Chapter One
Rowan
“We've got to find him!” Thomas bellows out as he paces back and forth in Matteo’s kitchen, while everyone else sits around the table, all in our own worst-case scenarios that include Damian.
I look down, noticing my damaged cuticles. My fingers inch toward them, ready to peel, but not before Luca takes notice, laying his hand on mine, knocking my other hand out of the way. Panning to him, he raises his eyebrows at me, silently telling me no.
I sit stoically as my eyes roam to each man in the room.
Every single one has concern and madness etched on their faces as my stomach cramps in pain.
I feel my face drawing up, but I fix it, not needing Luca to put his attention on me.
This is something I’ve been dealing with since the tomb; I can handle the searing pain flowing through my stomach. All focus needs to be on Damian.
“We should have taken precautions. Fuck!” Thomas says what we’re all thinking, still pacing. We all agree, but don’t voice it.
Our concern was for those inside, not even considering what might be hiding and waiting on the outside.
We fucked up. And that’s a tough one to swallow. Now, Damian is in harm's way. And we have nowhere to start.
Luca leans up in one swift motion, his hands removing from mine, leaving them cold. With so much force, he pounds his fist onto the table. The unexpectedness and the jarring of the table make me jump, but I keep quiet.
“We need to go back over all the names and see who the fuck is missing. We overlooked someone, and I want the name now,” he growls out to the room. “How the fuck did Briggs find out?”
No one speaks, but heads nod in confirmation.
Matteo walks to Luca and gently lays his hand on his shoulder, squeezing. “We’ll find him.” His accent is heavy and laced with assurance.
“We,” Luca pauses, his words not wanting to exit, “we have to find him. Have to.” He grits out those last two words.
I slowly put my hand on his and let my touch lend him some strength.
One by one, the guys make their way out of the kitchen. Everyone looks worried but won’t speak about it. They’re men; they keep their emotions close to their chests. But they’re etched on each of their faces.
“Take the guest room. Try to get some rest. Who knows what the hell is in store for us?” Matteo tells Luca before nodding to me.
With his words, my mouth automatically opens and yawns, approving of what he said.
Luca looks at me with downcast eyes and jerks his head to signal let’s go.
We all three exit the kitchen. Matteo turns in the opposite direction from us. Looking over my shoulder, I watch as he enters a room down the hall, head down, as we head upstairs, through the living quarters, and down the hall.
The room greets us like an old friend, with everything in it that we may need. My eyes go to the dresser and the picture I found in there, in what feels like years ago, but was only months, if that, ago.
I toe off my shoes, my clothes following, and crawl onto the bed, naked, smelling the clean scent intermingled in the sheets. No evidence of past guests.
Righting myself, I watch Luca as he slowly undresses. Worry creases his face. Uncertainty looms in his eyes.
His flannel falls to the floor; he stands there with his shoulder holster on full display.
There’s nothing sexier than Luca with his weapons.
He runs his fingers through his beard, making sure to tame any wayward strands back into place.
He's in his head as his lips part, and he shrugs out of his holster, laying it on the bed.
My eyes roam as he yanks his shirt over his head, followed by his pants, his tattoos, and body on full display for me. My instinct is to get him out of his head, even just for a while.
I right myself and crawl to the end of the mattress, my breasts sway with each movement, until I’m in front of him, standing over me.
His face no longer holds worry; now it’s menacing, contorted with pure hate.
Not for me, but for them. The ones who took Damian.
The ones that have the guts to even think about hurting what is his.
I stare up at him under my lashes, biting my bottom lip, while I reach out for his cock, slowly. “Let me make you forget, just for a little while,” I whisper to him in the quiet room.
He moans out when I apply pressure over his boxers, not giving him a chance to say no, knowing what he needs in this moment… A release.
“Please,” he mutters lightly, closing his eyes, the pressure on his dick sending shivers up his body, telling me it agrees.
I shimmy his boxers down; as they fall to his feet, his cock springs free.
Without warning, I take his cock into my mouth, sucking hard, enjoying the saltiness of Luca.
My tongue glides over his silky-smooth shaft.
Hands on his ass cheeks, I push his hips toward me, forcing him deeper into my mouth.
“Fuck, Killer,” he praises me and my mouth. His hand finds my hair, wrapping around his fist, pulling slightly. The sting is doing things to me.
I suck harder, his praises to me—they’re addicting. My kryptonite. I’d do anything to keep his words coming. His words and the wetness of my mouth are the only noises.
My pussy becomes wet, and with my other hand, I reach under me, graze my clit while I suck harder on his cock, tasting his precum as it hits my taste buds. There is something about Luca’s taste. It’s addictive and tastes like home.
“Fuck yourself,” he tells me on a moan.
Sliding my finger from my clit to my wet entrance, I do exactly what he tells me to, and fuck myself with my finger, all the while my mouth still sucking him hard.
I hit my G-spot and moan around his cock, the vibration of my moans has him pulling my hair even tighter.
His hip thrusts become more erratic, which makes me fuck myself even faster.
The sensation of my hair being pulled, gagging on his cock, and finger fucking myself all at the same time, I orgasm.
Moaning. I feel his release as it shoots down my throat, and I happily swallow him down, taking every bit that I can get out of him, sucking the venom they have unleashed through him, out, until he’s pulling himself from between my lips, simultaneously unwrapping his hand from my hair.
Leaning fully up on my knees, he cups my cheek and kisses my lips more gently than he just did on my mouth. Rubbing on them, “I love you.” His face has morphed back into worry, all thoughts going back to Damian. His eyes are dark.
“I love you too, Luca.”
Righting myself on the bed, I crawl up to the headboard and burrow under the blankets, knowing he needs time alone.
“He’ll come home, baby,” I say to him, but I’m also scared those words won’t come true. I’ll never let Luca know that, because right now, we need all the faith in this crazy, fucking world.
I feel the foot of the bed sinking with Luca’s body, but I don’t move, giving him the space he needs.
The room is so quiet as I try to fall asleep, but the only thing I can do is replay the night in my head. What we should have done, the precautions we should have taken.
I lie there for what feels like forever in the same position, my eyes closed, when the bed moves and the door creaks open.
Sitting up, I watch Luca’s back as he exits into the hallway, never looking back or shutting the door fully.
Now that I’m finally alone for the first time since the tomb, I cry. Not for me, but for Damian. I’d give myself to them just to know he was safe. I fear what he could do and how he could provoke them, because what if he’s finally decided this is the best time for him to meet back up with Lauren?
“Dear God. You there? Are you even real? Fuck. Sorry.” Inhaling, I try again.
"I pray for Damian; please give him the strength he needs to survive wherever he may be and whatever he may be put through. Give him a reason to stay on this side of the living. Anything, so he will make it back home to all of us, where he belongs.” I shake my entwined hands, as if shaking them will force the words to God even faster.
I fall asleep as I lay silently, praying repeatedly.