by Wood, Vivian
I give her a puzzled look. “Why are you showing me this place?”
“Because I want you to know what I am planning on spending the ten thousand dollars on. That money, plus my own money that I’ve saved… they’ll go into buying this place.” She scrunches up her face. “Well, once I earn a little more money. I think I’m about ten thousand short but I’ll earn that pretty quickly working at the bar.”
Of all the things I thought she might show me, her escape route from this marriage wasn’t one of them. I’m silent for a few beats. My eyes scan her face and she frowns.
“I thought you were going to be more supportive about this.”
I lift a brow. “About you buying a crumbling property that I have nothing to do with?”
She glances out her window, biting her lip. “I wouldn’t call it crumbling.”
I sigh sharply. “The house is in obvious disrepair, Cate. I hope you didn’t tell me about it as a way to tell me that I should buy it. Because aside from you having an emotional attachment to it, the house might as well be razed.”
“First off, I was not trying to get you to buy it. I don’t know where you came up with that idea. And why are you being so mean right now?”
I shrug, feeling out of my depth here. “You say I’m being mean, I say I’m being a realist. This place is barely standing up, Cate.”
“It is not!” She hits my arm.
I look at her, my expression stony. “Are you saying that you’re ready to move out?”
She looks taken aback by that. Cate shakes her head. “No. I mean, I’ll move out when you want me out. Or when our annulment comes through, whichever comes first.”
I take a deep breath, looking at the house again. “Is that it? We push forward and get the annulment so that you can move out?”
She stares at me, a little stunned. “I didn’t realize that there were any other options, Luca.”
My forehead wrinkles. “There are, though. I mean… there should be, at least.” I glance straight ahead, my hands coming up to the wheel. “I care about you, Cate.”
I just thrust the statement out into existence, my stomach twisting. It’s how I feel, yes. But I don’t know about how Cate feels so there is every probability that she’s going to be appalled.
“What does that mean, exactly?” she asks softly. She touches my arm, drawing my gaze.
I look at her, my stare intensifying. “I don’t know,” I admit, my voice a low rumble. “But I think you feel it too. That this could be something, if we just let it grow a little.”
She blushes but she doesn’t look away. “I care for you too, Luca. It’s just…” She pauses, a muscle twitching in her cheek. She swallows. “I know I’m not very good at talking about how I feel. But that doesn’t mean I don’t feel anything.”
She lowers her gaze, her hand falling away from my arm. I shift toward her, cupping her face and turning her gaze back to me. She looks at me, brows furrowed, her teeth biting into her lower lip.
Ever so slowly, I brush my kiss across her lips. Her eyes sink closed as she opens her mouth against mine. She tastes amazing, her vanilla cinnamon flavor bursting across my tongue. I need more of it. My hand slips around her waist as I pull her close.
I always need more when it comes to Cate. More of her drugging kisses, more of her quiet moans. More of her soft body burrowed against mine as we rest, my arms shielding her or caging her, I don’t know which.
She’s the first to pull back, her pupils dilated, her breathing ragged. “Take me to your bed, Luca.”
I nod, frowning. “We’re not done with this conversation though, are we?”
She bites her lip, hard white against soft, plush pink. “Not unless you want to be done.”
Smiling stiffly, I start the car and throw it into drive. All the way home, I turn over the words she said to me.
I care for you too, Luca.
Is that enough for us to take a chance on?
I don’t know, but I’ll be darned if I don’t want to find out.
Chapter Twenty-Nine
Cate
I want him, I think. I want him bad.
I miss a step somehow, tripping and dropping half the towels, sprawling towards him. He reaches out to keep me from falling, grabbing me by the shoulders.
“Ooh!” I say, my breath coming out in a whoosh.
“Easy,” he says, steadying me. I shiver again as I stand up straight, and he looks at me with a very serious expression. “We should get you out of these wet clothes.”
I let my head fall back, looking up at him. He stares down at me, bringing his hand up to push back a couple of pieces of hair that are plastered to my forehead.
I don’t dare to breathe. I don’t dare to speak. I’m frozen under his beautiful green gaze, waiting for him to make a move.
Luca cups my cheek, running his thumb roughly along the outline of my lips. He bites his bottom lip; for the first time since I’ve met him, I know without a doubt what he is thinking.
He wants me.
Suddenly I push up onto my tiptoes, bringing my lips a fraction of an inch from his. I gaze into his eyes, asking him a wordless question. Is it worth it?
Almost begging. His gaze flickers down to my lips. I can feel his breath against my mouth, his warm breath fanning across my skin.
Then he closes the distance, his expressive eyes closing. His mouth presses against mine, warm and soft. He kisses me with no trace of the hesitation he must feel. No, his kiss is hard and dominant and full of passion reawakened.
He slides up a hand around me, pulling me the last step toward him, my soft body hitting his hardened frame. My hands come up to his chest, clutching his shirt.
His free hand begins unzipping the hoodie, peeling it off along with my cardigan. I shiver, from nerves and from being cold, and he senses it.
Without a word, he sweeps me off of my feet, carrying me up the stairs to my bedroom. I wrap my arms around his neck, feeling so small and delicate in his grasp.
He automatically goes to the master bedroom, which is the same one I use. Inside, the room is very girly. The bed is made of cedar wood, four posters with white lace curtains and an ivory coverlet.
But he ignores the bed, heading to the en suite bathroom. With only its clawfoot tub, I don’t see what he wants with the bathroom, but he carries me over to the tub anyway.
Luca sets me down, turning on the taps. Then he proceeds to undress me, pulling at the strings of my wrap dress. I step out of my shoes and help him with my dress; soon it falls to the floor, and I am left shivering in my matching white lace bra and panties.
The steam starts to fill the room, its heat very welcome. Luca kneels to take off his Converse, then looks up at me.
“I’ve imagined this a hundred times,” he admits, his voice thick with emotion. “I’ve thought of a thousand different scenarios, different positions. Imagined which ones would give you the most pleasure.”
I shiver again, but this time it’s not from the cold. I bite my lip, afraid that if I speak, I will break the spell.
“You know what I want, more than anything right now?” he says, reaching out and caressing my hip.
“What?” I say, my voice barely more than a whisper.
“Take off your bra and panties, and sit on the side of the tub for me.”
I turn bright pink, but I know I have to do it. I slowly take off my bra, exposing my breasts to him, my pink nipples pebbling in the steamy air. I see him suck in a breath and then bite his lip. It’s so sexy when he does that, I don’t think that it’s fair.
I’m aware of my pounding heart as I shimmy out of my panties, leaving me completely naked. Vulnerable.
“Sit,” he commands, his eyes roving over my naked skin. He may be kneeling still, but his order leaves no doubt of who is in charge here.
I step backwards and sit on the ledge, overwhelmed with self-doubt. Here I am, completely naked, and he’s still fully dressed. What if I don’t live up to his fantasy?
Luca moves forward, reaching up to tug my mouth down to his. I bury my fingers in his short, dark hair as he invades my mouth, our tongues dancing together.
I feel his hands on my knees, pushing them open wide. I resist at first, until he stops for a second and murmurs, “Relax, Cate”. I let him part my knees, baring my pussy.
I expect him to go right for it, but he doesn’t. Instead he moves closer, kissing my jaw, my neck, my shoulder. I run my hands along his strong shoulders, feeling the muscles in his upper back as they move.
He kisses my right breast, cupping my bare flesh and closing his lips over my nipple. I throw my head back and groan as he sucks and licks at it, using his teeth to draw my nipple to a hardened point.
“Fuck,” I gasp, beginning to writhe against him. I feel my pussy growing wet, and I am just brazen enough to press my mound against his chest.
He releases my breast from his mouth with a loud pop, kissing his way down to the top of my mound. I hazily hear a voice in the back of my head saying that Luca is really here, in this bathroom, and he’s about to eat my pussy. Is this real?
I push the voice aside as Luca runs the tip of his tongue up and down my slit, teasing me. “Luca…” I implore. “Please.”
He kisses my thigh instead. “Please what?”
“Just… please,” I say, scooting forward an inch. “I’ve already waited for what feels like forever. Don’t make me wait any longer.”
He considers me idly, kissing my inner thigh a bit more. When he withdraws, I can’t help it.
“Luca!” I whine.
But he surprises me again by pulling me by the hand toward the bedroom. “We need more space,” he says simply.
I head toward the bed, and he lets me go. I sit down again,
He starts to strip, first his clingy dark shirt, showing off his pecs and biceps and abs in a stunning display. Then his black jeans, his legs long but powerful, each nearly the size of my body. Soon he’s left wearing only black boxer briefs…
And I might be drooling a bit. Luca moves toward me, as sinuous and powerful as a jungle cat. I move back on the bed, but he grabs me by the ankle.
“Stay,” he orders.
My eyes go wide; he can give me commands anytime, I swear. He climbs on the bed and lays beside me, his eyes burning like twin firebrands. I roll onto my side, using my knee to try to hide my nudity a little, but he won’t have it.
“Uh uh,” he says, pushing my knee back. “There’s no reason to hide from me. You are gorgeous, every inch of you.”
I flush, nodding a little. He trails his hand from my collarbone to my breast, and down to my hip, giving it a squeeze.
“You’re so fucking pretty, Cate,” he tells me, meeting my eyes. “You drive me crazy, almost every day, just by being yourself. I can hardly stand it.”
I don’t respond right away. I wouldn’t even know how to begin answering that kind of compliment. Finally, I manage, “I feel that way about you, too.”
Luca isn’t listening, though. Instead, he pushes himself onto his knees, bending down to kiss my collarbone, the top of my breast. He kisses my nipple, then sucks the nipple into his mouth. His mouth is so hot and wet, and my hips raise of their own accord.
My mouth opens, a mewling cry coming out. He laves my nipple with his tongue, then releases it. I make a disappointed noise, but Luca has other concerns. He kisses his way down to my navel, pushing my knees apart to make room for himself.
He pushes me up the bed as far as possible, then finds a comfortable spot between my legs. He pushes one knee up, trailing kisses along the inner thigh.
I squirm a little, although I know that what is coming will be incredibly hot. Still, I’m distantly uncomfortable in my own skin, worrying again that I can’t live up to his fantasy.
He uses two fingers to find my seam, tracing it lazily up and down, up and down. His fingers get a bit of my juices on them; he stops and pops his fingers in his mouth, making a contented sound as if that’s normal.
I blush and lock up, my knees pulling together a little. But then he parts my lower lips with those same two fingers and leans in close, kissing my clit.
“Oh god!” I say, panicked. It feels so good, so wet and so hot, I don’t know if I can take much of his teasing. When he kisses my clit again, swirling his tongue around it this time, making loud sucking noises, I bury my fingers in his hair.
He does figure eights with his devilish tongue for a minute, while I moan and try not to buck my hips against his face. After he closes his lips around my clit and sucks, though, I can’t help it.
“Oh god, oh god,” I repeat over and over again. “I… I’m close, Luca.”
He shifts a little, teasing the entrance to my core with one single finger. I shiver with excitement and buck against his mouth when he introduces a second thick digit.
And with the third, I think I’m about to boil over. He’s sucking on my clit and gently moving his fingers in and out of my pussy, and it’s all too much.
I make a throaty sound, almost there…
He slows down, though, and withdraws his fingers. I crack open my eyes, glaring at him.
“What are you doing?” I ask, uncertain.
“You can come from penetration, can’t you?” he asks, licking his fingers idly.
“I… I think so…” I say. I flush, tripping over myself to explain. “I mean, I have before. With you.”
“Good. Then I think we should both come together,” he says, rising to his knees.
I go red at his words, even though he just got done doing that very thing. I bite my lip and beckon him. He backs off the bed, stripping of his boxer briefs, laying himself bare. His cock juts proudly out, long and thick and quite beautiful.
He crawls on top of my body, until our hips press together. He’s heavy, almost too heavy for me, but his big frame makes up for it. He balances himself on his elbows, taking some of the weight off.
My lips find his, and my hand finds his cock, stroking it gently. He breaks the kiss with a low, needy groan. That sound breaks any plans I had to draw this out.
I position his cock at my entrance, moving my hips a little to encourage him. He doesn’t thrust right away, though. He takes a second to look down at me, brushing some of my still damp hair from my face.
“You’re beautiful,” he tells me. The earnestness in his gaze shines through.
“You’re gorgeous too,” I say.
He kisses me again, his lips warm and wonderful. Then he slowly sinks in, inch by inch.
“Ahhhh,” I say, feeling the stretch deep inside to accommodate his size.
He looks at me, sweat beading on his brow. “Do you want me to stop?”
I shake my head. “No. Go faster.”
Luca withdraws, then thrusts, withdraws, then thrusts. A little deeper, a little faster every time. He sets a rhythm, slow at first. I meet him thrust for thrust, feeling my body warming up, remembering the pleasure that it felt just a few minutes ago.
I wrap my legs around him as he increases the pace. There’s a smooth kind of friction happening; it feels amazing, like there is something deep inside me that is on fire, and only he can put it out.
With each thrust I am getting a little closer to ecstasy. I feel a spring winding a little tighter and a little tighter. I just need something a little… more… to be set off.
“Luca,” I say, breathless. “I am going to need you to fuck me harder. Don’t hold back.”
He smirks for a second, then he gives me exactly what I want. He leans over me, fucking me like a jackhammer, sweat beginning to drip from his face and chest. All I can do is hold on, that inner spring growing tighter by the second.
“Fuck,” he whispers, his tone reverent. His voice is nearly lost in the melee between us.
“Yes,” I urge him, my hips clashing with his over and over again. “Yes! Don’t stop. Don’t you dare…”
I’m wound so tight that when I start to come, I grip Luca’s back with my nails, le
aving a set of nail marks. Then it’s like I see fireworks, everything in my world going black except for a few bright splashes of color.
I topple over a cliff I didn’t see coming, and plummet down into the abyss of my own pleasure. A second after I come, I feel Luca start to come. I hear his rugged shout, I feel the hot pulse of his seed deep within me. I feel him slow down, and then stop.
He rests his forehead against the pillow to my left, breathing openmouthed for a long second. My racing heart begins to slow.
Luca kisses me then, long and languorous. He tastes like his sweat, but I don’t mind it one bit. I sigh into the kiss, bringing my hands up to cup his face.
We rest like that for a long time, until I slip off to sleep.
Chapter Thirty
I lie on my side watching Cate sleeping beside me. Her lower body is burrowed against mine but her spine is twisted so that her face is angled away. It looks uncomfortable to me but she seems to be sleeping peacefully.
The early morning light streams across her still figure, throwing shadows across half of her body. I look at her delicate dark eyebrows, the sweep of her black lashes against her cheeks, her sweetly bow-shaped mouth. Her face is in profile, the light making it seem more angular than it actually is.
She stirs for a moment, pulling the blankets up and murmuring something softly. She turns away from me and I sigh.
Tomorrow is Madisyn’s wedding. Not that I give two fucks about Syn getting married, but that’s the entire structure of my marriage to Cate at this point.
What happens after the wedding? The future slips through my fingers like sand through an hourglass. Everything is tentative. Our entire relationship seems to be held together by half-spoken promises.
I woke up in a mood about it and it isn’t going away. I know myself. I need a distraction or I’m going to brood about this for the next twelve hours. So I get up and get dressed, texting Owen as I go.