Chapter 15
Avastaredupatthe stars, unable to form words.What had just happened?That…that hadn’t been normal sex!That had beenamazingsex.She’d climaxed twice and it had been…shockingly long and good and…wow!
Unfortunately, Luca spoke, breaking the spell.
“Why are you on birth control?”he asked, his arms tightening around her, pulling her even more perfectly against his chest and thighs.The back of her body felt warm and tingly, but his question pierced the dreamy haze of happiness, causing it to fizzle away.
Shifting, Ava looked up at him, her brow furrowing.“Why wouldn’t I be on birth control?”she asked, wondering where his thoughts had gone.
“Because we’re getting married.Soon.”
Ava shifted slightly, her hand resting on his chest.“And?”she prompted, unsure why this seemed to matter so much to him.
“And,” he continued, his tone now sharp with irritation, “married people start a family.You insisted that you wanted a baby.”
Ava pulled away slightly, her confusion increasing.She pushed her fingers into his hair, sliding them against his scalp as she spoke.“Married people learn to live with each other first, before starting a family.”
From the shocked look on his handsome features, Ava paused.Something about the way he reacted made her wonder about his childhood, his upbringing.“Where are your parents?”
“Gone,” he replied flatly, the single word hitting her like a cold splash of water.His tone was stoic, but there was an unmistakable hardness to it, a wall slamming down between them.
Ava blinked, startled by the sudden shift.One moment he’d been warm, his hands on her, his mouth claiming her with a heat that made her forget her own name.The next, he was pulling away, the intimacy unraveling as quickly as it had come together.She felt the loss of his warmth immediately, the cool night air wrapping around her like punishment.
Luca stood, his movements precise, almost mechanical, as he tugged on his boxers and slacks before snatching his shirt from the chair.
She sat frozen for a moment, hugging herself against the chill, trying to make sense of what had just happened.How could a single question have driven such a wedge between them?She wanted to ask more, wanted to press into that raw edge she’d glimpsed, but she could already see him retreating behind the armor he wore so easily.
“Are you hungry?”His voice was distant, polite, as though she were a guest at his table rather than the woman he had just been inside.The sharp contrast twisted something in her chest.
Ava sighed, dragging herself up from the chair.She needed a shower, needed to wash off the mix of sweat and desire that clung to her skin, but mostly she needed back the closeness that had already slipped through her fingers.Minutes ago, they had been tangled together on the balcony, something real and raw sparking between them.Now he felt miles away.
The mention of his parents had shifted everything.
She realized how little she actually knew about Luca’s past.Somehow, he had taken control of a massive crime organization and turned it into a legitimate empire, and yet she’d never stopped to consider what had driven him, what had shaped him into the man he was today.Why did the mention of his parents make him so cold?
Her thoughts twisted in circles, trying to reconcile the man she had just kissed, the man whose touch had made her ache, with the one standing a few feet away—detached, distant, his attention already sliding back to business.
“Dinner is ready,” Luca announced flatly, his voice snapping her out of her thoughts.
Ava watched as he pulled his phone from his pocket, his fingers flying across the keys with practiced ease.The intimacy of the evening slipped away completely, leaving her with a hollow ache in her chest.Had it meant nothing to him?Hadshemeant nothing to him?
Her heart tightened as the questions she hadn’t dared ask flooded in.Was she just another woman warming his bed, easily replaced, easily forgotten?The thought gutted her, leaving her throat tight with unshed words.
She turned away, her stomach churning, and began to gather her clothes and pull them on.She didn’t want dinner.She didn’t want his polite small talk or his distant courtesy.She wanted answers.She wanted the man who had held her a few minutes ago, the one who’d looked at her like she was the only thing that mattered.
Instead, Luca’s attention was glued to his phone, his focus already elsewhere.With each step she took, the weight in her chest grew heavier, nausea swirling in her stomach until she could barely breathe.
She slipped into her coat, her trembling fingers fumbling with the sleeves.
“What are you doing?”Luca asked finally, glancing up just long enough to notice her movement, though his thumbs still moved across the screen.He hadn’t even really looked at her.
That, more than anything, made her stomach clench.
Ava didn’t respond.She didn’t owe him an answer.
Without another word, she turned and walked toward the elevator.For a brief moment, she half-expected the guard outside the door to block her path, but one sharp, cold look from her made him hesitate.Defiance radiated off her in waves.He dropped his chin and turned the key, the lock clicking open.
In the elevator, as the doors slid shut, the weight of her feelings hit with crushing force.She sniffed hard, fighting back the sting in her eyes, her chest tight and hollow.Moments ago, she’d felt close to him—closer than she’d ever allowed herself to be.And then a single question had shattered it.
