Chapter 17
Luciano
“The party really wore him out, huh?” I ask softly, watching Frankie sit on the edge of the bed, her hand gently smoothing Darius’s blanket, ensuring he’s tucked in for the night. I’m standing just behind her, close enough to catch the quiet reverence in her gaze.
“That, or all the gaming he did,” she replies with a tired grin, her eyes full of affection as she watches him sleep.
“You’re really attached to him.” It’s not a question, just stating an obvious fact. The love she has for Darius is plain as day. “Do you feel like that about all the kids back in the orphanage? Like they’re your extended family?”
“Not all of them, no,” she says, shaking her head, though her eyes never leave the sleeping boy. “You learn early on not to get too attached to anyone in the orphanage. Nuns come and go, transferring in and out all the time. And the kids… Well, if they’re lucky, they get adopted.”
“And if they’re unlucky?” I ask gently.
“They age out or run away.” Her smile fades. “Not everyone can handle the rules, the structure. Some just break.”
“I get that,” I murmur, running my fingers through the waves of her blonde hair. “I’m not sure I’d survive living a day under your precious Mother Superior. It’s bad enough I have to deal with her at school.”
“Don’t talk about her that way,” she chides quickly. “She’s saved me more than once.”
“How so?” I arch a brow, curious.
She turns slightly, craning her neck to glance up at me over her shoulder. Her eyes are soft but insistent.
“Well, for one, if it weren’t for her… I’m not sure I’d even be here… with you. ”
The timid look in her eyes has my chest tightening as if my heart were trying to claw its way out of my rib cage.
“And what a fucking tragedy that would be,” I whisper, tucking a loose strand of hair behind her ear.
She gives me a little, shy smile before turning her attention back to Darius.
“But you’re right. Darius is different. Special. We just… clicked, I guess. He was so little when he came to us, barely five. I still remember that day as if it were yesterday. He was so scared. So heartbreakingly terrified to be in a place where every face was a stranger to him. During the day, he would hide in a corner, hoping everyone would forget he was there.” Her voice drops as her fingers trace lightly across Darius’s cheek. “But at night, alone in his room, he wouldn’t stop crying for his mom. Every night for weeks, he’d cry himself to sleep, hollering out for her and keeping the rest of us up because of it.” She sighs in sadness. “One night, I just couldn’t take it anymore. His fear… his pain… It hurt too much. So I went to his room, crawled into bed beside him, hugged him with all my might before telling him the truth.”
“What truth?” I ask, already feeling the ache in her words.
“That his mom wasn’t coming back for him. That no one was. I told him I was sorry that life had been so cruel to him. That I knew what it felt like, because life had been cruel to me too. And then I told him he wasn’t alone anymore. From then on, I’d be his family. That I wasn’t going anywhere. That I’d never abandon him.”
“Let me guess? That’s when he finally started sleeping?” I force a smile since each word that falls from her lips feels like they are tearing my heart apart.
“Like a baby,” she chuckles, then adds quietly, “But that’s not why I did it. It wasn’t just him who was struggling. I’d been lost long before Darius ever showed up. It does something to you… growing up with no one. No family. No one to love you for who you are. No one to protect you.” She pauses, her fingers still against Darius’s warm, brown skin. “He needed someone to love him unconditionally. I needed it, too. So we became that for one another. Family. And when you know there’s even one person in the world who loves you unconditionally like that… Suddenly, the bad days aren’t so bad anymore.”
I love you.
The words wedge themselves in my throat, heavy and unrelenting, but I swallow them down, pretending they aren’t suffocating me.
“Maybe,” I choke out, my voice raspier than intended, “it was fate that brought Darius to you.”
Her smile dims, sorrow clouding her eyes. “I don’t believe in fate. Not one that can be so unkind.”
I gently lift her chin, guiding her gaze to meet mine.
“I don’t think fate cares, baby,” I murmur. “After all, it set us in motion.” I wink, trying to lighten the mood.
Frankie smiles at me as if she has a secret, and I know right then and there that I’m beyond fucked.
Goddamn it.
I’ve fallen in love with her.
Some people have a way of getting under your skin. Frankie? She went straight for my soul and made herself at home there.
If I were as smart as I think I am, I would walk away. But with Frankie, walking away doesn’t even feel like a real option anymore. Not when she feels like she might be my destiny.
“Let’s go,” I say, offering her my hand, eager to test that theory. “It’s your turn to get tucked in.”
She lets out a quiet laugh.
“Whatever you’re thinking… don’t. Nothing is going to happen with your parents and family still downstairs. I’ll stay here with Darius. I can crash on the floor.”
“Yeah, that’s not happening,” I mutter, already lacing my fingers through hers and tugging her gently out of the room.
“Lucky,” she scolds as I guide her into the hallway. “I’m not sleeping with you tonight.”
“I wasn’t expecting you to,” I lie.
Okay, maybe a part of me hoped that having her under my roof might increase our chances of jumping to the next phase of her education. But after the sucker punch of realizing I’m in love with her? I’d sleep on the floor beside her if it meant just being close to her.
God, I’m getting soft. What the hell has this girl done to me?
“I’m just going to walk you to your room, kiss you goodnight, and that’s it,” I promise.
“Just a kiss?” She arches a suspicious brow. “On the mouth? Nowhere else?”
Why did she have to go and be so specific?
“Yes,” I sigh. “Just a kiss.”
I hate the relief that washes over her face. But I get it. After almost getting caught by Jude and Mina earlier this week, she’s right to be nervous. And with my entire family still downstairs finishing off Thanksgiving… Yeah, I can’t blame her for being extra cautious and not wanting to get caught doing something that might get her reported back to her precious Sister Margaretta. Not that anyone in my family is a snitch.
Normally, I’d be down there with Remus, living it up and getting plastered when I didn’t think my parents were looking. But not tonight. Not when Frankie’s here. Not when I get to have even a moment alone with her.
Ever since Jude came back from London, Frankie and I had to move our tutoring sessions to the school library, which has zero privacy. It’s been killing me. I’m starving for one real moment with her. One kiss to keep me sane.
“This is you,” I say, stopping outside the room across from mine.
Sure, my mom had originally set up a guest room for Frankie on the opposite wing of the house, next to Stella and Annamaria. But no way in hell was I letting her stay that far from me. Besides, with Darius’s room just two doors down, it made perfect sense to have her here instead.
Okay, maybe not perfect sense, but enough that won’t raise any alarm bells in her head.
“Where’s your room?” she asks, acting casual but not fooling me in the slightest.
She’s curious. I can work with curious.
“This one,” I say with a smirk, pointing to the door right behind me.
“How convenient,” she teases, giggling.
“I thought so.” I chuckle, though I’m dying inside.
“Well, I guess I should call it a night too.”
I nod and rest my hands on her hips. “Goodnight, Frankie.”
“Goodnight, Lucky.”
Her eyes darken just a little, her lips parting, eager to be met by mine. I lean in slowly, brushing my mouth against hers. It’s soft and sweet until it’s not.
I press harder, deeper, tasting the quiet ache I’ve been holding back for days. Frankie lets out the faintest whimper just as I turn her gently, pinning her back against the door. My hands slide along her waist, anchoring her there while our kiss turns hot, messy and breathless, and so fucking good.
When I’m sure her knees are close to buckling, I hold her steady, pulling back with a low exhale.
“Goodnight,” I murmur again, barely able to get the word out.
She stares at me for a second longer, cheeks flushed, lips swollen. And then, to my utter disappointment, she turns around and steps inside, slowly closing the door until her gorgeous face disappears from view. And just like that, I’m standing in the hallway alone, completely wrecked by one little kiss.
I stare at her door like an idiot, willing it to open. As if I stared at it long enough, she’d come back out. Change her mind and say screw it to the risks and rules and family dinner still happening downstairs and stay with me for the night. But her door stays shut. Locked up tight. And after standing there for what feels like forever, I let out a sigh and drag myself into my room.
From the sound of music, clinking glasses, and bursts of laughter, the party’s still raging downstairs, but I’m not in the mood to join in on the celebration. Not tonight. Not when all I can think about is her. Frankie.
Somewhere between trying to corrupt her and trying to save her from wasting her life with a vow she’d regret… I fell in love. I’m in love with Frankie O’Malley. Fuck me.
Does her punching me in the face count as a meet-cute? Is that the story we’re going to tell our grandkids?
Jesus fucking Christ, but I must have it bad if my mind just spun out of control to think of grandkids all of a sudden.
After a quick cold shower, I sit on the edge of my bed, elbows on my knees, palms running over my face, wondering where it all went wrong.
This wasn’t supposed to happen. I never expected it, and I sure as fuck never planned for it. But it happened anyway. And now I can’t go back.
Laugh it up, Enzo, I think bitterly, since the asshole called it from the start. He joked that I’d catch feelings for the would-be nun from the get-go.
Well, you were right, brother. I fell. And by the looks of it, fucking hard.
I lie back against the pillows, eyes closed, trying to figure out what the hell I’m supposed to do next.
This changes everything. Or maybe it doesn’t. Shit if I know. It’s not like I’ve ever been in love before. I’ll probably be bad at it anyway. It’s not like being selfless is in my DNA.
One thing is for sure, falling in love with Frankie complicates things. Because how do I tell a girl like Frankie that I’m in love with her without scaring her off? Without making her think it’s all just some game? But then again, isn’t that, by definition, what love is—vicious games you play with your heart?
Great. Now I’m pulling heartfelt philosophies out of my ass. So far, this love shit stinks. Sticks to high fucking hell.
A soft, faint knock on my door cuts through my downward spiral. I pause, waiting for a second knock, telling myself I must be imagining things—maybe a symptom of whatever love-sick illness I’m battling. But then I hear a barely audible click. My eyes snap to the doorknob, watching as it slowly begins to turn. As the door creaks open, Frankie stands in the dim hallway light, wearing nothing but an oversized t-shirt that barely covers her thick, mouthwatering thighs.
My breath catches in an instant, forcing me not to breathe or make any sudden movements that might scare her away.
She doesn’t say anything. Just steps inside, closing the door behind her with a quiet click, and turning the key to lock us both inside.
“I couldn’t sleep,” she whispers, her blue gaze scorching my skin with one look.
I rise off the bed like a man pulled by gravity, drawn to her as if she were the only thing in the room that mattered. Because right now? She is.
The Lucky that woke up this morning would have cracked a joke right about now. Would have said anything just to ease the tension in the room. But the Lucky I am at this very minute doesn’t have it in him. All I manage to do is extend my hand to her, praying she latches on to it. My heart pounds like a war drum when she places her soft hand in mine. And on instinct, I pull her toward me, her chest slamming against mine, stealing the air from both our lungs.
“You can’t be here,” I growl, my voice ragged.
“Why not?” she asks, breathless, her eyes searching mine.
“You know why.”
“Tell me anyway.”
My Adam’s apple bobs as I take in every inch of her—flushed cheeks, parted lips, chest rising and falling right up against me. Her skin’s warm, her scent familiar, addictive.
“Because I don’t think I can touch you without having you,” I finally admit.
Her lips twitch, eyes glittering with defiance. “Try.”
Try?
Try?!
Fuck.
She wants me to fight everything primal in me. Everything that’s screaming to take her, to make her mine. And fuck my life, but for Frankie, I’d do just about anything. Even deny my own baser instincts and impulses.
I breathe deep through my nose, nodding once, willing my hands to stay on her hips and not move an inch. She smiles at my restraint with a quiet, knowing curve to her lips and gently presses her palms against my chest.
“If I didn’t know any better,” she whispers, “I’d think you might like me a little… by the way your heart’s about to beat out of your chest.”
“I have no idea where you got that idea,” I murmur, though the way my body responds to hers—taut and pressed up against me—is all the proof she needs that I’m full of shit right now.
I don’t just like her. I ache for her.
“That’s a shame,” she says, coyly. “Because I think I might like you a little, too.”
“Just a little?” I lick my lips.
“Maybe this much.” She holds her index finger and thumb apart, their gap comically small.
“Oh, I think you like me a bit more than that.”
“Is that so?” Her eyes gleam. “And how much would that be?”
Instead of answering, I guide her hand from my chest down, lower, until her fingers are cupping the hard evidence straining beneath the thin fabric of my boxers.
“Maybe this much.”
Her gaze smolders, turning into a full-on storm of want, heat, and mischief all at once.
“Maybe,” she whispers, adding pressure with her hand, making me groan. “But not enough to sleep with you.”
“That’s a shame,” I grit, my voice strained as she starts rubbing me through the thin cotton.
“It really is, isn’t it?” she purrs, eyes alight with taunting humor.
I laugh. Of course, she’d take pleasure in tormenting me. She lives to torture me. But the sound dies in my throat when her hand slips inside my boxers, her skin warm and electric on mine.
“Frankie—”
“Shh, Lucky,” she murmurs, her voice thick with desire. “Let me show you just how much I don’t like you.”
My hand tangles in her hair, and I growl low in my throat. “You’re not playing fair.”
She bats her lashes, stroking me slowly, deliberately. “Since when do we ever play fair?”
“Fuck,” I hiss, gripping her waist as she strokes me, every movement sending sparks across my skin.
“Does that feel good?” she asks, breathless.
“I think you can tell it does,” I manage to rasp, fighting for control. “Don’t stop.”
Her eyes darken, her pupils blown wide. She watches me unravel with every stroke, torturously slow and precise. I’m so wound up that I start doing math in my head just to stay in the game.
Then she grabs my chin, pulling my face down until our eyes lock. “Stay here,” she commands softly. “With me.”
My breath halts again, shocked that she knew exactly what I was doing.
I nod, unable to speak, and the sly little smile playing on her lips nearly undoes me completely.
“Are you here with me?” she asks, urging me to be vocal with my longing and desire.
“I wouldn’t want to be anywhere else,” I choke out on a groan.
Frankie grins as if she’d won something, and fuck if that triumphant, little smile doesn’t slay me more.
She thinks she’s winning… And maybe she is because she’s sure won me. I’m hers, utterly and completely, even if she hasn’t figured out the depth of that truth yet.
Her grip tightens just enough to make me twitch in her palm, and I hiss through my teeth, “Jesus, Frankie…”
“Too much?” she asks, biting her bottom lip as if it were the most innocent thing in the world.
“You’re evil,” I growl, pressing my forehead against hers, the heat between us practically combusting.
“And you like it.”
She’s not wrong. Being tortured by her is the best fucking feeling in the world.
Her strokes grow bolder, slower, her delicate fingers squeezing my girth in such a way that my knees threaten to give. I brace myself, one hand on the wall behind her, the other fisting the poor excuse of a t-shirt she has on.
“Frankie, I swear…” I pant, desperate to keep control. But control is a thing of the past now. She’s stolen it, wrecked it, tossed it to the wind with a single forbidden touch.
I press my lips against her neck, moaning into her skin as she works me over, comfortably familiar with every part of me.
“You’re gonna kill me,” I mutter into her throat.
“No,” she whispers, her voice trembling slightly. “I’m just going to ruin you a little.”
Fuck if she hasn’t already. My hips jerk forward, instincts taking over, unable to stop myself from coming on her hand.
“Fuck,” I groan as my teeth sink into her shoulder, her surprised high pitch whimper only prolonging my release. I’m breathing heavily when I lift my head to look at the woman who nearly knocked me to my knees.
Frankie’s blue, stormy eyes look wild and fucking breathtaking as she lifts her hand just to inspect her work. I hold my breath, my whole body shaking with nervous energy as she raises her palm to her mouth, her tongue shyly sticking out to taste me. When her eyes close shut just to relish my essence, I’m fucking done for. My hand shoots out, grabbing her wrist, halting her movements, her eyelids sliding open in confusion.
“I’m done,” I rasp, eyes burning into hers. “It’s your turn.”
Before she can react, I lift her effortlessly and toss her onto the bed. She takes an uneven breath as she scrambles back against the pillows, her eyes wide with anticipation.
“Lucky—”
“Shh,” I murmur, crawling over her until I’m straddling her thighs. “Now it’s my turn to get a taste.”
She gasps as I slide my hands under her oversized t-shirt and raise it up over her soft belly. Her thighs part for me instinctively, and I kiss a torturous, slow trail down her stomach, my fingers hooking around her panties and pulling them down with maddening leisure.
She lifts her hips to help me, trembling now, her breath shallow, her eyes never leaving mine.
“You don’t have to—”
“Frankie,” I cut her off, dragging my mouth along her inner thigh. “Shut that beautiful mouth of yours and let me eat you out. I want to.”
I settle between her legs, kneeling as if she were something sacred, as if worshiping her is the only holy act worth a damn. My hands grip her thighs, spreading her open for me, and then I taste her.
Just like I remembered. Sweet and tart and fucking mine.
Her breath leaves her body in a ragged moan, her back arching with each flick of my tongue, each long, languished lap. I groan into her, drowning in the way she gasps my name, her hands tangling in my hair, her legs already trembling from the attention.
She’s wet, hot, and sweet— fuck, so sweet—and I can’t get enough. Every flick, every soft bite, every stroke of my tongue is designed for one thing only—making her come undone beneath me. And from the way she writhes and moans, she’s getting close. I use her juices to lubricate my fingers and slowly slide into her wet pussy, curving them in a way that will have her seeing stars in no time.
“Lucky… Oh, my God—”
“That’s it, baby,” I growl against her clit, not letting up. “Let go.”
She whimpers something between a curse and my name, her thighs clamping around my shoulders as she rides my tongue and fingers with everything she’s got. Her nails dig into my scalp, her fingers pulling on the strands of my hair as she momentarily rises her back from the bed just so she can keep my head hostage in between her thighs.
I start fucking her with my fingers, faster and deeper, as my tongue, teeth, and lips tease her swollen clit.
“Lucky!” She falls apart with a cry that sends fire straight through me, my cock hardening to the point of pain.
Frankie then collapses back on the bed, panting, her eyes glassy with aftershock from the earth-shattering orgasm that just ripped her soul in half.
I crawl back up to her, brushing her damp hair off her forehead and kissing her lips, slow and sweet, as if making her a promise.
“Still think you only like me this much? ” I whisper against her mouth, grinning as I mimic the tiny gap between her fingers.
She laughs, breathless. “Shut up.”
Her laugh turns into a gasp as I flip her over, putting her on all fours, already aching for more.
“Sure thing. Right after round two.”