After he paid the check, and we made our way outside, I turned to tell him goodnight.
“Let me walk you to your car,” he offered.
“I don’t have a car. I walked.” I didn’t want to tell him I had a driver. He was decently well-off in the money department, but I didn’t want to look ostentatious.
“You’re not walking home,” he said irritably. “We’ll take a cab; come with me.” He tugged at my hand, but I held my ground.
“I don’t need a ride—I live nearby.”
Luca stepped close, his gaze burning through me, leaving his mark on my soul in a way that I’d feel long after we parted for the night. The air around us became charged with anticipation, heavy like the moist air of a sultry Florida evening.
In that frozen moment of time, there was only me and Luca.
Weaving his fingers into my hair, he slowly lowered his lips to mine. He was gentle but firm, his lips molding to mine as perfectly as I’d imagined they would. I could feel his restraint as if he were holding a delicate butterfly and trying not to crush its wings. Tasting. Testing. But before long, his control snapped as his touch dug into my flesh, and his kiss became demanding. He seized my mouth like he couldn’t get enough—like I held the cure to whatever darkness seethed inside him.
I should have been alarmed, but instead, a moan slipped past my lips, spurring him on. I lost track of the city around me. People walked past us, and horns honked in the distance as cars wove in and out of traffic, but none of it penetrated my senses. I was ensnared in his kiss, his touch lighting my body on fire as I gave him everything he demanded.
Eventually, he pulled back, eyes hooded and black as night. “Come, I’ll walk you home.”
His warm fingers took hold of mine, a current running between us, electric and inviting. He led us down the sidewalk without a word from me until I realized we were walking in the correct direction without me telling him where to go.
“How did you know which direction?” I asked curiously.
He glanced at me wryly. “Lucky guess—I had a fifty-fifty shot.”
I arched a brow. “Do you often play by chance?”
“I very rarely leave anything to chance. I’m far too controlling to rely on luck to get me what I want.”
“You don’t say,” I mumbled just loud enough for him to hear.
He cut his eyes to me, and there was a hint of humor in their dark depths. “I see you, on the other hand, like to live dangerously.”
His teasing made my heart sore, and I offered him a beaming smile to which he shook his head with a laugh. I led us to my building where trepidation and awkwardness set in, at least on my part. Nothing about Luca could ever be awkward or uncertain. He pulled me aside, just outside the entry steps.
“When do you go to work in the morning?”
“Why?” What did it matter to him when I went to work?
“I’ll drive you. I’m heading to the Triton building, so I might as well give you a ride—there’s too much crime in this city for you to be walking.”
“Actually, I have a driver,” I admitted reluctantly. “I don’t tend to tell people because they often treat me differently when they realize I have money.”
“I’m not like other people; surely, you’ve figured that out. No lies and no omissions, not with me. Understand?” His hand gently secured a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and I could see in the softening of his features, he was genuinely pleased I wouldn’t be walking. He lowered his lips and gently kissed my temple, hands threaded through my hair. “I’m not coming upstairs with you tonight … but soon. I suggest you get used to the idea.” He spoke against my skin, the soft caress of his lips sending waves of chills down my spine. Pulling back, he gazed longingly at my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised, then drifted away down the sidewalk, leaving me cold and alone.
We’d had no plans to see one another again, but his parting words indicated there would be more—much more. I had never pictured myself with a man like Luca. I figured I’d find a stockbroker or some executive and have a standard suburban life similar to my own upbringing. Luca made it hard to see anything but him—like looking into the sun, blinding me to everything else.
There was only Luca.
My mind became entrenched in thoughts of when I’d see him next. It didn’t matter that I had an important meeting in the morning, that laundry needed to be done, or that I had Sunday lunch plans with my family—I wanted to spend that time with Luca. Would he call or text before then? Would I let him fuck me the next time we went out? Could I tell him no even if I wanted to? The question was pointless—I’d wanted to see him naked since the moment I spotted him walking through the Triton lobby. I might have given in to him after dinner had he pressed the issue.
I started to worry I was becoming obsessed, which wasn’t like me. Even as a young girl, I never lined my bedroom walls with posters of my favorite celebrity or doodled hearts around a boyfriend’s name. I was rational and intentional about my choices in life, but nothing about my desire for Luca was rational. My interest in him defied logic and consumed my every thought. He was a poisonous fruit, and I was a woman starved. He was likely bad for me, but my mouth watered with hunger for him. I would convince myself one taste wouldn’t hurt, and that would be the end of me.
I would no longer be Alessia—I would be his.
CHAPTER 6
LUCA
