“Oh,” she says and goes back around her desk. “I needed him to take something to Hilman while I ran to that department meeting. I would have done it myself but…” She trails off when she looks at me. “What?”
My blood fucking boils when I think about how terrible Luca looked when he was around Hilman. He looked terrified, like he was trapped. I don’t know if that had anything to do with us being caught by Crista or if he hated that fucker, but it pings my senses, and not in a good way.
“Why… the fuck…” I pull in several deep breaths to calm myself. “Hilman is a dick. Why would you send Luca to him?”
She sighs. “He’s a little annoying but he’s not the devil. Stop acting like that.”
“Close enough to it.”
“What do you know?” she asks, on high alert.
“Nothing. Just a gut feeling. There’s something?—”
“Not right about him,” she finishes. “You’ve told me. Look, I just had Luca drop off some papers. Nothing deep.”
“When?” I ask, my brain trying to piece together the timeline. Something nags at the back of my mind, something I should be seeing.
“About an hour ago. I just got back from the meeting.”
That’s it. Luca came into my office looking as if he’d seen a ghost, his breathing erratic and sweat dotting his brow. It had to be Hilman. He’s only ever had that reaction one other time, but I didn’t see it because he was already losing his shit.
But it has to be him.
What did he do to Luca? If I find out he’s hurt him or the thought even crossed Hilman’s mind, I will fucking murder him and sleep like a baby when I’m done.
With a growl, I say, “Don’t do that again. You want shit done, do it yourself. Don’t use my fucking TA.”
“Jesus, fine. I’m sorry.”
I grunt and leave her office.
Something is going on with Luca and Hilman. I’m not sure what it is and why he’s so frightened of him, but I’ll find out. When I spill my secrets, Luca will have to as well. But first, I want to tell him all about my past so he can make the choice on whether he wants to continue with someone like me.
“Come on in, Luca,” I say as I open the door wide. “Maybe I should get you a key.”
Luca looks at me with wide eyes, then smiles. “Really? A key? Are we atkey exchangelevels?”
I give him a sardonic smile as I lead him over to the dining room table where I have dinner waiting. “Well, it wouldn’t be an exchange. I can’t very well come to the dorms when I want to stay the night, now can I?”
His cheeks turn that pretty shade of pink as he sits down. “I didn’t think about that.”
I hope he understands what I’m saying. If I give him a key, this is no longer just physical. It’ll be more than sex. It’ll be… everything.
I chuckle as I fix his plate and place it in front of him. “Are you okay, Luca? Is there anything you want to tell me?”
He looks at me sharply, his teeth sinking into his bottom lip. “No, I’m okay. Why?”
I sigh imperceptibly, but don’t push. That’ll only make him clam up, and I want him open if we’re going to explore this thing between us more. “Just checking. You didn’t look so good earlier.”
He nibbles that lip, looking adorable and sad and… cornered. Misery sweeps through his eyes, and he looks away as if he’s trying to hide the reaction.
Deciding to give him an out, I ask, “Is it because of what Crista told you?”
He flicks that wide-eyed gaze back to me and nods jerkily.
“Do you want to know what happened with me and my ex?”
Again, another jerky nod.
