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“Your fucking phone. Give it to me.”
“But.” He scrambled to his feet then looked through several pockets before he found it in the back pocket of his trousers. With a trembling hand, he offered it to Luca.
Luca snatched it, then grabbed Nathan by the collar to shove his face on the screen in order to unlock the phone. He tapped on the screen, then tossed it back to Nathan. “I have your number now. Go home. I will be in touch.”
“Who are you?”
“Get the fuck out of my sight.” Luca pointed toward the street.
When Nathan was out of sight, Luca slowly turned to look at me. I’d assumed he’d be mad at me for taking off without shoes or my phone or proper clothes. But he wasn’t. He simply looked at me as if he was seeing me for the first time. As if he didn’t believe I was real. He didn’t move or make any attempt to touch me or comfort me.
I was angry and feeling incredibly jealous. But I knew I had no right to be either of those things. Luca wasn’t mine. Our gazes locked. And in that moment, I realized I didn’t care if he’d been in love before. He fought a man in a dark alley to save me. I searched for the right words to tell him what his gesture meant to me, but I didn’t know what to say to him.
You came.
Thank you.
I still love you.
“You’re hurt.” I pointed to his bleeding hand.
He shot a quick glance at it and dismissed it just as fast. I opened my mouth again, but before I could say anything else, he took two long strides and swooped me into his arms. I stared at his profile to get a clue as to what he was thinking, but he had his poker face on as he carried me out of the scary alley. Past the two buildings, the sun shone low in the sky and blinded me. I nestled my head in the nook between his neck and shoulder and let the tears flow.
He held me tighter as he walked back to the house and didn’t slow down until we were back inside his brownstone. Alfred met us in the foyer with wide eyes and red cheeks. When he saw us, he asked a bunch of questions that were muffled by the thumping in Luca’s chest. Whatever he’d asked, Luca’s only response was a slight shake of his head. But that was enough to send Alfred out of the room.
“I want to go home.”
“No.” He carried me upstairs and straight into his bathroom.
He set me down in the shower stall and ran the water. When it was warm, he removed his clothes and grabbed a loofah. He squeezed body wash on it then began to wash all the soot off my legs and arms. When he finished, I let him peel off my dirty T-shirt and boxer briefs. He took his time shampooing my hair and running his hands over my face to wipe away my tears.
Even after I’d been thoroughly cleaned, he continued to run his hands over my body. I could only assume he was looking for signs that I’d been hurt physically. But truly, the biggest injury inflicted on me today was finding out that Luca was in love with someone else.
“Luca.”
“You’re not allowed to leave this house ever again.” He pressed his forehead to mine. “Do you understand?” He kissed my cheek, where Nathan’s handprint still stung.
“What do you care?”
“Jesus, Donata. You’re killing me.”
“You started this. Not me. I had already moved on.” That last bit wasn’t exactly true. I hadn’t moved on, but I had resolved to let him be. “Why did you pull me back in? Why make me do all those things in your class?”
“I think you’ve had enough for one day. Let’s go to bed.” He brushed his lips softly over mine.
“Were you madly in love with her?”
“What?” He scoffed, meeting my gaze. “Is that why you ran off? Why you put yourself in danger?”
“I needed time to think. Away from you. I can’t do that when you’re near.”
“You put yourself in danger.”
“I didn’t know he’d be out there. Besides, I had it all under control.” I didn’t want Luca to know how terrified I’d been when I realized Nathan truly believed he could do with me whatever he wanted. “I didn’t need you to come save me.”
“You didn’t need me?” He cupped my face. “The guy was on top of you. If I hadn’t found you when I did, who knows how far he would’ve taken it. Don’t you get it? There’s a really big possibility that Ava died because of this game. Tell me you’re not this stupid.”
“I’m not. I don’t need you. Aunt Vittoria will fix this.”
