“I know, baby. But your father and I don’t want you to miss an opportunity just because you’re scared. We know how you like to walk the straight and narrow, but sometimes, you have to step out of your comfort zone.”
“You and Dad?” I narrowed my eyes at her. “Did Dad send you over here?”
She huffed out a breath and squirmed in her seat. “I would have come over to check on you anyway, but Luca came to talk to your father, and this killed two birds with one stone.”
“Luca went to talk to Dad? About me?” I was stunned. Luca wasn’t the type of man to cower, but I also couldn’t imagine him approaching my dad about dating me. Maybe it had been about business matters, and I was just being presumptive.
“That man has it bad for you, honey. You should give him a chance.”
“Mom! You should be on my side!”
“He’s cute,” she shrugged. “You could do a lot worse.”
I shook my head, fighting the pull of a smile. We finished our lunch without any further heavy conversation. When it came time for her to leave, I was almost sad to see her go. We weren’t best friends like some mother/daughter combos I knew, but I preferred the way things were. She was my mother, not my friend. I could count on her to give me hard truths and to love me with her whole heart.
I spent the afternoon growing more and more bored, making me realize it was time to go back to work come Monday. Being a stay-at-home wife had worked for my mom, but I wasn’t sure that was in the cards for me. I loved my job and the feeling of accomplishment that came with it. Pacing in my apartment as the city moved on without me was excruciating.
I had just wiped down my countertops for the third time when a knock sounded at my door. I wasn’t expecting anyone, which never would have bothered me before, but now, an unannounced visitor gave me reason for pause. I quietly approached the door and peeked through the peephole.
Luca.
The tension in my neck eased, and my cheeks warmed in anticipation of talking with him. I’d told myself I didn’t want to see him until I’d decided what I wanted, but the temptation was too great. It had been days since I’d laid eyes on him, and the draw of knowing he was just a few steps away had my hand undoing the lock.
When I opened the door, the unobstructed sight of him stole the air from my lungs. He was more beautiful than I remembered, and the magnetism between us was impossibly strong after our brief separation. He was dressed casually, t-shirt and jeans, but his hair was neatly styled, and his face was unreadable, making my stomach clench with unease.
“Hey,” I offered softly. “Come in.” I stepped back, making room for him, sure to lock the door behind him.
He didn’t off a greeting, not with words. Luca was a man of action, and he let his body do the talking. Stepping close, his eyes devoured my face, searching, learning, memorizing every detail. I would never be more revered than I was in thisman’s eyes. He cupped either side of my face, and I stared into those black eyes, twin vortexes sucking me deeper into the depths of his darkness.
He had become the air I breathed, and only now that I was with him again did I feel alive.
My lips tingled with the urge to kiss him. His hands ran up my back, pulling me closer until I was pressed flush against him. I could feel his length hardening, pressing against the confines of his pants, and I reveled in the knowledge that he was just as addicted to me as I was him.
My hands found their way to his belt, fumbling at the buckle before he took over and made quick work of it. I slid my hands up under his shirt to the delicious warmth of his hard stomach. As his pants dropped to the ground, I slid my hands lower and cupped his solid length. The warmth of his stomach was nothing compared to the searing heat of his cock. Our lips devoured one another as each article of clothing was discarded to the floor.
He stood back for a moment and took in my bandages and the exposed wounds that were small enough to heal on their own. His face went feral with the promise of revenge. Uncomfortable under his gaze, I maneuvered my arms to hide some of the uncovered wounds, but he grabbed my hands and pulled them away.
“Don’t cover yourself. I want to see you, all of you.”
“Luca, there are going to be scars—I won’t look like I did before.” My eyes fell as worry set in.
“Look at me,” he commanded, waiting to continue until my eyes met his. “There’s nothing that man did or could ever have done that would make you any less beautiful to me. Understand?” He paused, waiting for my agreement. “Now, Iknow you’re still hurt, but I need to be inside you, feel you, know that you’re mine.”
His guttural demand roused an aching need in my core, making my breaths shaky and shallow. “I’m okay, you won’t hurt me.”
Luca lifted me into his arms gingerly and walked us back to my bed where he lay me down, hovering over me. For long minutes, he worshipped every inch of my body, kissing, sucking, licking until I was writhing with need. Not waiting for permission, Luca lined up his cock with my entrance and pressed inside me in one long motion.
My eyes went wide at the delicious pressure of my body adjusting to his size, and his eyes held mine as his fingers entwined with my own.
Allowing me an unguarded view into his soul, Luca made love to me. He flayed me open, bare for him, the swell of electric pressure building inside me, threatening to shatter me.
“I love you, Alessia. You’re mine, and I can’t let you go. Not now, not ever,” he rasped as he pumped inside me.
His words ignited my fuse, sending me careening over the edge into a place without rules or boundaries—a place where it was only the two of us and infinite serenity. As he rocked into me languidly, allowing me to coast on the waves of pleasure he’d given me, I was swallowed by a swell of emotion. An emotion so blinding and pure, there was no mistaking it.
Love.
I was in love with Luca Romano.
