Chapter 46
Princess
T he road stretches out ahead of us, endless and empty. The night swallows everything—the tension, the silence, the weight of what just happened.
Lucio hasn’t said a word since we drove off. His hands are tight on the wheel, his knuckles white, his expression unreadable. Focused. Distant.
I keep my eyes on my lap, my fingers twisting together, my breath shaky as I try to keep it together.
But I can’t. Because I did this. I ruined him. I ruined his entire fucking life.
I should be grateful that he’s still here. That he didn’t hand me over. That he chose me.
But the price? The cost? It’s too high.
The quiet tears start before I even realize it. I press my fingers to my lips, trying to smother the sound, trying not to let him hear me fall apart. But he notices.
Lucio slows the car, pulls to the side of the road, and shifts into park. For a second, he doesn’t move. Doesn’t speak.
Then he turns to me. His eyes flick over my face, to the tears streaking down my cheeks, to the way I’m shaking, struggling to hold it in. His jaw tightens.
“Why are you crying?” His voice is rough, low.
I shake my head, wiping my face quickly. “I’m not.”
“Princess.”
I squeeze my eyes shut, pressing my knuckles against my lips. My voice comes out broken, small.
“I’m sorry.”
Lucio doesn’t say anything, but I feel it—the way the air shifts, the way his whole body tenses beside me.
“For what?” His voice is quieter now, but no less intense.
I sniff, sucking in a trembling breath. “For making you choose.”
His breath hitches, sharp and deep. I keep my eyes on my hands, my nails digging into my palms, trying to steady myself.
“For making you pick between me and your family. For making you leave everything behind.”
A beat. Then…
“Look at me.”
I hesitate.
“Princess,” he growls. “Look at me.”
Slowly, I lift my head, my eyes meeting his, my vision still blurred with tears. Lucio is staring at me like I’ve just said the dumbest thing he’s ever heard. Like he can’t fucking believe me.
And then he leans closer, his hands coming up to cup my face, his thumbs brushing away the tears. His touch is gentle, but his voice is anything but.
“The life I knew means jack shit without you.”
A shaky breath slips from my lips, my chest tightening.
He drags his thumb along my cheek, his touch slow, reverent. “My family is you now.”
I feel my pulse in my throat, heavy, loud.
“Just you, baby. Only you.”
I choke on a sob, my hands gripping his wrists, holding on to him like he’s the only thing keeping me tethered to the ground. His forehead presses to mine, his breath warm against my lips.
“I chose you because you chose me.”
The words slam into my chest, stealing the air from my lungs.
“And I’ll always choose you.”
I shake my head, tears falling again, but this time for a different reason. “Lucio?—”
He doesn’t let me finish. “I’ll choose you over and over again.” His hands tighten, his voice breaking. “I’ll choose you when you can’t choose yourself. I’ll never stop choosing you.”
I let out a soft, broken sob, pressing my forehead harder against his. Feeling the way he breathes, the way his hands shake just a little against my skin.
I don’t deserve this. I don’t deserve him.
But he doesn’t give me a choice. He already chose me.
Lucio’s hands are still on my face, his breath hot, his forehead pressed against mine. His words echo inside me, wrapping around my ribs, sinking deep into my bones.
I’ll choose you when you can’t choose yourself.
I should feel guilty. I should tell him he’s making a mistake.
But when his thumb drags across my lips, when his grip tightens like he’s anchoring himself to me, like I’m the only thing keeping him from unravelling, I don’t say a fucking thing.
I kiss him instead. Hard. Deep. Desperate.
He groans into my mouth, his hands sliding from my face to my waist, gripping me so tight, it’s like he’s afraid I’ll disappear.
I climb onto his lap, straddling him in the driver’s seat, the car surrounding us, holding us in.
His body is hard and warm beneath me, his muscles tensing as I roll my hips against him.
“You fucking wreck me, Princess,” he growls against my lips, his hands shoving under my shirt and sliding over my bare skin, branding me.
I gasp as he grinds up into me, his cock thick and hard between us, teasing, pressing right where I need him. I tilt my head back as his mouth moves down my throat, nipping, sucking, marking me.
“Lucio—”
He growls, dragging my panties to the side, his fingers sliding through my slick folds.
“So fucking wet for me,” he mutters, his breath ragged, his lips brushing against my jaw as his fingers sink inside me, stretching me, curling just right.
I moan, my hands clutching his shoulders, my nails digging into his skin.
“Look at you,” he breathes, his thumb circling my clit, teasing, wrecking. “Fucking made for me, baby.”
I rock against him, chasing the friction, my body on fire, my mind a mess. “I need?—”
“I know what you need.” He pulls his fingers out, grabs my hips, and sinks me down onto his cock.
I cry out, my head falling forward, my lips parting as he stretches me open, filling me completely.
“Fuck…” Lucio grits his teeth, his hands gripping my hips, holding me still as he throbs inside me. “Look at me.”
I lift my head, my vision hazy, my body already wrecked. His eyes are dark, blown wide, wild.
“You’re mine, Princess.”
I moan, grinding down onto him, feeling every inch, every pulse.
“Say it.”
I shake my head, teasing him, testing him. “Make me.”
His jaw tightens. His fingers dig into my skin as he thrusts up, slamming into me so deep I swear I see fucking stars.
“You are so goddamn stubborn,” he growls, fucking me harder, faster, until I can’t do anything but moan, shake, and take it.
I come so hard I forget my own name. And when Lucio follows, his breath ragged, his grip bruising, filling me with everything he has, I know.
I’m never leaving him. We’re never walking away from this.
We’re both too far gone.
Hours later, we cross into Vegas. The neon lights flicker against the windshield, the roads buzzing with life, the city swallowing us whole.
Lucio drives through the streets like he’s done it before, like he already knows where we’re going. Like this was always the plan. I shift in my seat, my body still aching, my heart still pounding, my mind spinning.
“What’s the plan now?” I ask, my voice hoarse.
Lucio pulls into a parking lot, shifts the car into park, and turns to me. His eyes burn into mine, sharp, unwavering, certain.
“The plan, Princess, is to look forward to a lifetime stuck with me. And only me.”