by Marie Meyer
I turned to Lucas. “How much did she say?”
“Fifty, I think.”
“Fifty dollars? Holy crap, that’s expensive.”
Lucas held up his index finger. “Twenty-five,” he offered the woman.
“Trenta,” she replied.
“Twenty-six.”
She batted her hand, an irritated expression wrinkling her face. “Done,” she yelled, gripping the sides of her chair. She stood as if each vertebra needed to unlock, one by one.
Lucas patted my back.
“Thank you,” I said to him.
I reached for my purse, pulling it into my hands, when a bunch of shouting erupted down the street. Craning my head, I tried to get a look at the commotion, but I couldn’t because I was wrenched away from Lucas’s side. It took all my strength to stay upright.
In front of me, a boy with mussed hair and a dirty face had his hands around my purse, which was still attached to my body.
“Drop it!” Lucas shouted. With two strides, he was at my side. “Now.”
Despite the even tone, Lucas’s words were full of rage. If the thief didn’t speak a lick of English, I was sure he still understood every word that left Lucas’s mouth.
The boy released my purse with a hard yank, sending me falling to the ground. My knees hit, hard. A flash of pain rocketed through my legs on impact, and I bit my tongue.
“Cazzo!” the boy screamed, and took off running.
Lucas crouched beside me, holding out his hand. “Are you hurt?” His tone was different now, a mixture of worry and tenderness.
Placing my palm in his, he helped me up. “No, I’m fine.” I’d taken harder spills playing soccer. But my heart raced, thumping against my rib cage at breakneck speed. I’d heard all the scaremongers’ warnings about thieves and pickpockets, but I’d let my guard down.
“Are you sure?” Lucas breathed, pulling me into a hug. He wrapped his arms around my shoulders and cradled the back of my head in his hands, placing a kiss on my forehead.
My arms went around his waist, welcoming his strong body to balance me. “I’m good,” I promised. I still shook from the incident, but Lucas was doing a fabulous job of calming my nerves.
His lips were warm. He kept them there longer than was polite for people who were “just friends,” but I didn’t mind.
“Hey.” He pulled back, looking me in the eyes. “You’re safe. I’m right here.”
His nearness made it hard to breathe. The connection I felt to him yesterday had multiplied by a million. With our bodies pressed together, each shallow breath I took, I could feel my breasts brushing against his chest. And the fact that I was thinking about my breasts and his body in the same sentence, after just being assaulted, was wrong…so very wrong.
You are not allowed to want him, Sophia.
It scared me how much he saw when he looked at me, how he stripped away all my bullshit and saw straight to my soul. How could a complete stranger coax this kind of reaction from me? I felt like I’d known him my whole life, not less than twenty-four hours.
“Soph?”
My nickname on his tongue tied another knot around my heart.
Lifting his hand to my face, he pinched my chin between his thumb and index finger. “What is it?” he asked tenderly. Crinkles fanned across his skin from the corners of his serious eyes. I bit back the urge to touch the delicate skin and smooth away the wrinkles.
His eyes flicked across mine, back and forth, as he read my deepest, darkest secrets. Then his eyes lingered on my mouth. He licked his lips and blew out a slow breath.
Just like yesterday, in the room at the brothel, the world fell away. The noisy, crowded street disappeared, and it was only Lucas and me.
My heart didn’t just pump blood, but beat words through my body: Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me. Kiss me. The words burned through my system, stoking a fire inside, melting away all my fear.
I pinched my legs together, trying to ignore the dull ache growing at my center. Lucas was awakening feelings and reactions I’d worked so hard to repress. Why did he get to me like this?
Even in the early days of my relationship with Scotty, I’d never felt an attraction like this. But damn, when Lucas looked at me…touched me…that was hotter than anything I’d ever experienced.
I cleared my throat and placed my palm to the side of his hand. “I’m okay now,” I croaked, pulling away. “I let my guard down. Stupid.”
His soft expression turned wary. “I don’t know what I would have done if he’d hurt you,” Lucas muttered under his breath.
“Easy there, tiger. He didn’t. I’m fine, really.” I smiled in an effort to ease his anxiety. “Thank goodness for cross-body straps, huh?”
“What do you say we get your scarf and get out of here?”
I nodded. “I like that plan.”
He kissed my forehead again, pulling in a deep breath before stepping away.
“Thank you.”
“Any time, Linebacker.” He winked at me and grabbed my hand, lacing his fingers between mine.
Chapter Fourteen
You’ve got”—Lucas pointed to his cheek—“some sauce right here.”
“Oh, geez,” I chuckled, freeing my napkin from my lap. “Can’t take me anywhere.” I was just about to wipe the pizza sauce from my cheek when Lucas leaned across the table and swiped his finger over the smudge.
“Tsk, tsk, tsk.” He clicked his tongue. “Whatever will I do with you?” Then he stuck his sauce-covered finger into his mouth, pulling it out with a loud pop.
Holy wow. That was hot. What I wouldn’t give to be his finger right now.
“First,” he continued, “you knock me on my ass in the middle of a world-famous ancient ruin and now you’re wearing your lunch.”
I shoveled in another forkful of my Margherita pizza with dramatic flare, chewing with a smile on my face before I answered. “Hey, you’re the one who wanted to tag along with me. My charm school diploma got lost in the mail. Besides, the jury’s still out on whether you’re planning on selling me as a sex slave. If I make a big enough mess, my stock will go down, right?”
“Shit!” Lucas pounded a light fist on the table. “You foiled my plan!”
“Ah, see, I knew it. Your intentions are less than chivalrous.”
Like a hunter to its prey, a devilish grin flashed across his face, and he took another bite of his pizza, washing it down with his Mediterranean beer. “What’d you like best at the museum?”
I wiped my face on a napkin, thinking about all the different pieces of artwork we’d seen. “I’m not sure. There was so much. The Farnese Bull sculpture was impressive. I also really liked the miniature Pompeii exhibit. That was cool.”
“Yeah, I liked those, too,” Lucas said, an impish grin on his face. With his fork, he pushed around the last few pieces of pizza on his plate. “But what about that secret room?”
“What about it?” I turned the question back on him. I knew he was baiting me, purposefully trying to make my cheeks match Rudolph’s nose.
The secret room had been filled with a plethora of erotic pieces of art. Frescoes, sculptures, trinkets, paintings, mosaics, most of them depicting a well-endowed man putting it to a ready and waiting woman…or creature. Apparently, the Romans didn’t discriminate when it came to pleasure—if a goat was up for a roll in the hay, then the god Pan made sure she wasn’t left wanting.
“What was your favorite piece in there?”
I shook my head. “A lot of them were similar to what we saw in the brothel yesterday. Although, the phallic-adorned streetlamps were interesting.” I cocked an eyebrow. “They looked like obscene crib mobiles.”
“Crib mobiles?” Lucas laughed, taking a sip of his beer.
“What’s so funny? They did.” Dammit, he made me blush anyway. I could feel my skin growing warmer, the heat creeping up my neck and pooling in my cheeks.
Lucas took a calming breath and set his cup back down. Staring at me, his expression soft
ened. “Can I tell you something?”
I wanted to tease him back, make light of the situation, but he almost looked scared, like the information he was about to divulge was some dark confession he wasn’t sure he should share. He was opening the door to his internal safe room and peeking out to see if the danger had cleared. I didn’t want to scare him back inside. I wanted him to open up. I craved his stories like air.
I pushed my plate to the side and reached across the table, wrapping my hands around his. With a gentle nod, I begged him to continue. “Lucas, you can tell me anything.” You’re safe with me.
“Today was the first time in months I haven’t questioned the direction my life has taken.” His blue eyes bore into mine.
Wow. That was unexpected. But I knew exactly how he felt. Ever since I’d talked to my dad, it felt like I was tumbling down the side of a snowy mountain, wrapped in a cold, lonely layer of snow that was only getting bigger and picking up speed.
“What do you mean?”
Slowly, he withdrew his hands from beneath mine and sat back in his seat. I leaned back, too, waiting for him to continue. Lifting his napkin off his lap, he tossed it onto his mostly empty plate with a heavy sigh. “I wasted six years of my life thinking it would go a certain way. Then, four months ago, a very significant person in my life decided to fuck everything up.”
His words were heavy. Whatever had happened left a deep scar on his soul.
“Being with you today was the first time I hadn’t replayed the last six years in my head, trying to figure out what I’d done wrong…what I could have done better. It was a nice vacation from reality.” There was a slight upturn to the corners of his mouth; his smile wanted to make an appearance, but whatever had happened in the last six years still weighed it down.
How could it be that I wanted more than anything to ease the weight that anchored his smile? I didn’t even know him. Yet, I wanted to give him a reason to smile, be the reason he smiled…the reason he forgot about his past.
“What happened?”
Lucas shook his head and straightened his shoulders, as if to brush off the ghosts haunting his memories. His smile lifted, brightened. “I’d rather not ruin today with that shit.” He pushed his chair back, sending it screeching across the linoleum. Standing, he held his hand out to me. “Ready to go?”
There was a sinking feeling in my chest, a small pang of disappointment. I wanted to keep him talking, an exotic, foreign need to know everything about him. Yes, Lucas and I were strangers, and I had no right to demand more information than he was willing to give, but I couldn’t explain the way I felt. Ever since I ran into him at the Forum yesterday, it was like a steel cable had wound around my heart and tied me to him. I wasn’t alone anymore.
Stupid, stupid, stupid, Old Sophia chastised. DO NOT get attached to this guy.
Sophia Italia responded in kind, Sorry, she drawled, like a know-it-all teenager. Too late.
“Yeah,” I conceded, not pushing the questioning any farther. The last thing I wanted was for him to shut down completely. But I couldn’t hide the disappointment; my voice was laden with it. I was sure Lucas picked up on it, too. Though, he didn’t let on, always keeping his personal life on lockdown.
I pushed my chair back and took his hand. Heading toward the door, Lucas and I stepped out onto the sidewalk. Although it was late, it seemed Naples never went to bed. It was high on life. If I didn’t know better, I would have thought there were more people on the streets at night than during the day.
The warm salty air helped to lift my spirits. I loved Naples in the evening. The energy of the city shifted once the sun dipped below the horizon. Where daytime is all business and fast-paced chaos, the evening sparked alive with magic, blowing the worries of the day away on the bay breeze. It seemed anything was possible at night.
Music drifted out of the clubs and floated along the streets. Lucas was quiet at my side as we headed in the direction of my hotel. We rounded the corner, pulling off a main thoroughfare, and walked down a deserted alleyway. The streetlamps threw a honeyed glow onto the old sidewalk. Two motorists whizzed by on scooters, the hem of my skirt ruffling in their wake.
The quiet was filled with so much longing. I wanted to say something, anything that would bring us back to the light easiness we’d shared all day. But I didn’t know what to say, so we pressed onward in silence. I was reticent, a slave to my unknown future, and Lucas remained silent, a prisoner to his past, I assumed.
The less you know about him, the better, Old Sophia reminded.
In the distance I saw the silhouettes of two people holding hands. Occasionally, the couple would pause, steal a kiss, and move forward. But then passion overtook them. With each step toward them, their affection for one another became more evident.
The man walked the woman backward, pressing her into a brick wall. His hands roamed her body as if trying to memorize every hill and valley, while the woman pushed her hands through his hair, holding their faces together.
I wanted to stop. If we kept walking, we were going to infringe upon their moment.
Yet we kept walking.
Did Lucas see them? He had to; the couple obviously wasn’t worried about discretion. I wanted to peek at Lucas, get his take on what we should do, but embarrassment sent my heart racing and my cheeks burning with envy. I couldn’t look at him, knowing secretly I wanted him to do the same to me.
Each slow stride was agonizing. I could hear muffled groans now. Oh, dear Lord, we really need to get off this street. I didn’t want to interrupt them. Yet I couldn’t pull my eyes away.
The man’s hand disappeared beneath the lady’s skirt, and she leaned her head back against the wall, inviting his lips to sweep across her neck.
Pressure built between my legs. This trip, meeting Lucas, witnessing public displays of affection, all of these events had stirred something inside me. I craved intimacy in the worst way, especially now that I wouldn’t allow myself the pleasure. What was the point in getting caught up with someone when the future only promised pain and suffering?
Lucas cleared his throat.
Startled out of my voyeurism, I sucked in a breath and looked up at him. He grinned knowingly and captured my hand with his. Bending down, his lips brushed against my ear. “You like to watch?” he asked, slowing to a stop less than ten feet from the enamored couple. They were too busy to notice us, thank goodness.
My throat pinched closed, making it hard to speak, but I powered through, stuttering. “Um…no. God, no!” I whisper-shouted, careful not to draw unwanted attention in our direction. The air was stifling and hot. The cool breeze had disappeared. A thin layer of sweat beaded across my skin.
Lucas whispered in my ear again. “I’ve wanted to do that to you since I walked you back last night.”
I took an infinitesimal step backward and stared into the blue flames of his eyes. What? Brain malfunction. Words…gone. Can’t think. His statement reduced me to a series of involuntary reactions: accelerated heart rate, dilating blood vessels, shallow breathing, a flood of endorphins.
Lucas countered my retreat with a larger step of his own, closing the distance between our bodies. Hooking his left hand around my waist, he brushed the knuckles of his right hand across my cheekbone.
I sucked in a breath, my eyes still locked on his.
Opening his hand, he smoothed his fingertips across the space behind my ear and slowly down my neck…my collarbone…across my shoulder.
Breaking his gaze from mine, he dipped his head, pressing his lips against the skin of my shoulder.
Oh, sweet Jesus!
Like the man at the end of the alley had done to his companion, Lucas walked me backward until I was pressed against the brick wall. Lucas kissed his way up the path his hand had trailed down. Each time his lips touched my skin, it burned in the most exquisite way possible.
My collarbone scorched. I tilted my head, giving him better access. My neck flamed. My blood pressure rose. Lucas kissed my
jaw, his tongue tasting as he made his way to my cheek.
Our eyes locked again, and my knees wobbled, threatening to give out beneath me. If he kept looking at me like that, eyes heavy with lust, I wouldn’t be able to stand.
Moving his mouth against the corner of mine, he watched me, gauging my reaction to his nearness. “Tell me you wanted that, too.” His voice was husky and deep, vibrating in his chest, and I felt the tremors in my body.
In a swift motion, he brought his hands to the sides of my face, holding me in a strong grip. The heels of his palms at my chin, his fingers splayed over my jaw and behind my ears. With our foreheads pressed together, our lips barely touched…right there…but not fully there.
With a slow, deliberate, side-to-side motion of his head, he dragged his mouth over mine, yet refusing to seal our lips together.
We stared at each other, shoulders heaving. Our mingled breaths swirled between us, hot and heavy.
“Yes,” I muttered. I did want it. I wanted to feel alive while I still had the chance. It was selfish and irresponsible, but dammit, I wanted it. I wanted him.
He smiled against my lips.
My first instinct was to close my eyes and kiss the shit out of him. But I resisted. The magnetic pull of his gemstone eyes was a force to be reckoned with, and I couldn’t look away.
I felt the weight of him against my body and still pulled him closer. The bulge in his pants pressed hard against my belly.
I sighed, parting my lips. An invitation.
Lucas still held my face in his unflinching grip. Neither of us dared to blink.
Leaning in closer, he angled his mouth against mine. I sucked in a breath, anticipation reaching a fever pitch.
Lucas dragged his tongue across my bottom lip. Slow, sweet torture.
The ache between my legs grew heavier.
Once his tongue made it across the length of my mouth, he pressed closer yet and tugged my lip between his teeth and moaned.
I came undone.