Lucca absently straightens the collar on the jacket, pulling me closer in the process. “You look good in my jacket,” he says.
“You just said something nice to me,” I grin, “is your head going to explode now?”
“I’ve said nice things to you before!” He looks so offended.
“The phrase, ‘yeah, that move wasn’t pathetic, try again,’ is not exactly sweet talk, Toscano,” I laugh.
His amber eyes narrow and in the moonlight, he looks decisively wolf-like. “What would you like me to say? That you’re much stronger than I thought? That you’re brave, even after they threw you in the deep end? You keep dog-paddling your way out of trouble, and-”
“Did you just compare me to a dog?” I said incredulously.
“No, I-” For the first time, Lucca Toscano looks flustered. “I admire your strength and your courage. It’s safer to focus on those qualities of yours, instead of your eyes. They’re green, like pine trees with golden flecks. Or your gorgeous, pouty mouth.”
“Those are pretty good compliments,” I croak.
His hand slips behind my neck. “I keep vacillating between wanting to spank you, I mean, turn that assred,or kissing you.”
Why did I just feel like he plugged me into a light socket by mentioning spanking me? Everything below my waist is suddenly tingling and my face is as red as the shade he wanted to slap onto my ass. “Maybe… uh, maybe we could just start with the kissing?” I ask awkwardly.
Lucca Toscano, the man I’ve been sure despises me suddenly smiles, and it’s beautiful. He’s beautiful, with his sharp, high cheekbones and gorgeous mouth. When he leans down to kiss me, I let out an embarrassing little moan butbozhe moy, my god, his lips are so warm.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, pulling back long enough to cup my cheeks, running his thumbs over my skin before kissing me again. His tongue traces the seam of my lips before slipping inside, and his hand moves into my hair and gripping a handful, pulling my head back and kissing me thoroughly.
Just then we hear the furious bickering from two voices we instantly recognize.
Slipping past a bush and a bit closer, I see Konstantin holding Mariya's arm, pulling her along. "What was thatmudak, that fucker doing rubbing up on what is mine?" he shouted at her, "Is this the first time?"
Mariya hauls off and slaps him across the face and I smother a yelp. "Oh, screw you! I follow all the rules of the marriage agreement - as stupid and archaic as they are - because I won't disrespect the Morozov name. But you, oh, you get to fuck around all you want, don't you? Ronan and I were just dancing, he wasn't even touching me!"
Konstantin took the slap without a word, still staring down at her in fury. My feet are already moving. I won't let him hurt her. I don't care if our families are allies, I'll gut him before he can touch a hair on her head. Mariya's done more for me here than anyone, I wouldn't have made it this long without her and he can't hurt her...
Lucca's arm wraps around my waist, his hand flat against my stomach and holding me still. I'm about to dig my elbow into his solar plexus when he whispers, "Stop. Kon won't touch a hair on her head. He's not like that." Nodding, I sag back against him with relief.
"You need to remember who you're promised to, and it's not that Irish prick," Konstantin grits out.
"Oh, don't worry," Mariya's still yelling in his face, and I can tell he's not used to that. "How could I possibly forget? You're always lurking around like a creep, sneering at me."
"Then you shouldn't have come to the Ares Academy," he snarls, "we could have had four years of freedom away from each other, but you just had to show up, didn't you?"
"Did you think I would turn down being accepted here just because you'd be stinking up the place?" I know Mariya's on a roll now, there's no stopping her. "I'm the first woman in the Morozov family line to be accepted here!"
He pulls her closer, "Ronan Cox is a sleazy prick who's been sniffing after you since you came here. He'd love to get you in bed just to fuck with me."
"Of course," she scoffed, "because everything is about you, isn't it?"
Lucca’s warm, rough palm flexes on my stomach, and his other hand goes over my mouth to stifle my startled yelp. His fingers are sliding under the waistband of my jeans, instinctively, I try to move away from his hand, which ends up pressing me against his chest. There’s something hard poking me in the small of my back. Very hard. And large. Maybe it’s a really big wallet?
I am such a moron, I think, cringing,a wallet…
Sucking in a desperate gasp of oxygen when his hand loosens over my mouth, I wheeze, “What are you-”
“Shh…” his perfect, full lips are tickling my ear. “You don’t want them to see us, do you?”
Lucca Toscano’s long, calloused fingers are in my undies and I can’t seem to process this. One finger slides lightly up and down the seam between my lower lips and I can feel myself getting wet, embarrassingly, eagerly slick and he’s using it to circle my clit with the lightest, most infuriating touches.
He tightens his hand over my mouth as my hips make an executive decision and push forward against his hand. “Do you want me to stop?”
Did I? I should. I should want him to stop but the feel of his hard, roughened fingers is just… I shake my head.
