“You got a problem with that, Lil?” I ask.
She shrugs and smirks. “Just that it took you dipshits so long.”
Chapter 41
This couch has seen some things
Ariana
Lil was right; it was the shortest hoodie day I’d ever had, and it was all because of Luca. He was determined to make sure I felt safe, loved, and comforted from the moment he realized something was wrong.
That’s not to mean my family doesn’t do that. They do. Without them, I would never have taken the hoodie off that first time. But Luca brings it all to a new level.
Falling asleep in his arms was like finding another piece of me. I want to do it again, this time without the hoodie. I want to do everything with him. I’m still nervous about showing him my scars, but I’m working on that. Currently, I’m trying to find the balls to just strut into his room and take my shirt off.
We were now ‘kissing out in the open,’ as Lil called it, and more comfortable touching each other around everyone else. I mean, the man carried me around the house and no one batted an eye, so they didn’t seem very surprised to see us holding hands or kissing now. Not sleeping next to him Monday night sucks. Butthe thought of not sleeping next to Lil also sucks. My brain is conflicted.
Lil and I meet Luca in the gym for a couple of hours Tuesday morning. It’s even harder to concentrate around him with his shirt off now. I want to climb him like a horny koala.
While we’re taking a water break, my phone lights up with a text.
“We get to babysit Callie tomorrow night!” I say as I respond to Danielle.
“The little girl from the party who said Lil is a troublemaker?” Luca asks
“Callie said what? Oh, she is such a goober!” Lil says with a laugh.
I hardly hear her because Luca raises his water bottle to his lips and takes a drink. I watch his throat work as he swallows and have to resist the urge to jump on him.
“Drink your water, Minx.” He shoots me a smug smirk. Fuck. He knows exactly what I was doing.
I wrinkle my nose, grabbing my own bottle. “Water… yuck.”
It’s well after midnight when Luca comes upstairs, and he’s wearing a different shirt than he was when I saw him last. He’s wearing sweats instead of the jeans he was earlier, too. I don’t question it. The crew does some messy shit. It’s part of life here in the DeVille house, and it doesn’t faze me.
He sits next to me and pulls me into his lap, kissing me gently. “You look half asleep, baby.”
“I’m mostly asleep at this point.” I yawn. “But I didn’t want to go to bed without a kiss.”
He smiles and leans in again, pressing his lips against mine.
Lil groans from the other side of the couch. “Okay, so now we can go to bed, right?” She turns off the movie we weren’t paying much attention to and heads straight for the shower. Lil hates going to bed without taking a shower first unless she’s drunk. Drunk Lil gives no fucks.
When I grab Luca’s bicep to pull myself up, he flinches. I immediately let go and pull the short sleeve up, revealing a bandage wrapped around his arm.
“What’s this?” Panic courses through me, and I look him over for signs of more wounds.
Okay, so one thing about our lives fazes me, and that’s the people I love getting hurt. I shift my body until I’m straddling his lap, leaning over his reclined form, and start lightly touching his shoulders, his chest, and his other arm. I’m reaching for the hem of his shirt when he takes my chin in his hand and gently tips my face up. My teary eyes meet his.
“There’s just the one, and it’s barely more than a scratch. I promise.” His hand moves from my chin to the back of my neck, and he tenderly pulls me toward him until my forehead rests against his. “I’m fine, Ariana.”
He calms me with his words. With the multiple points of contact between us. With the truth in his eyes. I release the breath I’m holding and nod. Then I kiss him. Hard. I pull away and cup his cheeks in my hands. Emotions bubble up, trying to burst out of my lips. And I don’t want to hold them back.
“I love you.”
His eyes go wide and dark. His hand on the back of my neck tightens, and he pulls me to him again. Our mouths are wild as our tongues tangle and teeth clash, and we’re both breathless when we break apart.
“My fearless warrior goddess said the thing I’ve been too fucking scared to say.”
