Chapter 44
ALEX
Luca carried me in his arms, kicking open my bedroom door with his foot. Half asleep, I lay my head on his warm chest and curled against him. His delicious scent filled the air, and I drank him in as he bent over to lower me onto the mattress.
He sank to the bed beside me and brushed the curls off my forehead. Like hot pokers branding my skin, his fingers trailed down my cheek, leaving a brush of fire in their wake.
I fell asleep in Marcello’s hospital bed after he passed out from the pain meds. My grandfather had assured me Marcello’s vitals looked good and that he would likely recover fully. But I was too afraid to leave his side until Luca swaddled me like a baby and took me upstairs.
“Luca,” I whispered, laying my head on the pillows. “Will you stay with me?”
He brushed the hair off my forehead and sighed. Without a word, he moved to the other side of the bed. The mattress dipped from his weight as he stripped off his dress shoes and dropped them onto the floor with a thud. I turned to face him, and he shot up from the bed to strip off his pants.
Licking my lips, I watched my handsome Devil unzip his slacks and slide them down his toned thighs. “Mmm…”
“I thought you were tired,” he said with a mischievous look.
“I’m too tired for sex,” I confirmed. “But I can look, can’t I?”
He smirked as he unbuttoned his shirt and slid it over his shoulders, revealing his scarred, muscled stomach. “Go ahead.”
My skin tingled with desire, and with one sexy smirk, I was wide awake. Heat flooded between my thighs, my skin dotted with tiny bumps of arousal. But my body and mind were not in agreement because I needed sleep more than an orgasm.
After Luca organized his clothes at the edge of the bed, he climbed in beside me. I scooted across the silky sheets, and he hooked his strong arm around me. I reached up, traced my thumb along his jaw, and stopped at his lips.
His eyes flickered with madness. “My little Devil,” he whispered against my lips. “Do you need me to feed your demons?”
I shook my head. “I want to kiss you until I fall asleep.”
Luca clutched the side of my face with his big hand and crushed my lips with a kiss.
His tongue swept into my mouth, tangling with mine.
He wove his fingers through my curls, his touch soft and loving.
It was so unusual to see this side of Luca.
A wave of excitement raced down the length of my body as I wrapped my leg around him and rocked my hips.
He grabbed my hand, moving it over top of his rock-hard cock that poked through the slit on his black Dolce & Gabbana boxer briefs. “You drive me crazy, baby,” he whispered between kisses.
“Luca,” I moaned. “What happened to just kissing?”
He laughed, then dipped his hand between my thighs. “I am just kissing you.”
“No, you’re not.” I sucked his bottom lip into my mouth as he shoved his hand down my shorts and rolled his thumb over my clit. “Oh, god…”
“I know you need a release, baby,” he said in a husky voice that burned my skin. “Let me take care of you.”
My resolve faded with each second he rubbed my clit, ripping another moan from my throat. I tugged on my shorts, and he helped me shove them over my hips. After I kicked them off, I flipped onto my back and spread my legs. Luca didn’t waste a second, quickly moving between them with a greedy look.
He caged me against the mattress and pushed up my shirt. A cool breeze blew in from the open French doors, causing my nipples to pebble. Luca bit my bottom lip as he teased my wetness with his finger. I arched my back, and Luca groaned, kissing me harder as he deepened the kiss.
With each of his hot kisses, he branded my skin. We kissed for what felt like hours, his fingers working their magic between my legs. Luca was never sweet or gentle with me, but he wasn’t his rough and possessive self. Something had changed in his usual caveman demeanor.
He helped me pull my shirt over my head and tossed it across the room. Studying me with a crazed look in his eyes, he stared at my breasts, his slow perusal traveling down the length of my body. Luca grunted as his fingers moved inside me, his eyes widening with each thrust.
He stuck out his tongue, peeking up at me as he licked my nipples, sucking them into his mouth. For a moment, he became the man I’d always wanted him to be.
Gentle, soft, loving.
Was he capable of this?
He massaged my nipple between his fingers as his tongue glided along my skin, bringing me seconds away from an orgasm.
I could feel it building with each flick, heat coiling in my belly as he massaged my inner walls with care.
Luca crawled down my body, and with his head between my legs, I practically unraveled.
His tongue rolled over my throbbing clit, dipping between my slick folds. He spread me open with his tongue, igniting every pleasure point in my body at once. My skin prickled with bumps, warmth spreading down my arms and legs.
An orgasm commanded control of my body, forcing my legs to shake uncontrollably.
Luca held me down as he licked me aggressively, his tongue taking me to new heights.
With his hand on my breast, he made a slow sweeping motion over my nipple, and as if he willed it, I came so damn hard I couldn’t stop trembling until long after he’d removed his fingers and tongue.
I reached between us and grabbed his cock, his shaft long and hard and growing even harder in my hand. He kicked off his boxers and positioned himself between my thighs.
“Go slow.”
“Whatever my queen wants,” he whispered, his warm breath fanning against my lips, “she will get.”
As he inched inside me, he ran his fingers down my thigh and took his time breaking through my inner walls.
He hadn’t been this gentle with me since he took my virginity, and I was soaking up every second.
In the past, when I’d asked him to make love to me, he’d ignored my requests and taken me with his usual roughness.
Maybe it was Marcello’s near-death experience or his fear of losing me, but I was glad he was finally giving me the one thing I wanted.
Intimacy .
“Luca,” I whimpered as he kissed my lips.
“You feel so good, baby.” He sucked on my lip as he rocked his hips. “Fuck, I missed you.”
“It’s only been a few days.”
“With you,” he said as he brushed my cheek. “It feels like forever. I can’t get enough of you.” He kissed me again. “I’ll never get enough of you, Drea.”
My body melted into his, and I slowly unraveled beneath him.
It was so easy to lose myself with this gorgeous man, the same one who had consumed my dirty dreams. He bit my lip playfully, a sexy smile teasing his lips.
I looked up at my powerful king with his strong jawline, high cheekbones, and those pretty blue eyes that sliced right through me.
A feral look danced across his irises as he spilled his cum inside me.
“That was perfect.”
He kissed me. “I knew you needed that.”
“Luca, I need to know something.”
His thumb grazed my cheek. “Anything.”
“Do you think you’ll ever love me?”
He blew out a deep breath, his expression darkening. Luca attempted to roll off me, but I grabbed his bicep.
“Don’t withdraw from me, Luca. Please give me something.”
His eyes snapped shut. “I don’t know how to love you. What does that word even mean?”
“Love isn’t a word,” I insisted. “Love is actions. Intention. When you protected me from your enemies and risked your life for mine, that was love.”
He shook his head. “You are my queen, Drea. I will always put you first. So will the rest of the Knights.”
“It’s been ten years, Luca. You must feel something for me.”
Luca pulled out of me, already withdrawing from me as he moved to the mattress beside me. He propped himself up on his elbow, unable to meet my gaze. “Why are you ruining this?”
“Why does the thought of loving me make you sick?” I forced down the tears stinging my eyes, though my voice still trembled as I spoke. “Is the idea that horrible?”
“No,” he admitted. “But I’ve already told you that word has no meaning. There are no words to describe how I feel about you.”
“What binds us will destroy us,” I whispered.
He nodded. “You may call it love, but I call it something else. The darkness inside us, the demons that want to lay claim to our souls, those are the things that bind us. We all have that in common. You, me, the Knights. Forever and always, bound to one another.”
Even though his words should have comforted me, I felt nothing but anger and frustration. “Are you saying what I think?”
“You know what Legare means in Italian.”
I nodded. “To tie, to bind.”
“What binds us will destroy us ,” he repeated. “And what will destroy us unites us .”
“It’s The Devil’s Knights’ motto,” I said in disbelief. “After all these years, I thought it was your way of telling me you loved me.”
“No, baby. It means so much more than love.”
Anger coursing through my veins like hot lava, I slid across the mattress and covered myself with a sheet. “Get out, Luca.”
He groaned as he sat up, reaching out for me. “What’s your problem, Drea? Get over here.”
“I thought those words meant something to us,” I choked out, on the verge of losing my shit. “Not to the Knights and us.”
“They mean something,” he challenged as he invaded my personal space. “You will be our queen. I’ve been preparing you for years.”
I shook my head, fighting tears. “More like grooming me.”
Luca attempted to touch my arm, and I recoiled from him.
“You should go.”
I wrapped the sheet around my body, feeling too naked in front of him, and rushed into the bathroom, locking the door behind me.
Luca banged on the door. “C’mon, Drea.” He jiggled the handle as I backed into the room, bumping into the counter as the first tear fell. “Open this damn door, baby.”
“Go away, Luca!”
“No,” he growled. “Open this fucking door before I break it down.”
“I can’t take this shit anymore,” I shouted. “Just leave me alone!”
“What are you doing in there, baby?” Luca threw his weight into the door like he was trying to break it down. “You better not be hurting yourself.”
“Luca, I’m not suicidal. Please, give me some space.”
“ Mi dispiace bellissima ,” he said in Italian.
I’m sorry, beautiful .
“I don’t care how many languages you know,” I screamed. “Your words have no meaning. You tricked me into thinking those words were synonymous with love. I feel betrayed, Luca. Please give me some room to breathe without hovering over me.”
He punched the door and cursed. “Fine. Have it your way. But I’m not giving up on you.”