by Dawn Doyle
Something happened to me that I’d never felt before. My eyes flickered, the right side twitching more as he hit a spot that had me gasping loudly.
“Luca,” he growled against my neck. His fingers dug into my skin before relaxing. “Fuck, if you only knew what that does to me.”
I never meant to, but my response was a moan, a throaty sound like I’d just stepped into a relaxing hot bath to soothe tired muscles. I held my breath as I flushed, completely embarrassed that it had come from me.
Lucian slowly lifted and gazed down at me, his lips apart but his jaw working as though he was trying to figure out whether he wanted to speak, or act. In that moment, the way I felt, the way his kisses had me begging for more like I was an addict and he was my hit, I knew what one I would rather he did, but I couldn’t. It wasn’t the right time, the right place, or even the right situation. I wanted Lucian like I’d never wanted any guy before, and no matter how much my body betrayed me, I wasn’t ready.
“Fuck!” Lucian rolled to the side, and I instantly regretted agreeing to what my stupid brain had convinced me.
An icy blast replaced the heat that was there, a sense of enormous disappointment when the fluttering that had made it’s way down, down, down, was rising and glaring at me with its bitch face.
So, this is what sexual frustration feels like?
God, I understood Paige’s plight. If what she felt was anything like I did right then, I had total sympathy for her.
Lucian took my right hand in his and brought it to his lips, lingering there with his eyes closed. He took a deep breath, and slowly blew out over the back of my hand. “Where did you move from?”
“What?” What was he doing?
“When you came here. Where did you come from?”
“Uh…”
“Please, Luca, I need you to distract me from doing something that will make you uncomfortable and me feel like shit.”
“Corrin,” I replied quickly. “It’s about eighty miles North east of here.”
“Why did you move?” He didn’t let go of my hand, but he lowered it to his chest, linking his fingers into mine over the back. His heart thudded, the steady beat under my palm fast and strong.
“My mom got a promotion—she’s a finance director for a large company in the city.” I took a calming breath and continued when he remained silent. “My dad put in for a transfer so we could come here together, otherwise we would’ve been separated until there was a place for him.”
Lucian nodded. “I get that.”
I leaned on my side and propped myself up on my elbow. “What about yours? What—”
“Did you have a boyfriend?” he cut in.
“No.”
He turned his head and stared for a moment. “Seriously?”
I smiled. “You sound like Paige.” I shuffled toward him, our faces close together. “I only left a few friends behind. No boyfriend, I swear. How about you?”
His brows scrunched. “No, I didn’t leave a boyfriend behind.” When I deadpanned he continued, his expression hardening and all humor gone. He mirrored my movement, the space between the thick cushions just about keeping a safe sliver of distance between us. “Life before Luca,” he breathed, his eyes meeting mine. “That was over the day I pulled you from the water.” He pressed his lips to mine just once before whispering,” If you’re with me, then I’m with you.”
“I’m with you,” I repeated lifting my leg over his, “if you’re with me.”
“It’s a deal.”
My phone vibrated in my back pocket, and I shifted forward to reach it, my body flush with Lucian’s. With my leg still on his, it was as though I was pushing myself on him. “Sorry,” I said when he blinked quickly. I checked the screen and saw it was reminder to leave in the next five minutes. I hadn’t been there that long, surely?
“What’s up?” he asked, his voice tight.
“Just my reminder,” I groaned. “I have to go in a couple of minutes.”
Lucian looked at his watch, then sat up. He stood, holding his hand out to help me up from the cushions that had trapped me. “Monday night,” he said, scrubbing his face again. “Meet me here at six, okay? Don’t wait for me, just come right up the drive and into the garage. I’ll make sure to have it open for you.”
“What will you be doing?” I asked, and he dropped his head. “I can’t know that, can I?”
He snaked his arm around my waist and pulled me tightly to him, holding the back of my head with his other hand as though I would run away at the first chance I got. “All you need to know is our deal stands, okay?” He rested his forehead against mine, a war breaking out across his features before he spoke again. “And all I need to know is that you don’t forget that, Luca.”
I held his face, and kissed his bruised jaw. “I won’t, Lucian.” I couldn’t. There was no way I would ever forget. “Our deal stands. Only you could break that.”
“I don’t break deals, Luca,” he replied, and the way he gazed at me made my spine tingle.
Lucian led me down to the garage, the house still in darkness, though muffled cheering came from somewhere below us. He kissed me long and hard before I opened my door, making my head spin.
“We have to keep this quiet,” he said as I put on my belt, and my stomach plummeting had me sinking back into my seat. “Hey, look at me.” I looked up, even though he would see the hurt in my eyes. “I know a lot of bad people, and they would give no fucks in using you against me.” He stroked my cheek with his fingertips, then across my lips. “There’s no fucking way I will let that happen.”
He closed my door and I backed out of the garage, turning around in the large circular driveway before heading down the dark path. I checked in my rear view mirror and saw Lucian raise his hand as the door closed.
In the space of one night, I’d started a relationship with a guy I couldn’t tell anybody about, and had possibly gotten myself mixed up in things that were more dangerous than I expected, and I had no fucking idea what that was.
Lucian
“You need to dump this one before you scout for another,” Charlie said while Blaine raced down the highway. “Slow down, prick, before you attract attention.”
“I’m gonna miss you, baby,” Blaine said while stroking the steering wheel like a lover.
“You had this car for one day,” I said from the back seat. The tinted windows kept me hidden—I didn’t want to risk anyone seeing me in this car, especially Larry’s ass lickers.
“Yeah, but it was long enough to get attached. You’d know that, right?”
“Oh for fuck’s sake, Blaine, do you want to get us all killed?” Brady asked when I glared at the back of Blaine’s head, imagining just ripping it off his shoulders. “Give it a damn rest. Lucian’s made his decision, and so has Luca.”
“Yeah, the least you can do is respect what he wants,” Nate added.
Blaine snorted. “Okay, Nate, sure. Didn’t you say that he’d made a stupid mistake?”
I slowly turned my head to Nate where he was sitting on the other side of my brother. “Oh, yeah? And what business is it of yours?” It was none of their fucking business.
“Yeah, I did, but that was before.”
“Before what?” I gritted out. “Come on, Nate, while we’re all here in an enclosed space, please elaborate.”
Nate huffed. “Before you looked like a total dipshit when she left the other night.”
The car was dead silent until Brady spoke. “You were kinda back to normal,” he explained, lifting his hands with a shrug. “You’ve been quiet, closed off, and to be honest, a bit more of an asshole than usual.”
I had? I’d always been like that, the closed off part, anyway. My business was my own, and I didn’t have to explain myself to any fucker, no matter who they were.
“So, now that we’ve established that the Loosh we love has come out of his own asshole,” Blaine said, “let’s get this baby to bed.” He put his foot down and took the next ramp to
the middle of fucking nowhere.
The engine stilled and the five of us got out of the car. I scanned the area of the parking lot, and saw it was clear.
“Oh, look at it, guys,” Blaine whispered. “That ass is asking to be spanked so damn hard I can taste it.”
He was a special kind of idiot. He got a hard on for a certain car, and he just had to have it.
I understood how he felt, but mine wasn’t for a car. I couldn’t see Luca until the next day, and with good reason even though she was constantly on my mind. I had to get this off Blaine’s chest, because if we left him free to do as he pleased, he would land his ass in jail. Just being with him today had us on the radar. Since I’d gotten Charlie and Nate to do some digging, they’d done a little extra for Blaine. A little turned out to be a mini list he’d already put together, just waiting for the right time when we’d loosen his leash. He’d taken advantage of it to the point that it had become a topic of conversation in the area. It had Blaine’s name all over it, and although he acted like a dumb fuck, he knew exactly what he was doing.
“There’s nothing coming through on the waves,” Charlie said as he played with a radio in his hand. “We’re all set but, Blaine, make it quick.”
Blaine rubbed his hands together, looking like a cartoon villain. “Hand me my nipple clamps, fella’s, I’m going in.”
Nate handed Brady an electronic device and a Swedish army knife. I was pretty sure that was just for effect because I had no fucking idea what he would need it for.
We waited at the far wall, keeping a watch for people coming out of the back of the building. The casino was full of cameras, but Blaine gave absolutely no fucks about that, and anybody watching on the monitors wouldn’t think anything was wrong.
“Hey, girl, wanna take me for a ride?” he cooed. “I promise to treat you right.” He pressed his palm to the roof and opened the door with his other. He sat in the seat and then we heard the hood being popped.
I checked my watch, then looked back up in time to see him slamming it down again.
“I think that’s his new record,” Charlie said, shaking his head. “How the fuck does he do it that fast?”
I started to head toward our mark where Blaine was picking us up. “I don’t know, but we’ve got thirty seconds to get out of here before somebody notices their ride has gone.”
“Woo! God, I feel so high right now I’d even say no to a joint!” Blaine yelled. His eyes were wild with the rush of boosting a car. “Last one, I swear,” he said.
“You said that two days ago,” Brady grumbled, and I chuckled. “I counted three since and this makes a fourth. You gotta shut this shit down for a while.”
“Yeah, yeah,” he replied, sounding as though he was placating my brother.
“We mean it,” I said, leaning forward. “I have a bout soon, Blaine. I can’t have this shit going on, you know how this works.”
He slammed his head back against the red and black rest. “I know. Yeah, I’ll shut it down.”
He’d need lots of weed and enough sex to get him through his dry spell. I laughed to myself at just how backward that was.
Charlie was listening to his radio when he patted Blaine’s arm. “Less than twenty seconds, dude.”
“Yeah,” he drew out. Even from the back I could see him grinning like a lunatic. “I knew exactly where her sweet spot was, and she was putty in my hands.”
“Can you not keep taking about a car like you’re going to fuck it?” Nate complained?
“Turning you on?” Blaine asked, then laughed his ass off.
“Fuck you,” Nate snapped. “I just think it’s fucked up that you talk about a car like it’s your girl.”
“Sh, baby, he doesn’t mean it,” Blaine said, circling his fingertip in the center of the steering wheel, completely fucking with Nate. “He doesn’t know what we have is special.”
I shook my head. “When you kids have finished, we need to get this fucking thing off the road.”
Blaine rolled the shutters down on the garage, then stroked over the hood of the car, up and over the roof, then down the back. “I’m going to miss this when I give it back.”
I draped my arm across his shoulders then gripped the space between his head and neck. “Giving it back is a good thing, Blaine. It’s the whole reason we back you up with this obsession of yours.”
He nodded, then released a slow breath through his nose. “Yeah, I know. Monday morning, first thing. I just need a ride back after I dump it.”
“And before that?” I asked as we walked into the house.
He stared right ahead and slowly grinned. “I’m going to make sure I give her the riding she was built for.”
I sighed. “Jesus fucking Christ.”
Chapter 9
Luca
My shorts weren’t too high, but I still checked in my mirror. It was almost five-thirty and I was going to leave. The sun hadn’t set, so finding Lucian’s house would be a hell of a lot easier. I smoothed down the front of my oak-green tank and then picked up my plaid shirt. I didn’t want to look like I tried too hard for tonight, and I also didn’t want to be overheating in the sun.
I pulled on my short white socks, and pushed my feet into my black army-style boots. I fastened the metal buckles so they stayed loose, just how I liked them. I checked my hair and light makeup once again before grabbing my dark-brown purse, making sure it was securely fastened so I wouldn’t spill anything out of it.
“Off out again?” my mom asked, eyeing up my outfit.
“Yeah. I don’t know how late I’ll be,” I paused when she raised an eyebrow, “but not too late. I’ll be back by eleven.”
“Your father is worried.”
“I don’t know why, though,” I complained. “It’s not like I’m hanging out with a bunch of criminals.” The moment those words left my mouth, I wondered how much of that statement was true. If Lucian couldn’t tell me why he was bruised, and he couldn’t tell me where he was going, it could only mean that there it wasn’t good at all.
Was it worth seeing him if he was breaking the law? My head said no, but the rest of me… I couldn’t stop myself from wanting to be with him. It was stupid—I was stupid for getting involved, but the more I thought about Lucian Moretz, the fine line between doing the right thing and following my heart no longer existed.
“With the things that have been happening around here, honey, he just wants what’s best for you.”
I checked my phone for the time, trying to hurry up the conversation with my mom. “I know he does, but I’m going to be just fine, okay? I have my phone, my car has a tracker…”
“Yeah, there’s been at least six thefts over the past few days, Luca, and four of those were at the weekend. Your father told me that the trackers were somehow deactivated.”
“My friends have a garage where my car will be parked. I’ll be fine.”
“Well, then, have fun and drive safe.”
I kissed my mom’s cheek, then headed out to the garage. Butterflies swarmed in my stomach, multiplying tenfold by the time I’d gotten in my car.
“It’s fine, it’ll be okay,” I said, giving myself a pep-talk. “Nothing to worry about.” I started the engine, pressed the fob to open the shutter, and backed out of the drive.
The pathway was so much easier to find, even though it was still concealed. I had to use my GPS again just to find the spot, but once I saw the white rock, I made the turn up the driveway.
Trees lined the winding path, and when I looked up, I saw string lights hanging between them. They were switched off, and I understood why they hadn’t been on the last time I was there. In the darkness of the road, it would be like a huge here we are sign to the house. I wouldn’t advertise the fact I was home alone, either. I would rather people thought nobody was home at all.
“So pretty.” The front was landscaped with the smell of freshly cut grass in the air. Flowers and plants were arranged in shaped beds, and a huge white Victorian style l
amp stood tall in the center. I hadn’t noticed any of it, and especially not with Lucian in my car, sitting close to me, causing my entire body to tense.
It was again. The anticipation of seeing him, especially after the other night, had my temperature rising so much that even the AC wasn’t cooling me down.
I finally arrived at the house which looked even more stunning in the day. Each window was framed in white with decorative shutters that matched the front door.
I pulled up by the garage, and just like Lucian said, the shutter was up. I slowly rolled inside, coming to a stop next to the X5 again. I looked around, too scared to get out of my car in case his parents came out and asked me what the hell I was doing there. I grabbed my bag from my passenger seat and fumbled with it to grab my phone when I remembered I didn’t have his number.
“Shit,” I whispered.
What do I do? Wait for him to find me? Get out and just walk inside and say, ‘hey I’m here?’
The decision was made for me when he appeared, his dark hair wet and his eyes fixed on me like he was preparing to pounce. And, holy shit if I didn’t squirm at that thought.
I gripped the handle of my door at the same time Lucian opened it. “Hi,” I said, a little more breathy than I intended, but it reflected the whirlwind going on inside me.
“Hey, Luca.” He smiled wide, and I stared at his magnificent face and his dimples. “Right on time.”
“Of course,” I said once I’d woken up. I stepped out of the car, and Lucian’s eyes dropped to my bare legs.
His nostrils flared as he stared, taking in a long, hard breath before slowly releasing it. When his eyes flicked to mine quickly, my heart skipped. “You’re really trying to torture me, aren’t you?”
I glanced down, then back up. “Why?”
He grabbed me around the waist, yanking me to him, and then kissed me, his lips hungry for mine. “I won’t be able to keep my hands off you.”