Luca (Veiled City #3)

Chapter Seven #2

I curled my fingers around his hardening length, reveling in the way he groaned raggedly with each messy stroke from root to head. The slick dripping from the tip painted my stomach, and it was gratifying to know he wasn’t far from his peak either.

“Think you can come again for me, pretty boy?”

Luca gasped at the endearment and rolled his hips into my fist, shuddering, as if the dual sensation was too much but he couldn’t hold himself back. “Yes, yes, fuck… ”

He threw his head back, his pale neck on full display, the cords tensing as he squirmed in my lap with an uncoordinated abandon, muttering a litany of pleas. He was stunning, lost in pleasure, and I couldn’t decide whether to watch each delicious contortion on his face or stare at the glow of the fire reflecting off the sweat beading at his collarbones. He glistened as if speckled with gold, but the space between his brows creased in both shock and concentration, and I couldn’t choose. Instead, my gaze followed the pretty blush blossoming across his cheeks, traveling over the fabric brushing his nipples with each rise and fall of his chest before landing on where we joined.

It was obscene, how perfectly he clung to me, how his hole stretched around the thick base but strangled the very tip as I rutted in and out. His body was made for me, his insides were molded to my shape and it felt right being tucked in that space I’d claimed as my own. I wanted to stay there forever. It was addictive, and even though I’d tunneled inside the hot clasp of his body as deep as was feasible, I wanted to be even deeper.

I couldn’t get enough.

“How can I be so deep inside you and still want more?” I wondered aloud, watching my cock disappear with every frenzied buck upward. “You’ve spoiled me, Luca. You’ve given yourself over so freely and I’ve become greedy. I crave you more and more every time I have you, desperate to devour every little piece, again and again.”

“Take it, take it all,” he babbled. “It’s yours. All yours.”

The sounds we were making were intoxicating—sweet, musical keens and lewd wet slaps that threatened to send me hurtling over my peak. It was only through sheer force of will that I held off.

“I want to fill you, to see you fat with how much cum I can fuck into you.” I grunted as he clamped down like a vise, the muscles under my fingertips growing taut. “I need you— ngh —bred and sated, to know my seed is planted in your belly. Let me— fuck —let me claim you again.” Let me wash away their scent and make you mine .

Luca’s fingers circled my wrist, shifting my hand from his shaft to his lower belly and pressing down. I felt the head of my cock nudging against my palm. “Do it,” he sobbed, breathing labored and eyes watering. “Give it to me.”

Snarling through my fangs, I flipped him onto his back, prying his knees apart with a bruising grip, my nails biting his skin as I pounded him even harder. My hips stuttered as my orgasm surged, but I kept on fucking him through each intense lick of pleasure, driving past overstimulation and forcing every last drop of my essence as far into him as it would go. Luca didn’t need any more than that, his back arched and toes curled as my name was torn from his throat and he spent in thick ropes over ruffles of chiffon and lace.

My mate sagged into the rug, a shivering and satisfied heap, gasping for the breath I’d fucked from his lungs. With one more deep grind against his ass, I dropped to my elbows and let the whirlwind of sensations wash over me. Our mingled scent filled the air between us, so thick I could taste it on my tongue, and had Luca’s eyes not fluttered heavily, I’d have rocked forward until my cock was primed to take him again.

But he needed to rest.

My mate had indulged my instincts, and the worst of the unease had subsided. He wasn’t in pain, they hadn’t succeeded. He was there beside me, his heart beating loudly, his breathing even, and that wasn’t going to change. Not today .

I brushed a soft kiss against the corner of his lax mouth, smiling at the happy sigh he rewarded me with.

He is safe.

* * *

“So…” Luca mumbled as soon as he woke, smacking his lips. After I’d cleaned and undressed him, we’d remained on the rug in front of the fireplace. He’d draped himself across my chest and I’d tugged a blanket over his back as he dozed. It was as comfortable as I’d felt in days. “Lingerie was a success?”

I hummed in firm agreement. “Very much so.”

He tilted his face enough to kiss me, the gesture a little sloppy, but no less sweet. “I didn’t know if it would be your thing.” He returned to his position, his head nestled under my chin. “You don’t really talk about your kinks and stuff.”

“ You are my kink.”

He huffed a laugh. “You’re such a cheeseball.”

“I would be willing to try anything you suggested,” I said honestly.

In truth, there wasn’t much I couldn’t imagine enjoying in the bedroom if Luca was involved. Except, perhaps, causing him excruciating pain. My instincts wouldn’t allow it, but thankfully he didn’t seem interested in more than bites or rough handling.

“Sooo, you don’t feel like our sex life is lacking?”

“Not at all.” I frowned at the question, taken a little off guard considering we’d never broached the issue before. There was something amiss. He was prying, though for what, I couldn’t yet decipher. I hadn’t sensed any disappointment in him, and my priority was to always leave him satisfied, but maybe I’d grown complacent? “Do you?”

“No, no,” he rushed to say, and I believed him, but there was definitely a detail he was skirting around. “I love everything we do. I just want to please you.”

“Must I repeat my earlier statement?”

“Yes, yes, I please you,” he mocked, and I could sense the accompanying eyeroll. “I know, but surely there’s something you want? Anything at all?”

I hummed in thought, and a smirk tugged at my lips. “Perhaps I could collar you, order you to your hands and knees, then parade you through the streets on a leash.”

Luca stilled, and comically slowly, he rose to face me again. “Are you serious?”

I grinned at him. “No, I am only teasing you.”

He released the breath he’d obviously been holding. “Thank fuck. I mean, as Alex always tells me, no kink-shaming, but yeah, I definitely don’t think I’d have the nerve for that kinda thing. Except maybe the collar. That’d be pretty hot. But not in public.”

The thought of him writhing beneath me, crying out my name with a leather strip buckled around his neck, was actually quite appealing. “I’ll keep that in mind, sweetheart.”

There was a short lull in the conversation, and I would have thought my mate had fallen asleep again if I couldn’t hear him aggressively chewing his lip. He had a particular thought on his mind. It could’ve been unrelated—he often would bounce from subject to subject with little warning—but I suspected whatever was flitting around up there was the entire reason for this topic. Though he was hesitating, to avoid bluntness, no doubt.

I waited. Patience was a must whenever Luca had a curiosity. Eventually, he shifted, crossing his arms over my chest and resting his chin on top, staring straight into my soul. I couldn’t have predicted what would leave his mouth next, but it was my turn to go still when he said, “Do you actually want to see me pregnant?”

Naturally, it took a moment for me to gather a response. “Of all the questions you have asked me, sweet boy, I’m afraid you’ve rendered me quite perplexed with this one.”

He shrugged, but judging by the uptick in his heart rate, he was anything but unbothered. “Just wondering what your thought process was behind the breeding thing.”

“It’s simple,” I said. “I love having you full to the brim with my scent, seeing your belly bulging with it, because it cements how thoroughly and irrevocably you are mine. You carry the evidence of our coupling for days, and it satisfies that primal urge in me to show off to the world that I am your mate.” I smirked at his aroused squirming and how easily his cheeks flushed pink. “And unless my senses are failing me, pet, you seem to enjoy it too.”

“Well, yeah. It’s hot. I like you being all possessive and territorial. It makes me feel wanted and… I don’t know, secure?”

“Never doubt how much I want you.”

“I don’t.” He huffed in frustration, though it wasn’t aimed at me. “I guess I’m only asking ’cause I wasn’t sure if, since you’re next in line, you had a deep-rooted instinct to… sow your seed. Like, are you hoping to procreate for the good of the realm? Or is it just you , you know?” Luca worried his bottom lip, his gaze on my chest as he contemplated. I opened my mouth to answer his question, but before I could, he sighed and blurted, “Are you content with what we have, or are you looking for more?”

I flinched.

There it was, the reason for his probing.

He thought I wasn’t content with only him.

I cupped his cheek, urging him to look at me. The uncertainty in his eyes broke my heart. “I have all I need with you, Luca.” I hoped the sincerity in my tone would be enough to soothe him. “Neither consciously nor subconsciously do I seek anything more than what we have, I swear to you. Forgive me if I’ve made you believe otherwise.”

He studied my face for a beat before sinking into my touch, the tension in his body loosening. “It’s not you. I just overthink, as you know.” He huffed a self-deprecating laugh, and I nodded. “I don’t know… This all just seems a little too good to be true sometimes, and part of me is still waiting for the other shoe to drop. It’s dumb, I know. I trust you, and I can feel your contentment through our bond, so I should listen to that, right?” He sighed again. “My brain just likes to work against me sometimes.”

The timid creature I had met in the club over a year ago was not the same boy who’d crossed over realms to set up a life in the Otherworld with me. His confidence had grown considerably, his true nature shining through like the most dazzling sunrise, though there were still moments when self-doubt creeped in and he retreated back into his shell. After a lifetime of being sheltered, and being left to deal with his self-conscious thoughts alone, it was never going to be something that disappeared overnight, or even left him entirely. However, it could be eased with love and encouragement—both of which I was more than honored to provide.

There would always be days when he’d be too overwhelmed or distressed to fight against the dark spiral of negative voices in his head—the reapers could no doubt be blamed this time around—but as long as I was beside him, I’d be there to shower him with as much patience and reassurance as it was in my power to give.

“I love you more than I can put into words,” I said simply, my thumb brushing the spot under his eye. “You are my everything, and you will always be my everything. I’ll gladly tell you every minute of every day if it’ll soothe you, my heart.”

With a soft smile, he shook his head. “You say it plenty, and I believe you.” He leaned up to plant a quick kiss on my cheek before propping his head on one hand and drawing patterns on my pec with the other.

There was a pause before he spoke again.

“I’m sorry you always have to reassure me. It must get annoying.”

“Absolutely not.” I combed my fingers through his hair, brushing the unruly strands behind his ears. “I am happy to give you whatever you need… just as you do the same for me.”

“I love you so much.”

I leaned in to nuzzle my nose against his. “And I you.”

Calmed, he plastered himself to my chest once again, snuggling impossibly closer, almost as if he wanted to merge our bodies into one.

“Okay, I can settle now knowing you’re just a kinky bastard,” he said before pinning me with a cynical side-eyed look. “Even though you said you weren’t.”

“Actually, if you recall, I said nothing of the sort,” I corrected him. He just snorted, neither confirming nor denying. I saw it as a challenge. “Well, since you’re so adamant, there is one thing I may wish to try sometime, if you are willing?”

Luca appeared nonchalant, though I knew better. “Hm?”

“Sounding.”

The cock twitching against my stomach and scent of intrigue were my answer.

And my victory.

* * *

As soon as daylight broke, I reluctantly peeled myself from my mate’s side, gently moving his head from my arm to the pillow. His nose scrunched in protest, but almost immediately, the creases smoothed out, and his soft snores returned. I smiled down at his sleeping form, so small within his bundle of blankets, and leaned in to kiss him on the forehead before getting dressed and slipping out of the room.

Cee was watching over the hallway from her position against the adjacent wall, her eyes alert though she appeared relatively at ease. I guided the door closed behind me, and signaled her over. She was at my side in an instant.

“Your Highness.”

“I would be grateful if you both trailed closer for the remainder of our journey,” I said, keeping my voice low so as not to disturb Luca’s sleep. “I understand that your duties are typically confined to the shadows, but I do not wish to cause my mate any more distress, and I believe he would feel safer having you both at a more visible distance.”

Cee nodded in understanding, the barest hint of sympathy cracking through her blunt manner at my request. “It will be done, Your Highness.”

I dipped my head in appreciation before scanning the hall, frowning at the absence of one particularly spirited basilisk.

“Where is your companion?” I asked. She seemed to mentally groan at the mere mention of him, which humored me. It was how I imagined Teighan had reacted to my letters regarding Alex’s welfare all those months ago.

“I sensed you waking, so I sent him to fetch Your Highnesses breakfast,” she said, her tone devoid of emotion. “He should return?—”

“Sorry, sorry.” The creature in question rushed through the hallway with steps not entirely befitting a spy. He carried a tray laden with bowls of food, wooden tankards, and a jug filled with water—I knew because it sloshed over the sides with how vigorously he swayed. I was surprised there was any left by the time he reached us at the door. “They were serving slop, which was labeled on the menu as some type of porridge, but I don’t know, I thought it best to give it a wide berth. So you have sweet milk pudding and stewed fruit instead. It’s good. Not too sweet, despite the name. I tried some downstairs.”

He handed over the tray, the implication of his words slowly dawning. “Not from your bowl, obviously!” he clarified. “The kitchen miss gave me a spoonful cos I told her she was pretty, even though she kinda looked like a toad, but I wanted to be nice since she was in charge of cooking your food, and in all honesty, she had one of those long, darty-out tongues, so I wouldn’t have really minded if she?—”

“Gary!” Cee spoke through gritted teeth, interrupting the lad’s verbal waterfall, no doubt clocking my utter bewilderment. He just blinked at her obliviously, one eyelid at a time. “The prince does not wish to hear of your exploits.”

I recovered, smiling politely. “It’s quite alright.”

For a beat, there was an uncomfortable silence, but then Gary shrugged, entirely unperturbed. “Right-o, boss.” He saluted Cee before bowing to me. “Your Highness.”

“I shall take my leave. We should be ready to depart on the hour.” With matching head dips of acknowledgment from them, I returned to the room, setting the tray on the side table before perching on the edge of the bed.

I combed my fingers through Luca’s unruly mane.“Sweetheart… I hate to wake you, but I need you to eat something before we leave.”

He grumbled unintelligibly, and I couldn’t fight my adoring smile.

“I understand, pet, but you did not eat much last night.” I tried to reason with the petulant blanket nest. “I may be at fault for that, so I am trying to take responsibility.”

With a huff, my mate peeked out from under the covers, a scowl worthy of the Haryk name on his face. I granted him a moment to shuffle up the bed and stretch out his arms before setting the tray in his lap. Only once he’d taken his first mouthful did he speak. “This is pretty good.”

“Gary said you would enjoy it.” I poured water from the pitcher into one of the tankards, and handed it over. “We may have to add Royal Taste Tester to his résumé.”

Luca snorted. “I like Gary.” He lifted another spoonful to his mouth, this one noticeably smaller than the last. “Are you not having anything?”

“I am not particularly fond of stewed fruit.” My nose wrinkled. “It’s all mushy.”

“You could scrape it off,” he offered in amusement, but I just shook my head.

“I fear the dish is already contaminated.”

He laughed and continued on with his miniature bites. I watched him carefully, looking for any signs of unease, but he displayed none. Perhaps he wasn’t that fond of the taste, after all. “Would you like me to fetch you something else?”

Luca seemed startled by my request. “No, I like it.”

I nodded, but wasn’t convinced. He managed a quarter of the bowl before setting down his spoon and taking a slow sip of his water. It was clear that he didn’t want any more, but I couldn’t help worrying that he hadn’t consumed anything of substance since our afternoon at the market. Was he getting sick? Or was this a delayed effect of the reaper’s powers? “Are you feeling alright, pet?”

“Yeah,” he said, seemingly earnest in his answer. “It’s just kinda filling, and I don’t want to have to walk all day feeling bloated. That’s really not fun, at all.”

I hummed in understanding although my stomach twisted with uncertainty, and moved the tray back to the side table. “Let me redress your wound, then we can be on the road.”

“Okay.”

It was the work of minutes for me to gather the supplies—a clean bandage, the healing ointment, and a hot cloth—though I took my time tending to him. I was careful when wiping away the specks of blood from the small cut, my chest aching at its harshness. I applied a thin layer of cream before securing the new dressing in place.

“Done.”

Luca smiled at me in thanks, and before I could even stand, he whipped back the covers and sprang to his feet, only to wobble unsteadily and clap a hand to his forehead. Before I could fret, he laughed, the sound a little strained. “’Mokay, just stood up too fast.”

After a brief respite, he vanished into the bathroom and closed the door. I gave him his privacy, of course, but kept my senses on alert should he require assistance. He reappeared minutes later without incident, his hair slightly more orderly and his face red from scrubbing. He wandered over to his backpack to fish out a clean outfit, and my eyes followed his every move. I tried not to make it obvious, busying myself with straightening out the bed covers while he dressed.

He was quiet, which struck me as unusual in itself. Typically, even when he performed mundane tasks, he would mumble to himself or hum a tune under his breath, maybe even ramble to me about his latest interest, but he said nothing. I wouldn’t lie and say it didn’t unnerve me, but I didn’t know what to do other than give him space and hope he would open up if something troubled him.

In his own time.

“Fuck,” he cursed, snatching up the sock he’d dropped on the floor before shoving his foot into the hole. He caught me glancing over, and he smiled, but the sweat beading at his brow and his slightly elevated heart rate belied the gesture.

“Are you?—”

“I’m fine,” he chirped, cutting me off as he whirled around to grab his shirt. He fumbled with the hem, jaw clenching in frustration when it wouldn’t part on the first try. He firmly shook out the fabric, his breath releasing sharply from his nose, and that was when I noticed his balance was off.

He was falling.

I was already advancing toward him with my arm outstretched when he stumbled forward with a gasp, his shirt dropping to the floor. He managed to right himself before toppling completely, though I still reached out instinctively to offer support. “Luc?—”

He swerved violently away from my touch.

“I said I’m fine!” he snapped, batting at the empty space between my hand and his shoulder, irritation rolling off him in waves. It lasted barely a second before he flinched, blinking as if recovering from a trance. His eyes darted to mine, glazed with regret. “Cair, I-I’m so sorry. I… I don’t know where that came from.” He placed a hand against the side of his head, rubbing lightly. “I’m just tired, but I shouldn’t have spoken to you like that. I’m sorry.”

“It’s alright.” I shushed him gently, gravitating closer but staying aware of his personal space. If he felt overwhelmed or cornered, the last thing I wanted was to make it worse. “Tell me what’s going on in your head, sweetheart.”

“I don’t know,” he murmured, his bottom lip wobbling. “Everything and nothing. My skin just felt too tight and it was like I was lost in a crowd, so I panicked. I didn’t mean to.” He closed the gap between us, plastering himself to my chest, his arms circling my waist. I hugged him immediately. “Please don’t stop fussing over me,” he mumbled. “I don’t know why that happened, but it really wasn’t me. I love that you fuss.”

I stroked the back of his head, awed that instead of caring for his own feelings, he was worried that he’d offended me. It was far from the case. I was concerned. Perhaps it was too early to resume our journey, or to keep going at all. I should have recognized sooner that he needed more rest. His sleep had been broken by whatever thoughts plagued him, and he’d barely eaten enough to build up the energy he’d lost in the ambush. The poor creature was running on empty, and I hadn’t done a damn thing about it.

How could he be blamed for his outburst?

“We can stay another night, if you wish? Or return to the palace?” I offered, smoothing a hand over his back. “There are no obligations. Whatever you like.”

He shook his head against me. “No, I’m okay. I think I need some fresh air, and to not be sitting around. My nerves were already frayed about potentially meeting my dad, but now that we’re actually on the road, everything just feels too real, and those reaper things fucked with my head and kinda sent me into overdrive. The thoughts have been whirling round and round like a goddamn washing machine— what if you’d been hurt and I could’ve stopped it by telling you what I’d seen at the market? What if my dad turns me away and all this is for nothing? What if this happens again and we’re not so lucky? I think it all just got too heavy, and being cooped up in here isn’t doing me any favors.”

Though I had known he was suffering, it still pained me to hear him admit it out loud. I’d been selfish. The ambush, what the reaper did to him, had rattled him, and instead of asking what he needed, I’d locked him inside, thinking it was best for his healing when it was really for my own sake. This entire time, he’d donned a brave face, pretending he was alright as his anxiety had trickled through our bond and he’d shifted restlessly through the nights, and I’d let him . I’d been loath to pry out his confession, to prod him until he admitted his distress when he wasn’t ready or willing, but maybe I should have. Maybe then he would not have been forced to reach a boiling point.

Or feel guilty for it.

“I apologize that I didn’t help relieve those burdens sooner, and that you felt you had to hide them from me.” I kissed the top of his head before encouraging him to meet my eyes. “What can I do to bring you comfort? Tell me what to do, and I’ll do it.”

“You always bring me comfort.” He smiled, though it was a weak little thing. “I’m sorry I didn’t just talk to you. I felt useless after the attack, and I wanted to try and regulate myself, to prove I could do something , but I shouldn’t have. None of it was my fault, any more than it was yours.”

“I understand, but never let me hear you call yourself useless again.” I brushed a thumb across his cheek. “I won’t stand for such slander against my mate. Not ever.”

He huffed a short laugh and nodded. “So, will you carry on the journey with me?” he asked hopefully.

I’d learned early on in our relationship that it was pointless arguing with the little creature or presuming to know what was best, so instead, I presented a compromise.

“Of course I will, but only on the condition that we take a quick detour,” I said. “It won’t delay us by much, perhaps a day or so, but it is something I believe you’ll enjoy. It will offer some relaxation before we reach your father’s settlement.”

He perked up at that, as I knew he would. “What is it?”

I kissed him again, basking in the faint stream of pleasure and curiosity gradually shrouding the discomfort through our bond. “You’ll have to wait and see.”