by Cora Reilly
“In the drawer below the sink.”
There wasn’t only one first-aid kit. There were about two dozen of them. I picked one and returned to the bedroom but before I joined Luca in bed, I grabbed my nightgown from the ground and put it on. Luca sat against the headboard, still gloriously naked. I concentrated on his torso, embarrassed by his unabashed nudity.
Luca stroked my cheek when I settled next to him. “Still too shy to look at me after what happened.” He tugged at the hem of my nightgown. “I liked you better without it.”
I pursed my lips. “What do you want me to do?” I set the first-aid kit between us and opened it.
“Many things,” Luca murmured.
I rolled my eyes. “With your cut.”
“There are disinfectant wipes. Clean my wound and I’ll prepare the needle.”
I ripped open one of the packets. The overpowering smell of disinfectant clogged my nose. I pulled the wipe out, unfolded it and dabbed it against the cut. Luca twitched but didn’t make a sound. “Does it burn?”
“I’m fine,” he said simply. “Wipe harder.”
I did, and though he jerked a few times, he never told me to stop. Eventually I threw the wipe into the trash and leaned back. Luca pierced his skin with the needle and began stitching himself up, his hands steady and sure. Watching him made me queasy. I couldn’t imagine doing that to myself, but as my eyes wandered over Luca’s body and the many scars, I realized it probably wasn’t the first time he did this. When Luca was satisfied with his job, he chucked away the needle.
“We need to cover it,” I said. I rummaged in the kit for bandages, but Luca shook his head. “It’ll heal faster if it’s allowed to breathe.”
“Really? Are you sure? What if dirt gets in?”
Luca chuckled. “You don’t need to worry. This won’t be the last time I’ll come home injured.” Was I worried? Yes. And I didn’t like the thought of him taking his health so lightly.
Luca opened his arms. “Come.”
“Don’t you have to leave?” I glanced at the clock. It was only eight, but on most days Luca had been gone by then.
“Not today. The Bratva is dealt with for the moment. I’ll have to be in one of the Famiglia’s clubs in the afternoon.”
I smiled slightly. I couldn’t help it. Glad I didn’t have to be alone all day again, I snuggled against Luca’s side and he wrapped his arm around me.
“I didn’t expect you to look so happy,” he said quietly.
“I’m lonely.” I hated how weak that made me sound, but it was the truth. Luca’s fingers on my arm tightened.
“I have a few cousins you could hang out with. I’m sure they’d enjoy going shopping with you.”
“Why does everyone think I want to go shopping?”
“Then do something else. Have a coffee, or go to a spa, or I don’t know.”
“I still have a spa certificate that I got at my bridal shower.”
“See? If you want I can ask a few of my cousins.”
I shook my head. “I’m not too keen on meeting with another one of your cousins after what Cosima did.”
“What did she do?” He grew rigid beneath me.
I drew back, looking at Luca. Then I realized I’d never told him how I’d found him in bed with Grace, and after all the confusion of the last few days he’d never asked. He’d probably had more than enough on his plate with the Bratva.
“She gave me the letter that led me to you and Grace.” Saying her name made my stomach turn again, and unwanted memories resurfaced. I sat up, away from Luca’s warmth. I drew my legs up against my chest, overwhelmed by all that had happened.
Luca pushed himself into a sitting position and pressed a kiss against my shoulder. “Cosima gave you a letter that told you to go the apartment?” His voice was tight with barely controlled anger.
I nodded, then swallowed before I dared to speak. “And a key. It’s still in my bag.”
“That fucking bitch,” he growled.
“Who?”
“Both of them. Grace and Cosima. They’re friends. Grace must have put Cosima up to this. That cunt.”
I flinched away from the fury in his voice. He let out a harsh breath and sneaked an arm around my waist, pulling me against his chest and burying his face in my hair.
“Grace wanted to humiliate me. She looked really happy when I found you.”
“I bet,” he said. “She’s a fucking rat trying to humiliate a queen. She’s nothing.” Wow, he was furious. And I couldn’t help but feel schadenfreude toward Grace.
“How did she react when you told her that you couldn’t see her anymore?”
He was silent. I tensed. “You promised you wouldn’t see her or other women again.” My voice shook and I tried to pull away from him, but he held me fast. Had he lied to me? I couldn’t believe I’d believed him, couldn’t believe I’d let him touch me there, and actually touched him in turn.
“I did, and I won’t. But I didn’t talk to Grace. Why should I? I don’t owe her an explanation, just like I don’t owe a fucking explanation to the other sluts I fucked.” His body might have been made from stone, he was so tense. I wanted to believe him. He grabbed my chin between his thumb and index finger and tilted my face around until I was looking at him. “You are the only one I want. I’ll keep my promise, Aria.”
“So you won’t see her again.”
“Oh, I will see her again to tell her what I think about her little stunt.”
“Don’t.”
He frowned.
“I don’t want you to talk to her again. Let’s just forget her.” I could see that he didn’t want to forget. “Please.”
He exhaled, then nodded. “I don’t like it, but if that’s what you want…”
“It is,” I said decidedly. “Let’s not even talk about her anymore. Pretend she doesn’t exist.”
Luca lifted his hand and rubbed his thumb over my lower lip. “Your lips are too fucking kissable.” I ducked my head to hide my pleased smile.
“There’s something I wanted to talk to you about,” I said.
“More bad news?”
“Well, I guess that depends on your viewpoint. I want Gianna to visit me. Her school doesn’t begin for another two weeks, and I miss her.”
“It’s been only a few days since you saw her.”
“I know.”
“Where would she stay?”
“I don’t know. Maybe in our guest room?” We had three of them on the lower floor of the penthouse.
“Your sister is a major pain in the ass.”
I gave him a pleading look.
“How about a deal?” he said in a husky voice.
Nerves fluttered in my stomach. “A deal?”
“Don’t look so nervous.” Luca smiled sardonically. “I’m not going to ask you to sleep with me so you can see your sister. I’m not that big of an asshole.”
“No?” I teased, and he slammed his lips against me in a kiss that sent lightning sensations all the way down to my toes.
“No,” he said against my lips. “But I’d like to explore your body.”
I raised my eyebrows. “What do you mean?”
“Tonight, I’ll try to be home early from the meeting at the club, and I want us to soak in the Jacuzzi for a bit, and then I want you to lie back and let me touch you and kiss you wherever I want.” He licked my ear. “You’ll love it.”
I parted my lips in surprise. This was moving way faster than I’d thought it would, than I thought it should.
Luca must have seen the uncertainty in my expression, because he slipped his hand between my legs and pressed the heel of his palm against my clit over the fabric of my panties. I bucked and let a moan slip out before I could stop myself. God, this was ridiculous. This was what happened when you were forced to live abstinent for so long.
“You like this, Aria. I know you do. Admit it.”
He pressed harder and I jerked against him. “Yes,” I gasped out. He moved his palm
slowly over me, sending spikes of pleasure through my body. “Don’t stop.”
“I won’t,” he said, nibbling my throat. “So will you let me have my way with you tonight? I won’t do anything you don’t want.”
I wasn’t even sure what I wanted right now. Except for Luca not to stop what he was doing with his hand. I would have promised him anything in that moment. “Yes.”
He increased the pressure on my clit and suckled at my throat, then flicked his tongue over my collarbone, and I exploded.
Luca kissed me below my chin before pulling back with a smirk. Once I came down from my high, I needed to figure out a way to balance the power between us. He wanted me more than I wanted him. I was sure about it. I needed to take advantage of it.
I rested my forehead against his shoulder. “So can I call Gianna and tell her to buy plane tickets?”
Luca chuckled. “Sure, but remember our deal.” His phone buzzed on the nightstand. He picked it up. “For fuck’s sake, Matteo, what now?”
I pulled back. Luca got up and began pacing the bedroom, completely naked. “We’ve got his back. I won’t let another fucking restaurant go to the Russians. Yeah. Yeah. I’ll be ready in thirty minutes.” He flung his phone on the nightstand.
“I’ll have to talk to the owner of a restaurant chain.”
“Okay,” I said, trying to hide my disappointment.
“Call your sister and tell her she can come. And I’ll be back in time for dinner, okay? I have a few take-out menus in the kitchen. Order whatever you want.” He leaned down and kissed me. “Let Romero take you to a museum or something like that.”
Fifteen minutes later, he was gone, and I was left with my doubts. How could I have agreed to his deal? Because I loved the pleasure he gave me. Why not enjoy it? Maybe I would have to live without love, but that didn’t mean I would have to be miserable.
Gianna was ecstatic when I called to tell her she could visit. I didn’t tell her about the deal. I couldn’t talk about something like that on the phone, or ever. I knew she wouldn’t approve of me giving in to Luca so quickly.
* * *
As promised, Luca was home early. I was incredibly nervous. I’d chosen a beautiful yellow dress and set the table on the roof terrace. Surprise flashed across Luca’s face when he found me outside.
“I thought we could eat here?”
He wrapped his arms around me and pulled me in for lingering kiss. Butterflies fluttered in my stomach. “I ordered Indian food.”
“I’m hungry for only one thing.”
I shivered. “Let’s eat.” What would Luca do if I told him the deal was off? I took a seat. Luca watched me with intensity. Eventually he sank down on the chair across from me. The gentle breeze on the rooftop caressed my skin and tugged at my hair.
“You look fucking sexy.”
I started eating. “Romero took me to the Metropolitan today. It was amazing.”
“Good,” Luca said with a hint of amusement. Could he see how nervous I was?
“What about the restaurant owner? Did you convince him that the Famiglia will protect him from the Russians?”
“Of course. He’s been under our protection for more than a decade. There’s no reason to change that now.”
“Sure,” I said distractedly, taking a gulp of the white wine.
Luca put down his fork. “Aria?”
“Hm?” I nudged a piece of cauliflower on my plate, not meeting Luca’s gaze.
“Aria.” His voice sent a chill down my back and I peered up at him. He leaned back in his chair, arms crossed over his strong chest. “You are scared.”
“I’m not.” He narrowed his eyes. “Maybe a bit, but mostly I’m nervous.”
He got up from the chair and came around the table. “Come on.” He held out his hand. After a brief moment of hesitation, I took it and let me pull him to my feet. “Let’s get into the Jacuzzi, okay? That’ll relax you.”
I doubted being in a hot tub with him in only swimwear would make me less nervous. I didn’t know what to expect and that terrified me.
“Why don’t you grab your bikini and I’ll set up the Jacuzzi?”
I nodded and went back inside. I picked my favorite white bikini with pink dots. I pulled my hair into a ponytail, then stared at myself in the bathroom mirror. I wasn’t sure why this made me so nervous. This morning Luca’s touch had set my skin aflame. He’d promised not to do anything I didn’t want.
I took a deep breath and walked into the bedroom. Luca was waiting for me in black shorts; they did nothing to hide his strong body. All muscles and power. His eyes traveled over me, then he slipped a hand over my hip. “You are perfect,” he said in a low voice. With a gentle nudge, he led me out of the bedroom, down the stairs and onto the roof terrace.
I shivered in my bikini. The breeze had picked up, and it was definitely too cold to stand outside in nothing but a bikini. Luca lifted me into his arms. I gasped in surprise, my hand coming up against the tattoo over his heart.
My own heart was galloping in my chest. I buried my face in the crook of Luca’s neck, trying to relax. Luca’s grip on me tightened as he stepped into the Jacuzzi and slowly lowered us into the hot bubbling water. I sat on his lap, my face still hidden against his skin. Luca rubbed his hand up and down my spine. “There’s no reason for you to be scared.”
“Says the man who crushed a man’s throat with his bare hands,” I meant to say it teasingly, but my voice came out shaky.
“That’s got nothing to do with us, Aria. That’s business.”
“I know. I shouldn’t have brought it up.”
“What’s really the problem?”
“I’m nervous because I feel vulnerable, like I’m at your mercy because of the deal.”
“Aria, forget about the deal. Why don’t you try to relax and enjoy this?” He nudged my chin up until our lips were almost touching and our eyes were locked.
“Promise you won’t force me to do something I don’t want to do.” I lowered my gaze to his chest. “Promise me that you won’t hurt me.”
“Why would I hurt you?” Luca asked. “I told you I won’t sleep with you unless you want me to.”
“So you will hurt me when we sleep together?”
Luca’s lips twisted into a wry smile. “Not on purpose, no, but I don’t think there’s a way around it.” He kissed the spot below my ear. “But tonight I want to make you writhe in pleasure. Trust me.”
I wanted to, but trust was a dangerous thing in our world. Part of me wanted to hold on to the flicker of hate I’d felt when I’d caught him with Grace. But another, bigger part wanted to pretend we hadn’t been forced into this union, wanted to pretend that we could love each other.
Luca’s tongue trailed over my throat. He stopped over my pounding pulse and sucked my skin into his mouth. I shivered from the sensation. His body was hot and hard against mine and I loved sitting in his lap, though it wasn’t exactly comfortable. There wasn’t much softness about Luca’s body, only firm muscle. He shifted, pressing his erection against my butt as his lips claimed my mouth. The kiss sent small lightning bolts through my body, but I needed this to be more than physical. I wanted to know more about the man I’d spend the rest of my life with.
I pulled back, getting a growl from Luca in response. His fingers on my waist tightened, his gray eyes questioning as they settled on my face. I kissed his cheek and slung my arms around his neck. “Can we talk for a bit?”
It was obvious from Luca’s expression that talking was the last thing on his mind, but he leaned against the wall of the Jacuzzi. “What do you want to talk about?”
One of his hands slid lower and began caressing my butt. I didn’t allow it to distract me from my goal, even if it was very distracting. The hungry look in Luca’s eyes didn’t help either.
“What happened to your mother?” I knew she’d died when Luca had been a young boy, but Umberto hadn’t said much more, either because he didn’t know or because he thought I shouldn’t k
now.
Luca’s body turned rigid, eyes hard. “She died.” He turned his face away, jaw flexing. “That’s not the kind of thing I want to talk about tonight.”
His rebuke stung. I wanted to get closer to him, wanted to get to know more sides of him, but it was clear he wouldn’t let me. I nodded.
Luca removed his hand from my backside and slowly trailed it over my hip, then lower until he reached my inner thigh. He slipped under my bikini bottoms, rubbing his finger along my folds. I should have pushed him away, but instead I opened my legs a bit wider. Luca nuzzled my neck, then drew back. He hooked the fingers of his other hand under my bikini top and pulled it down so it bunched around my ribcage. My breasts sprang free, gooseflesh covering my skin and my nipples erect from the contact with the cold breeze.
Luca made a sound low in his throat as he stared at my chest. Then he bowed low and sucked my nipple into his mouth, and at the same time rubbed his thumb over my clit. I cried out from the sensation. He growled against my skin and released my nipple with an audible pop. His gaze snapped up to me as his tongue lavished my nub. I tried to look away, but he snarled, “No. Look at me.”
And I did. I watched my nipple disappear in his mouth once more, watched him as he teased it with his tongue, his hungry gray eyes on me. He bit down gently, and my hips bucked against his hand still teasing my folds. Release shuddered through my body. Luca pulled back lightning fast, gripped my hips and lifted me onto the edge of the Jacuzzi.
“Luca, what—” Luca tore my bikini bottoms off me, pretty much ripping them in half. I gasped and tried to close my legs, but Luca positioned himself between them, shoved my legs as far apart as possible and lowered his head.
I gasped again, horrified and stunned and…oh God. Luca ran his tongue all the way from my opening up to my clit.
“Fuck, yes,” he growled.
My eyes darted around. What if people saw? Only part of the Jacuzzi was encompassed by a screen, but Luca sucked my outer lips into his mouth and I didn’t care anymore.
“Look at me,” he ordered against my folds, the feel of his breath against my heated flesh making me shudder. I peered down, my skin burning with embarrassment and arousal as I met his gaze. His eyes locked on mine, he slowly slid his tongue between my folds. I moaned.