AllFreeNovel
Share Us
Chapter 12
Scarlett
I’dalwayslovedmywork. Being in tech gave me what I loved most—working with people and solving problems that few others could. I was always one of the first to arrive at any of the jobs I’d had and one of the last to leave. But that morning, just getting out of bed was a drag.
I couldn’t stop thinking about Angelique’s face as she and Luca walked past me at the water cooler the evening before. The way she held on to him, like he was hers. A cloud of jealousy descended on me again as I got off the office elevator, and I fought it back like I’d been doing since the previous day.
I had no right to feel that way. Or feel anything at all, for that matter. Luca and I never should have happened in the first place. What he did and who he did it with was his business. It was only sex. Nothing more. And now, it’s over.
I’d no sooner thought the words than I knew they weren’t true at all. My feelings for Luca had been steadily deepening, and that meant I was in far more trouble than I cared to admit. But I couldn’t think about that. He was clearly moving on, and I had to do the same. I just had to focus on work and—
My feet froze as I passed the boardroom. Looking through the glass walls, I saw a familiar face among the sea of people crowded inside. Riley. She saw me and smiled, lifting her hand in a wave. A deep crease furrowed my brow as I scanned the room and noticed that she was with every other staff member from Daze. I lifted my hand in return greeting, utterly confused by what I was seeing.
She motioned toward the projector screen with her head, and I glanced over. Chord’s employee onboarding slide show was playing, and Hank, our head of HR, was at the head of the room talking them through it. Orientation. I’d gone through the same process when I’d started.
My heart leapt in my chest, and I could finally return Riley’s smile. I could hardly believe it. A rough count told me that every single one of them was in there, every one of them employed by Chord.
“Hey, Scarlett. We missed you at the morning huddle,” Ash said as she passed me on her way to the kitchen.
But I didn’t want to hang around and catch up with her. I made my way to Luca’s office with more purpose than an Olympic swimmer going for gold.
“Um, you can’t just—”
I held up my palm to shut Angelique the hell up and went right in without even knocking. Luca was seated behind his desk but quickly rose to his feet when he saw me. By the time I’d locked the door, he’d rounded his desk, his face an open question.
I answered it by clutching on to his shirt with both my hands and pulling him into a heated, passionate kiss. He moaned his surprise as I slid my tongue into his mouth, but he didn’t break away from me. Instead, Luca’s body softened against mine, and his arms wrapped tightly around my waist as he lifted me up.
My hands drifted into his hair as he placed me down on his desk, deepening the kiss even more. The hunger I felt in that moment was bigger than every other time. It had more to do with the tumult of feelings clashing inside, the ones that told me what I had with him was so much more than I’d first thought. And much deeper than the lies I had been telling myself.
He explored my mouth deeply, his firm hands sliding me back. Then, with one swift motion, Luca sent the contents of his desk clattering to the floor as he pushed me to lie down on the cool mahogany surface. My legs wrapped around him as he leaned over me. The look in his eyes was one of pure lust, but I caught a spark of something else that made my heart skip a beat. It was a warmth I hadn’t seen before. A mirror to the river of lava surging through me with desire for him.
Luca hooked his arm under my one knee, opening me up even more as he nestled between my legs. The action made my skirt hike up to my hips, revealing my black lace underwear. He glanced down, and I watched his tongue come out to slowly wet his lips. Seeing him that way, wanting me so openly, so boldly, it made me instantly wet.
“I know what you did.” The words were out of my mouth before I knew I was thinking them.
He looked down at me, a slight frown clouding his features before vanishing just as quickly as it had arrived. Luca took my hands with both of his and pulled me back up to sit.
“What are you—?”
“I’m not a monster,” he said, his voice low. His fingers brushed my cheek, tucking a stray strand of hair behind my ear. “I need you to know that.”
His gaze bore into mine, so deep it felt as though he were trying to look right through me. For a moment, I believed he could. That he could see my insides and exactly what I felt for him just then.
I snaked my arms around his neck and tilted my face to his, bringing our faces within an inch of each other.
“I didn’t mean what I said before,” I whispered. “I don’t hate you. I was just…”
He rested his forehead against mine, eyes still locked on mine. “Angry, I know.”
“Hurt,” I murmured. “I should’ve communicated that better.”
A dry laugh choked out of me, and Luca dipped his head, kissing it gently away. His mouth was warm and soft against my own, his tongue doing nothing more than grazing my lips before he pulled away again.
My whole body was awake, every nerve ending aching for more of him. The tingling sensation in my lips was the rush of warmth spreading down my neck to the butterflies in my stomach that reverberated through the coil of arousal tightening around my clit, begging to unravel itself and destroy me.
I wanted him to ruin me.
Luca Moretti. The asshole billionaire with a heart of gold. My brother’s best friend who was much too old for me. The brooding Italian with whom I was falling madly in love.
