“I was doing it to protect you!” Harper shouts at me, her eyes cold as ice. “Why do you have to be so damn stubborn, Luca?”
I laugh.
It’s dark, throaty, and filled with disappointment.
“Me, stubborn?” She’s the fucking stubborn one, running off before the wedding, going to the police trying to destroy my father’s business. At every turn, she’s causing trouble. “I’m not the fucking problem!”
Harper winces.
I climb atop the mattress, straddling her.
She’s buried beneath the blankets and I’ve trapped her, made her stare at me, feel my weight as I press her into the bed.
“I’m not the problem. Your father is the problem!” Her shouts are no match for me. They come out weak, raspy. She sounds exasperated as my weight crushes her beneath me. Good.
Let her see who has the real power this time.
“You going to the cops is my problem.” I find her arms, pinning her down on the bed, restraining her. “Do you know why it’s my problem, princess?”
Her top lip snarls at my nickname.
I love how much she hates it. It makes me want to call her that a million times over, to stir her up inside.
The war between us is on.
“I’m not your princess,” Harper bites back. “I’m not your anything if you keep acting like a monster. Get off me.” She wrestles under my weight, the blanket inching down from her neck, exposing the rise and fall of her breasts as I pull back just slightly, admiring the flush of her cheeks and how it spills down to her chest.
“See, that’s where you have one thing right. I am a monster.” I don’t deny it any longer.
After what I did to Massimo, I’ve become the man I swore I’d never be.
Now, all that’s left is to embrace the darkness as it devours me.
“Luca.” Her voice cracks and I roll away, feeling her pain and anguish as I release my grip on her.
She pulls the blankets tighter and sits up in bed, her back to the wall, her knees pulled toward her chest.
“What the hell was that, Luca?” Her breath is ragged and her question sharp as I push myself to the edge of the bed, my back to her.
“Like you said, I’m becoming my father.” I try to hide the anguish in my tone as I stand, my back to her.
“Luca,” she sighs and stands.
From behind me, I hear her rummage through the dresser, and I glance over my shoulder as she slips into one of my t-shirts that reaches her thighs.
She looks sexy as hell, and I have to stop myself from letting my mind wander to her naked under my shirt.
“I did something unforgiveable today.” I won’t say it aloud. I can’t trust her, not one hundred percent after what she did. For all I know, the room could be bugged. I had foolishly left her alone earlier while I was in the living room.
“What?” Her soft voice tugs at me, and her hand finds mine as she turns me around to face her.
I shake my head, refusing to reveal all of my secrets, especially the ones encased in steel.
I murdered Massimo.
I exhale a heavy breath and stare into her darkened gaze. My fingers reach for her blonde tresses, tangling her hair into a fist, yanking her gaze up to meet mine.
“You went to the police.” I can’t just forgive and forget.
