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Pressing my hands to his chest, I declared, “You don’t really want me, Luca. Admit it, you only came here tonight because of Simu.”
His expression darkened. His eyes morphed from silver to a stormy gray.
Burying his fingers in my hair, he crushed his mouth to mine. A ferocious, claiming kiss. My core clenched, growing wet and needy. Damn the man. He knew what he did to me.
This time, I refused to be so easily swayed.
Grinding down against my mound so that I felt his hard cock, he spat out, “Does that feel like I don’t want you?”
I shoved at his broad shoulders. “You know that this is about more than sex.”
“You’re damn right it is,” he growled. “Why are you rejecting me?”
I slapped my hand hard across his chest, catching his nipple with my nails. He inhaled sharply, lust flaring in his eyes. I had to douse his lust fast. Otherwise, we’d end up fucking, and that would be the end of my resistance.
“Because I’ve been treated like a-a-a thing that can be tossed from man to man without any say. You’re no better than any of them—my father, Cristo, Simu—barging in here and bossing me around. Your main motivation for coming here wasn’t that you loved me, that you couldn’t live without me. The only reason you’re here is because of the engagement.” I glared up at him, putting as much grit as I could in my tone. “Nothing you’ve done makes me believe that you’re here for me, so yes, I am rejecting you.”
He jerked back in surprise.
Sheesh. Finally.
Shadows crossed over his eyes. “I’m Romanian, and you know what we’re like. Jealousy runs hot in our veins.”
“Oh, I know,” I griped.
“But I also love you, Cat. I want you as my own. If I walked away from the blood bond, do you really think I only came back because of Simu?”
My eyes narrowed into slits. He sounded suspiciously sincere, but I wasn’t buying it. Actions spoke louder than words. I loved him, and the stakes were too high for me to risk binding myself to him under these circumstances. He’d only come to me when he was upset, and even then, he held back on his secret. I didn’t begrudge him that, but he had yet to make a move that signaled he loved me. And that’s what it would take for me to choose him.
“Oh, please. Stop it, just stop it.” I pushed and shoved, wiggling until he moved off just enough for me to slip out from underneath him. Scrambling away, I tucked my knees into my chest, and glared at him.
He got to his feet and paced the length of my room. “God, this is such a clusterfuck.” Whirling around, he stopped at my bedside, pointed at me, and accused incredulously, “You don’t believe me.”
I snorted and tightened my hold on my knees. “No. I don’t.”
“What will it take to prove it to you?” he asked. He was about to say more but thought better of it and sealed his lips shut.
Prowling closer, he slapped his hands on either side of my head and leaned in.
“Tell me,” he commanded.
“You really want to know?” I snapped back defiantly. “Save Cristo so I don’t have to marry Simu and don’t ask anything in return. Not the fulfillment of the blood bond, not marriage, not my love, nothing.”
His reply was instant.
“Done.”
Gaze burning into my face, it glided down to my nose, my mouth and then snapped back up to my eyes.
“You want your freedom? Then I free you of any obligation under the blood bond. I don’t need a bond, a marriage certificate, or any-fucking-thing else. I just need you and I’m going to win you back, Cat. It wasn’t over after you betrayed me, and it isn’t over now. Don’t for a goddamn second think it will ever be over.”
“That’s exactly what I think will happen,” I retorted.
Enough with the pretty words, I wanted action. But my demands were excessive. Save Cristo and not demand anything in return? That wasn’t how mafie men worked, and I didn’t think Luca could do it.
“Just go,” I pleaded.
His lips swept over mine in a heartbreakingly tender kiss. Then he threw on his shirt and slipped out of my window.
I flopped down on my bed, staring up at the ceiling. Now that he was gone, I let go of my bravado, and the tears flowed, dripping down the sides of my cheeks. In my heart, I wanted to believe in fairy tales. I wanted to believe that Luca would go out and slay the dragons, bringing back the prize of Cristo’s safety and his heart to lay it at my feet. But what I had asked for was insane, and I’d learned at the ripe old age of twelve that in the underworld of the mafie, there were no heroes. Only monsters.
