“I want you to help me make sure he doesn’t get anywhere near her,” Luca said. “We need to do everything by the book and be smart about this. Peter is smart, and he has flown under the radar so far to keep himself out of trouble.”
Tony nodded without hesitation. “You got it.”
Aurora reached for Sophia’s hand. “You’re not alone in this.”
Sophia swallowed, emotion flashing across her face. “Thank you,” she whispered.
Luca watched her, his chest tightening with the same damn emotion that she was feeling. He didn’t like how close this had come to breaking her. He didn’t like how natural it felt to want to put himself between herself and every threat in the world.
As the night wore on, Luca caught Sophia watching him when she thought he wasn’t looking. There was something different in her gaze—something deeper than gratitude. Was she thinking about their kiss? It was all he could think about since they sat down, even though he tried to put it out of his mind. He wasn’t sure that he ever would be able to forget how good it felt to have her warm, soft lips against his.
When they finally stood to leave, Luca placed a hand at the small of her back, guiding her through the crowd. This time, he didn’t tell himself it was just protective instinct. He knew that it wasmore than that. And walking out of the bar, with Sophia safe at his side and his friends at his back, Luca made himself a quiet promise—Peter wouldn’t get another chance to get to Sophia. Not on his watch.
The drive back to his house was quieter than the ride to the bar. It wasn’t awkward—just heavy. The air between the felt charged and even electric. Luca kept his eyes on the road, but he was hyperaware of Sophia beside him, the soft sway of her body with each turn, the faint citrus scent of her perfume filling the cab of his truck. Just one fucking kiss had done all that to him. It had made him soft—maybe even weak, and he hated that. But something about her had always made him feel that way, and he should have known that now would have been no different.
Luca loved watching Sophia with his friends. She laughed tonight, really laughed. And seeing that—knowing how close she’d been to breaking down not that long ago, had done something to his heart.
When they pulled into the garage, Luca killed the engine and glanced at her. “You’re awfully quiet. Are you okay?”
She nodded. “Yeah,” she breathed. “I’m just tired, I guess.’
“Are you sure that your silence doesn’t have something to do with that kiss we shared?” he asked. She shot him a look, and he shrugged. “I’m just asking because I can’t stop thinking about it.” There—he put the truth out there, and now, it was her turn to admit the same to him.
“I’m going to take a shower and turn in,” she said, effectively ignoring him. He sat in his truck and watched her disappear into his house. Luca wasn’t sure what his next move should be, but he knew that if he didn’t make one, he might never get another chance with Sophia.
He finally gave up waiting for her to come back out to his truck and went into the house. Luca gave up hoping that Sophia would come back out to the truck and followed her into the house. It was quiet and dim, the kind of calm that settled deep in his bones. It’s what he loved most about his place. As soon as he saw the house, he knew that he had to buy it.
Sophia had kicked off her shoes and was standing at the bottom of the steps, as though she was waiting for him to catch up. She stretched, her arms lifting over her head, allowing her shirt to ride up just enough to give him a glimpse of skin. Luca looked away immediately, jaw tightening. He had no right to see her that way, not yet, at least.
“I’m going to shower and change,” she said casually. “I’ll be right back.” He barely managed a nod.
Luca busied himself in the kitchen, rinsing glasses that didn’t need rinsing, his mind replaying the way she’d looked at him tonight—soft, trusting, something else simmering underneath her gaze. He told himself to breathe. To keep his head on straight, but every time he replayed the kiss in his head, it became impossible to concentrate on anything else.
It felt as though she had been upstairs forever. He was about to give up on waiting for her and go to bed, but then she walked back into the kitchen. She was wearing one of his T-shirts—black, worn soft, hanging off one shoulder—and nothing else buta pair of panties. Her legs were bare, as were her feet, and his hands itched to touch her.
Luca froze as she crossed the room to stand in front of him. Sophia stopped short when she saw him staring. “Too much?” she asked softly, suddenly unsure of herself.
“No,” he said hoarsely. He dragged a hand over his face. “I mean—yes. I mean—” He exhaled sharply. “Sophia—” He had never been so flustered or tongue-tied in his life, but then again, Sophia had never stood in front of him wearing nothing but his T-shirt.
“I can run upstairs and change,” she offered, though she didn’t move.
He crossed the space between them in three long strides. “Don’t you dare,” he murmured.
Her breath hitched. “Luca—” He cupped her face, thumbs brushing her cheeks, giving her every chance to pull away. When she leaned into him instead, it snapped the last thread of restraint he had left.
Their mouths met—slow at first, testing, like they were both afraid this might be a mistake. But the second Sophia’s hands fisted in his shirt, Luca groaned and deepened the kiss, pouring ten years of want into it.
He lifted her without thinking, carrying her down the hall to his bedroom. She wrapped her legs around his waist, making his heart race. His breath was uneven, and every sound she made went straight to his soul. He laid her back on the bed gently, like she was something precious, something he could break if he wasn’t careful. He hovered over her, his forehead pressed to hers.
“We can stop,” he said quietly. “Anytime.”
She shook her head. “Don’t want to.” That was all it took. It was all he needed to hear from her. She was effectively giving him the green light that he needed to take everything that he wanted from her, and so much more. He’d take everything that she was willing to give to him.
Luca kissed her again—slower now and deeper. His hands memorized the feel of her skin as he worked them down her body. He loved the way that she arched into his touch, the soft sounds she tried and failed to hold back. The world narrowed to the feel of her skin and her breathy little sighs as she squirmed around on the bed beneath him.
“Sophia,” he whispered. “I need you naked.” She smiled up at him and shyly nodded. “Be sure, because once we do this, I won’t want to go back to us just being foster siblings.”
She grimaced when he called her that. He knew how much she hated it when he called her his foster sister, but that’s what she had been to him for so long. Now, if they did this, she’d be so much more than that to him.
