Chapter 16 Chiara
Chiara
Fina went to bed an hour ago, citing exhaustion. I took a shower and then came down to fetch a drink, but when I heard raised voices coming from Angelo’s office, curiosity got the better of me.
Turns out curiosity isn’t a good thing. I forgot all about the drink I came down for when I heard Luka had ended up in jail for punching a photographer.
Losing control like that is beyond stupid. It makes me wonder what’s going on with him. Luka takes his career seriously, even if he pretends otherwise.
I’m still angry and upset he left without clearing the air after that night in the kitchen, but if I’m honest, I was as much to blame. He must think I don’t care about him, which is far from the truth.
We need to talk.
Even if he tells me to go fuck myself, I want to make sure he’s okay.
After stewing back in my room for another hour, I kick the covers off and pull on a loose tee over my panties. It’s one Kane lent me when we were in Scotland. He’s not asked for it back, so it’s mine now. I like that it still smells of him.
Coco and Felix are curled up in Coco’s bed on the floor. They both got sick of my restlessness. Coco stirs when she hears me move, but after a brief yawn, she closes her eyes and settles back to sleep, her head resting on Felix’s fluffy tail.
The lights are off when I venture back onto the landing. A quick peek out of the window that overlooks the driveway shows me Angelo’s car is missing, and I breathe a sigh of relief knowing he won’t interrupt my conversation with Luka.
I can’t prevent him from watching me on the cameras, but at least I don’t have to put up with his alpha-male nonsense in person.
Luka has a room in the other wing of the house, well away from mine. I have a feeling that’s deliberate on Angelo’s part.
When I reach his door, I hesitate. It’s quiet. Is he asleep? Fuck, maybe this is a terrible idea.
I fidget with the hem of Kane’s tee while I chew my lip. Luka wasn’t exactly friendly toward me earlier. What if he thinks this is a booty call and takes offense?
Dammit. I steel my spine and grow some lady balls. We’re both adults here. I just want to talk to him and make sure he’s alright.
As I raise my hand to tap on his door, it swings open. Luka stands in front of me wearing a pair of red shorts. Nothing else. His hair flops over his eyes as he stares down at me.
Neither of us says anything. He seems surprised to see me, but then he registers whose tee I’m wearing and quirks a shapely eyebrow.
Not wanting to have this conversation in full view of anyone roaming around the house, such as Horatio, I push him backward and close the door.
“Come for a booty call?” he purrs with a smirk, but I’m not buying his attempt at nonchalance.
“No. I came to see if you’re okay.”
He drops the act and sighs. “I should be the one asking you that. What makes you think I’m not alright?”
“Because I may have overheard you and Angelo talking earlier.”
His lips curve up in a faint smile. “Have you been a bad girl listening at doors, cupcake?”
Dammit, why does he have to be so fucking flirty? He makes it hard to keep my mind on track.
I force unwanted thoughts of Luka spanking me from my mind. He’s trying to distract me with sex to avoid talking about the uncomfortable things. That’s his modus operandi.
“What made you get that drunk, Luka? Did some bitch touch you without consent?”
After what happened at the gala, I know this is a trigger for him.
“I don’t think so, but there are a few black holes in my memory.” He drops onto the bed and stares at the floor, all traces of amusement gone. “It was my own fucking fault. I should have been more careful with people I didn’t know all that well.”
Of course he’s blaming himself; he does this a lot.
“I’d been drinking too much and smoking weed. Fuck, I was seriously out of it, Chiara.” Unhappiness and shame have dug their pernicious claws deep into his flesh. “I’m such a fuck-up. No wonder my father doesn’t want me around.” The last few words are barely a whisper.
My heart bleeds for the hurt little boy inside the man. A boy desperate for his father’s love. Except his father is a fucking psychopath incapable of loving anyone but himself.
I edge closer and cup his cheeks with my hands. “I want you around.”
“No you don’t,” he scoffs, looking away. The misery coating his skin is palpable. “The minute Angelo sets you free, you’ll leave.”
“I’m a pet parent now,” I joke. “Angelo would demand joint custody, so I’m stuck here.”
He chokes out a laugh, but the black cloud smothering us doesn’t disperse.
When he leans back against the headboard, his eyes closed, I get the impression he thinks if he doesn’t engage, I’ll leave. But I’m not going anywhere until he understands I’m unhappy with my situation, not him.
“Did they hurt you?” he asks before I can form my next thought. The question sends me right back to the castle and those men. I shudder at the memory of being dropped on the edge of a pine forest to face an uncertain fate.
I also try not to think about the man I stabbed. He doesn’t deserve any space in my head.
“Yes, but Angelo and Kane rescued me.” Luka shakes his head.
“We’re both fucked up, aren’t we?” He’s right. We are both a mess. Not knowing what else to say, I snuggle up against him, resting my cheek on his chest. He’s warm and smells delicious.
The mattress shifts as he half turns toward me and curls his arm around me, pulling me closer.
“I’m sorry for leaving you,” he says eventually. “It hurt that you planned to leave me.”
As I suspected.
“And I’m sorry that you thought I wasn’t serious about you.”
A faint chuckle vibrates through me. “Women mostly see me as a good time, not forever.”
Hearing how he views himself as something disposable makes me mad, but I swallow my anger. He already feels shit.
“Then it’s their loss,” I tell him. “You’re fucking amazing.” The way his brows scrunch tells me he’s not convinced, but after a second, he gives me a soft smile.
“So are you.”
“Not sure Angelo agrees, but whatever.”
“He dropped everything to bring you home, Chiara. He might behave like a dick, but he cares about you.”
“I suppose.” Luka is right. The Angelo who washed the dirt and blood from my skin was soft and loving. That man was nothing like the asshole who’s done everything in his power to force me to submit to his will. “Doesn’t change the fact he married me against my wishes, though, does it?”
“I guess not,” Luka concedes. “But from what Fina told me, he had no choice. Our father made it clear the marriage contract was a done deal and he couldn’t get out of it.”
I don’t believe that for a second.
“I’m sure he could have found a way out if he’d tried hard enough.”
Luka rumbles something indistinct but says nothing more on the topic.
The longer we lie wrapped in each other’s arms, the more I relax. My feelings for Luka have gone way beyond simple lust, and that realization hits me like a sledgehammer.
I can’t leave him, which means I’m stuck with Angelo. And Kane, although I’m not upset with him anymore.
“I slept with Kane,” I blurt out, needing to get this off my chest before Luka finds out from Kane or Angelo. While I don’t think he’ll be upset about it, I’d rather be honest with him.
“You bad girl.” His low, sultry laugh sends a shockwave of lust zipping through me. This room is cool, but I’m suddenly overheating to the point where I might actually pass out.
“You’re not jealous?” My body tenses waiting for the verdict. If he says yes, I’m fucked because I’m not sure I can stay away from Kane.
“Hell no.” He rolls us so I’m half under him, and dammit it, I love the way his eyes gleam with excitement. This version of Luka is a thousand times better than the miserable, ashamed shell of a man I walked in on less than an hour ago. “Does Angelo know?”
I groan, not having forgotten the chaos that ensued mere seconds after I enjoyed an amazing orgasm with Kane buried so deep inside me I could practically taste him in my throat.
“Yeah. He walked in on us.”
Luka laughs out loud, clearly delighted.
“Fuck me, is that why Kane has a black eye?”
He laughs all the more when I nod.
“Good to know it isn’t just me in the firing line.”
“Nope.” I smile at the memory of how jealous Angelo was. And also turned on.
Because despite his going nuclear, he couldn’t hide the tent in his pants. The bastard had been watching us for longer than a few seconds, I’d wager. Angelo might claim he won’t share me with anyone, but he’s delusional if he claims not to enjoy watching me get railed by his best friend.
“Did it turn you on, cupcake?” Luka’s lascivious grin tells me he believes it did, and he’s not wrong. My core clenches with need, and when he slides his fingers inside my panties, he groans. “Fuck, peaches, you’re dripping.”
I moan in response. “Luka, I need you to fuck me. Make me come.”
“Anything for my girl,” he purrs. And I am his girl, even if he thinks he doesn’t believe he deserves love.