“Nope,” I replied firmly. “I’m a plain and dry kind of girl. Take it or leave it.”
Luca leaned in to whisper in my ear. “I happen to know very intimately there is nothing plain or dry about you.”
My cheeks flamed with heat, which must have shown because Luca grinned wickedly at my response.
The hotdogs were enormous—thick and almost twice as long as the bun—and they smelled delicious. We picked out a table in the corner of the room where we could watch the steady stream of people coming in for dinner.
“Sauerkraut is the best way to enjoy a Hiram’s dog, but I have plans for you later that doesn’t involve sauerkraut breath,” he said as he slathered his hotdog in mustard.
I shook my head at his presumption, but I didn’t argue. “This place is great.”
“Yeah. It’s been here since the thirties. Used to be a place called Callahan’s right across the street—the hotdogs were almost identical, but Callahan’s was my favorite because of their killer fries. They sold out a number of years ago—the land got too valuable. They opened another one in a different location, but it was never as good. This place stays busy all the time, especially at lunch. You think it’s packed now; this is nothing compared to the lunch crowd.”
We ate our food as a steady stream of firemen, construction workers, and other laborers came through the doors. Luca was in his element—laid-back and comfortable surrounded by the salt of the earth. Seeing him like that and thinking about him listening to the radio, I realized a good amount of his New Jersey youth had stuck with him. He may have had a gorgeous skyrise apartment right off Central Park, but the poor kid from Hoboken was still there in the shadows.
“You loved growing up here, didn’t you?” I asked as we returned to the car under a sky painted in the soft colors of twilight.
“Absolutely. My friends and I had free rein of the neighborhood—it was great.”
“Tell me about it.”
He cut his eyes over to me mischievously before checking for cars in the rearview mirror. “Outside the buildings where I grew up, there were poles every so often to hang laundry lines. A block over from my place, one of the poles had a rope hanging from it. We could get to the rope from this ledge and swing to the next ledge over, but between was about a ten-foot drop off to the sunken lower level below. If you were gutsy enough to swing, it kept you from having to make the trip all the way around the lower level.
“For weeks after we discovered the rope, I would swing on it every time we’d walk past, but none of my friends would risk it. One night, my best friend and I were out late, tossing pebbles at front doors. Sounds idiotic, I know, but it seemed like fun at the time. At one point, I must have grabbed too big of a rock or thrown too hard, but I managed to bust a window at the top of one of the doors. I can still hear the glass shatter into thousands of pieces and crash to the concrete porch. The two of us took off like maniacs. When we came to the retaining wall ledge, I swung across without a thought. At first, my friend didn’t want to do it, but sirens blared to life behind us, so he grabbed the rope and swung. Damn if that rope didn’t break and send him careening to the concrete below.”
“Oh my God, was he okay?”
“Broke his ankle and the cops found him while I hid in the shadows. He never gave me up, but he was pissed at me for weeks,” he chuckled to himself.
“You just left him there alone?”
“He would have done the same. No sense in us both getting caught.”
I rolled my eyes and shook my head. “Did he get arrested?”
“Nah. They took him to the hospital and called his mom. She worked in a diner and knew one of the cops who found him. They figured his broken ankle was punishment enough, although, his parents still made him work off the money it cost to replace the window as soon as his ankle was healed.”
“You really were a little shit,” I teased.
“Baby, you have no idea. What about you? You ever get yourself into any trouble?”
“Nothing compared to you, I’m sure, but I managed a little mischief here and there,” I said coyly.
“Spill. I want to hear what you consider mischief.”
I took a deep breath, laying my head back on the headrest. “Back in high school, my sister, Sofia, and I almost got arrested for being on the roof of my high school.”
“Not bad. What were you doing up there?”
“One night she was upset about something—she never would tell me what. We went for a walk and ended up near the school. It wasn’t all that late, but since it was January, it was already dark. There were a few people at the school, working on preparations for the winter dance, and they had propped open a side door. We decided to check it out, and when we didn’t see anyone right away, she led me upstairs to an exit onto the roof. I hadn’t even known the thing existed, but her gifted and talented class had done some egg drop project where the teacher had taken them onto the roof. Sofia wanted to go out and look at the stars, which was what we did until security showed up. They questioned us, asking if we were smoking cigarettes and crap like that. They couldn’t accept that we didn’t have some nefarious purpose—it wasn’t long after a big school shooting, so they were overly cautious. I was terrified they were going to call my dad or arrest us, but eventually, they let us go with a warning.”
“Aren’t you the little juvenile delinquent,” he said playfully.
I smacked his arm, and he let out a full-blown laugh that made my chest flutter with happiness. There was a lighter, carefree side to Luca that was just as captivating as the intense, stoic man I originally met in that elevator—the two together were the perfect complement.
When we arrived at my apartment building, I was reluctant for our evening to end. “Come up with me?” The words were out of my mouth before I’d had a chance to think about them.
Luca didn’t comment; he simply turned off the engine and came around to help me from the car. It only took the short walk to the elevator for worry to set in. What was I doing inviting this man upstairs? Hadn’t it been bad enough I spent the evening with him? My mind launched into a never-ending cycle of longing and self-loathing.
When the elevator doors closed behind us, Luca caged me in against the wall. He didn’t touch me, yet I could feel his body all over mine. “No more thinking. Let your guard down and just feel.” His rumbled words close to my ear sent an electric shock of lust straight to my belly.
As if obeying his command, my mind blanked—fear and worry evaporated until there was only me and Luca and the insatiable lust that pulsed between us. My lungs forgot how to function as my breathing stuttered and my head swam with his intoxicating closeness.
The elevator dinged our arrival, and Luca pulled away from the wall, taking my hand in his and tugging me toward my apartment. The moment the door closed, he had me pressed against it, his mouth seizing mine. My hands wound behind his neck, pulling him closer, raking through his thick hair. Luca’s deft hands pulled up my skirt, then lifted me against him with his hands on my ass. My legs wrapped naturally around his waist as he carried me back to the bedroom.
The moment he set me down, his hands were all over me, tearing at my clothes, his mouth searing against my heated skin. In no time, I was bare before him, his hungry gaze raking over my exposed body.
“On the bed,” he ordered softly.
I eased back onto the soft linens, my eyes glancing to the sheet as I contemplated pulling it over me.
“Don’t even think about it. I want you where I can see you—all of you.” His hands pulled at my legs, yanking me closer to him, then pressed my knees open, exposing me fully to his view.
Never taking his eyes from me, he lifted his shirt over his head, and my self-conscious thoughts were forgotten as I devoured the breathtaking sight of his naked chest. The sound of his zipper drew me back to the moment, and my stomach surged to my throat as I realized I was about to cross a threshold with this man. This criminal.
My breathing went shallow and shaky as he lowered himself above me.
“It’s just you and me. Don’t think about anything else.” His eyes stayed locked on mine, now just inches away, and I lost myself in their black depths. His darkness was all-consuming, and it called to me. When everything else dropped away, and it was truly just us, I felt free—like all was right in the world, and I could breathe.
“That’s my girl,” he cooed as he eased inside me with gentle thrusts, sweat beading on his brow from his measured restraint. My back arched into the pressure, and his mouth claimed my breasts. As his pace increased, strained moans left my mouth, and he hungrily devoured them with his kiss. Before long, he was pounding into me as if I held the key to his survival deep within me. He was merciless, relentless in his pursuit.
I had never been fucked the way he fucked me.
He didn’t just have sex with me, he owned me.
He took possession of my body, branded my flesh with his touch until my soul itself bent to his will.
He snaked an arm between us to press against my swollen clit, rubbing in perfect rhythm with his thrusts. My skin began to tingle with the building pressure of what would be a mind-bending orgasm. My body stiffened as muscles contracted and tensed in preparation, whimpers and moans pouring from my lips.
“Come for me, Alessia. Milk my cock with that tight, wet pussy.”
His course, dirty words were all it took. Pleasure exploded from my core and pulsed through my body in powerful waves. Eyes shut, I screamed my release, its intensity overpowering my every inhibition. My convulsions triggered his guttural release, and I could feel his cock swell and pulse inside me as he slowed his thrusts.
My body lay limp beneath him, utterly spent.
Ruined.
I’d read before that a man could ruin a woman for all others, but it always sounded absurd. Now, I knew there was truth to it. A release with Luca was unlike any I had experienced—gourmet wedding cake when all I’d had before were Twinkies. I couldn’t imagine how I’d lived before without the taste of him.
He sat up and pulled out of me, then watched as our juices slipped from my entrance. His eyes sparked with possession as he gazed at his work.
“You like that?” I asked quietly into the sudden stillness.
He didn’t answer. Instead, he swiped at the moisture and spread it up to my clit. I jerk at the sensation on my oversensitive nerves, but he didn’t stop. “Stay still,” he commanded.
“It’s too much—I can’t.”
“You can, and you will.” His eyes bore into mine, and before long, the sensation became pleasurable, and I was again a puddle of wanton need. I moaned and ground my hips, undulating against his touch in search of my next fix.
He knew just where to touch and when to change his movements to build the pleasure to its maximum potency. His mouth came down on my breast, and he grazed his teeth against my nipple, sending a stroke of pain shooting through my nerve endings until a second wave of pleasure crashed over me. He barely milked the sensation from me before he was back inside me.
This time it was different.
He hovered over me, and I could feel his warm breath ghost across my skin as he moaned into the crook of my neck. His movements were slow and measured, gliding against me in an intimate caress. Weaving my fingers through his hair, I held him tightly against me as he trailed kisses along my collarbone. His breathing became shaky as he trailed the bridge of his nose along my jawline in a motion that was achingly tender.
“Lessia,” he whispered against my chest. The single word was so heartfelt, so reverent, I couldn’t breathe.
The beauty of that moment eclipsed all else.
When he lifted himself up to look into my face, tears streaked from my eyes at the raw vulnerability written across his features. He finished inside me, eyes never leaving mine, and I reveled in the look of triumph that passed across his face. Luca made me feel like the most precious treasure in the world—something priceless and cherished. It was a feeling I never wanted to lose, and it scared me to think how far I’d go to keep it.
18
Alessia
The next morning, I woke in my bed alone. The pattering of rain sounded on the windows, and the cloudy sky cast my room in a melancholy shadow, making me want to sleep for a week. I thought about giving in to the tug of lethargy but decided to drag myself out of bed. When I sat up, I noticed a note on the nightstand.
Had shit to do. I’ll call you later. PS—you’re fucking beautiful when you sleep.
As usual, Luca made me smile, not just a casual everyday smile—a fifteen-year-old-girl-gets-noticed-by-her-crush smile. Why couldn’t Brad, the grocery store manager, make me smile like that? Would it be so much to ask that I could fall for an upstanding citizen—someone who pays their taxes and doesn’t hurt people for a living?
I groaned out a long sigh and flopped back onto the bed, taking my phone with me. Thank God, it was Saturday—I didn’t have to face work for two full days. Considering everything that had gone on and the maudlin weather, I had no plans of leaving my apartment all day. I needed some time to think about my life and get my shit in order, and there was only one person I trusted enough to help me do that. I texted Giada, asking her to come over, then flipped to Luca in my contacts and made certain to unblock his number. I had no idea where things would end up between us, but for now, he was still a part of my life. After that, I commenced staring at the ceiling, which is where Giada found me an hour later.
“Al … you okay?” she sung in a wary but playful voice.
“You might want to come sit down for this.” I scooted toward the middle of the bed, and she crawled over to sit cross-legged next to me.
“Did something happen with that guy?”
“Yes, but it’s so much bigger than that. G, if I tell you this, you have to promise never to tell another living soul.”
“You’re starting to freak me out.”
“Say it, Giada—I need to know you won’t discuss this with anyone.”
“You know you’re my one and only.”
Anxiety made my heart flutter in my chest as I held her eyes. “Luca’s in the mafia.” The room fell into an awkward silence as Giada processed the news.
“Sooooo, you stopped seeing him, right?” she asked, confused.
“Sort of … I mean, I tried to…”
“You’re still seeing him?” Her voice rose a series of octaves with the question.
“He’s insanely persuasive! And I really like him—G, don’t look at me like that! I need your help.” I sat up facing her, placing my hands on her knees. “He’s everything I never knew I wanted, but now that I know what it’s like to be with him, I can’t imagine it any other way—he even saved me from Roger and from being mugged.”
“Your boss?”
“Yes, he attacked me in the bathroom yesterday.”
“That fucker,” she hissed.
“But it’s okay because Luca busted in and saved me. I know I should probably end it, but I can’t seem to do it. It’s like telling myself not to sleep or breathe.”
“What if being with him puts you in danger? Plus, he could go to prison! Are you okay being with a convict?”
No, absolutely not, and yet… “The thought of losing him makes me feel like I’m drowning—it’s terrifying,” I admitted in a whisper.
“Damn,” she breathed, pulling me into a hug. “I leave you alone for one day…” she teased, making me laugh.
“I know—I’m a hot mess. Thank you for loving me anyway.”
“Always. Plus, I’m sure I’ll have my turn one of these days.”
“Good Lord, let’s hope not. I think I’ve got myself in enough mess for the both of us.”
Giada forced me out of bed, and we spent the rest of the morning talking through my Luca troubles. I told her about the three thugs attempting to mug me and about being assaulted by Roger. She threatened to throat punch me if I e
ver let someone treat me like Roger had again. I promised to let her if I did.
By the time she left just after lunch, I was feeling noticeably better. I still had no idea what I was going to do, but I felt better about being undecided. It wasn’t like I’d agreed to marry Luca—I just hadn’t stopped dating him. That didn’t mean I was going to stay with him forever.
Bluster, bluster, bluster.
The manipulative mind of an addict is a terrible thing.
When the phone rang that evening, my heart danced in my chest as Luca’s name flashed on the screen. Damn heart was a traitor. It had declared mutiny over my mind and was now campaigning for a total overthrow.
“Hey, Luca,” I greeted softly.
“How was your day?” His voice was a sexy rasp that conjured pictures of his naked body.
“It was quiet, relaxing—perfect for a rainy day. You?”
“I wish. I was out running around in that rain like a schmuck, and it’s not over yet. I still have dinner plans with a friend before I can call it a day.”
A friend? Was that code for another woman?
I’d been so wrapped up in the mafia bombshell, I hadn’t even considered if Luca and I were exclusive. The thought of him with someone else didn’t just hurt, it made me irrationally angry—massacre his closet and key his car angry. His dinner date wasn’t necessarily a woman, but logic failed my brain where Luca was concerned.
“Oh.”
He was quiet for several beats. “There a problem?”
“No.”
“What did I say about lying to me?”
Fuck. If I told him what I was thinking, I’d look like a crazy woman, jealous when we’d only just started dating. But then again, I was trying to end the relationship days earlier. If he thought I was too possessive and left me, that would solve my problems.
“Are you seeing someone else?” I blurted.
“That’s my girl,” he purred, a smile implicit in his voice. “I want to know exactly what you’re thinking—no games. As for my dinner plans, I’m meeting an associate. He’s sixty years old, bald, and weighs close to three hundred pounds. No, I’m not seeing anyone else, and I expect the same courtesy in return. Does that work for you?”
Forever Lies (The Five Families Book 1) Page 14