Immediately, the man bent down and scooped both puppies into his arms, laughing as he avoided wet, sloppy tongues.“Yes, sir,” Jordan replied, then turned and disappeared.
For the next thirty minutes, their conversation was stiff and formal, an awkward back-and-forth about the weather, the state of the city’s business, and the routes Ava took to avoid traffic on her way to his office.It was all polite, but not genuine, and the tension between them only grew.Ava nibbled at the salmon and salad, but there was no spark of interest in her movements, no enthusiasm in her responses.
Luca gave up trying to ignore her disinterest.He set his knife and fork down, his voice carefully controlled as he looked at her.“What’s wrong?”
Ava blinked, her expression briefly caught off guard before she masked it with a practiced smile.“Wrong?”
“Yes,” he replied, his tone soft but direct.“Before lunch, you were all soft and sweet.Now, you’re barely offering one-word responses to any conversation I initiate.So, what’s wrong?”
Ava huffed, her frustration clear.Luca could see the wheels turning in her head, her internal debate playing out.She was torn—whether to leave, or to tell him what was really bothering her.Her fingers twitched, and for a moment, she reached down, as if to set her napkin beside her plate, a subtle gesture that betrayed her restlessness.
But after a moment of silence, she lifted her head and met his eyes, the frustration on her face undeniable."I don’t like the fact that you can recover from our… interludes so quickly," she admitted, her tone clipped, almost defensive.Then, as if to seal off any further reaction, she pressed her lips together tightly and waited.
Luca studied her, his brow furrowing.For a long moment, he simply watched her, struggling to figure out what she meant.Then it hit him.His stomach tightened in realization.She was upset about the kiss—the way he had pulled back so abruptly.
A wave of laughter bubbled up in his chest.So, it wasthat.
“Inverno!”he growled then got to his feet to stand next to her.“Thisis what you do to me!”Luca said, taking her hand and pressing it against his erection while also bending down.With his other hand, he tangled his fingers in her hair, tilting her head back.“You think I’m unaffected?”Then he kissed her, his lips teasing her shocked, unmoving mouth.When he felt her fingers shift, his head nearly exploded, but she also returned his kiss.She was ravenous as her fingers explored.
Unable to resist her touch, Luca pulled her up and out of the chair, without breaking the kiss.But when he was on the brink of losing control, he abruptly pulled back, cupping her face in his hands.
“Don’t ever doubt that I want you,mia cara,” he growled.“But the first time I make love to you, we will be in a bed.Not on my desk.”He lifted her hands to kiss her fingertips, then sat down again.
And again, Ava was left stunned, which he found a great deal of pleasure in watching.
“You don’t like salmon,” he observed, changing the subject.“Tell me what other foods you don’t like.I’ll ensure that my chef eliminates them from our meals.”
For a long moment, Ava couldn’t speak.The question caught her entirely off-guard.No one had ever asked her what she liked or didn’t like.Oh, Leone and Franco knew, but only because she’d told them, quite adamantly at times, that she didn’t like something.But her mother hadn’t ever allowed Ava to have a choice in what she ate.The diets, the bizarre meal plans, the fury when Ava rebelled against her mother’s food dictates, or clothing choices or…anything.
“I’ll…uh…have to get back to you on that,” she admitted quietly.
Chapter 12
Afteranothersleeplessnight,Ava trudged into her office, aching with exhaustion.She slumped into her chair, barely registering the comfortable leather beneath her.“It’s going to be a long week,” she mumbled, her voice heavy with fatigue.The puppies, still unnamed, hurried over to greet her, their soft paws padding against the floor as they gazed up at her with their dark, adoring eyes.
“I know, guys,” she murmured, reaching down with a tired smile to scoop them up onto her lap.They immediately began snuggling against her, washing her face in their usual enthusiastic way.Ava laughed, the sound light and genuine despite the exhaustion weighing her down.She didn’t know why, but having them close seemed to help, even when sleep had been a distant dream the last few nights.
They were her comfort now, her little constant companions.Since the moment she’d brought them home yesterday, they had been at her side—curled up in bed with her, on her lap as she worked, following her around wherever she went.It didn’t matter how tired she was, the puppies were there, providing unconditional affection she hadn’t known she needed.
Sandy, with her usual perkiness and a mildly irritating bounce to her step, walked into the room, her smile wide and infectious.The puppies immediately leapt off Ava’s lap, rushing over to greet her like a long lost loved one.Sandy giggled, squatting down to give them the attention they demanded.“Well, hello!”she said, greeting each fluffball personally.“Where did you guys come from?”
“They’re my new puppies,” Ava announced with a tired smile.“A…uh…friend gave them to me.”Ava wasn’t ready to tell her assistant more about her relationship with Luca.Not yet, although she wasn’t sure why.She and Luca had a contract.That was real.Wasn’t it?
Sandy stood up and the puppies trotted back to Ava’s side, but they picked up one of the toys Ava had brought with her this morning.Seconds later, the puppies were engaged in a tug-of-war at opposite ends of a knotted rope.
With a chuckle, Sandy pulled her attention away from the puppies.“You have a busy day today,” Sandy announced, already scanning the papers on Ava’s desk.“Should I set up that video call with…?”
Sandy turned her head abruptly when Luca burst into Ava’s office, his massive frame filling the doorway, his presence commanding.His eyes blazed with fury, waves of anger rolling off him.
“Who the hell is sending you silk scarves, Ava?”he demanded.
Sandy took an instinctive step back, startled by the raw fury radiating from him.She flinched slightly, her body stiffening as she realized just how out of her depth she was.“I’ll just…,” she stammered, pointing a shaky finger at the doorway, her pen almost falling from her hand.“I’ll go,” she finished, her voice higher than usual, and with that, she fled the office.
The door closed with a soft snick, and the air in the room felt heavier as Ava turned to glare at Luca, her patience running thin.“Excuse me?”
“Scarf!”Luca snarled, tossing the box she’d handed him yesterday onto her desk.The object landed with a harsh thud.“That’s an eight hundred dollar scarf, Ava.”His voice grew quieter with each word, his tone becoming more menacing as he moved closer, his eyes never leaving hers.“Give me a name.”
Ava’s eyebrows shot up, not because of the price of the scarf.Now that she looked at it, really noticed the detailed design, she gasped in shock.Hermès scarves were ridiculously overpriced, but Luca’s jealousy didn’t make sense.And Ava definitely didn’t appreciate the underlying threat of violence that seemed to drip from his words.
