The Power of Salvation

by Passarelli, Caterina

  Controlled—that’s the second time someone has said something like this to me in regards to a situation with Luke. Controlled is not a word I want to be known for. Controlled makes me feel all kinds of things and they are not good emotions.

  I don’t have time to dwell over my feelings because Luke is walking out of his dressing room equally draped in a robe. We both head towards the set where Lisa and Neil are waiting for us.

  “Let’s do this thing boss man,” Neil says, clearly excited about the turn of events. It must be a big deal to get to capture Luke for the first time. This is sure to take Neil’s career to unbelievable levels if these photos turn out any good.

  I drop my robe feeling the same jitters as I did earlier. Neil nods his head for me to get on the bed, and I lay down where I left off before Luke interrupted.

  All eyes dart to Luke as his hazels find my greys. He slowly unties the sash around his robe, dropping it to the floor. I hear a few of the female interns gasp; even Neil raises his eyebrows in complete surprise.

  He’s mesmerizing, there’s no question about it. His tattoos are now on full display for the world to see along with his scars and ripped muscles. Luke has a refined confidence about him that turns the vibe in this room to extremely hot. Everyone looks like they like what they see, practically drooling over him.

  There will be no more three-piece suits to hide behind—nothing left between us that is sacred. I break eye contact with him and instead stare at the ceiling trying to collect my thoughts.

  That was a bad idea.

  Luke is instantly on top of me, in the same position Colton left off, but it feels much more intimate, much more vulnerable. He hovers over me and leans down to whisper in my ear, “What’s wrong?”

  “I don’t like that they can see you,” I whisper back.

  “See what?”

  “See … you. All of you, what you keep hidden and only share with me.” The words come out in a breathy whisper. I’m holding back tears. I don’t want to share him with whoever will see these photographs. Hopefully this campaign is not as big as Lisa is making it out to be. Maybe just a few people here and there.

  Luke holds my face and whispers back, “Baby, they’ll never see it all. No one will ever understand. No one but you.”

  And just like that everything and everyone around us disappear. Grabbing onto his tatted up biceps I pull him down into a deep, passionate kiss. He growls back into my mouth as our tongues twirl around each other. He rolls me over so now I’m the one straddling him. Our mouths devour one another. I kiss him with such force as I feel his hands move from my hair, down my back, until he cups my ass. I moan into his mouth and then trail kisses down his neck. It’s just him and me.

  That is until I hear someone clear his throat.

  I pull away from Luke and shyly look around the room. We definitely have a captive audience—everyone is staring directly at us. It feels like the temperature is closer to a sauna in here, but I think that’s my body heating up in embarrassment.

  “I think we’ve got all the pictures we need! Great job everyone,” Neil says dismissing his staff. I notice he sends a discreet wink my way. Ew. Luke and I peel ourselves off one another, put our robes back on, and walk back to our respective dressing rooms to reclaim our dignity.

  We both walk out at roughly the same time colliding with a bright-eyed Lisa. “That was … something,” she says. I don’t know what’s worse—the fact that I made out with my boyfriend in front of a bunch of strangers and a camera … or in front of his sister. Kill me now.

  “I hope you’re happy the photo shoot is done. Now if you’ll excuse me I’m taking Ariana out to dinner,” Luke says, taking my hand in his, escorting me past his sister.

  “Have fun you two! Try to keep the PDA to a minimum if you’re out at a family restaurant.” Lisa says as she laughs and takes off to do whatever it is her job is.

  We get into the back of the town car and I sit silently, not sure what to say to Luke after that entire experience. Luckily, he is the one to break the ice.

  “Sorry that we had to miss lunch. I hope you’re okay with dinner?”

  And just like that I throw my head back and laugh, truly laugh.

  “What’s so funny?” He eyes me curiously.

  “We just stripped naked for who knows how many people to see, rolled around on a bed making out, and you’re worried I’m upset we missed lunch?”

  This man is too much. He’s perfect. And on that thought, I stop laughing. I can’t fall back into believing he is perfect because as soon as I get attached, he can easily dismiss me again.

  Don’t forget he’s done it before.

  Chapter twenty

  The week after the scandalous photo shoot flies by. I’m working in the emergency room from the time I wake up to the time my head hits the pillow. One night I even crashed in the staff room because I didn’t think it was safe for me to walk back to the apartment—my eyes were closing while I was talking to my last patient.

  But I can’t let the rest of the staff see me as a slacker. I just can’t. After hearing all that bullshit about Luke “controlling” me, I decided I had to remember who I was, who I’m trying so damn hard to be. I’ve made it this far on my medical journey that I need to pull my head out of my ass and focus. I am so close to the finish line that I can taste it.

  Dr. Ariana Bellisano, keep your eye on your prize.

  Luke has let me blow him off this past week without much complaining. He too is busy at work. Apparently, the holidays are a critical time to put your liquor brand out there. Who knew? I guess it makes sense though. You want to celebrate around your family and friends having a merry time, so you drink. You want to drown away your sorrows because you’re alone or you hate said family and friends, so you drink.

  I don’t know why I never turned to drinking during the holidays. Maybe because when I started to hate them, I was too young to drink. The irony doesn’t escape me—I wasn’t too young to be sexually assaulted by a disgusting piece of shit man, but I was too young to drown my own sorrows in booze.

  The time to think about this is not now though; Luke and I are finally getting a chance to go out to dinner and he’ll be here any minute. I look in the mirror and marvel at the fact that I remembered how to do my own hair and makeup. There’s no time for makeup when you’re trying to save lives—or at least that’s what I tell myself to excuse the fact that I am a hot mess most days. Okay, all days. But it does feel nice to dress up a little. I hear the doorbell ring, so I get one last look at my knee-length red dress that I paired with a black pair of tights and black stilettos and head towards the door.

  “Well hello there stud,” I say, swinging the door open to catch Jack in the hallway. Oops.

  “Hello to you too Ariana,” Jack says as he laughs back at me. Luke comes off the elevator right behind Jack and he catches my red face but doesn’t question why the hell I am embarrassed. Serena runs up behind me and jumps into Jack’s arms, planting a big smooch on his lips.

  Leaving these two to make out in the hallway, I pull Luke’s arm into the apartment so I can take the beautiful flowers he has for me and put them in a vase.

  Alone in the kitchen away from the lovebirds, I put the long-stemmed red roses in a crystal vase, placing them in the center of our kitchen island.

  “These are stunning. Thank you.”

  “I have something else for you. Well … something for both of us,” Luke mischievously says. It’s the way he says both of us that has me on edge.

  “Oh yeah? What’s that?”

  He nods his head in the direction of the front door. “Are those two going to barge in here any minute? It’s something you might want to open in private.”

  My face flushes and my body heats up, but my curiosity is at an all time high.

  “Let’s go to my bedroom,” I say, yanking his arm yet again and dragging him as quickly as my feet will carry us to my room. Luke comes very willingly behind me. I shut the door and stare
at him. Whatever I have to open, I have to do so in front of him.

  What if it’s something super weird? No, he wouldn’t give me something weird. It has to be something sexual, right?

  “Calm down. I can see the wheels turning in that brain of yours.” Luke laughs, handing me a small black box with a red ribbon tied around it. It looks harmless enough.

  I shake the little box and hold it to my ear, hearing something rattle inside. “Well, I know it can’t be a puppy.”

  “I knew you were smart,” Luke laughs, knowing I’m stalling on opening this thing.

  I pull off the red ribbon and place it on my bed before opening the lid of the box. Inside I find a small pink vibrator. He got me a sex toy? I look up at him confused.

  “It’s a wearable vibrator that you can slip into your panties. I want you to wear it … tonight.”

  Still confused I ask a little embarrassed, “I can’t keep it on all the time. Are you planning to tell me when I go to the bathroom to turn it on? This seems like a lot of work.”

  Luke pulls out his phone, “No darling, there’s an app for that.”

  “Shut the fuck up. I’ve seen it all now!”

  Luke throws his head back in a deep laugh. “Ariana, you will wear the vibrator and throughout the night I’ll turn it on and off.”

  He makes this sound so easy.

  I whisper, “But what if someone finds out?”

  “This vibrator is very quiet. It’s meant for this. Don’t worry,” Luke says, walking closer to me to brush a piece of hair back from my face, “and if someone were to find out, who cares. They’ll know you’re having the time of your life.”

  He kisses me and just barely teases my tongue with his before pulling away. “Go slip it in.”

  As I walk towards the bathroom, he smacks my ass. If I weren’t so damn horny and confused, I’d turn right around and hit him in the face. Or somewhere equally important, like his dick.

  Putting a little lube on the small pink vibrator makes it easier to slip it inside my pussy. Pulling up my panties part of the vibrator lays just on my clit with another inside my sex, pressing against my G-spot—it’s dormant right now, but just the thought of what this toy can do makes me feel a little buzz.

  Luke is at the front door holding my coat open for me. He’s got a grin on his face—looking too eager for my liking. But seeing a boyish Luke makes me smile. I let him help me into my coat and then we head out the door.

  Luke is driving us tonight as we slip into the Jag. As diva-ish as this is going to sound, I enjoy the time when we can sit side-by-side without Ryan carting us around. I love my quality time with Luke. He catches me smiling like a big clown and flashes his own grin at me right back. He is a swoon-worthy man.

  We pull up outside The Fat Tomato and Luke hands the keys over to the valet. He’s an eager looking teenager whose face lights up when he sees Luke’s wheels. I can only imagine what kind of joy ride he’ll be taking this bad boy for. I can only imagine what kind of joy ride Luke will be giving me later.

  Okay that was the vibrator talking.

  A hostess walks us over to a table near the window overlooking the Chicago skyline; it doesn’t escape me that it’s a quiet restaurant with a romantic vibe. Other couples sit near our table, making me nervous for what Luke could do with the little tease between my legs.

  Luke pushes my chair in like a gentleman. And by the devilish look in his hazel eyes, this will be the last of his gentlemanly acts for this night.

  “Can I start you off with a bottle of wine or maybe champagne?” a waiter asks as he fills our water glasses.

  “Your best Vulcano Vodka creation,” I reply, I’ll need a stiff drink or five to get through tonight. Luke smiles at my order and agrees to the same.

  When I believe we are both looking down at our menus, I suddenly feel a small pulse in my sex. I drop my menu to the floor and an alert waiter scoops it up for me. I take it with a shaky hand, trying to say thank you, but the words come out all messed up. The pulsing has not stopped; I look across the table and lock eyes with Luke.

  “What’s gotten into you?” he asks with a smirk.

  “Well, we’ll see if it’s you or not who gets into me,” I say, throwing out my threat with as much sarcasm as possible.

  Luke laughs, putting his phone on top of the black tablecloth. It doesn’t escape me that this everyday device holds all the power to my pulsing pussy. I want to grab the phone out of his damn hand, but that will cause an even bigger scene. And, to be honest, this is kind of hot. I’ve definitely never done anything like this before, and I want to see where it ends up.

  The pulsing stops as our waiter appears with two martini glasses and an appetizer of Antipasto skewers, which he says are “on the house” from his manager. Turns out, the bartender spotted us at our table, alerting our waiter that the Vulcano Vodka drinks were going to Mr. Vulcano himself. The waiter is falling over himself trying to impress Luke.

  When he finally leaves after taking our order, I notice Luke taking in a deep breath quickly to regain his composure. If you weren’t reading into his emotions, you’d miss it.

  “Everything okay?”

  He looks at me surprised to see I noticed. “Yes, I don’t do well with people fawning all over me. It’s not necessary.”

  What so many people would kill for, Luke doesn’t want.

  “You come off like a Man of Mystery to most people. You seem to be very private. I’m surprised he recognized you,” I say, thinking of what the girls at the hospital said when they saw him.

  “You don’t think I have a recognizable face?” He raises one eyebrow at me.

  Did I offend him?

  “Oh my gosh, I am so sorry!” I say, eating my words. My face flushes in embarrassment.

  “Are you kidding me? You throw around so much sass and you think I was insulted by that?”

  He laughs again, and immediately I feel a sense of relief.

  “I wish I could punch you in the arm right now, but I don’t think violence is welcome in a nice place like this,” I say, and it doesn’t escape me tonight I’ve wanted to inflict pain upon this man a few times already.

  “Hit me baby. I like it rough.”

  I want to laugh at his cheesy pickup line, but I play along, licking my lips and locking eyes with him. “Bring it baby.”

  And just like that, he picks up his phone and taps the screen. Subtle vibrations rock through my body as I try hard to remain composed. I’m safe as there are no menus to throw around. Clenching my legs together, I try to focus on anything else besides what’s happening between my eager thighs.

  He taps his phone screen again and the frequency of the vibrations gets higher.

  It’s mind-blowing.

  “Ariana, you look thirsty sweetheart,” Luke says, encouraging me to take a sip of my martini. Is he challenging me? Oh yes he is. Okay Mr. Vibrator Man, I can do this. And the vibration strength goes even higher.

  Ariana, don’t let him know he’s affecting you.

  Taking a deep breath in and out, I smile while reaching for my glass. My eyes across the table lock on Luke’s, and I slowly bring the rim to my lips and toss a sip back with confidence. As I’m putting down the glass, that newfound confidence quickly leaves me as vibrations rock through my core. My hand shakes as I set the drink down on the table, trying not to spill any. I’d consider that a victory knowing what’s happening in my now-soaked panties.

  Just as the waiter shows up the vibrations stop, amen.

  I dig into my lasagna and bring a cheesy bite to my mouth. I moan in pleasure at how absolutely delectable it tastes. Right now I’m grateful that this meal is warm and that I can eat it sitting down.

  “Slow down, you’re going to choke on your food,” Luke warns as he slowly takes his fork full of New York Strip Steak to his lips. He knows I’m eyeing his sexy mouth. “My eyes are up here. What do you think, I’m a piece of meat?”

  “You are a crazy man,” I laugh as I slow down m
y eating pace. “I haven’t sat down to eat a meal in days. I’ve been on the go at the hospital, forcing myself to cram food into my mouth while running around.”

  “You work too hard.”

  The irony of that sentence coming from him does not escape me. Luke loves to work, and he’s always striving to improve his company.

  “You do too.”

  “I guess that’s one of the things I admire about you,” Luke says.

  “Just one of the things,” I tease, trying to give him my best flirty eyes. “What are some of the other things?”

  He puts down his fork and looks at me seriously. “You want to play this game? I didn’t think you were the kind of girl who fishes for compliments.”

  Is he serious? Men are absolutely clueless.

  “Of course, I want to hear compliments. Everyone loves to hear compliments once in a while—especially from their man. Why you don’t want to hear the things I admire about you?”

  He smiles at me. “I don’t need to hear compliments. I guess words of affirmation aren’t really my thing.”

  Not his thing? What the hell does that even mean?

  “I’d think a man like you would like to have his ego stroked.”

  He throws his head back to laugh. “I’ll give you something to stroke.”

  “I didn’t know I was eating dinner with a sixteen-year-old horny boy. Next are you going to ask me to send you nudes?” I blush realizing I’ve already done that.

  Change the topic quick, Ariana.

  “Tell me more about what you’d like stroked.” And that’s the best I have. I’m going to stab my fork into my eye now.

  “Let me see … you can start with my cock.”

  And just like that he taps a button on his phone and the pulsing starts again. The vibrations are in just the right spot to shake my tender clit. I cross and uncross my legs beneath the table, trying to adjust the position of the vibrator to a less than pleasurable area but there’s no moving it. It’s stuck and it’s giving my clit the ride of her life. I don’t think I can do this much more; I may explode at this table in front of all these people.