Chapter 8 Katerina
KATERINA
I hate that I’m so weak.
Not only have I let him take me, at his father’s funeral gathering, no less, but that even now, his body still inside mine, I can’t push him away.
“Luca… there’s no point in this—”
“There doesn’t have to be.” His hands are on me again. His lips trail along my neck. “Life is short. Enjoy moments like this while you can.”
I feel him swelling inside me and that delicious friction builds again.
“You feel so fucking good, Katerina. So fucking good.”
He’s not wrong. It does feel good.
To be held. To be desired. To be touched like this.
It hasn’t happened since he left. Don Lorenzo had discussed marrying me off to someone, but I argued that no one would want to take on my child.
He surprised me by backing down and not forcing the issue.
Maybe that’s why I’m powerless to push Luca away at this moment. I miss feeling like this and he’s the only who ever has made me feel like this.
“Yes… fuck…” His body crushes against mine, his breath hot on my neck as pleasure tears through me like lightning.
I bite down on his shoulder to stifle a moan that would surely alert the mansion to what we’re doing.
"Look at me," Luca commands, and I can't resist.
Our eyes lock as the waves crash over us both again. I'm falling, drowning in steel-gray eyes that have haunted my dreams for seven years. His fingers dig into my thighs, keeping me pinned against the wall as we ride out the storm together.
I hate how perfectly we still fit.
How my body remembers his.
How even after everything, he can still make me feel like I'm breaking apart and coming together all at once.
We stay locked together, our harsh breathing the only sound in the room.
His forehead rests against mine, our bodies still joined, trembling from aftershocks.
"Katerina." He whispers my name sweetly against my lips, and for one fleeting moment, I let myself believe this means something.
But it doesn’t.
Reality seeps back in.
"Let me go," I demand, not meeting his eyes.
His grip tightens. "Never again."
I push against his chest, needing space to think clearly. "This was a mistake."
"The only mistake was staying away for seven years." His thumb traces my lower lip.
“But you did.” I straighten my dress with shaking hands. "This changes nothing."
But as I step away from him, my body still humming from his touch, I know it's a lie.
Everything has changed.
The walls I've built, the life I've created for Enzo and myself are at risk because Luca has already begun to tear it all down.
And the most terrifying part is that some hidden piece of me wants him to succeed.
“It changes everything.”
"I need to check on Enzo," I mutter, desperate for any excuse.
"Katerina." The way he says my name still melts something inside me. I remember how he used to whisper it against my skin in the darkness of his room.
How he'd promise me forever with those same lips that are now swollen from our kisses.
The same lips that went silent for seven years.
"I waited for you," I admit, the words escaping before I can stop them. "For months, I checked my phone constantly. I made excuses for you. That you were in danger, that you couldn't reach me, that you'd come back."
His face contorts with pain. "I wanted to contact you. You have to believe—"
"But you didn't," I cut him off, working to gather the strength to fight against my heart to protect it and Enzo. "And now you’re here, but for how long? Until the next time you decide to disappear?" I can't do this again. I can't survive being left by him twice.
"It won't be like that, I promise—”
"Your promises don’t mean anything, Luca. And you certainly don't get to make promises to my son until I know you can keep them."
“They’ve poised you against—”
"I have to go.” I turn toward the door.
His hand reaches for me. "Don't run from this."
I dodge his grasp. "Stay away from me. And stay away from Enzo until I figure out how to handle this."
I flee the study, not caring who might see my disheveled state.
The tears I've been holding back burn behind my eyes as I hurry through the hallway.
I may still want him, but I'll die before I let him break me again.
I slip into the kitchen where Maria, the cook who's watched Enzo countless times, looks up from where she's helping him decorate cookies shaped like stars.
"There you are, Miss Petrov," Maria says, her eyes narrowing slightly at what must be my flushed appearance. "The little one's been quite the helper."
Enzo's flour-dusted face brightens when he sees me. "Mama! Look what I made." He holds up a cookie slathered in blue frosting. "It's for you."
The simple innocence of his gesture makes my chest ache. "It's beautiful, sweetheart. Are you ready to go home now?"
His small brows furrow. "Already? But the party's still happening."
"I think we've paid our respects enough for today." I run my fingers through his dark hair, noting for the thousandth time how much it resembles Luca's.
I thank Maria and usher Enzo toward the back door, avoiding the main hallways where I might encounter Luca again. My skin still burns where he touched me, reminding me of my weakness.
The short walk to our cottage on the edge of the estate grounds gives me time to pull myself together, to try and push Luca away so I can focus on my greatest role, being a mom.
"Mama, are you sad because Don Lorenzo died?" Enzo asks as we reach our door.
I pause, key in hand. "Yes, partly. But I'm also very tired, sweetheart."
“Is it because the man in the black suit was talking to you? The one who kept looking at me?"
I freeze. "What man, Enzo?"
"The black sheep. That’s what Valentina calls him. He was watching us earlier."
Luca.
He'd been watching our son before I even told him.
But he didn’t seem to have any suspicion when he corralled me into the study.
No.
He was angry that another man might have touched me. The nerve of him.
I spend the evening with my son, playing games, feeding us dinner, giving him a bath, and later tucking him into bed.
The storybook lies open on my lap, but I've been reading on autopilot, my mind elsewhere.
"Can we have pancakes tomorrow?" Enzo mumbles, his eyelids heavy.
"Of course." I lean down to kiss his forehead.
His small fingers grab mine before I can pull away. "You're still sad."
Not sad. Shattered. Confused. Angry. Longing. But I force a smile. "I'm just tired. Sleep now."
I watch him drift off, his face peaceful in the soft glow of his nightlight.
My beautiful boy. My miracle.
The only good thing that came from loving Luca Dante.
Later, I sit on our small porch, wrapped in a blanket against the evening chill.
Stars speckle the sky, and I remember how Luca once pointed out constellations to me on the Dante estate's roof.
Back when I believed his promises.
Just get out or die. The words Luca says his father told him echo in my mind.
The explanation differs from what Don Lorenzo and Alessandro said. According to them, Luca left willingly, turned his back on family obligations.
Alessandro had called him a traitor, too wild to be contained.
Don Lorenzo himself told me Luca chose power over family, over me.
Yet today, Luca spoke as if he'd been forced out. As if he'd had no choice.
Someone is lying. Perhaps everyone.
I take a sip of wine, remembering how Don Lorenzo's face would harden whenever Luca's name was mentioned.
The old Don had been kind to me, protective after Luca left, especially when my pregnancy became apparent.
He gave me this cottage, ensured that Enzo would want for nothing.
Was it guilt?
Or was it leverage? Was I used to make sure Luca complied with whatever they wanted?
It breaks me a little to think Don Lorenzo would have done that, but I can’t put it past him.
Why are you here except for my family to watch you?
I know I’m a pawn, but now I’m not so sure for what.
The wind rustles through the trees, and I pull the blanket tighter.
All this time, I’ve believed Luca abandoned me willingly.
For seven years I’ve survived the dangerous politics between my family and his.
I’ve built a life without him. Now he’s back and with one touch, one kiss, he's thrown everything into chaos.
Maybe he was forced to leave.
Maybe his silence wasn't abandonment but protection.
Maybe he actually loved me.
But it doesn’t change anything. The die has been cast.
My life is here, forced along with my brother to liaise between my family and the Dantes. Luca has built his life in Chicago.
And despite what he says, if Luca had truly wanted me, truly loved me, he would have found a way to be with me.
Men like him move mountains when something matters enough. They break rules, cross oceans, defy death itself.
Especially Luca.
His impulsive, bulldozing traits are what usually got him in trouble with the family.
The truth stings. I wasn't important enough for him to fight for. Whatever drove him from New York, whatever kept him away, he chose that over me.
"Never again.” I vow as I work through the guilt and self-loathing that I let him touch me again.
I will not fall for Luca Dante a second time.
I will not let him charm his way into Enzo's heart, only to disappear when things get difficult.
I will not allow him to reduce me to that desperate girl who checked her phone a hundred times a day, hoping for a message that never came.
This time, I'm prepared. This time, I know better.
Temporary passion isn't worth permanent pain.
Luca Dante is like a summer storm, thrilling, powerful, but ultimately devastating to everything in his path.
I drain the last of my wine, more determined than ever to protect myself and Enzo from Luca’s destruction.
He may try to come at us, but this time, I'm ready.