Chapter 36
LUCA
Alex tried to scream against my hand, but no one could hear her over the loud music. Not like the guards would come to her aid.
I loved it when she screamed.
And begged for help.
Wrapping my arm around her, I dragged her to the couch at the center of the room like a lion leading its prey into a cave. She wiggled around in my arms, attempting to break free.
Good luck with that, baby girl.
I ripped my grandfather’s knife from her bloody fingers and shoved it into my back pocket. My girl was so predictable. I knew she would remember, eventually. And once she did, I knew she would go into self-preservation mode because she thought I was the villain in her story.
Maybe I was.
I was no hero.
She had no reason to believe she was safe with me. Not after all the shit she had put me, my family, and The Devil’s Knights through over the past year.
Alex attempted to kick and slap me, though it was no use. I lowered her onto the couch, pinning her to the cushion. The music cranked through the speakers, the beat drowning out her cries.
I used this room for my wild parties. It was ten times the size of a standard living room and had enough furniture to accommodate everyone in Devil’s Creek.
“DON’T CHASE THE DEAD” by Marilyn Manson ended, bathing the room in silence as the tracks switched.
I prepared a playlist to help Alex remember.
“Sweet Dreams” by Marilyn Manson was next.
Marilyn Manson was Aiden’s favorite band.
The doctors said familiar smells and sounds triggered memories.
Taking her pretty ass to Beacon Bay was all part of the plan.
The Serpents were under my command and agreed to play along.
Anything to get our queen back. Because even their survival depended on the future of The Devil’s Knights.
Barefoot and dressed in skimpy pajamas, Alex squirmed beneath me as I caged her against the cushion, my hand still over her mouth. She could fight me all she wanted. I was over a foot taller than her and had at least sixty more pounds of muscle.
“If I release my hand, are you going to scream?”
Alex shook her head, her tears wetting my skin. I dropped my hand, and she released a sob.
“What is wrong with you, Luca?” Alex’s chest rose and fell against mine. “Turn on the lights.”
“No.”
She let out a whine, her fear of the dark taking over. This was all part of the plan. I needed to bring out some of her worst fears to trigger her memories. It was a risky treatment, but I would have tried anything once. Her doctors warned me about the adverse effects, but I was desperate.
“I got you, baby.” I swiped my finger beneath her eyes, capturing her tears. “Don’t cry.”
“How could you do that to me? You chased me… You left that knife in my bed. And now what? Are you going to kill me?”
“Do you remember what you did?”
No longer fighting me, she sighed. “Yes.”
It worked.
I flipped the switch in her brain.
Sliding my arm behind her back, I cradled her head against my chest and held Alex as she cried on my shoulder.
“I’m sorry, Luca,” she gasped. “Please don’t hurt me.”
“In this town, I’m the judge, jury, and executioner.” I grabbed a handful of her hair, forcing her to look at me, even though it was too dark to see clearly. “What do you think is an acceptable punishment for attempted murder?”
Her body tensed, and I could feel her withdrawing from me. “I don’t know.”
“Do you know what I do to my enemies? Hmm?”
“I’m afraid to ask,” she muttered.
“I cut off their heads and mail them back to their family.”
She shifted her weight, attempting to get out from under me. “Luca, please. I didn’t mean to… I’m sorry.”
I stroked her arm to put her at ease. “I know you’re sorry, baby. You have the rest of our lives to make it up to me.”
“Why did you send me away? You could have told me this nine months ago.”
“Because you were out of control. You needed professional help. I barely survived the knife wound. After that, I wasn’t sure if I would kill or marry you.”
“You would kill me?”
Yes.
Maybe.
No.
Could I kill her?
I was a heartless bastard, but Alexandrea Wellington was a part of me. She was the only good thing I had in my life. In a world tainted by violence and corruption, I needed her.
What binds us will destroy us.
Carl Wellington did his best to fix Alex after he’d found out about her traumatic childhood.
He hired the top doctors in the country to treat her, but her bitch mother had fucked with her head.
It made her doubt anyone but Aiden could love her.
It had taken years for Alex to trust her precious Pops.
And me, I wasn’t sure where we stood, somewhere between love and hate.
After her brother’s disappearance, she craved blood, her hatred turning her into someone unrecognizable. Not like I was any better. I just handled my shit in different ways.
I painted the town with the blood of my enemies, and Alex painted canvases. We were both fucking lunatics, which made us perfect for each other. Who else would understand the shit running through my psychotic mind? Only a crazy person could love someone like me.
“Luca,” she whispered against my neck, her body still trembling.
“Yeah, baby?”
“I don’t remember all the details. Not exactly. But I know what I did.”
She slid her hand to my thigh, slowly reaching my stomach. Her hand hovered above the scar. I had so many scars they looked like spider webs etched into my skin, but the one from Alex was unique—the deepest of them all.
The scar ached whenever I looked or thought about it. But I deserved it. We were both guilty of different crimes. She’d had every reason to want to kill me that night. If I didn’t have money, I would have bled out on the patio before the concierge doctor arrived.
Alex didn’t hold back that night, slicing right into my guts. She stole the knife I carried in my back pocket and tried to gut me like a fish. And she didn’t even care. Because she wasn’t in her body that night, it wasn’t my girl driving the crazy train.
Aiden caused her to snap.
Her internal clock reset.
I unbuttoned my shirt, and Alex leaned against me, feeling the scar with her fingers. “Luca, I don’t… I can’t believe I did this.”
“It wasn’t you, baby. You had a breakdown.”
“Not real,” she whispered. “You’re not real.” Alex moved her hand away. “This is a dream. Not real.”
I held her hand over the scar, forcing her to feel the rough edges. “Real, baby.”
“No,” she gasped. “If I tried to kill you, then that means… Aiden.”
She needed to remember what happened to Aiden on her own. I offered no additional information. Let her form whatever opinion she wanted. This was her mystery to uncover.
I dipped my head down, my lips inches above hers. The heat from her breath warmed my skin, sending a wave of electricity throughout my body. Until Alex, I’d never felt a connection with anyone, not even my brothers. I never even kissed a woman because I couldn’t handle intimacy.
Alex was the exception to every rule.
“I’m sorry, Luca.”
She deserved a good spanking.
A punishment for being a brat.
Instead, I opened my mouth and let her tongue tangle with mine. She tasted like mint toothpaste and lemons. And I needed her so fucking bad.
As I slipped my hand into her pajama shorts, she moaned.
Her nipples poked through her thin tank top, the tiny buds scratching my chest as I pushed two fingers inside her.
My cock strained against my pants, begging me to come out and play.
Not yet. I wanted to toy with her for a while before I handed out my punishment.
I rolled my thumb over her clit, and she kissed me harder, whimpering into my mouth.
“Luca,” she whispered.
Hearing my name awakened the demons inside me. I’d wanted nothing more than Alex. This girl drove me insane. With each scream that slipped from her lips, she turned me into an animal.
I wrapped my fingers around her throat and squeezed hard enough to make her gasp. She loved it when I choked her.
“I know what you did with Marcello.”
“Are you mad?”
“No,” I added another finger, and she cried out. “Did it feel good? Did you like it when my little brother played with your pussy?”
“Yes,” she groaned.
“How about now?” I nibbled on her earlobe, thrusting my fingers so hard she screamed. “You like this, baby girl?”
“Yes. Don’t stop, Luca. I’m going to…”
After she came on my fingers, I shoved her shorts down her thighs. “Take off your shirt.”
Like a good girl, Alex pulled the shirt over her head and flung it onto the floor. Gripping her hips, I moved her on top of me. She hooked her arms around my neck and kissed me as if we’d never tried to hurt each other.
Her hands shook as she slid my shirt over my shoulders. I flicked the button on my pants, and she rolled down the zipper, adjusting her position on my lap so she could pull them down to my ankles.
“I missed you,” I whispered between kisses, and I meant it.
My crazy girl made me feel when I was numb. No matter how much I denied my feelings for her, I always needed Alex. She was the angel on my shoulder when the devil made me sin. And with my girl, I wanted to do a lot of sinning.
Squeezing her ass, I lifted her just enough to lower her onto my cock. Alex cried out from the sudden pinch. She was so wet and tight as I pushed through her inner walls.
“I missed you, too,” she breathed against my neck.
“You’re always so wet for me, baby girl.”
“Yeah,” she moaned, then ran her tongue along my neck. “You like that?”
I thrust into her, my fingers digging into her sweet ass. “You know I do, baby. You feel so good.”
She kissed my neck a few more times, then pulled her head back, and even though we couldn’t see each other in the dark, I knew she was looking at me. Searching for me. No matter what, we would always find each other. Fate had brought us together, and only fate could tear us apart.
I leaned forward to suck her nipple into my mouth, tugging at her sensitive flesh with my teeth. Her hand fell to the back of my head, fingers pulling at my short hair. Even over the music, I could hear her moans. The room filled with her scent, and I damn near lost my fucking mind.
As she rocked her hips to meet mine, I rolled my thumb over her clit and pounded into her harder and faster, taking what I wanted from her.
“Luca,” she whimpered. “Oh, fuck.” She tightened her grip on my hair. “Harder… Yes, yes…”
I moved my free hand to her throat and pressed my thumb over her windpipe, giving her what she needed.
She clutched my wrist to tighten my grip.
Rough and relentless, I fucked her hard enough to imprint my cock.
Leave my fingerprints on her skin, mark her for everyone to see.
Her entire body trembled, her skin hot and slick against mine.
I pulled down her bottom lip with my teeth and tugged hard enough to rip another moan from her pretty lips. “That’s it, baby. Let go. Cum for me.”
My name fell from her mouth, and I loved how she said it with a sweet cadence that sounded like a song lyric slipping from her beautiful lips.
As if possessed by her moans, I fucked her even harder, bouncing her up and down on my cock.
I couldn’t get enough of her pussy. Nine months away from her had been too long.
She was my drug, my addiction, and I wanted to be high whenever I was with her.
Consumed by her scent, her sounds, and the way she felt.
Her insides clenched around me. She was so close, her orgasm shaking through me. My beautiful mess strangled my cock with her pussy, coming so hard I couldn’t hold back any longer. I pumped into her a few more times and kissed her lips before spilling my cum inside her.
Sweaty and breathless, she put her hands on my shoulders and dragged her fingers down my chest.
I released my hold on her throat and tilted my head back. “You’re such a good girl. I know you didn’t mean it, baby.”
Her lips brushed mine in the dark. “I like dreams like this one.”
What the fuck?
My heart sank to my stomach, her words gutting me worse than the knife. Sometimes, I wished she had finished me off. Because then I wouldn’t have had to wrestle with my feelings for her. I wouldn’t be a prisoner to her delusions that made it impossible for her to tell reality from fantasy.
“This isn’t a dream, Drea.” My fingers skated down her arms, and she shivered from my touch. “Do you feel this?”
She sighed. “Yes.”
Still inside her and semi-hard, I arched my back and rocked my hips. “You feel this, right?”
“Yes,” she whispered. “You feel so good, Luca.”
“Fucking hell, woman.” I swiped a handful of her curls and brought her lips to mine. “You don’t know what you do to me, baby girl.”
After our lips separated, she yawned.
“Tired, baby?”
Alex nodded.
“Okay, pretty girl.” I kissed her sexy lips. “Let’s get you back to bed.”
I lifted her off me, setting her onto the cushion beside me so I could pull up my boxers and pants. She sat there, naked and panting. “Just breathe, baby.” I bent forward to grab her pajamas from the floor. “You’re okay. Lift your arms for me.”
I slipped the silky top over her head and helped her with her panties and shorts. She remained silent the entire time. And I wondered if Alex was still with me because I couldn’t see in the dark. Or was she lost in her head?
I scooped her up from the couch and left the sitting room.
The music floated down the hallway, following us to the foyer.
She rested her head on my chest, and her fingers splayed over my heart.
I wondered if she could feel what she did to me as I climbed the stairs.
My heart never beat this way for anyone else.
By the time I reached her bedroom, she was snoring softly. The lights were on in her room, and by the look of it, Marcello had cleaned up and changed the sheets—no more blood and reminders of the past.
I kissed her forehead and lowered her to the mattress. She looked so delicate and breakable, so damn beautiful my chest hurt.
But did our plan work?
Had we gotten through to her?
Only time would tell.