8. Luna
EIGHT
LUNA
Soft kisses drifted from her neck to her collarbone, taking their time to taste her skin. Luna’s eyes fluttered closed, the sensation feeling like heaven. He stroked along her body slowly, tracing down between her breasts before grabbing the right one. His mouth met her left breast, sucking and biting the skin, forcing her to wither in pain and pleasure.
It didn’t take him long to make his way between her thighs. He placed kisses along her inner thigh before taking one single taste of her pussy with the swipe of his tongue. Luna moaned, throwing her head back and arching her spine. Instinctively, her thighs closed around his head, keeping his head in place as his tongue continued flicking against her clit, sucking and making a mess of her.
God, she would do anything to make the feeling never end, but her orgasm was crashing into her the minute a finger slipped inside. With one more kiss on her lower abdomen, he was moving so he was hovering over her.
“Look at how ready you are for me.” Valerio smirked, stealing a kiss from her lips.
“Stop teasing,” Luna begged.
“I like having you like this for me—wet, moaning, a mess,” he said, entering her swiftly. A gasp escaped Luna, the fullness completing her. “Look how perfectly you fit with me.” His rhythm was brutal, hitting every part of her that yearned for him.
He was right, and she wanted to hate him for it.
The thrusts continued, pushing her to another orgasm she wasn’t sure she could handle. Valerio reached down between them, running his thumb over her clit. “Come for me, baby.”
Luna gasped awake. Her body tingled, covered in a hot sweat. She looked around her room, checking where she was. God, it felt so real. The way he touched her, the way she moaned for him. She swore she could feel the phantom touches lingering on her skin as a reminder.
She was soaking wet. A reminder of how good the dream felt. Her mind drifted back, replaying every moment of it.
Why Valerio? Why was it that she couldn’t escape him in her daily life and now she couldn’t escape him in the safety of her dreams?
She hated him, for God’s sake. She couldn’t be having dreams about him where she rode his cock like there was no tomorrow.
Sure, she found him attractive. Of course she did; she was just a girl, after all. And sure, maybe the crush she had on him before had snuck its way into her mind and made her think about him more often than not. But it didn’t matter and it wouldn’t because she would not fall for the one man who was attempting to destroy her life.
Valerio Vitali was bad news.
He shot a boy in the legs over her. He was wild, possessive, obsessive.
But the dream felt so good .
Luna groaned, throwing a pillow over her head. Why couldn’t he have been disgusting? Or better yet, why did he have to stumble outside all those years ago when she was in the midst of a breakdown, trying to play the savior?
He wasn’t her hero.
He didn’t have any good intentions.
But would marriage to him really be that bad?
She sat up in bed, her eyes wide in shock. How could she even think that? God, she needed to get it together. The dream was over. It was fake—just her subconscious being a bitch.
The sun was barely rising over the horizon, but Luna knew she couldn’t go back to sleep. She had a feeling her mind would try to return to the dream, and she couldn’t handle that again. This time, she might not wake up from it.
She got up to get ready for the day. She didn’t have class since it was Friday, but it was also initiation weekend and if she knew anything about her best friends, she knew the weekend would be packed with parties. Her best bet was to get some homework done while everyone was still sleeping.
Tonight, she was attending Fight Night to support Finn, who kicked ass every year. It was bloody and gruesome, but over the years she got numb to the violence and attempted to enjoy it.
Tomorrow night was The Chase, and in honor of not getting caught up in it, she would be locking herself in her apartment. There was no doubt in her mind that if she was out and about, the devil himself would snatch her up and force her to run for her life, or whatever the hell they did during it. She never attended and she wouldn’t start now.
She threw on a pair of sweats and a gray T-shirt that said ‘Grand Willow’ on it. She grabbed her backpack, deciding to go to a cafe to get some work done. She slid on a pair of sneakers and left the apartment, closing the door carefully behind her.
The air was crisp and fresh; the grass and windows covered in a fresh layer of morning dew. Everyone seemed to still be sleeping, probably trying to conserve their energy for the parties later tonight, leaving campus unusually quiet.
Her walk was peaceful until she noticed a black sports car following suspiciously close behind her. She took small glances over her shoulder, frowning when she realized it was trailing her. When she walked, the car moved. When she stopped, the car stopped. She had pepper spray in her bag that she could reach for, but hopefully no one was dumb enough to really kidnap Reece Kingsley’s daughter.
Her breathing turned ragged once the car pulled up right beside her.
“What’s up, sis-in-law?” the voice called out from the car, the window now rolled down.
Luna’s face scrunched up in confusion. Only one person was obnoxious enough to call her something like that. She rolled her eyes, looking at the two men who associated themselves with her alleged fiancé. “What the hell are you guys doing? Have you lost your mind?”
“Where are you going?” Allister asked.
“Why is that literally any of your business?”
“Making sure you’re not rushing off to meet some other man again,” Dante told her bluntly.
“Are you kidding me? He sent you to follow me?” Luna asked. “Talk about insecure.”
“No,” Allister answered. “He doesn’t know we’re here. Get in. We need to talk to you.”
“Why would I get in the car with you?” Luna asked. “I’m going to a cafe, if you must know. I have homework to do because we’re in college and most people do that instead of stalking.”
“I’ve never done a lick of homework,” Dante said. “Now get in before I actually kidnap you.”
Luna rolled her eyes. She opened the back door, sliding into the cool leather seat. The door barely closed behind her before Dante took off down the street, speeding like someone was chasing him. “Can you slow down?” Luna barked, holding on to the seat for dear life.
“No time,” he told her. They continued speeding down the streets, passing right by the campus cafe.
Luna’s eyes widened. “Where the hell are you taking me?”
Dante looked at her from the rearview mirror. “What you did yesterday was fucked up.”
She rolled her eyes. “Oh, and forcing me into a marriage isn’t?”
She recognized the road they were driving down immediately. The neatly cut lawns, intricately shaped bushes, and the large, gated fence. They were at the Vitali mansion. Why did they come here? She couldn’t face Valerio, especially after the dream she had. Her body was still coming down from that high. “I’m not getting out of this car, so you might as well just drive me back home.”
Dante pulled up at the front door. Both him and Allister turned around to look at her. She crossed her arms, trying to cover how uncomfortable she was under their scrutiny.
“What do you think Valerio was doing for those seven years he was gone?” Allister asked.
Disgust filled Luna. She didn’t want to think about all the gross things he was doing out there, catching any and all diseases he could. “I don’t care.”
“Nothing,” Dante answered. “He did absolutely nothing because he promised himself to you.”
“He’s really pathetic if he made you guys pick me up just to lie to my face,” she said. “I don’t care what he’s done with anyone. It’s not my business, just like whatever I do isn’t any of your business.”
“You’re marrying him. What you do is his business,” Allister said. “And what you did last night was low.”
Luna narrowed her eyes in rage. “What I did was low? Do you even hear yourselves? He shot someone in the legs!”
“We didn’t say he was normal,” Dante said, shrugging. “He cut himself off from any fun in life, too busy plotting how to rule the world and staying loyal to your contract. The least you could do is the same.”
“You know he cares about you,” Allister said. “I don’t know why he would damn himself to marriage, but either way he chose it.”
“Well, I didn’t,” Luna spit out. “I don’t owe any of you a single thing, especially not him.”
“You should be grateful, considering the alternative. He’s willing to live a life of misery with you just because he’s in fucking love with you.” Dante spared her no sympathy, speaking his mind regardless of the fact Luna was ready to break down into tears. “He’s my brother, so that means I look out for him. If it was up to me, you would have had a bullet in your head for that stunt. Next time you hurt him, I won’t be so forgiving.”
Luna could only stare back at him. They all had reputations, but Dante was always thought to be the careless, fun one. That had to be a lie because the man that sat in front of her seemed just as lethal as his brother. It was a whole family of unforgiving souls.
“Is that a threat?” she asked.
“No, no threats. It’s a promise,” he said. “I want to like you, Luna. Don’t ruin that.”
She clenched her jaw hard, begging herself to not let the tears fall. At least not in front of them. She wouldn’t let them see her weakness, not now and not ever. “Protect your brother all you want; I don’t care. But remember, I am a Kingsley and if you ever threaten me again, you’ll wake up with a fucking army at your door.”
With that, she got out of the car, slamming the door behind her. She didn’t have anywhere to go, except inside the house. Gianna was home, but she was likely still sleeping. For now though, her room would be the safest place.
Luna let herself into the house, the front door thankfully unlocked.
She needed to go somewhere to cry. After she cried, then she could call someone to pick her up. Her driver or her brother. Whoever—it didn’t matter. The lump in her throat was suffocating and her eyes burned with unshed tears. She couldn’t even pinpoint why she wanted to cry so bad. Was it because she was threatened or because no one cared about the situation she was in? Why was she being punished for almost kissing a boy, but no one else was suffering for all of their actions?
That had to be what it was. Frustration. She was so frustrated that every action, every word, every movement she made was being judged and scrutinized. Every day, more and more, the small freedoms she enjoyed in her life were being ripped from her hands.
There was one place where she needed to go. The place she would sneak out into during sleepovers when she couldn’t sleep.
She walked through the kitchen, hurrying to make her way to the backyard where a gazebo stood, surrounded by wildflowers. They were beginning to lose their petals, but still, their colors blended seamlessly, creating a picturesque scene.
She sat down on the small bench inside of the gazebo, looking out into the flowers. The sob tore through her throat before she could swallow it down. The next one followed after and then another one. She gasped and choked on her tears, but they wouldn’t stop.
She must have been cursed. That was the only explanation. Maybe Valerio was a better option, but she never got an option. She was human; it was natural for her to fight when she was trapped. The minute she stopped fighting and gave into the marriage was the minute she lost herself. She saw what happened to her mother, what happened to countless numbers of women she met at galas and balls. They became a shell of a person, stuck in an endless cycle of infidelity and violence. There wasn’t real love in their world; it didn’t exist. Maybe she was naive for still believing in it and yearning for it, but what was the alternative?
She didn’t want that life for herself. She didn’t want the wars, and the violence, and the targets on their backs, never having anyone to turn to. That was her own personal nightmare.
She wanted to go on dates and fall in love. She wanted the option to break up if the relationship didn’t work out or to take it to the next level if it did.
And yet, her life would have none of that.
She wiped her tears off her cheeks. So much for getting up early to get some work done.
A sigh escaped her lips. Crying was pointless; it wouldn’t change anything. She needed to take control of her life. Luna didn’t have a single clue on how to do that, but she needed to think of something.
Finally, the sun made its way up into the sky, coloring everything in a multitude of blues and pinks. Eventually she stood and walked into the house once again. She entered the kitchen, stopping in her tracks at a shirtless Valerio chugging a water bottle. Her throat became dry and immediately the dream from the night before clouded her mind, her breakdown forgotten for the moment.
She couldn’t stop her eyes from drawing down his body, following the trail of hair that disappeared under the low hanging gray sweats.
She snapped her eyes back to his face and his narrowed look. In a split second he set the water bottle down on the counter and stalked over to where she was standing. He grabbed her face, wiping away any tears that lingered from the chilled skin of her cheeks.
“Who made you cry?” he asked. His voice was dark and bordering on anger.
She couldn’t answer, suddenly so aware of his half-naked body pressed dangerously against hers. “No one,” she answered in a weak voice.
She needed to get out of the kitchen and sort her emotions because her mind was taking her to too many places at once.
“Don’t lie to me,” he said. “Who brought you here? Was it them?”
“I need to find Gianna,” she said, trying to sound more firm that time.
“I’ll take care of it for you.”
“It’s not serious,” she told him, shaking her head.
“It’s serious enough if you’re in my house crying.” His plump lips fell into a frown. His eyes held a dark gleam, one that promised some sort of punishment. “No one in this world has the right to disrespect you. Tell me what they said.”
“Have you ever been with anyone else? During our engagement or before?” she asked. She didn’t even know why she was asking, but the words slipped out before she could stop herself.
“No,” he answered without hesitation. “Never.”
She swallowed harshly. Dante and Allister were telling the truth? Valerio hadn’t been with anyone the entire time they were engaged. Was it possible he wasn’t like the other mafia men she knew?
Her mind swirled bitterly with a new possibility she hadn’t wanted to discover. She pushed him away from her before regretting letting her hands touch him. She felt the goosebumps that rose on his skin from the contact, snatching her hands away as if he burned her.
Her legs pushed her out of the kitchen. She climbed up the stairs, nearly running down the hall to Gianna’s room. She slammed the door open, waking her up in a confused panic.
“What the hell? Luna? What are you doing here?” Gianna asked, sitting up with her eyes still nearly closed. “It’s too freaking early for this.”
Luna closed the door behind her, walking closer to the bed. The look on her face must have been alarming because Gianna sat up more awake now.
“What happened?” she asked more urgently.
Luna could only throw her hands up in the air.
Something felt like it had changed, and she didn’t like it one bit.