to hear me, he’d give me a clip around the back of the head and tell me real businessmen talk the talk without dirty words.”
Luca saw a wave of sadness pass over David’s face. “You’re sad.”
“Yeah, sorry, I just… you ever have those moments when something happens, and you don’t think too much about it until after you don’t get it anymore?”
“I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“In a nutshell, I’d give anything right now for my grandfather to be here, clipping me around the back of the head. I never cared too much for it when he was alive, but he was a good man. I miss him.”
“Tillie misses him as well.”
“She would. After things with the whole beauty pageant went sour, Mom and Tillie’s relationship did as well. She spent a lot of time with them growing up. Probably more than I did. Even when shewas a teenager. I was out being cool, and Tillie loved hanging out with our grandparents.” David sighed and then reached out his hand. “Believe it or not, I came here to also extend friendship. I know it doesn’t seem like much, and trust me, with how this meeting went down, I can understand if you don’t want to be friends, but that’s what I offer.”
Luca looked at the hand. A friend. He’d not had a friend in his life, and the temptation to tell this man so was strong, but he ignored it. Instead, he reached out and gripped the other man’s hand.
“Friends.”
****
Tillie couldn’t help but laugh as Luca recounted the whole afternoon with David. She had already gotten the heads up from David, that he felt like he’d been an asshole, but it was fun to watch Luca as he retold the tale.
“I’ve never known my brother to be so nervous. You must bring it outin people,” Tillie said.
Luca sat back and smiled at her.
For a brief second she was a little taken aback by just how powerful that smile was. Then it suddenly dawned on herthat ever since they had gotten married, she had never seen him smile. It was a beautiful smile, breathtaking.
Tillie placed her chin on her hand and just watched Luca as hesat back. They had already enjoyed the meal she’d spent most of the day cooking for him. Mainly because she’d cooked him a chocolate cake with lots of chocolate, and also chocolate ice cream, but she had started that yesterday.
“I’ve been known to bring it out in people. Do you want to tell me more about the beauty pageant?”
Tillie laughed. “Trust me, David pretty much covered it. Mom loved it, and I hated it. I couldn’t stand the makeup and getting dressed up. She spent hours trying to get me to find my talent. I remember my grandmother and Mom fighting over it as well. It was meant to be fun, but then it was all about competition, which I didn’t mind. Trust me, I can be quite competitive, but this was just different. I guess, even as a kid, I didn’t care much about what they were doing and why they were doing it.”
“You’re sad,” Luca said.
She took a deep breath and slowly exhaled. “I guess I’m not sad, not in the way you think, but with my grandparents gone, I miss Mom a lot. I know my grandmother would want me to mend bridges with her.” She shrugged. “I just don’t know what to do. Most of what I do with my mom always ends up in some kind of argument. Trust me, that isn’t fun, not for any of us.”
Luca reached out and took her hand. “I don’t know your parents that well, but from what I’ve seen with David, I do know you all care abouteach other. That has to count for something.”
She placed her hand on top of his. “It does.” She had thought about calling her mother so many times, but something always stopped her. Tillie hated arguments, and her mother was a pro at winning them most of the time. Not when it came to the beauty pageant. It was the only one her mother had lost, and it had certainly cost them dearly over the years.
Luca got to his feet, and he took hold of her hand, then lifted her up out of her chair. Tillie didn’t fight him, not even as he pressed her against the dinner table. She had missed him today, a lot. Tilting her head back to look at him, she waited.
He nudged her onto the table, and she slid on, marveling at it holding her weight. Luca stepped between her legs, and that one move felt … amazing.
She didn’t want him to stop, and he placed his hand on her knee and slowly began to slide his fingers up her thighs, teasing the flesh. She’d worn a skirt today, and as she stared into his eyes, she waited.
With every inch he moved up, he touched more of her.
So far, they hadn’t had sex, not true sex, since their wedding night. Tillie didn’t want to seem impatient, but she couldn’t help but feel a little … desperate.
She wanted to know what he felt like inside her, without that pesky little veil of her virginity. She knew, without a shadow of a doubt, she was going to enjoy being with Luca.They didn’t even have to have sex, and she knew she loved being around him. There wasn’t anything better.
Slowly, inch by inch, he began to move in close, and Tillie stared at him. The moment he pressed his lips to hers, she knew she was lost. His lips were hard and yet soft, firm and of course gentle. They felt amazing pressing to hers, and she placed her hands on his chest.
Luca only held her hands, and she felt this overwhelming need to be as close to him as possible. Slowly, she slid her hands up his chest, circling his neck, and then drawing him in as close as possible.
Tillie let out a moan that quickly turned guttural, as he broke the kiss and began to trail kisses toward her neck. She didn’t want the kissing to stop, but the feel of his lips on her neck was too good to give up. Closing her eyes, she gave herself over to the sensation of his lips, and they did feel incredible.
Then, the tips of his fingers began to stroke her thigh.
“I’ve missed you today, Tillie,” he said.
“I’ve missed you too.”
And that was no lie. She had missed him, and right now she wanted him so badly.
His hand moved up the insideof her thigh, and a horrible thought struck her. What if this was about giving her pleasure, and him not taking any for himself? She didn’t want that, and suddenly, without a second’s hesitation, she grabbed his wrists, stopping him from advancing toward her pussy. Even though she wanted his touch so desperately, she held him back.
“Tillie?”
She took a deep breath. She’d managed to stop him, but now she had to focus so he knew she meant business. He was a businessman, and she had a feeling she was going to have to bargain for this, which was insane. It was sex.
“Do you want me to stop?” he asked.
“No.”
She looked him in the eye and saw his confusion. She couldn’t help but smile. Damn it, why did he have to look so adorable and sexy at the same time? It should be illegal or something, but instead of complaining, she reached out and cupped his face.
He went to continue touching her, and she had no choice but to grab his wrist, and as she did so, she tutted.
“No.”
He took a deep breath, and then stepped back. “Do you want to tell me why no?” he asked.
Tillie smiled at him. “You never take pleasure for yourself,” she said.
She saw the frown on his face. “I take pleasure.”
“Luca, we’ve not had sex since our wedding night.” She saw his nostrils flare, but he didn’t attempt to interrupt. He stayed perfectly still. “Why?”
For several seconds, he didn’t say a word, and Tillie waited with bated breath.
“If you don’t want me to touch you, then all you have to do is say so.”
He went to pull away, but she wasn’t going to allow him to do that. She had no choice but to capture his attention, and to do that, she pressed his open palm against her breast, which seemed to silence him for at least a moment.
Even now, she loved his touch. Her hand was over his, but he covered her breast. In that moment, she absolutely hated the feel of the clothing in the way. She wanted to be naked, with him touching her.
“You’re afraid of hurting me, aren’t you?” she asked.
There was no way she was going to allow him to get away with keeping her in the dark.
Luca stared at her. “I had no idea you were a virgin. It didn’t seem possible to me, and I wasn’t expecting it. I should have taken my time, been more careful with you, but I wasn’t.”
He shook his head, and Tillie let go of his hands and cupped his face.
“Stop. You need to stop this. Stop the guilt, or whatever the hell it is you’re going through. I don’t care. I … I want my husband. I want to be with you, and I don’t care what happened in the past. We’re making this work, right?” she asked. He gave a sudden nod of his head in response and she couldn’t help but laugh. “Good, because I want my husband to make love to me, or to … fuck me.” She licked her lips as her mouth suddenly felt so dry. “And the only way for me to do that … is for you to … have sex with me. Also, if we’re going to want to have babies, then we totally need to have s—” She didn’t get to finish what she was saying, but in that moment she didn’t care, because Luca had grabbed her face and kissed her hard.