Lucca's Lust: The Luminara Series Book 3

by SJ Molloy

  “Yeah, yeah. Whatever. I will do it because I have your back. Dino will not be impressed I am there on your behalf, Capitano,” he adds flatly, using the nickname he calls me. I stop walking, pausing by the water fountain and listen to the soothing sound of the water running.

  “Dino is a prick. I do not even know if I will go with him yet. And he knows you are more than equipped and up to speed. Do not let him push you. If he has a problem with you being there, you call me and I will tell the prick to shove his development plans up his ass. You are my best man in business. The sooner these idiots realise that, the better.” Marco is more than capable to act on my behalf. I trust him with my life.

  “Okay got it. Look … do not let this woman affect a good potential business opportunity, Lucca. That is all I am saying. I am happy for you, I really am, but make sure you are thinking straight before making any rash business decisions.” Fuck, I love this man. Not only is he a great mate, he always has my business at the forefront of his mind. Always.

  “I will not. Thanks for doing this, buddy.” I pick up a small stone to toss into the water. I turn it over in my hand, admiring the sparkle of flecked colour on it.

  “Is she worth it? Is this girl … your girl … your everything?” he asks tentatively. I do not even need to consider his question.

  “Yes she is worth it. She is my girl … my everything and everything else in-between. I just know it. I have never been as certain of anything in my life,” I say, closing my eyes, making a silent wish and tossing the stone in the fountain.

  After saying goodnight to Marco, I realise I have walked the full perimeter of the property and have a clear view of the balcony attached to the suite Lexi is using. Vera Belleza, true beauty. There is nothing more fitting than that. I wonder if that is why my grandparents put her in that room.

  The door is closed, but I stare for a while. Thinking about tonight, wondering if she is having sweet dreams … if she is thinking about me.

  By the time I reach my own suite, I need a shower … a cold shower. Fuck! I cannot get her out of my mind. I throw on some cotton lounge pants, walk downstairs in the suite, make sure the patio doors are locked, then head to bed.

  Leaning back against the headboard with my hand gripping my neck, I contemplate calling her room from the direct phone since I do not have her mobile number. Just to hear her voice again before she goes to sleep, but that would be too weird and I do not want to wake her. She was exhausted and will undoubtedly be sleeping by now.

  I pick up my tablet and contemplate going over the costs for Club di Energia in Edinburgh, but I am way too distracted by the vision of sweet brown eyes, plump lips, sexy, brown, wavy hair, long, smooth legs, a seductive little voice, and perfect figure.

  Shit! The ache it sends to my balls is almost unbearable. I have the biggest fucking hard-on I have had in a long while … possibly the hardest and quickest erection I have ever had. Just thinking about her.

  Closing my eyes, I stroke my cock, needing a relief. I go through the motion in my mind of kissing every inch of her body, worshipping her, teasing her, and burying myself so far inside her that I do not know where I end and where she begins. It is not long until my sexual fantasy of Lexi brings me to orgasm. It gives me some relief, but not quite the release I imagine I would experience being connected with her … skin on skin … deep inside her.

  Lexi … beautiful Lexi. She is the last thought when I close my eyes, the first thought when I open them, and everything in between.

  Part one: Lussuria ~ Lucca’s Words

  “Lussuria ~ Chapter Eleven: Lessons Learned”

  Chapter 5

  Lesson One: Us

  After an early-morning session with some free weights, I grab a quick shower. My stomach flips with disappointment when I realise Lexi does not show up for breakfast. Nonna informs me she had breakfast sent to her room. I hope she is not avoiding me. I contemplate going up to her room to fetch the plates as an excuse just to see her again, but I need to make some work calls.

  Nonno’s study is quiet and private, and I intend to work from there. Before heading off to the study, I meet Nonno. He tells me that Lexi and Hazel are outside by the pool. Fuck! The first things that cross my mind are body … skin … bikini. I am tempted just to go out there to check her out for myself, but I do not want to intimidate her. The wicked part of my mind is hoping I will have lots of opportunities to see her body, in private when her friend is not with her.

  I send out some mimosas for them and then begin to make my calls. Suzanne is surprised that I am sending Marco to meet Dino in Pienzo at such short notice. I go through my schedule for the next three weeks with her and do some moving around. I only planned on staying in Tuscany for a week, but knowing Lexi is here changes everything.

  When Suzanne asks why I intend on staying longer, I advise her I met someone. I normally would be more private about my personal affairs, but I might need Suzanne and Kimberley, her assistant, to make arrangements for me while I am getting to know Lexi.

  Marco and Suzanne I know will never judge, and I do feel comfortable enough being honest with them. If I am going to invest time in Lexi, I need to depend on them from a business prospective.

  It occurs to me that I may be ruining Lexi’s holiday, and she may have no intention of spending time with me. If that is the case, then I will be patient and wait for her because after last night … there is no way I will be walking away from her anytime soon.

  Firing through some emails, Suzanne calls me back with some clarifications and amendments, and I realise it is already 11:00 a.m. I advised Maurizio last night that I would be joining in on the lesson today. Of course he had a gripe, rolled his eyes, and ranted, but he knows I will not interfere too much, and he will never be able to talk me out of it.

  I panic when I do not see Lexi in the kitchen. I hope she has not bailed on her lesson like she bailed on breakfast because she is trying to avoid me. Maurizio tells me he sent her into the pantry. I lean on the counter and wait for her.

  She screams and falls right into my chest, cradling a bag of flour. Christ, she looks so pretty and natural this morning, stealing my breath once more in a little vest and shorts. She is pure and ever so attractive. Although, she seems anxious and tells me I scared her. Shit! Wrapping my arm around her, I guide her chin up. I need her to know I am sorry for alarming her, and I need to see into her eyes.

  “Fuck, I am so sorry. I am such a fucking idiot. Lexi, please forgive me. Last thing I want to do is scare you.” I am fucking cut up. I do not want to distress her even more than I already have. I am also cut up to learn she did not sleep well.

  Carrying her flour, I place it down. I almost get treated to the fiery heat in her voice when she asks what I am doing just as I put my apron on. I am not even going to tell her I know how to cook. That will spoil the fun. I just want to steal more time with her.

  She does okay, but I think she is nervous rolling out the pastry. I stand behind her and ignore the tell-tale stares Maurizio shoots me. Grumpy git. The minute my hard chest presses against her back, my whole body heats up. Christ, my skin pricks with sensual energy. I swear she has just set fire to me. So simple and subtle, but we seem to mould together extremely well.

  I expect her to be rigid, but the minute I lean closer and tell her what I am going to do, taking her hands to guide her through her kneading, she almost melts against me and relaxes. Everything fascinates me: her elegant fingers, narrow wrists, the softness of her skin, the familiar nut smell from her shampoo, her neck scented with her perfume that infiltrated my dream last night.

  Moistening my lips, I imagine licking my tongue down her graceful neck, slowly kissing that sensual spot woman have below their ears, nibbling on the shell of her ear and kissing her until she tilts her head up and offers me her lips.

  If I have ever had to keep composure, now is the time because Maurizio is floundering around and Hazel is further down the bench.

  “Do you feel that?” I ask
in a low rasp. She tells me she feels it with a tremble in her voice. She is affected.

  “Good, that is lesson one,” I add.

  “In pastry making?” she quips with curiosity.

  “No, in feeling. Feeling us,” I breathlessly whisper against her neck.

  The gasp escaping her mouth tells me I have her, but I do not want to push her too far too soon. Whoever screwed her over has left her emotionally scarred, and she will never believe or trust me if I am not gentle and patient. If I thought Jasmine was vulnerable, then Lexi takes breakable to a brand new definition.

  Thankfully, Maurizio has the sense to pair me up with Lexi, and as it is a long kitchen we should have privacy in the top section to prepare our food and hopefully talk. She is still quiet, chewing the inside of her cheek—which is cute, very cute—and seems to do it when she is nervous. The wrinkling of her nose and wiggling fingers in front of her mouth, again very cute, but it worries me that she is restless around me.

  Without thinking and knowing my way around this kitchen, I hold a knife up towards the overhead pots. Lexi freaks out. Seriously, she looks like she has just witnessed an assassination the way she stumbles backwards and bangs into the stove. Her eyes are fretful. She is petrified.

  Fuck. Shit. Fuck. Fuckety Fuck. Shit. Shit. Shit!

  Not good, Lucca, you dickhead. I drop the knife.

  “Fuck … I am so sorry. I have done it again. I never meant to wave it around. I lifted it without thinking. Doc, please, I am sorry. That was stupid of me.” I almost cry with pent up rage, kicking myself inside. I cannot bare it any longer. She shakes and trembles. I stride towards her and do not bother to ask. She needs me. Or at least I think she does. She needs someone and I want it to be me.

  Pulling her against my chest, I wrap my arms around her and hold her. Christ, I feel like I am shaking myself. My heart vibrates wildly. I feel a sudden pang of sickness because my mind scrambles with unimaginable possibilities. What has happened to her that has made her this afraid?

  “Hey, I was not thinking. Fuck, could I get this more wrong today? It fucking kills me to see that look on your face. Will you forgive me?” I beg, just holding her. I could hold her in my arms all day long if that is what she needs to calm herself. Her tiny little body trembles, and fuck, if I do not want to kiss her head, her cheeks, and her face. When I am satisfied she is calmer, I reluctantly let her go.

  Relief floods me that she is still willing to talk to me after the lesson, but she is still nervous and accidently slices her finger with the knife. She should have taken a break when I asked her to. Every molecule inside me feels an instant reaction … an urge to help her.

  I fetch a first aid kit, attend to her cut, then lift her fingers to my lips to kiss it better. She watches me with wide-eyed amazement, dragging her bottom lip between her teeth. Fuck, it is distracting. I need to take her fingers away from my mouth before I kiss my way up towards her mouth.

  Finally, she takes a seat when I mention she looks pale and discover she has had nothing to eat today. No wonder she is jittery. She must be light-headed. Lexi refuses to eat anything I offer to make her over the next two hours, which pisses me off because I want to take care of her and I feel responsible for her weariness.

  Once the platters are set out, I take Lexi over to the sink to wash the flour away from her forehead. I did not want to embarrass her during the lessons. Plus, it looked pretty sexy and cute on her.

  She blushes when I wipe it, but that just makes her even more attractive. She has no idea. It would not bother me if she was coated in paint, oil, mud, or anything else from head to toe because I see her. One look into her eyes and the beautiful image of her is imprinted on me until the next glance.

  During lunch, I watch her every expression. I admire everything. The way she holds her cutlery makes me smile. The way she elegantly holds her glass, dabs the corner of her mouth, and folds her napkin … it all amazes me.

  Her manners, the softness in her voice, her kind-heartedness, that wild, wavy piece of hair that flops down over her face no matter how many times she pulls it back … it is all perfect. She is perfect. It is not lost on me that Nonna and Nonno are watching me, watching her.

  I frown when I see her trying to stifle a yawn and hide her exhaustion. Like last night, I walk her back to her room and tell her to wait until tonight until she talks with me about my suggestion of going on a date. A proper date. She needs some sleep and I do not want to add to her tiredness.

  Nonno joins me in the conservatory for a chat man to man because he feels a guardianship over me when my papa is not here. I know I am an adult, and do not really need lots of life advice now, but I appreciate it because it comes from his heart, just like his fathers before him. It is what we do.

  I feel a weak sense of grief and longing for my son. The baby boy I never got to know or give advice to. I try to harbour it, and I do a pretty good job because I am focused, but it is family moments like this that make me think. I stare outside into the gardens lost in thought.

  He senses I am uptight and asks me what is wrong. Without going into the details, I tell him how timid, shy, and anxious Lexi has been and that she seems to be afraid to open up or get close to anyone. Truthfully, the look on her face when I absentmindedly held that knife is cutting through my soul. God … she was stricken with fear, but I do not tell him that.

  Sweet, precious girl. You need me more than I thought.

  “She needs love, Lucca, a lot of love. You are young and have all the time in the world to show this girl love. It cannot be rushed. Take your time.” He stands in front of the glass, hand in his pocket, demonstrating a stature of assurance. I hope I am every bit as wise as him when I am older. Fuck! I am not getting any younger. It makes my stomach jolt with the realisation.

  “You have always been impatient, Lucca. Even as a child, you wanted things done yesterday, but please do not push this girl away by going too fast. Love, it is beautiful and should be cherished. Take your time. Rome was not built in a day.” He lowers his voice, turning around to face me eye to eye.

  I do not answer. I know he is right, but shit. Man has never got anything done in life by pissing about, and after the past I have had, I will not be slow, hesitant, or fuck up a good opportunity again. An opportunity to be complete. I turn away and nod my head, thinking about all the regrets I have.

  “This is not just about you wanting to romance that beautiful girl upstairs. You are out of sorts today, I can tell,” he says, scratching his brow before sitting next to me.

  I confess I have been thinking about my baby boy today since being back in Tuscany. It is where Fran insisted we put him to rest. She wanted to have him in the same grave as her papa. I agreed. I always visit when I am home, and I guess he will always be in my mind and heart no matter how distracted I am.

  Nonno listens and gives me his best advice. Coincidently, it is geared towards moving forward, and my future, and he says he is praying for Lexi and me to work out. I tell him how much I admire him for taking such good care of his family and being proud of us all.

  Then I mention, although I was in denial for many years, it is what I want I more than ever. A family to call my own, to take care of and give advice to, just like Nonno and Papa and Savio and Armando have.

  Sophia and Franco are very youthful for their age but wise all the same, and I like them giving me advice. It does not make me feel young. It makes me feel blessed and honoured, and I always show them respect even if I do not always agree. It takes me back to my childhood and happy memories.

  “Lucca, I know you miss your son and you feel bereft. You always will. What happened was unjust and a travesty, but you cannot let that hold you back from reaching out to a happy future. If you are feeling remorse and upset, then my best advice would be to open up and be honest. If Lexi agrees to get to know you, through time it might be something you want to share with her. Be truthful … Women are very good at understanding, and they seem very switched on with emotions, n
o?” He leans forward with his hands clasped in front of him.

  “Yes, I have never mentioned it to any one before, other than my therapist. But it is not something I would hide. Before … maybe I would have, but now I feel like I would open up. I am more positive and mature,” I say, hanging my head down.

  “You do not want to start a relationship off with skeletons and ghosts. It never works, trust me.” He pats me on the shoulder before checking the time on his watch. I stand with him and walk back towards the study.

  Ghosts?

  Skeletons?

  Jasmine.

  That is something that needs to stay buried, something I do not think I could ever openly talk about with anyone other than Casey and Marco because they already know. Apart from the fact that my cancer did not spread and I am healthy now, it is not something I wish to share with anyone. It fucks with my pride and karma.

  And as for Jasmine, how the fuck do I tell a woman that I was unable to save another woman who I let run away from me? How do I say I let her die? I watched as blood poured from her fucking head and there was nothing I could do.

  Lexi would run a fucking mile if I told her that.

  Lexi would never trust me.

  Lexi is petrified enough without knowing I am a fucking monster.

  Lexi freaked out when I waved a knife in her face. She would not cope knowing this.

  Lexi must never know.

  We bump into Lexi and Hazel in the corridor. Having just come from the gym, both are drenched in sweat. I smile inside. I like that Lexi is health conscious and likes to exercise, but more than that, I like the rosiness on her cheeks right now and the way her hair is wet and looks just fucked. Shit, she is even beautiful after her workout.

  She could not sleep which is concerning, but shit, if I am not happy to see her again so soon and in her sexy fitness clothes. My eyes roam over the sweat glossing her neck and chest, running all the way between those perfect tits.