She smiled, leaning a little more of her weight into him.“Everything scared the shit out of me too.I thought I would never see you again.”
Luca leaned back, his gaze locked to hers and she couldn’t decipher the intense look on his face.“Mara, you need to really think about what you are saying.I am a lot older than you, and I live in a world that is fucked up, filled with shadows and darkness, and I will never be able to live a normal life.I am a part of the Covenant and that is not something I can step away from, or, if I am being completely fucking honest, I don’t want to.I am willing to give you something temporary, but I want—”
She jerked against him, her expression turning from aroused and intense to pissed in a surprisingly short amount of time.“Temporary?What, Luca, you just wanna fuck buddy and then walk away?Am I not worthy of something more than just being a casual fuck that you can walk away from?What, would you leave a couple of hundred-dollar bills on the table and walk away?”She stood up from the bed.“Christ, I am so fucking stupid!”
Anger flooded Luca’s mind, not in response to her anger, but because of what she had said about herself.She had only taken one step from him when he stood, and turned her back toward him in one hard, controlled motion.Not rough enough to hurt—never that—but forceful enough that she felt the decision in it.He yanked her against his chest, one hand spanning her waist, the other braced between her shoulder blades, breath hot at her ear.
“Don’t,” Luca growled.“Don’t you ever fucking put yourself in that category.”
She stiffened.“You just did.”
“Like fuck I did!”he practically growled, voice low and shaking with restraint.“I said I won’t pretend this is easy.I said I won’t lie to you.I have fucked women before.I like it.I’m good at it.And I sure as hell won’t apologize for that.”His grip tightened—steady, grounding.“But I have never looked at you like a whore.Not once.Not for a second.”
Her breath caught.
“If you’d let me finish,” he went on, jaw clenched, “I was going to say I want something that lasts.Something with weight.Something that doesn’t disappear when the lights come on.”He paused, forehead pressing to hers.“My life isn’t something you take on without thinking about it.It’s dangerous.It’s permanent.It comes with blood on the floor and enemies who don’t forget.”
He drew back just enough to look at her.“So, I will give you temporary if that’s all you can see right now.I will keep you safe, respect you, and never make you feel small for it.”
“And if I want more?”she whispered.
“Then, I’ll work for more,” he said simply.“I’ll build it with you.Slow if we have to.Hard if we must.”
His thumb brushed the edge of her jaw, reverent.“Yes, we’ll fuck—because desire is honest and I won’t pretend otherwise.And when it’s right, I’ll make love to you too, because you deserve that kind of care.”
He eased his hold, giving her space without letting her go.“You get to choose, Mara.Not because I don’t want you—because I want you enough to do this right.”
Chapter Seven
She didn’t step awaywhen he loosened his grip.
Mara stayed right where she was, close enough to feel the heat of him, close enough that every breath they took tangled together.Her heart was still racing, but it wasn’t fear driving it now.It was something deeper.Something steadier.
“I hear you,” she said quietly.“And I want all of it.”
His eyes searched her face, sharp and intent, like he was looking for cracks.For doubt.For the moment she’d flinch away from the truth of him.
