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As soon as the door downstairs clicked shut, a raw energy sparked in the air around me. I scanned the room and found Luca sitting in his formal living room facing the wall-sized fireplace. There was something so intimate about being here with him. If I were being totally honest, this was a stalker’s dream come true. Wasn’t that what I’d been all these years? Always hovering near him, but never invited in?
“You wanted a glass of wine?” He gestured toward the square cocktail table. He still wore the tuxedo pants and shirt from earlier tonight, minus the jacket. With a chuckle, he followed my line of sight to his stained shirt. “I got here a few minutes before you did. Let’s have a drink, then we can change out of these clothes.”
My stomach fluttered as desire unfurled through me. Did he intend for me to spend the night?
“Okay.” I took the glass and sipped. “You’re not mad at me?”
“I almost lost you tonight.” He looked so tired and defeated.
“No, you didn’t.” I sat on the sofa across from him.
“Those men meant to keep you. And I don’t mean just for tonight.” He clenched his jaw, then knocked back the rest of his drink. “I should bend you over my knee and give you the spanking you deserve. Of all the stupid things…”
“Yeah, I know.” I put up my hand. “Enzo already covered all of that in the car. Don’t worry. I get it. And it won’t happen again. Why do you even care?”
He leaned forward and placed his glass on the coffee table between us. When he rose to his feet and ambled toward me, I did the same. His intense gaze cut through all my defenses, straight into my soul. That was Luca’s gift. He made me feel seen. He didn’t get distracted by the sparkles in my dress or the highlights in my hair. He saw me—all of me.
“Because you’re mine.” He cupped both my cheeks. “Do you understand? You can’t put yourself in that kind of danger ever again. I won’t allow it.”
“Luca.”
His mouth crushed mine with a searing kiss.
CHAPTER15
Last Chance to Save Yourself
Luca
“I’m going to break your heart, Donata,” I whispered on her lips. “You shouldn’t be here.”
“I don’t care.” She pressed her lips to mine. “Don’t send me away. You don’t have to worry about me.”
I chuckled because nothing could be further from the truth. I worried about Donata all the Goddamn time. She was volatile and impulsive. Tonight, she put herself in danger for no reason at all. She followed me to a clandestine club, simply because she was curious or bored, who the hell knew why?
And in doing so, she ruined the last chance I had to find the truth. Donata was a distraction I couldn’t afford. I shook my head to clear my thoughts. Every time I thought about how close I came to losing her, my chest tightened. I ached for her in a way I’d never done before. I had no idea when or how it happened, but I considered her mine. I didn’t care that Signoria Vittoria had greater plans for her.
Donata was mine. Mine to keep.
The problem was that Uncle Jimmy would never let me have her. Not in the way I wanted. To him, she was another pawn. I had to marry her, and at the same time, put all my feelings aside. Mainly because as soon as Donata found out why I let her back into my life, she would hate me.
I brushed my thumb over her soft cheek and her eyes fluttered closed. One day soon, she would stop looking at me with so much love and lust. A part of me, the decent part of me, knew I had to let her go. But how? I’d already had a taste of her. I wanted more.
“This is your last chance, Donata.” I brought my hand down to her neck and wrapped my fingers around it. “Last chance to save yourself.”
“I’m not going anywhere.” She planted a kiss on my chest. “I know what I want.”
“What’s going to happen when you tell your aunt about us? How do you think she’ll react? To see you with a soldier, and not the king she wanted for you.”
“Are you talking about Don Valentino? Rex’s dad?” She squinted at me. “I would never agree to that. She doesn’t own me. She can’t make me.”
“Signoria Vittoria has a way of always getting what she wants.” I pressed my forehead to hers. “Leave now before it’s too late.”
“It’s already too late, Luca. I’m in love with you.” She gripped the collar of my shirt. “I want only you.”
I was an asshole for doing this. Her aunt had already made plans to marry Donata to that old man. An alliance with the Valentino family would give the Salvatores a great advantage within the Society. Uncle Jimmy wanted to beat them at their own game. For that, he needed me and Donata’s obsession with me.
After the scandal Donata put me through five years ago, he guessed Donata had real feelings for me. He knew I would be able to swoop in and take her for myself. What he didn’t understand was that getting this close to Donata was dangerous. She had already left her mark on me. We weren’t playing a game anymore. What we had felt real.
