My fitness watch vibrates against my wrist letting me know that I reached my daily active minute goal already. Once my legs feel like jello and I feel like they can give out at any minute, I stop and wipe down the machine before marching off to the showers.
Two and a half hours after arriving at the gym, I push past the glass doors and make my way down to the subway station, hoping the train isn’t late and I don’t miss my first class of the week.
***
“Who is that, and why does he look like he wants to devour you whole, Klara?” Adrienne asks just as we sit down at one of the outside tables scattered around the university campus.
When I follow her line of sight and look over my shoulder, my eyes connect with Braxton’s. That’s because he already did, I want to answer, but don’t.
Rick, another one of my best friends, glances over his shoulder before turning back to his burger, unimpressed. “That’s Braxton De Luca. He’s not someone you want to get involved with, Klara.”
Dri and I both look at him, shocked. What does Rick know that I don’t? Granted the list of things I do know is fucking minuscule, but still.
“And why’s that?” Dri asks, an eyebrow raised.
Rick shrugs. “Just trust me. Stay away from him and the De Luca family. They’re bad news.” Rick drops his burger back into its wrapper before focusing his hazel eyes intently on me. “Promise me, Klara. Promise me you’ll stay far away from that family.”
Of course, I can’t promise him that. No matter how much I want to assure my best friend that I’ll stay away from Braxton, I can’t. There’s something about him that pulls me in every time he’s near. Even now, my body is already responding to him even though he’s not within touching distance.
“Why?” I lift my chin. “What makes them so bad?”
Rick shakes his head. “They’re a dangerous family. Anyone associated with them has either shown up dead or is in jail for murder.” He pauses, “At least that’s what’s been reported in the papers.”
I want to reassure him that I know Braxton would never hurt me, but do I? I don’t really know him that well, am I really that sure that he won’t hurt me, not even accidentally?
Rick takes off after his phone rings, leaving Dri and I at the table by ourselves. I can still feel Braxton’s eyes on my back as I will the food in my stomach to stay down.
“You know him, don’t you?” Dri’s dark eyes study me, like she’s seeing through the calm façade I’m trying and failing at putting on.
I nod, pushing my salad around the plate with my fork, my appetite suddenly nonexistent.
“He’s the guy you had in the apartment last night?”
Dri giggles when my eyes round in shock, my mouth opening and closing like a guppy. “I came home to grab a change of clothes and um… heard the noises coming from your bedroom.”
“Oh god,” I groan, dropping my fork on the plate and trying to disappear inside my denim jacket.
“That’s what you said last night.” She laughs.
“Not funny,” I snap, throwing a blueberry at her but it misses and lands on the ground behind her.
Dri is still full out belly laughing when I feel him getting closer, sending a shiver down my back. His scent hitting me before I hear him stopping behind me. I slowly lift my eyes to Dri, who’s staring in wide-eyed shock and appreciation at the specimen of a man standing behind me. She swallows hard, looking from him to me, him to me.
“I, uh,” she clears her throat, “I’ll um, see you in class, Klara.” She rushes to gather her things and then scurries away.
I can feel his intense stare back on me but I refuse to turn around. I can handle him leaving in the middle of the night. I can handle that what we shared was probably a one-time thing, but what I cannot handle is him showing up at my school.
“Klara.” He moves into my line of vision, taking up the seat Dri just vacated.
I take that as my cue to gather up my shit and leave without a word. I power walk, not sure where the hell I’m going since my next class is in the opposite direction. Then my eyes land and lock on the logo for the coffee store on campus, my feet automatically heading in that direction, my body knowing that copious amounts of coffee is the only way I’m going to survive today. Especially with my legs screaming at me to give them a damn break after the workout I put them through this morning.
Once I have my white mocha americano misto in hand, I breathe a little easier, sitting down in one of the wrought iron chairs outside the coffee shop. Seconds later, Braxton lowers his massive body into the one across of me. I should’ve known that he wouldn’t allow me to brush him off that easy. Of-fucking-course not.
“I’m not good for you, Klara.”
I scowl, not looking up at him, my eyes focusing on the lid of my coffee cup. “Then why are you here, Braxton?”
He pinches my chin between his thumb and forefinger, forcing my gaze up. “Because I owe you an explanation and I wanted you to see you one last time.”
Wrenching my chin out of his grip, I stand, tossing my backpack over my shoulder. “Well, thanks for that, but it wasn’t needed. I had a great time last night, and that’s all it was. One night. I needed your help getting rid of a problem and you provided it. And you needed help forgetting. So, thank you. But now I’m late for class.”
I storm off, trying like hell to not look back over my shoulder. I can feel his eyes tracking me until I push open the doors to the art building and they swing close behind me. For the first time since I laid eyes on him again, I can breathe a little easier, and then disappointment settles in. Disappointment that he never came after me. I shake it off and start the climb to the third-floor lecture rooms. I will not allow him to have this much power over me after just one damn night. It’s bullshit.
I feel like a walking contradiction; wanting him to leave me alone but feeling disappointed when he didn’t come after me. His admission that he’s no good for me should not have this much effect on me. I should be able to just brush it off as a casual one-night. I should be grateful that he was honest with me and move on. So why do I want to know more about him, about his family, his life.
With a sigh, I pull open the door to the lecture room and find my seat, I don’t have time to wonder about Braxton. I need to focus on my last month of school so that I can graduate and get the hell out of here. But as the professor begins his lecture, I don’t hear a word coming from his mouth. No, all my thoughts are on the dark-haired man I left sitting at the campus café.
MY PRESENTATION COMES and goes, as well as final exams, and before I know it it’s the start of summer vacation, and graduation is a little over a month away. My presentation went off without a hitch, and my supervisor said I had done an amazing job and would be surprised if I didn’t have schools chomping at the bit to get me to teach. I was honored, and also a little overwhelmed. I had given teaching a thought but knew that’s not where I ultimately want to end up. I want to help kids who struggle with mental illness on a daily basis. Kids who may not have had the support I did growing up. Kids like… Braxton’s sister.
“Holy shit, Klara,” Dri says, walking into my room, a whistle leaving her lips when she takes in my outfit for tonight.
Since today was the last day of final exams, I decided to say screw it and suggested to Dri that we go out. I also decided to take a chance and live a little which led to my buying this dress.
“If you’re hoping to catch Braxton’s attention tonight, then I’d say you picked the right outfit. He’s not going to be able to keep his hands off you when he sees you.” Dri sits down at my vanity and starts rummaging through my makeup.
“I’m not. And besides, I don’t know if he’ll be there again.”
After that little thing with Braxton on campus, I came clean to Dri and told her about the night at the club. The first night I met Braxton De Luca. My gaze lands on my reflection in the mirror, my hands instantly flying to the fabric at my stomach and pulling it away from my body, wat
ching as it settles against every one of my curves again. I try scrunching it in the middle and then pulling it taut again. Despite knowing how good I look in the dress, I still can’t stop the automatic reaction every time I wear an article of clothing this revealing.
The black maxi-dress hugs my five-six body like a glove, accentuating the round curve of my ass and my breasts, the high slit making my legs look longer than they are, and the sleeveless top highlighting the fact that I work out. My ash-blonde hair is sitting atop my head in a messy bun with small sections framing my face in soft curls. My pale blue eyes are outlined in black making them more intense, my lips painted a dark berry. I know the dress isn’t conducive to dancing, but I was more interested in getting my drink on than spending the entire night on the dance floor. I had to get my mind off Braxton, and since pushing myself past my limits at the gym wasn’t helping, I was hoping a little rum or tequila would do the trick.
We hail a cab right outside our building, Dri giving the driver directions to the club while I settle against the leather seat and watch as the city rushes past us. Butterflies take flight in my belly at the thought of potentially running into Braxton. Despite my protests, I would give anything to feel his rough hands on my body again, to feel every hard inch of him pressed against me. To hear his voice, feel his breath against my heated skin. I squeeze my legs closed as my core clenches and my panties grow damp. No, dammit. Tonight is about trying to forget him, not remembering all the ways he made me scream his name.
Our cab pulls up to the warehouse and Dri pays the driver as I step out, waiting for her before approaching the bouncer. It’s the same guy as last time, and he’s no less menacing now than he was back then.
“Ready to get your party on?” Dri asks, sauntering over to me.
“Ready.” I grin, looping my arm through hers when she proceeds to show the bouncer the business card and he opens the steel door, ushering us through.
The club is exactly how I remember it from the last time we were here. Only now my eyes are drawn to the set of hidden stairs in the far-right corner. The set of stairs that leads to an office, the same office that Braxton…
I shake my head and follow behind Dri as she pushes her way through the crowded dance floor. That’s my best friend. Not giving a shit that she could’ve walked around the damn thing. She always finds the most direct route, and screw anyone who gets in her way. It’s what drew me to her. She just doesn’t give two fucks.
Adrienne orders us two porn star shots each, as well as a rum and Coke for me and a vodka cran for herself.
“To the end of our school career.” She lifts the shot glass in a toast and we clink glasses before throwing the shot back. The alcohol leaving an overly sweet taste in my mouth. We do the second shot before grabbing our drinks from the bar and making our way over to a high-top table.
“Ready to dance?”
I tilt my head to the side, lifting my glass. “Need a few more of these first.”
Dri laughs, already slipping back off the stool. “Watch my drink?” she asks, pushing her glass closer to mine and I nod, watching as every man in her path turns and gawks at her as she struts her way to the middle of the dance floor. That’s right, struts! My best friend doesn’t do anything half-assed.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you, you shouldn’t mix alcohol, Mia Bella?”
My body stills at his voice. Braxton watches me from the seat Dri just vacated.
“Didn’t anyone ever tell you not to sneak up on a lady?” I bite back.
He chuckles. “That they did. I apologize.”
My eyebrows draw together as I take him in. Really take him in. He looks immaculate as always in a tailored, black, three-piece suit with a sapphire blue tie. But he looks…tired. Defeated. His eyes don’t hold the same spark they did that day we explored the city, and there are bags forming underneath them. His jaw ticks under my scrutiny.
“What happened?” I’m not sure what prompted me to ask that question, but something deep in my gut is telling me that Braxton doesn’t allow anyone to see him like this.
He glances at the dance floor, his Adams apple bobbing, his expression looking pained when he turns back to me. “You did,” he whispers.
Screw him. I didn’t ask for anything more than one fucking night, and technically, I never even asked for that either. He’s the one who sought me out at the café, he’s the one who suggested we spend the day together, he’s the one who started what happened that night. And he’s the one who left like a ghost in the middle of the night. “Well, I’m sorry I was such an inconvenience. It was one night, Braxton.” My fingers tighten around mine and Dri’s drinks as I move to stand from the table. Anger rolling through me.
“Klara,” he sighs. “That’s not what I meant.”
“But it’s what you said.”
His hand grips my elbow, fingers tightening their hold. “Dammit, but it’s not what I meant.” He backs me into the nearest wall, sliding the glasses from my fingers and placing them on the table. “You fucking took me by surprise. I told you I don’t date, Klara. Never had the desire to. Until you. I’ve never told anyone about my sister and yet I couldn’t stop myself from telling you.” He presses his palm over my racing heart. “I find myself wanting to be around you all the fucking time. Wanting to smell your scent on me. To feel that soft body arching beneath mine again.” The tip of his nose trails up my throat, I’m quickly learning that this is his favorite thing to do while his hands roam my body. Like he’s using all of his senses to imprint me onto his memory. “But I wasn’t kidding when I said I’m no good for you. This life, Mia Bella, my life will destroy you.”
I lift my chin, giving him better access to my neck. “I-I don’t know what any of that means, Brax.”
He stills, his mouth a hair’s breadth away from the corner of my lips. “Say that again.”
“Brax,” I repeat.
His lips find mine in a bruising kiss, my arms wrapping around his shoulders, hands gripping the hair at his nape keeping him close to me.
“Nobody has ever given me a nickname. Fucking love hearing it come out of your mouth, Mia Bella.”
I moan when his tongue pushes between my lips seeking out my own.
“I crave you, Klara. Even in my fucking dreams, my body craves your touch. But I can’t be responsible for destroying your light, Mia Bella. Can’t be the one who shrouds you in darkness. There’s no more good left in me. Don’t think there ever was.”
“I believe there’s good in you, Brax.” I frame his face with my hands, forcing him to look into my eyes when I say those words, then I pepper his lips and his jaw with kisses.
“Baby, I’m the thing the monsters are afraid of,” he warns.
I should heed his warning. Something deep in my gut is telling me to run as far as I can and never look back. To forget I ever heard the name Braxton De Luca, but I… can’t. Because a bigger part of me is telling me to hold on with both hands, to wrap myself firmly around him and never let go, to show him that there is good in him.
“I don’t care, Brax. You said your body craves my touch? Well mine craves yours just as much. I need you, Braxton. Tonight, tomorrow, however long I can have you. I want you.”
His breath hitches, his eyes growing hooded. “You done with school?”
I nod.
“Good. Stay with me tonight, tomorrow. Fuck, stay the entire week, the entire month. Just wanna see you in my house, Mia Bella. Want to feel you in my bed.”
“Okay.”
***
I push through the bodies on the floor until I find Dri wrapped around a surfer wannabe. When I raise a questioning eyebrow and quickly glance from her to him and back again she giggles pressing her body further into his if that’s even possible. By the giggle I can already tell she’s halfway to drunk-ville and by the way she’s wrapped around this dude, she’ll probably be going home with him tonight which makes me wonder what happened with her and Matt.
“You okay?” I ask, chanci
ng another glance at surfer dude.
“I’m fine,” she slurs, but I can tell by her eyes she’s not fine. She’s hurting, and obviously using this poor dude to run from whatever it is that’s causing the hurt.
“Dri, what happened with –” my words get cut off when I see Matt stalking through the crowd. His jaw set, eyes burning with possessiveness as he glances at where Dri is wrapped around the guy like a snake.
“Adrienne!” His voice booms over the music. I watch as my best friend visibly stills, her breath hitching as she slowly disentangles herself from surfer dude.
“Ready?” Braxton slips his arms around my middle, pressing his front to my back and nipping along my neck.
I look from Matt to Dri and back again. “You got this?” I ask Matt. He nods, eyes never leaving Adrienne.
There is not a guilt-ridden bone in my body when I turn and leave my best friend on the dance floor. I know she will be okay with Matt here now. Plus, it is about time she stops fighting whatever was happening between them and start admitting to some things. I glance out of the corner of my eye at Braxton as he drives us away from the club and toward his house, and inwardly sigh. Easier said than done.
MY JAW DROPS as black wrought iron gates open to a long road surrounded on either side by Catalpa trees, the white flowers already in full bloom, offering a country feel despite being just on the outskirts of the city. We continue up the drive for what feels like hours but must only have been minutes until a large house looms in front of us. A stone water feature in the middle of the circular driveway.
Braxton drives us right into one of four garages, motion sensor lights turning on as soon as the car enters, illuminating the entire garage. A black SUV, a motorcycle, and another sports car take up the other three bays. I do a double take at the motorcycle. It doesn’t fit with the image I’ve seen of Braxton so far, and yet… it does.
“I thought you had a place in the city,” I question, stepping around the hood of the car to join him.
Dark Desire (Famiglia Book 1) Page 5