Pressing the garage button, one door opens, and I quickly roll in before shutting the vehicle off and closing the door once more.My house manager, Jason, stands in the doorway to the house as I exit the SUV.
“Preston rang, said to expect company, but had no more details.”I nod as I go around to collect Coco.He watches me skeptically.
“I can walk,” she mumbles.
“You can, but why, when I can be your servant?”She glares at me, making Jason snicker in his button-up shirt and bowtie.
“I’m going to like her,” he comments with a grin, clearing the doorway for our entrance.
“I would hope so, because you’ll be at her beck and call for the foreseeable future.”
He appears startled but quickly wipes the look from his face.
“It’ll be a pleasure, miss.I’m Jason, and all you need to do is call, and I’ll be available to you.”He appears eager.He won’t let me down.
“Please, call me Coco.And if this neanderthal ever puts me down, I would tell you I don’t need anyone to wait on me.”
“Neanderthal,” I mutter while Jason has a belly laugh behind us as I take her to the couch in my office.“You were hit by a car.Should have had more testing done but ignored the doctors.”Placing her down gently, I hover.“I think you hit your head too hard.”
“I’m fine,” she grits out.
No use in arguing with this woman, there is no point.She’ll keep insisting she doesn’t need help, and I’ll keep giving it to her.
“A handful, I see.”Jason narrows his eyes at her before making his exit.He’s going to prepare her some tea and likely some finger foods.While that’s not ordinarily his job—he’s more the boss of my home, dictating orders to the other staff—I know he’ll enjoy the challenge that is my future wife.
Coco loses her fight pretty quickly as she cuddles into the comfortable sofa.I drape a blanket over her, her eyes close, and she sighs.When I dim the lights, I hear a soft, “Please don’t leave,” before I’m halfway to my desk.
Returning to her, I kneel and trace her delicate jaw with a rough finger, then lean forward and press my lips to hers and say, “I’m staying here, too.Sleep,amore, I’ll be here when you wake.”
“Promise?”Her eyes barely remain open.
“With everything I am.”I kiss her again, and her soft moan makes my dick kick behind my zipper.“I’ll always be here,amore.”
She’s out cold as I get to my feet and go sit in the plush brown leather chair behind my desk.Immediately, I log into my computer, open my email, and send a few messages to a hotel and a boutique.After that, I inquire with my private physician about visiting Coco in person tomorrow to assess her injuries and healing process.
My goal is to ensure that Coco has everything she needs to get back on her feet, while encouraging her to choose to stay with me.
CHAPTER9
Coco
Istare at the man across from me and realize that, gradually, my walls have been crumbling.Despite his intensity and his innate ability to terrify men larger than him, Lucca has also revealed himself to me in the past week since the accident.There’s violence inside him that doesn’t extend to me.It’s irrelevant that one minute he’s threatening to rip someone limb from limb and the next he’s speaking kindly to me.I am always at the receiving end of his softer side.
When I found out that he’d gone to see Janet—a tale she let slip when I last spoke to her—and told her he’d pay my wages and buy in on her café, I cried.Not only with happiness but with immense relief because there were a few times since the hospital when I’d debated taking my own life.My depression was so deep that I couldn’t see a way out of the hole I was sinking into.My attitude and feelings towards him shifted after that.He had no idea and yet knew everything all at once.
Watching him now, the veins in his arms throb with rage.I have no idea what’s going on because when he conducts meetings, I wear noise-cancelling headphones.But from the way the man standing on the opposite side of his desk looks at me, I can tell Lucca is holding back.
Clearing my throat, I remove the headphones once I have Lucca’s attention.“I’m going to grab a drink and see if I can help Jason with dinner.Do you want anything?”
Before I can move, he’s out of his chair and helping me to my feet.Thankfully, my knee is healing well, and I start PT next week.
“Jason can bring you a drink.”He can’t quite shake the fury in his tone this time.I almost feel bad for the other guy.
“No, I need to stretch, and I’m feeling snacky.”
Before he can protest, my hands brush up his chest to clasp his shoulders, and for the first time, I initiate a kiss as he lowers to me.His lips are soft and thick as they meet mine.Lucca’s surprise quickly dissipates, and he takes over, hauling me against his body while sweeping his tongue into my mouth and sucking on mine.Moaning, I hold onto him tighter, showing him, for once, that while I’ve been a brat, I’m also insanely attracted to him.
We’re breathless as we pull apart, and I take a minute before opening my eyes to sweep my tongue across my lips, enjoying the minty taste of him.“I really liked that,” I whisper.Because even though we have an audience, this moment is ours.
