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“What did Zander want?” Luca questioned, watching me with those warm brown eyes.
“He’s on his way over here with Cade,” I said.
“Cade?” He sighed, leaning his head back on the couch, his Adam’s apple bobbing in what must be annoyance as he swallowed down whatever else he wanted to say.
It had been ages since I’d seen Cade. It felt like another lifetime, honestly. I… I didn’t quite know what I’d say to him, but I had to talk to him, see him, try to explain to him that this wasn’t what I wanted—and do it without sounding like a total asshole to Luca. Just because I didn’t want to be married to Luca didn’t mean I didn’t care about him.
“Do you think you could give us some privacy?” I asked.
That got Luca to get up and fold his arms over his chest. “Why?” To say he looked suspicious would be an understatement. It was also kind of funny that he still acted jealous, even though I’d told him about Cade before.
“I haven’t seen or talked to him in forever, Luca. I need… I want to make sure he doesn’t hate me or think I lied to him.” I glanced down at my bare feet. I wore a black dress—slowly I was getting into the darker colors, no longer wearing white, white, white. “He helped me before, when I… when I couldn’t imagine having anyone touch me.”
Luca’s arms fell to his sides, and he let out a sigh. “Yeah, fine. I’ll give you two privacy, but don’t expect me to get all chummy with Zander. You can bet your cute ass it’s going to be awkward as hell with me and him staring at each other.” He paused. “You are going to ask Zander to give you guys privacy too, aren’t you? Or am I the only one not invited to the party?”
I went over to him. “What did I say about being jealous?” I held my hands behind my back, angling my head to look up at him. Just less than a foot taller than me, his body really did fit perfectly with mine. I hadn’t let us get too close during all this time, but a kiss here and there never hurt anyone, did it?
Smiling up at him, I batted my eyelashes and puckered my lips. Lifting up on my tiptoes, I placed a soft kiss on his lips. I thought that was that, but Luca had another idea. One arm wrapped around my lower back, holding me tightly against him. The action made my heart flutter, and I was too shocked at his assertiveness to deny the second kiss—and this one was much harder and fiercer. This kiss blew mine out of the water, all heat and passion and longing.
Luca hummed into the kiss, and even though I knew this wasn’t a good idea, I couldn’t push him away. He’d done his best lately to stay by my side as much as he could, even when his father wasn’t home. He was a gentleman at night, never once trying anything with me or complaining about beingrelegated to the floor. He was exactly the kind of man I didn’t mind being forced to marry, his bloodline aside.
I didn’t try pulling away from him, not even when my lungs started to burn with the need for air. We kissed like it was the end of the world, like Zander and Cade were going to steal me away from him forever. Every part of me grew hot, parts of me longing for a more physical embrace—something I wouldn’t have thought about before.
But now? Now things were so different. Now I knew what I wanted… and Luca was among the number of men that had found themselves nestled deep within my heart.
I wanted to. Oh, God, did I want to. I didn’t have to ask Luca to know that he wanted to do it as well, but now wasn’t the best time. Answering the door with my hair messy and my skin flushed and sweaty would tell Zander and Cade one thing, and I wanted to avoid that.
As much as I didn’t want to do it, I pulled my mouth off his, panting. I couldn’t totally untangle myself from him since his arm was still around my lower back, but at least my lips were free. They were a little swollen, desperate to feel his on mine one again, but I managed to hold back. “Luca…” It would seem all I could say was his name.
Luca, on the other hand, had something else in mind. He grabbed my left wrist, finally letting go of my body as he brought my wrist up to his face, checking my hand. Or, more specifically, one finger. “Good. You’re wearing your ring, so both those guys know you’re taken—”
I tore my wrist out of his grasp, giving him a slap on the chest as I rolled my eyes and stepped away. “Oh, stop it. You know as well as I do the ring doesn’t mean anything.”It was a damned good thing his father wasn’t home to hear this conversation.
“To you, sure, but you’re still my wife, and if they disrespect you, then I’ll…” He probably had this whole speech prepared, but he noticed how I frowned at him. “I’ll do something. I don’t know what, but something.”
“Luca,” I whispered his name. “Don’t. Cade was my first.” Swallowing hard, I corrected myself, “The first man I chose to be with. At the time he was a stranger in the Playground—”
“The Playground, as in, the sex club downtown? You’re a member there? Giselle, how—” Again, he clearly had more to say, but I held up a hand.
“I told you I wanted to start taking my life back piece by piece, and that’s how I chose to do it. Was it the best way? Probably not, but he helped me be who I am today. The only reason I can stand having you touch me, the only reason I can actually enjoy kissing you is because of him. You should thank him, really.”
He chuckled. “Ah, right. Let me hop right on that, thank the dude for fucking my wife.”
“I wasn’t your wife then, and just because I’m your wife now doesn’t mean you get to control me.” Now it was his turn to hold up a hand, stopping me. These guys, I swore, would be the death of me. Their jealousy was amusing sometimes, but other times… not so much.
“Yeah, yeah, yeah, you can do whatever you want, sleep with whoever you want, and say whatever you want. Have I mentioned lately that my life would be so much easier if I wasn’t falling in love with you?” The facetiousness in his tone almost hid the truth of what he’d said. Almost.
But not quite.
I wanted to say something to him, but I couldn’t. We stared at each other for what felt like hours, neither one of us wanting to be the one who turned away. Luca’s normally witty and sarcastic self had given way to a serious doppelganger, and the way he currently stared at me made me squirm a bit.
Before either of us could speak, a knock echoed from the door, alerting us to the fact that someone was here. Zander and Cade already? They must’ve been in the area. As much as I didn’t want to turn away from Luca, I had to. I went into the hall, heading to the front of the suite, to the door. I peeked through the peephole before opening it, finding the two men I was waiting for standing outside.
One of them grinned when he saw me, while the other frowned. I’d give you one guess as to who was who.
Zander walked in, moving past me. “Rocco isn’t here, I’m assuming?” When I shook my head at him, he stretched and muttered something about grabbing a drink from the kitchen, which left me standing there, staring up into the green eyes I’d grown accustomed to seeing behind a mask.
Cade looked just as handsome as ever, his tall, muscular frame wearing a teal button-down shirt that made the color of his eyes pop. The shirt tucked into his black slacks, only one button near his throat undone, he looked like he was here for a job. His blonde hair was a bit messy, but it looked like it was styled that way on purpose.
