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Drugging her childhood sweetheart.
Murder…
Lucas.
Like a moth drawn to a flame, she couldn’t stay away—and he didn’t want her to. Everything about her was perfectly designed for a ruthless man who loved as possessively and single-mindedly as he did everything else in life.
He loved her enough to contemplate sharing her, though he’d admit—if only to her—that he felt a wave of relief coupled with desire when Tessa made the most horrified face at his offer. Her golden eyes grew wide, her mouth twisted in a noticeable grimace, her adorable nose wrinkled all the way up to her forehead… and he still found her undeniably attractive.
“Ah, jeez,no. I mean, I love kids, Luc. I loved teaching them. Playing with them. Hearing the crazy stuff they come up with. But being responsible for one? Living with one? Sharing your attention with a baby? No, thanks. It’s me and you, babe. I’m good with it being just me and you.”
Lucas needed to find his sister. He needed to bring her back home, then he would figure out a way to keep it so that Maria was never in a situation like this again even if he had to drag her out of Hamlet himself. But in this moment, shoving aside the murderous urge to hurt whoever preyed on his family, he couldn’t help but marvel for the countless time over the years that this woman was perfect for him.
She kept him whole. She kept him sane. And while he would never deserve her intense devotion and her love, fuck if he was every going to let her get away from him.
He’d burn the whole damn world first.
Lucas was already moments away from striking the match. Having always prided himself on his control, every minute that passed without knowing where Maria was was another minute closer to the moment helostit.
Tessa could tell. Moving into him, never afraid despite knowing just how black his thoughts could be at times, she peered up at him through the fringe of her lashes. “Luc?”
Settling his hands on her slender shoulders, he tugged her close, pressing her body up against his as he wrapped his arms around her. It was a wordless demand for his wife. He needed this embrace desperately, and she let him have it.
Like always, Tessa gave him everything he wanted.
His body was already stirring as he felt her breasts cushioning his chest, smelled the alluring cinnamon aroma that seemed to belong to Tessa alone. If he hefted her up and carried her over to the bed, she would welcome him instantly. He knew that fact implicitly. Even after their steamy affair turned into a “respectable” marriage, the spark was still there.
Lucas hungered for this woman even more knowing that it was his ring on her finger instead of Sullivan’s—but he knew better than to lose himself in the pleasure of his wife’s delectable body when he had other concerns.
It wouldn’t do to get distracted, would it?
On an exhale, he pulled away from her. Squeezing her shoulders once more, he let go, then reached out to snag her left hand. He ran his thumb around the golden band on her delicate ring finger. It had been there for more than two years now and he still got a gut punch when he realized what it was.
His mark.
His brand.
His.
“I love you, Tessa.”
Tase-a.
Lucas’s voice went husky with undeniable lust, the hint of his Italian accent escaping along with the sudden burst of emotion from inside his normally icy chest. This woman was a miracle. She was the only one who had ever made him burn up like this.
And when her soft pink lips twitched, quirking up into a sexy little smile, it was all Lucas could do to refrain from giving into his instincts and taking her then and there.
“I know, Luc,” she murmured, her expression an invitation that said he had her permission forever to touch her, hold her, love her whenever he needed to. “Iknow.”
Lucas owned Tessa, body and soul. It was a fair trade, he figured.
After all, she was the only person in this world who held his heart in her hands.
And she always would—because when Lucas vowed to her ‘til death do they part, he meant it.
* * *
With an enticing murmur,Lucas had invited Tessa to join him in the shower he planned on taking.
