Chapter 11 Luca
Luca
Iam well and truly fucked.
Why is it that I finally find the woman I’ve been obsessing over for the last six months, and now I have to leave her?
I’m leaving Beckford.
There’s no getting around that fact.
I’ve waited my whole life for the opportunity to play football on one of the biggest stages in the world, and I’m one step closer to that. But fuck if some part of me doesn’t die inside at the thought of leaving Willow.
My stepsister.
Fuck!
My mind is assaulted with the realisation that I’ve wasted so much time with her. For four years, my perfect match has been living under the same roof, and I’ve ignored her.
As we lay wrapped around one another on her bed, our chests rising and falling in sync as we come down from our high, I can’t stop touching her. My fingers trace over every inch of her beautiful curves while my lips claim hers.
Time ceases to exist as each kiss evokes a symphony of sensations—desire, need, and an understanding of how two human bodies can connect on such an intimate level. With every passing minute, I forget about football and everything that is waiting for us outside these four walls.
Until a simple knock on the door throws both our worlds into chaos, and Gwendoline lets herself in.
“Willow, honey, have you seen your—”
“Mum!” she screams. “Get out!”
But my stepmother stands frozen in the doorway, her eyes wide as we scramble to cover ourselves. “What in the world…?”
“A bit of privacy,” I grunt out, waving at the door.
Gwendoline ignores me, her eyes narrowing on her daughter. “Are you trying to ruin our lives?” she spits. “What did you think? That Luca would give up his international football career for the likes of you?”
The venom in her tone causes me to clench my fists around the sheets now covering my nakedness. Willow’s body deflates behind me, which only makes me angrier.
“You need to leave, Gwendoline.”
She scoffs. “And you… Wait until your father hears about this. How dare you think you can defile your sister like that before you leave. It’s disgusting.”
“Mum—”
“I’ve given you everything, you ungrateful little bitch, and all you’ve ever done is embarrass me.
What did I do to end up with a frumpy, good-for-nothing daughter like you?
I thought having the Whitford name would open up your dating prospects, but never in my wildest dreams did I think you’d sink your chubby little claws into your brother. ”
“Get. Out.” My voice is calm but deadly. She doesn’t want to push me.
Willow is trembling now, and it suddenly hits me. No wonder my angel is dominant in the bedroom—it’s the only place in her life that she has any control.
“When your father hears about—”
“Get. Out!” I roar. If I had clothes on, I would physically shove this toxic woman out the door on her arse.
With a huff, she clutches at the pearls around her neck and finally stalks out of the room, leaving the door wide open. I immediately turn to Willow who shrinks away from me.
“You should go,” she whispers. Her hands are wrapped protectively around her breasts, and she’s staring at the floor, refusing to meet my gaze.
“No.” I grip her chin between my thumb and forefinger and force her to look at me. “Fuck her, Angel. Don’t let her speak to you like that. We’re adults, and we’re not related. We can do whatever the fuck we want.”
“Luca, please.” Her lip trembles.
“Has she always been this toxic?” Willow’s eyes shine with unshed tears as she tries to jerk out of my grasp, but I don’t let her pull away from me. “Talk to me, Willow. Does she always treat you like that?”
She sniffs. “She’s not wrong.”
My brow narrows. “What?”
“She’s not wrong. I’m not girlfriend material. I’m the dirty little secret from the sex club.” She shoves me away and climbs off the bed, grabbing a shirt off the floor and slipping it over her head.
“You’re writing yourself off based on some malicious comments from the woman who’s supposed to be your biggest cheerleader.”
“Why do you care?”
I stare at her. “Why wouldn’t I care?”
“You haven’t spoken to me in four years, and now that we’re having sex, you think you can tell me how to deal with my mother.”
“What is it going to take for you to realise this isn’t just sex for me?” I climb off the bed and pull my pants on.
“You’re leaving.”
“So?”
“So,” she repeats, flinging her hands in the air. “You can say whatever you like, Luca. It doesn’t change anything. You’ll be gone and I’ll still be here, listening to the same disgusting comments I’ve been listening to my whole life.”
“Come with me.”
Willow scoffs. “Yeah, right.”
I cross the room and cup her cheeks in my hands. “Come with me.”
“You’re crazy.”
“Crazy about you.”
She groans, and I catch the sound with my lips.
“What the hell is going on here?”
Closing my eyes, I let out a deep breath before I turn to face my father who is standing in the open doorway. Gwendoline stands behind him, still clutching at her precious pearls. I sneer in her direction, unable to hide my disgust and contempt for the woman.
“Nothing that concerns you.” My reply is flippant. Willow clutches my arm like a lifeline and presses up against my back.
George’s narrowed eyes dart between the two of us, and I step in front of Willow, shielding her from whatever spiteful shit he’s about to say.
“I will not allow this debauchery in my house, son,” he replies calmly. “Think of your future. You’re not throwing it away for some sick infatuation with your sister.”
“Stepsister,” I remind him. “And I’m not throwing anything away.”
A look of relief crosses his face. “Of course you’re not,” he says with a chuckle and a shake of his head. “Well, let’s just leave this little mishap within the confines of this room, shall we, and—”
“Willow’s coming to the UK with me.”
The look on Gwendoline’s face would be comical if she wasn’t such a vindictive bitch.
“W-what?” my father stammers.
I level my stepmother with a look. “If you think I’d leave her under this roof with the likes of you, you’re clearly delusional.”
The woman actually has the audacity to look shocked. “I don’t know what—”
“Save your breath,” I interrupt. “We’re leaving Beckford, and this fucked-up family, and there’s nothing you two can say about it.”
“Now, son, let’s think about this for—”
I laugh in his face. “I haven’t been your son since Mum died. You’re done controlling me.” My father’s face pales and Gwendoline gasps. I turn my wrath on her. “You’re done messing with the both of us.”
“Son—”
“Get out of her room. This conversation is over.” Without another word, I stalk across the room and slam the door. My chest is heaving as if I just ran a marathon, and the adrenaline slowly ebbs out of me. I push my hand through my hair before turning back to face Willow.
My heart surges at the sight of the beautiful woman standing in front of me, her arms wrapped protectively around herself.
“You didn’t have to do that,” she murmurs.
“Come with me,” I repeat. “I want you with me.”
Willow shakes her head. “Why?”
“My whole life I’ve been playing some kind of role—son, football star, teammate, boyfriend—but no one ever saw the real me.
No one ever cared to look, or even to ask.
These past six months, I’ve shed that mask.
I’m tired of acting. All of that fades away when I’m with you.
I can be who I truly am without fear of judgement or someone wanting something from me in return. ”
“I’m your stepsister, Luca. The tabloids will have a field day with…” She pauses and waves her hand between the two of us. “Whatever this is.”
“Let them,” I tell her. “I don’t fucking care. All I care about is convincing you to move out of this shit hole where you’re not respected. Say you’ll move to the UK with me.”
“What about school?”
“If Felix can work it out for me, he can work it out for you, too.”
She bites down on her kiss-swollen lip. “This is crazy.”
“Maybe,” I chuckle, cocking my head to the side. “But give me a chance. Please?”
Willow studies me with those gorgeous ocean eyes, and I wait with bated breath for her answer. “You’re serious?”
“As a heart attack. Move to the UK with me, Willow Hepburn. Be my girl.”
A smile curves those beautiful pouty lips, and my heart beats a staccato rhythm, but then her expression drops, and she shakes her head again.
“We don’t even know if this is going to last outside of sex.
What makes you think this will work out when we’ve avoided each other this past four years we’ve lived together? ”
My stomach bottoms out at the thought of losing her. “Give us a chance,” I plead. “Give me a chance. I want this, Willow. I want you.”
Her cheeks flush, and she drops her head. “Why?”
Willow’s whispered question cracks my heart into pieces. Crossing the room in three large strides, I wrap one arm around her waist, pulling her close to my body, using my free hand to tilt her chin up so she can’t hide from me.
“Why not?” I ask, staring into her mesmerising blue eyes.
“Aren’t you sick of hiding behind a mask?
You were so worried I wouldn’t want you when I found out who you were, but I’m telling you I do want you.
I want all of you. The sexy dominatrix, the beautiful singer, the gorgeous woman.
All of it.” She tries to pull away, but I don’t let her.
“What are you really worried about, Willow?”
“You don’t mean any of that. Why would you? You’re six feet of chiselled muscle and zero body fat, and I’m a frumpy mess. We don’t go well, Luca. You deserve someone—”
“What?” I snap, a little harsher than I intended. “What do I deserve, Willow? Because if you’re about to body shame yourself, I don’t want to hear it.”
Gripping her shoulders, I spin her towards the floor-length mirror hanging in the corner of her room, stepping in behind her. She averts her gaze, but I’m not having that.
“Look at yourself,” I demand.
A tear slips down her cheek, and I soften my tone.
“Willow, please look at yourself.”
Slowly, she lifts her gaze to meet mine in the mirror. Reaching for the hem of her shirt, I peel it off her, letting it fall to our feet. Her eyes flicker away, but with a squeeze of her full hips, they dart back to mine.
“You are beautiful,” I say, pressing my lips to the curve of her neck and letting her feel my straining erection against her back.
“Your curves are beautiful.” I run my hands up her side, loving the way she shivers under my touch.
“The way you come undone for me is so fucking captivating, I haven’t been able to get hard for another woman since meeting you. ”
A look of disbelief crosses her features, but I don’t let the doubt creep in.
Snaking my hands around her soft stomach, I rest my chin on top of her head, letting my eyes wash over her body in the reflection. Her flushed pink cheeks, her heaving chest with those perfectly pebbled nipples just waiting for me to suck and bite, her glistening pussy, dripping with arousal.
I groan, needing to drop to my knees and taste her so fucking bad, but I know she needs to hear this if I’m going to have a shot of convincing her.
“I’m not leaving for a week. Let me prove to you that we can make this work outside the club. Promise me you’ll consider coming with me.”
Her face twists in confusion. “What do you mean?”
“Be my girl. Let me take you out on dates, really get to know each other, sleep in my bed every night until I leave. Not for sex—although I’ll never turn you down if that’s what you want. Let me show you what we can have if you come with me.”
“But our parents—”
“Fuck our parents. They don’t get a say in this. We’re consenting adults, and we’re not blood related. We can do what we want.”
“You want to do this? Even in front of your friends?”
“Angel, I want to shout to the world that you’re mine, if you’ll let me.”
“If it doesn’t work out, you’ll walk away?”
“It’s going to work out,” I assure her. “But yes. If it doesn’t work out, I’ll walk away.”
Willow closes her eyes, but my gaze doesn’t move. Expelling a deep breath, she nods. “A trial basis. If it doesn’t work out, we both go our separate ways.”
I can’t imagine ever walking away from her, but I nod in agreement. “One condition.”
Her eyes fly open to meet my intense gaze.
“If it doesn’t work out, you need to let me pay for you to go to LA.
I won’t let you stay here with them.” She shakes her head, but I spin her around to face me.
“That’s the only reason I’ll agree to this.
Your mother is toxic, and my father is self-absorbed.
I won’t let anyone dull the spark inside you, Angel.
If we don’t work out, you’re getting out of here too. ”
She hesitates before saying, “Show me how much you want this to work out, Luca.”
Grinning, I sweep her into my arms and crush my lips to hers in a bruising kiss full of promises.
“We’re really doing this?” I ask, panting as I rest my forehead against hers.
“We’re really doing this.”