Eventually, my shuddered breathing calmed, and I lifted my tear-streaked face to his. “Thank you for saving me. If you hadn’t … I don’t know what would have …” My throat closed up with the thought, unable to utter the words.
“Let’s get you home, then we can talk.” He pulled back, giving my body a once over before gritting his teeth and taking my hand in his. Luca led me toward a cross street where he hailed a cab. He helped me inside, keeping a hand on me at all times. He gave the cabbie my address, and I numbly noted that my keys and purse were back at the office, so he rerouted the cab to Triton.
“I’m running up to get your things—you don’t move, understood?” he instructed as he extracted himself from the backseat.
I nodded shakily, too disoriented to object. “My purse is in my bottom left drawer. I think I left my phone on the desk.” They would wonder where I’d gone at work, but I didn’t care. I would deal with the fallout of my disappearance later.
When Luca returned, he handed me my things and directed the cab to my place. I didn’t know what his plan was, nor did I care. I was just relieved to have someone else run the show. I was too overwhelmed to make decisions—first the Roger incident, then the attempted mugging and watching Luca beat the men to a bloody pulp. My brain struggled to process it all, stuck in a feedback loop of images, unable to assign meaning to any of it.
Luca led me upstairs, using my keys to open the door and taking me straight back to my bathroom. He didn’tturn on the light, opting to rely on the soft sunlight filtering in through the windows. Stepping into the glass shower stall, he turned on the water, then stood in front of me.
“Let’s get you in the shower—it will help you feel better. Lift your arms,” he ordered huskily.
I did as I was told.
I felt safe in Luca’s care. Maybe it was a mistake, but at that moment, I needed to feel safe. I wasn’t thinking about what I should do or the consequences of my actions. I was letting Luca make the calls because it felt right.
He felt right.
I was tired of overthinking. I just wanted to feel good, and Luca gave me that.
He lifted my blouse over my head. The silk trailing over my torso and arms was something I experienced every day, but under Luca’s watchful eye, I felt each inch of my skin stir to life as the soft fabric drifted by. He discarded the blouse on the floor without taking his eyes from my body, then placed his wide hands on my hips and directed me to turn around before lowering the zipper on the back of my skirt and allowing the fabric to pool at my feet. I stepped out of my heels as Luca’s hands glided from my lower back up to my bra strap. With a simple touch, the clasp sprung free. His hands came up to slip the straps over my shoulders, pausing on my upper arms.
“He marked you,” Luca murmured, caressing the bruised skin. “I should have killed them.”
I turned slowly to face him, totally exposed except for a scrap of silk covering my most private area. Luca’s face was a study in harsh lines and turbulent emotions, and somehow, seeing him upset on my behalf made me feel better. Knowinghe cared, that he was there to protect me, was exactly what I needed.
I lifted my hands under his jacket and swept the fabric down over his shoulders. His eyes flashed with guarded hunger as his fingers began to undo the buttons on his dress shirt. One article at a time, we undressed until we were fully exposed to one another.
Luca was the most beautiful man I’d ever seen.
My breathing became shallow as my eyes raked down his sculpted body. Every aspect was absolute perfection—tanned, olive skin with a smattering of black hair on his chest trailing down his taut stomach to where his thick shaft pointed eagerly toward me. Everything about him was solid and powerful—there wasn’t a soft place on his body.
“Let’s get you in the shower before I bend you over the sink.” His voice was a guttural growl, a testament to his tenuous grip over his control.
I stepped inside the stall, reveling in the scalding water and warm cloud of steam as it helped heat my frozen body. Once my hair was wet, Luca poured shampoo into his hand and had me step out of the stream of water. His thick fingers scrubbed my scalp, lathering the soap through my long hair.
To keep myself steady, my hands came out to hold onto his sides, which flexed and twitched under my fingers. Fascinated with the movement of his body, my hands trailed over to his abs, fingertips grazing along the curves and dips of each muscle.
“Rinse,” he barked, and my eyes snapped up to his face.
He was on the very edge of his control, dangling from a single thread.
I leaned my head back and rinsed the suds from my hair, feeling the water trail between my breasts and along mybody where I sensed his piercing gaze. When I opened my eyes, Luca was fisting his cock, lazily stroking over the thick, red tip. Taking the bar of soap, he lathered his hands before bringing them up to massage my aching breasts, his thumbs swiping past my peaked nipples.
My body arched into his hands, the feel of his touch more consuming than I could have imagined. Abandoning his restraint, Luca let lose a savage growl and hefted me into his arms.
“I only meant to wash you, to help you get that asshole’s touch off you, but I can’t do it. I need to fuck you, Alessia.” He moved us under the spray of water to rinse away the soap, then pressed my back against the cool tile, and I gasped, arching away from the cold. He used my movement to take my breast into his warm mouth, sucking angrily at the flesh. When he released me with an audible pop, the sensation sent a zing of pleasure straight to my core.
“Wait, Luca. I’m on the pill, but what about protection?” I asked breathlessly.
“I had myself checked after our ride in the elevator.”
“Presumptuous.”
“Confident.”
“What about me? I haven’t been checked since my last annual.”
