Chapter 20 NORA
NORA
The cold air cuts straight through my silk blouse.
Ever since Luca caught the rat inside his perimeter, the entire villa has felt like a tomb ready to collapse.
He promised he would put me on a private flight back to London once the traitor broke, swearing the war was getting too close and too bloody for a civilian to witness.
Yet here I still stand. Worse, he hasn't laid a finger on me since that blood-soaked night. He went completely ice-cold overnight, locking me down tighter while acting like touching me would poison him, and the shift is driving me absolutely insane.
Down in the courtyard, two sentries with rifles circle past the fountain while a black town car idles near the perimeter gate. I lean both palms on the chilly stone balustrade, tracking their patrol route in my head.
When the heavy glass door clicks open behind me, I don't turn around.
I glare down at the yard. "Two men at the gate, three on the wall, and they swap every twenty minutes. You added more guards, and you had Matteo move my stuff down the hall while I was eating. Without asking me, you stubborn jerk."
He steps out onto the stone terrace with that infuriating, controlled posture.
"Your old room had too many blind spots and a clear line of sight from the hill.
After we dug that mole out, Bellini knows the layout.
I was supposed to ship you back to England to keep you clean of this slaughter, but until the tarmac is secure, I want you where a shooter can't get an easy shot. "
"I want a say in where I sleep!" I whirl around, throwing my hands in the air. "Next week you'll lock me in some dark cellar behind steel doors with guards outside."
Luca stays quiet long enough that I almost turn just to check if he froze. Then his shadow covers mine, smelling of cedarwood and expensive smoke. "The cellar idea isn't bad, but it smells awful down there. The leak we found last night makes things dangerous. You stay where I can reach you fast."
"Reach me." I spin, crossing my arms tight over my chest so I don't punch him. "Great excuse. Is that why you locked the east doors so I can't walk around without a guard following me? Or why you told Nonna to keep me out of the kitchen because of the knives?"
He doesn't even blink. "You threatened to cut Matteo with a knife two days ago. Nonna was just worried about her good knives."
I point a finger toward the yard. "Matteo stole my dessert and ate it in front of me! He had it coming."
He leans against the doorframe, crossing his arms, looking completely calm in his sharp black suit. "You're stuck in a fight you didn't start. My job is to keep you alive."
"Then you're terrible at it and you drive me crazy." I bark the words right at him, my glare sharp. "I fixed huge messes back in London before your goons threw me in a car. I know how to stay alive on my own."
"And your job." I let out a dry, bitter laugh that bounces off the cold stone. "Your job was grabbing the wrong woman. Ever since then, you just make things up as you go. You decide where I walk, what I eat, when I sleep. I hate being treated like a prisoner."
He tilts his head with a tired look. "Nobody treats you like that. Trying to look after you is like trying to hold an angry stray cat with bare hands."
"A cat who charges a lot of money," I shoot back. "Don't forget the bill I'm sending your people for all this wasted time."
His jaw tightens up, a muscle jumping under his dark stubble. "This isn't an office, Nora. You don't get to argue about safety rules when men are actively trying to kill you."
"I don't get to argue?" I step right into his space, my chin tipped up. "I ran a real company back home and solved huge problems, but here I have to ask for permission just to step outside?"
"There it is." I jab my finger hard against his chest. "The big boss talk. You sound like a man who never asks if someone wants to be protected. You think keeping me trapped makes you a good guy. It just makes me feel helpless, and I hate feeling helpless more than anything."
He catches my wrist before the next jab lands, his grip firm and immovable. "I am not trying to break you."
"Then stop acting like I'm made of glass.
" I pull my hand free, backing up until the cold stone rail hits my lower back.
"You stand there acting calm and tough, pretending this is just smart planning.
But it's fear. Yours. You lost people you loved, and now you force everyone around you to hide inside your little fortress. Well, I hate being stuck in it."
Something dark passes across his eyes. He steps away from the door and walks right up to me until I have to look straight up to see his face. "You think I like watching you jump every time a lock clicks shut? You think I sleep fine knowing you want to kill me for keeping you safe?"
"If I wanted to stab you in your sleep, I would have used the paring knife!" I bark back, my stare locked onto his dark eyes.
"I don't hate you." The words tear out of me, burning my throat. "I hate that you make all the choices for me and then look surprised when I get pissed off. You have to ask me first, Luca. Did you ever learn that, or does your family just take whatever they want?"
He lets out a low, rough growl. "You want a choice? Fine. Hear this: I won't watch another person I care about die just so I can be nice to you. You can scream at me. You can throw things. You can cuss me out all night. But you are staying behind these walls until the Bellinis are gone."
"Care about?" A harsh, broken laugh rips out of my throat, raw enough to scrape bone.
"You don't care. You run hot and cold like a manic bastard.
One day you're slaughtering an entire family right in front of my face, showing me exactly what a terrifying monster you are, and the sickest part is that I still let you take me.
We had sex, Luca. You made me want you even after seeing that horror show, and then you just flip a switch and go freezing cold.
You freeze me out, treat me like a piece of luggage, and lock every door.
I hate it. And I hate myself even more for wanting you anyway. "
Luca steps into my personal space until his chest brushes mine.
"Do not talk about that night like it meant nothing to you.
You think I turned cold because I do not care?
I turned cold because having you in my bed while men are hunting this family makes me careless, Nora. And careless men get everyone killed."
"I'm serious, Luca!" I shout, shoving at his shoulder.
His palms slam down onto the stone balustrade on both sides of my hips, trapping me against the ledge without grazing an inch of fabric.
"You think going cold was easy?" he snarls, his face inches from mine, nostrils flaring.
"I butchered men in front of you. I showed you the ugliest, darkest filth I carry, and then I took you into my bed like an animal.
I swore to God I wouldn't touch you again until you were back in London, clean and safe from this poison.
But you walk through my halls smelling like jasmine, and every single second I'm watching the perimeter, my head is screaming to tear your clothes off.
I can barely draw a breath around you, Nora. "
"Then figure it out or leave me alone." I shove against his solid chest, but he doesn't budge an inch.
"Stop acting like I'm weak. I gave your guards black eyes the night they dragged me into your car.
I know how to handle trouble and guns and crazy people.
What I can't stand is you taking away my choices and pretending it's love. "
The word hangs there. Ugly. Exposed.
Luca's dark eyes turn hard as stone. "You want choices?
Pick right now. Stay here and stand with me as my partner, or I put you on a plane tonight and send you home for good.
But if you stay, stop telling yourself I protect you just to boss you around.
Keeping you alive is the only thing holding me together. "
I should tell him to call the plane. I should pack my bag and run. Instead my voice breaks, raw and shaky. "Don't act like giving me back my life is a favor. And don't act like your pain is worse than mine. I hate feeling weak. You hate feeling anything at all. We are a complete mess together."
"Then we'll be a mess together," he mutters, leaning closer until his body touches mine.
He dips his head until our lips nearly touch. "Then why does every single fight end with me wanting to pin you to the nearest flat surface?"
"I care about you, you stubborn man. Past the danger. Past your men grabbing me off the street. Past every locked door in this house. And it scares the hell out of me, because caring about someone gives them the power to hurt me, and I swore I would never let anyone do that again."
Luca stops moving completely. Then he rests his forehead against mine, his breath warm and uneven on my skin.
"I care about you past every single rule I ever made to stay alive.
Past the blood and the fight. I keep you close because if I lose you, I lose my mind.
That isn't me trying to control you. That is just me trying to hold on. "
My throat works, but nothing comes out except a ragged gasp. I grab the lapels of his suit jacket with both hands, jerk him down, and slam my mouth into his. The impact cracks against his teeth. He tastes like smoke, mint, and pure venom, and the fury behind it hits right down into my gut.
His big hands lock onto my hips like iron vices, lifting me clean off my feet.
He hauls me up onto the wide stone railing before I can even blink.
Stone bites through the thin silk of my dress, freezing the back of my thighs as my skirt bunches high, but the rest of me is burning up.
I wrap my legs around his waist, locking my ankles tight behind his lower back to pull him hard against me.
"I still want to throw you off the balcony," I gasp against his lips.
He nips my lower lip with deliberate pressure while his palms secure my hips against the stone. "It's okay. You love arguing with me."
"I love winning," I whisper, yanking at his shirt until buttons pop off and bounce on the stone floor. I press my hands against his warm skin. "And right now, winning means you take me right here on this wall until I forget all about your locked doors."
He lets out a rough breath and bunches my dress up around my waist. His hand slips between my thighs, finding wet heat. "Is this what you want? You and me, no holding back, no saying sorry?"
"Yes. Stop talking and touch me," I breathe, arching against his palm.
He shucks his trousers down and hits my pussy in one hard shove, stretching me wide.
Stone grates through silk against the base of my spine as my breath rips out in a sharp cry.
His hips snap forward again, relentless and heavy.
Fingers claw into the dark wool of his shoulders, skin slicking with sweat under the chill breeze while the terrace railing digs straight into my tailbone.
"Keep your eyes on me," he commands through clenched teeth.
I do. His eyes are wild. Open. Mine must look the same.
"This is not me owning you," he grits out between heavy, bruising thrusts. "This is me choosing you while you choose me back. Tell me."
I lock my ankles behind his back as the friction builds to an unbearable peak. "I choose you! Even when you're arrogant. Even when you drive me insane. I choose you."
He kisses me like he's sealing a vow and a threat at once.
His hand slides between us, thumb circling with filthy precision.
Pleasure coils tight and vicious. I come first, clenching around him, biting his shoulder to stay quiet.
He follows with a rough sound that might be my name, burying himself deep and holding there while aftershocks roll through both of us.
We stay locked together, breathing hard. His forehead rests against mine again. Softer this time.
He pushes damp hair away from my face. "I will try. To ask you first. To give you space. But I won't stop keeping you safe. Meet me halfway."
I run shaking fingers through his dark hair, trying to catch my breath. "Halfway. But if you move my room again without asking me, I'm burning your fancy black suits."
His lips press against my temple, curving into a real smile. "Deal."
I hold on tighter and let the night hold us both.