28.Alin #2
“Who is this fucker? I let you go, and you’re already running off with another man? I definitely made the right decision,” he says through gritted teeth. He’s losing his patience, and it doesn’t look like the fact that Miguel is sitting close to me, holding my hand, is helping him calm down.
I release Miguel’s hand and give him an apologetic look, hoping he won’t get involved.
“Why do you even care who I’m with? You threw me out of your life, let me stay out.
You can’t keep playing with me like this,” I say, clutching my backpack, wondering where I can go from here.
I made it to the airport, where else can I go?
“It seems like you were the one playing me all along, if you could jump straight to another man,” he continues to push for answers in a venomous tone.
“This is Miguel, Luca. He also ran away from my pod,” I say in surrender, wondering why it even matters to him who I’m with. “Why did you come here?” I ask again, now it’s my turn to demand answers.
“I couldn’t stop thinking about you from the moment you left. I tried. I wanted to give you the life you wanted,” he says as I turn my back to him, wanting to walk away.
I freeze in place as his words hit me like arrows in the back.
I turn back to him, “All I wanted from you, was you . I believed, like a lovesick sixteen-year-old, that you’d accept me as I am.
I guess wishes don’t always come true,” I say quietly, my voice sounding more pained than I expect.
I lock onto his stormy gray eyes, which suddenly look so tired.
“Wishes don’t come true? I told you, you belong with me. But there’s no such thing as love in our world. I can’t give you the romantic love from the movies that you want. Forget love, I can’t even get close to your world or understand it. How do you expect me to deal with that?” he replies.
“I gave you that choice back on the bridge. You made empty promises and then threw me away. What do you want to give me, Luca? Sex? That’s not enough for me.
I can go out and get that in abundance,” I reply, my voice rising as the tears threatens to fall again at his answer.
I’m probably giving the crowd waiting at the gate a great show.
His face pales instantly. “Alin, if any other man dares to touch you, he won’t keep his life, no matter where you go. Consider that your last warning,” he growls, his anger flaring again in his stormy eyes.
There’s no reasoning with him now, the caveman has resurfaced. I turn away and move to the other side of the gate. We have nothing left to say.
“I don’t know what I feel. The only thing I know is that if you’re not with me, if I can’t breathe you in, I go crazy.
I want you next to me more than anything in the world.
But when you disappeared today at the beach, I realized there are things I can’t give you.
Your world is way beyond my reach. In my world, I get everything I want.
In your world ... I didn’t even know it existed until yesterday!
” His speech turns my heart to jelly in an instant.
I hate that I’m like this because of you, Luca Spallo. Damn you.
A tear betrays me and falls down my cheek as I look at him again and ask the only question that comes to my mind at this point, “What am I to you?”
He pauses for a few seconds, looking like he’s calculating quantum physics in his head, fighting with himself. Is that such a hard question? What could you expect from an ice monster?
“You’re my woman. You’ve turned my whole world into chaos and built a new world crazy enough just for you and me,” he suddenly replies after a long minute of silence.
For the first time, I see vulnerability and honesty in his eyes.
The man everyone is afraid to even look at now seems like a stray puppy on the street.
My body moves on its own, advancing toward him without resistance.
Traitor. My body is drawn close to him, and I stand on my tiptoes, bringing my face to his, just to smell him again, to feel his warmth.
The storm in his eyes turns into waves of passion, and in an instant, he grabs my head from behind and captures my lips with his in a primal, wild kiss, as if we would never meet again in this life.
My heart pounds so loudly in my chest that it feels like everyone can hear it.
What am I going to do with this man? I grip his shirt tightly, closing the small gap between us when suddenly Luca stops everything and pulls away.
What now? My body protests, but I brace myself for the next disappointment.
He immediately removes my backpack and hands it to Abert, who I now realize has been standing behind us the entire time, his gaze fixed on me.
“I’m sorry, Alin, I lied, the family can’t let you go.
Once you enter the mafia, you never leave,” he whispers in my ear.
Instead of the burning in my chest that haunted me, excitement surges, and I smile uncontrollably, as if everything I want to hear is contained in that threatening sentence that mends my broken heart.
He’s not disgusted by me, nor is he afraid of me.
He’s just a control freak. A caveman who has the power to change my mood faster than I can keep up.
I throw myself at him in a huge hug, melting into his body. He laughs, a tired, emotionally drained laugh. My monster is the most beautiful being when he laughs, I wish it could happen more frequently.
“But you’ll have to answer just one question,” I quickly add, now looking at his neck. He pulls away slightly, giving me a questioning look.
“What is this necklace?” I ask, glancing at the necklace I gave him earlier today, now hanging around his neck. His smile disappears, and he seems to go back into defensive mode.
“We’ll talk about that another day,” he answers coldly, and I know I won’t get more out of him today. But I’m content with that.
“I take it the Miami plan is canceled?” Miguel’s voice comes from behind us, still holding his jaw, a bit of blood smeared on his lower lip now. Damn. That must’ve been one heck of a punch.
“I am so sorry” I blurt fast, feeling guilty. When Luca is near me, I forget about everything and everyone else around me. Poor Miguel.
“You’re welcome to stay in New York. We can meet whenever you want,” I offer, hoping it will make him stay.
“Not happening,” Luca barks in a threatening tone, his face murderous, and I give him a reproachful look.
“I’d rather move, but I’m sure we’ll meet again,” Miguel says with a fake smile, moving away from us, leaving me wondering and Luca with a victorious smile. Stupid monster. I disappointed Miguel, but I know we’ll meet again. We’re both fighters.
Luca’s warm lips suddenly trail along my neck from behind, and I push him away slightly, turning to face him, my eyebrows furrowing in a declaration of irritation at his childish jealousy.
My phone vibrates in my pocket. I pull it out and read the message that came in while Luca moves close again, playfully running his lips along my neck up to my ear.
“Shit!” I exclaim, and Luca laughs, surprised. “You seemed to enjoy my kisses until today. What’s wrong?” he teases, and I return my attention to him, laughing.
“Not you, I made plans with Cora. We’re supposed to go to the club tonight.” His body tenses, and his short fuse starts to ignite again.
“You’re going to the club with Cora again? I need to have a serious talk with Mariano about his wife.” I punch his chest in response, but it barely fazes him and seems to amuse him instead.
“We’re going out to the club to have fun and dance.
Besides, I need to unwind after all the stress you’ve put me through.
Maybe I’ll meet a normal guy,” I say, scrunching my nose mischievously and smiling at him.
If his skin weren’t so tan, I’m sure I’d see his face turning all shades of red.
I am quite a brave woman. I give myself a mental pat on the back.
He deserves it after everything I’ve been through because of him.
“Any guy who even dares look your way tonight at the club will get a bullet between the eyes, just letting you know,” he says, and I cringe at the sincerity of his threat, sighing.
“We’ll go to Q,” I assure him, but somewhere deep down, I understand him. My only desire now is to stay as close to him as possible, not to go out partying. I never imagined this day would turn out like this.
“I wouldn’t let you and Cora go anywhere else,” he says, still annoyed, and I roll my eyes in response, feeling a slight itch in my leg wanting to kick him and his comment.
He might be able to melt my heart so easily, but I still need to be careful. Can I trust him again?
I step back into Luca’s apartment with hesitation this time.
I’m afraid to lower my emotional defenses around him again; I can’t predict when he might lose his sanity again.
Does he even have any? I glance at the side of Luca’s face while he’s engrossed in a phone call.
The sound of my suitcase being dragged suddenly comes from behind, with Abert pushing it.
The suitcase wheels clattering against the wide apartment floors echo in the background.
I take it from Abert’s hands, lift it by its handle, and head upstairs, leaving both of them to their business. Luca’s room door stands in front of me on the third floor, tempting me to enter this time. But I quickly shake off the thought; I don’t have the courage to trust him fully yet.
I turn directly to the guest room next door, switch on the light to reveal the familiar room that suddenly feels more hostile than warm.
Luca follows me in, wrapping me in his broad arms. “Planning to sleep in this damn room again?” he whispers in my ear, gently biting it.
An uncontrollable smile slowly spreads across my face.