10. Josie
“Where are you taking me?” I show no fear while Luca drags me along the street with a tight grasp around my wrist. With him at my side, I have nothing to be afraid of.
There’s no direct response from him, only a long, deep growl rumbling from his enormous chest.
But a quick spin of his heels, tugging my arm with his motion nearly has me toppling over. He catches me with his free hand, resting it on my lower back but urging me on into an alleyway a few buildings over from the Sunken Sailor.
A single light dimly illuminates the concrete below. It flickers, on the verge of going out, and it’s here Luca brings us to a stop. The hand that once cradled my midsection moves to my shoulder and pins me against the graffitied wall. He presses his magnificent form into me, nose hovering above my head as he takes in a long, deep breath of my hair.
It’s happening again, isn’t it? My plan worked perfectly and Luca’s about to throw himself into me. Our lips will lock, our bodies will entangle, and…
And then what? I haven’t thought this through all the way. What if he wants me here? Bend me over the trashcans and take my innocence. I’ve teased and taunted him to the point of an outburst, how could I not expect this outcome?
But the thoughts are stirring up a deep burning in the pit of my belly. A yearning to feel the thick slab of his meat poking my leg go wherever he wants it to.
It doesn’t mean I’m going to crumble. I’ve taken control of this situation, and I’m not about to let my hard work go to waste. He wants the feisty girl who stood up to him in the bar, so that’s what I’ll keep on showing.
“Am I supposed to be scared?” I stare at him through a hooded gaze.
“Why would I want you to be scared of me?” he asks, brow furrowing in confusion. “Never afraid, but wariness will do you well.”
“Wariness?” I scoff.
The same rumbling emits from his chest, catching in the back of his throat.
“You’ve been naughty, Josie. It can’t go without punishment.”
“Punishment?” I crook a brow. His stern features don’t break to tell me this is a laughing matter.
Without another word, Luca takes a step back. The warmth of his body moves with him, and for the first time since we walked into the night, the chilly sting of ice-cold wind blows against my skin.
Luca’s head twists to a dilapidated chair, with a broken backrest and bent metal legs.
“You’re going to bend over on that,” he says, hands grabbing at the buckle of his shiny leather belt.
Heat rushes to my face and my heart beats in my ears. The ambient noise of the street goes silent behind the thumping, and the pit in my belly swirls more intensely, leaving a puddle in my cotton panties.
Demeaning, degrading, and so damn hot.
Luca Palermo in a nutshell, I’m starting to realize.
“Yes, sir.” Now the words struggle to leave my lips. Between the butterflies and my own twisted excitement for what’s about to happen, I can’t stop the quivering lower lip.
He unclasps his belt and pulls it through the loops of his trousers, while I make my way to the chair. I grab at the rusty metal beams that make up the backrest support, and the crumpled legs shift under my weight.
“Good girl,” Luca says. The words warm my freezing core.
It makes me wonder if I ever had the control I believed I did. Was Luca always holding all the cards and just didn’t show his hand? Or is this a reaction to what I put in front of him? Does it even matter? Deep down I knew Luca was going to take it back once he had the chance. The little power I thought I held was a necessary boost of confidence, but it was never going to be mine for long.
“Spread your legs, stick your ass in the air,” he orders, and I obey.
He mutters an obscenity under his voice before his calloused fingers run along the smooth skin of my thigh exposed by my shorts. They don’t stop there, trailing the hemline to the front of my body.
What comes next? The words are on the tip of my tongue but don’t dare pass my lips.
Luca’s hand finds its way between my legs, and an instant and intense wave of pleasure rips through every fiber of my being. My knees buckle and a soft moan emits from my lips.
He’s a man on a mission, and I want him to conquer it.
“I’m going to undo your pants.” He doesn’t wait for a response before fingers that moments ago tickled my most sensitive spot fiddle with the button on my daisy dukes. “And then I’m going to drop them to your knees.”
His voice is deep, sultry, alluring, and filthy all at once. The rich aroma of his musky cologne wafts in my direction with every action he takes. After a little fiddling, the button releases its hold. A fiercely cold wind blows in from the street and makes its way straight through the newly formed opening. But the heat of my loins quells the cold, feverishly excited for my punishment.
“Why are you taking my pants off?” Is it because he’s going to be taking his off next? I look at him over my shoulder, but I don’t think the words even hit his ear. His golden eyes are locked on my body, drinking in every inch of it.
A fist tightens in the back of my shorts, and with a single tug, they drop, getting caught in the angle of my spread legs just above the knee. Luca’s hand finds its way to my skin again, this time gripping my ass and squeezing the meat.
“And now, your panties.”
I choke on a breath while his hands begin their intimate dance. It’s slower than with my pants. He’s feeling and caressing whatever skin he can on his way to the waistband, but those eyes never waiver. He’s fixated on the little dark spot between my legs, where my eagerness to feel his touch has betrayed the cocky confidence I put on display. His neck tenses and flexes from a hard swallow as he nears his destination.
An elaborate scheme to see me without clothes on? If only he knew, I’d have stripped down to nothing at his request.
“Face the wall and close your eyes.”
Another command I follow without hesitation.
Luca peels the fabric down my ass, and another noise escapes me before I can stop it. Somewhere between a word I’d have said if I was brave and a moan from the feeling of a man—my man—taking what he wants.
“It’s going to sting,” he says.
“What is?”
That’s when I feel it. The crack of leather against my flesh. I got so lost in my twisted fantasy that I forgot what spurred the whole thing on. And he’s not wrong, it stings. The cold makes it worse, but the cold also soothes the now-searing heat. I wince, biting back tears by chewing on my inner cheek.
Sure, it hurts, but the pleasure it’s caused is tenfold the sting.
And then a foreign feeling brushes against my ass. Luca’s stubbled chin tickles my sensitive skin before his lips meet the raised flesh. His lips give way for his tongue to dance, licking along the length of what’s no doubt a fairly deep belt mark. It glides along my cheek, tickling the ridge before continuing on the other side.
But each delicate motion is followed by primal grunting. His hands, once locked around my ankles, move up my calves, then thighs until they’re finally spreading my cheeks. Soft kisses are shadowed by a hungry tongue licking at the wetness dripping down my inner thighs.
His breathing is heavy and staggered. His head movements become more erratic between my legs, farther now from the impact zone but closer to my pussy.
My heart pounds in my chest, and I haven’t drawn a breath since I felt his face against me. He releases one hand from its firm grip on my ass and slides it around my midsection. The kissing and licking along my inner thigh continue while his fingers find their way toward my gooey center.
A haze of excitement and nervousness wash away all thoughts while Luca moves with expert precision across my body. Then it hits. A single finger sliding between my folds, getting soaked before it nestles against my clit. Luca’s tongue nears my core, and his hand moves in slow, rhythmic circles.
Sheer bliss erupts throughout me. Sounds leave my body I didn’t even know I was capable of making. My legs tremble, my body buckles, and every inch of my skin tingles with satisfaction.
A knot forms in my belly. It’s familiar, one I’ve felt many times before, pleasuring myself to whatever twisted fantasy of Luca sprung to mind. Only this time, it’s more intense, filling my entire body with a scorching heat that radiates from the center throughout every limb.
Luca’s mouth moves from one leg to the other, lapping up my juices, but never reaching the source. At this point, he doesn’t even have to. His magical fingers are more than enough.
“Are you close?” he asks, hot breath tickling my flesh.
“Uh-huh.” No words come to mind. All I can do is emit guttural noises that satisfy his question.
“Good.”
The word is almost enough to send me over the edge, but instead of letting me dash across the finish line, Luca pulls away. First his head, then his hand, and finally his entire body until I’m left with my pants down, ass burning and a cold wind chilling what he warmed.
“The spanking didn’t seem to do what it had to,” Luca says, pulling his belt back into position around his waist. “But a ruined orgasm will.”
Fury scrunches my face and I spin around to face him.
“What?” I roar, slamming a fist into his chest. He barely reacts to the impact.
But his lips, still coated in my juices, curl into a smile. The first I’ve seen in all the time he’s spent at the Sunken Sailor.
“Pull your pants up and get back to work. I’ll see you inside.”
“You’ve got to be kidding me.” A growl follows my words.
“Do you want a repeat of your punishment?”
That threat is almost as cold as the wind that blows against my bare bottom. No, I never want a repeat of this moment again. Knocking on the door of ecstasy but pulling away a second before it opens? It’s got to be a torture reserved for the worst bastards in hell.
“No. I’ll be a good girl,” I say.
“Of course, you will.” Luca wraps a hand around the back of my neck. “Because you’re my good girl.”
My heart melts in my chest, but the sensation intensifies when Luca pulls me into an embrace. Our tongues meet, and I can still taste myself on him. The ache for release leaves an uncomfortable pang in my belly.
And even though the situation sucks, even though he didn’t take me here and now, I can’t complain.
At least now I know I’m his.