Chapter 13
Chapter Thirteen
Angel
It’s been two days since the terror of my home exploding into smithereens, nearly killing us, and Luca’s behavior has shifted.
The wedding is almost here, and yet, it’s as if it’s not going to happen.
It’s like he’s grown cold toward me. Losing Sammy hit him hard, and I wonder if he blames me for it since it’s my house and I wanted to go there.
He hasn’t initiated sex even once, and he hardly touches me.
The best I get is the gentle caress of my hip when another man enters the room.
All other times, he keeps his distance; at night, he barely comes to bed and when he does, it’s well after I’m asleep.
As the wedding grows closer, we grow farther apart.
Maybe he’s reconsidering the wedding, and we won’t get married.
I want to ask if he’ll just let my brother and I go, but I’m not sure if that’s an option.
A part of me doesn’t want him to say yes, and it’s not just because we don’t have anywhere to go.
What if he gives me up? Can I handle the rejection? A dark, sad part of my soul will be broken for good if he does.
The fire has changed everything inside me.
Fields has destroyed my entire life from before I met Luca.
He wanted me to become a stripper and wanted me to sleep with him, even though he’s married.
If anything, I feel closer to Luca than I did before, and yet he’s pulling away from me when I need him most.
Luca is a mobster, and even he isn’t as fucking cruel as Fields and definitely doesn’t pretend to be someone he isn’t.
Brushing off the sudden sadness, I finish getting ready for the morning because I’m meeting with his mother and I can’t let her see me this miserable.
I pick up Luca’s suit coat off our bedroom chair and bring it to my nose to get a whiff of my insane crush, only to spot glitter on the collar.
I breathe in his coat, and it doesn’t smell like a new woman, but a pang of jealousy and hurt still rips through me.
We haven’t had sex since the morning of the fire. I wonder if he’s just having a change of heart and he’s been seeing someone else. That would explain the long hours and the sudden lack of desire.
Luca is working again this morning, so Marco drives me down the road to his parents’ property.
I love the way it looks surrounded by the blankets of snow and the Christmas lights.
It’s straight out of a holiday movie and feels so inviting.
As I pull up, an ache from missing my parents hits me.
They weren’t close to us, but they did their best to give us a nice life.
This is our first Christmas without them.
Well, the first where I know they won’t even call.
For the past two years, they took vacations together, little romantic getaways to escape the cold.
My mother hated winter and the snow, so my father worked hard to afford their trips. God, I miss them.
The door opens, and his mother greets me at the entrance.
“Sweetie, don’t you look lovely today,” Luca’s mother says.
She’s the perfect mother; she’s everything you would want your mom to be.
I don’t know how she ended up with this crazy-ass child, but she is amazing.
My parents would be shocked and in awe of her.
I’m not too sure how they’d feel about Luca.
“Thank you. You’re always too kind to me.”
She cups my hands in hers and pulls me into a hug. As we pull back, she smiles and says, “Hardly. I’m the one blessed to have you become my daughter-in-law. I’m certain my son can’t do better.”
“I’m sure he would disagree.”
“No, he wouldn’t.” She looks over my head, and I realize right away that he’s standing behind me.
Over the past few days, I’ve become completely attuned to his presence.
For an extremely tall and fairly well-built man, he’s insanely light on his feet.
You can hardly hear him enter a room, and yet his presence is most certainly felt.
There is no mistaking that my fiancé is here.
“My mother’s right.” He comes up to me, leans down to kiss my cheek, and whispers, “You do look lovely today, Angel.” It sends a delightful shiver down my spine that I’ve been missing these past two days.
“We were just going to go over the last-minute plans for the wedding. Do you want to join us?” she asks him so sweetly that I’m sure it’s just an act.
“No, Mother. Thank you. Though, I’d like to have a talk with my fiancée for a moment.” His brisk tone and harsh expression immediately sends a rush of fear up my spine. The brief moment of joy I received from his kiss and words has evaporated.
“Right now?” I’m not sure I want to talk to him when he’s like this. I’m not afraid he’ll physically hurt me, but I’ve gotten used to being around him, and I don’t like the way he’s pushing me away.
“Yes, right now.”
“Excuse me,” I say. Standing and walking over to Luca, he takes my hand and leads me out of the room. We enter a private sitting room, and I can’t hold it back anymore. I have to ask. “You know you can call off the wedding, right? My brother and I can just leave and be out of your hair forever.”
His brows furrow in confusion before twisting in anger.
I watch his shoulders tense up, and then he closes the distance between us; I can feel his breath on my face.
“Don’t think for one fucking instant that you’re getting out of this.
I’m not sure what in the world possessed you to say something like that to me.
You’re probably already carrying my child. ”
“Maybe not. We don’t have to rush this wedding, you know.”
“Why? So you can find an excuse to escape? You know that you became a target the second you landed in my arms. You know that explosion was meant for you, damn it.”
“You don’t think I know that? I’m sorry your man was killed. I truly am, but we don’t need to rush a wedding you don’t want.”
“Get this through your pretty little head. There will be no one else. Our vows are for life, Amore. Life. I’m not like Fields. There is no infidelity allowed.”
“Is that why you’re getting it out of your system now?” I challenge him.
He tilts his head, giving me a scowl, but he’s not angry as much as he looks shocked, almost indignant. “You think I’m out fucking around?”
“Why wouldn’t I? You couldn’t keep your hands off me, then you suddenly go cold as hell and ignore me completely for days.”
He smirks with smugness all over his totally handsome, rugged jaw. He’s shaved the past two days, which makes me more suspicious too, like does this woman not like his scruff? “Oh, so that’s what this is about? You’re upset that I haven’t been pleasing you for two days.”
“No. It’s just the logical reason. Not that I want you fucking me every two minutes.”
“You’re lying to me. You want me inside of you, and yet you’ll hate yourself for it the moment the pleasure has passed.” He caresses my cheek, and I move into his touch, needing more. “See. You cannot deny what we have. It’s magnetic, Angel.”
“I’ve had no experience before. Maybe I just happen to like sex.”
“Amore, you’re playing a dangerous game, but you won’t win.
Touch another man, and he won’t live to see another sunrise.
” His lips press against mine, and I moan against my will, causing Luca to smile like the smug bastard he is.
“Unfortunately, I have more business affairs to attend to before the wedding. Be happy—tomorrow you will see your brother.”
Is he confused about the day? “But tomorrow is Christmas Eve?”
“Yes, would you not like that?” He holds my face as he asks, and I want to kiss the man, even though he’s a manipulative prick.
“I’d love that. You know that I would.”
“We can talk about that later, after we’re married, of course. Now don’t be a brat, or I’ll postpone your brother’s visit.”
“Please don’t. I miss him so much, and I need to know how he’s been. I promise that I’ll be good.”
“Good. Now, if you’ll excuse me, I have to go.
” He leans down and takes my mouth in a soft, heart-melting kiss again.
I nearly collapse with how good it feels, but he holds me firmly in his grasp.
“Tonight, I’m going to make sure you understand that my fidelity is yours, even if I don’t have your heart.
” He walks out, and a part of me honestly wonders if he’s just trying to con me into submitting, or if he actually cares for me.
I leave the room and go back to meet his mother, and we continue with the wedding plans as if nothing has happened. She does her best to ignore the truth, or maybe she’s not completely aware of our relationship.
The day seems to drag on. It’s Christmas Eve Eve, and I’m worse than a kid on Christmas waiting for my turn for a present.
My need for Luca isn’t just for the sex, and I know it, which only makes me more upset.
I am falling for the small things, the morning breakfasts that are brought to me, the simple forehead kisses, the questions about my parents or about my past. Even when he isn’t fucking me, he’s talking to me, at least when he’s home.
Something he hasn’t been for the past two days.
Is this his usual? He does have the condo that is much more convenient in the city.
After Marco takes me back to the property along with several other guards, which I think is strange, I enter feeling sad. Is he afraid that after questioning everything that I’d make a break for it? From the looks of things, it appears he tripled the security.
“I’m not going to run off. He didn’t need to add all of you guys. It’s not like you can’t catch me by yourself. I was a dancer, not a runner,” I tell Marco.
“Ma’am, he’s not worried about you running. The security is for your safety while he’s not home.”