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Chapter 10
Luca walked back and forth in front of Teagan, making her mighty uncomfortable. Every time she tried to speak, he glared at her until she shut her mouth.
Finally, after what felt like an eternity but was, realistically, more like five minutes, he turned to her and asked, "What am I going to do with you, darlin'?"
"I think you mentioned hugging and kissing me tonight," Teagan said quietly. Luca laughed. Teagan's tension drained some at the sound, her shoulders relaxing. She was suddenly hit with a feeling of pure exhaustion. Luca stopped in front of her and reached for her, pulling her into his embrace. He held her there, resting his chin on the top of her head. Teagan wasn't about to question his actions; she'd take the hug over the ranting and raving he had been doing, or worse, the silence and anticipation of things to come.
"Tim is going to bring your car around at the end of the shift. We both know you can't get into your house without it, so I'm taking you home to my place. I'd like you to spend the night again, but I won't force you. What do you say?"
"Okay." Just like that. She didn't think about it. She didn't hesitate. She didn't give herself the opportunity to run. That was all the confirmation he needed. Like Octavius had done a moment before with Ro, Luca took Teagan's hand and headed out of the building, only stopping to get their coats off the chair they had dropped them on. He held hers open for her, and she quickly bundled up, knowing the temperatures outside had to have dropped. He picked up Trident's leash and opened the door. Teagan was right. It was frigid outside.
It only took a moment for the car to warm up, and they were on their way. Neither said anything on the drive, but it didn't feel like the ride from Sleazy's to S.E.A.L. The anger wasn't boiling underneath the surface anymore. It was a calm atmosphere, sizzling with sexual arousal. The electricity between them was constant. Once in the garage, Teagan sat patiently and waited.
Luca came around, leaned over, undid her seatbelt and helped her out of the car, just as he had two days before. How had it only been two days? Teagan thought. It felt like much longer. Two days. The amount of time Luca had allotted to her for a decision. Two days. It wasn't long, but if Teagan were to be honest, they had been playing the flirting game for two months. He was a fine man. He was honest, hardworking, and respectful. They had laughed a lot, and she had grown comfortable with him. There was no denying his character or his sexy body.
"Let's go into the kitchen and get something warm to drink," Luca said. She was getting used to him giving orders. She hadn't liked it at first, but now it was growing on her. He pulled out the bar stool that was tucked into the kitchen island and motioned for her to sit. Trident came and sat on her feet.
"Trident's a great judge of character," Luca said, bending to scratch the dog between his ears.
"He's lovely. I've always liked dogs more than people."
"Growing up on a ranch, I spent more time with animals than people. Animals are great. They don't judge you. If you treat an animal right, you have a friend for life," Luca agreed as he took out a saucepan.
"What are you making?"
"It's too late for coffee. I'm going to make up a batch of my famous warm milk with chocolate."
"You mean hot chocolate?"
"Something like that." He winked at her. She watched as he expertly mixed cocoa powder, sugar and a dash of salt in a small bowl. He poured some water into the pan, brought it to a boil and added the ingredients. After stirring, he moved the pan off the heat and poured in the milk. Without measuring, he dashed some vanilla before getting down two mugs.
"Marshmallows or whipped cream?"
"Both!" Teagan exclaimed, clapping her hands.
"You are adorable, darlin'. Both, it is." He topped her mug with mini marshmallows, pulled out a can of Reddi-Wip and sprayed the top.
"Thank you! This is delicious," she sighed happily, a whipped cream mustache appearing above her upper lip.
"Almost as delicious as you," Luca said, leaning in and licking the whipped cream off her lip. "Come, let's go sit in front of the fire."
She set her hot chocolate on the end table and curled up on the corner of the couch, tucking her feet underneath her. Luca handed her his mug before sitting next to her. She handed it back once he was comfortable and picked up her own. She watched the fire dancing in front of her in the gas fireplace, surprised by the warmth already radiating off of it, and drank her hot chocolate.
"You are beautiful," Luca said. Teagan felt herself blush.
"Thank you."
"I'm glad you decided to take a chance on us, Teagan. I had hoped upon hope you wouldn't say no to me. I told you what I would expect out of you and your behavior, did I not?"
Teagan startled at the change in Luca's demeanor. "Yes, I guess you did."
"How about, yes, Daddy?" Luca said. "It might be strange at first, but it'll come naturally. I think you were close to saying it the other night, weren't you, darlin'?"
She had been. She had started to say it; it was rolling off of her lips when he'd tucked her into bed, but she had stopped. She simply nodded as an answer to his question.
"No, darlin'. When Daddy asks you a question, he expects a verbal answer every time. Open and honest communication is a must. A headshake can be misinterpreted. Now, I just told you how I wanted you to answer. I don't much like repeating myself. You were about to call me Daddy the other night, weren't you?"
"Yes, Daddy." It was awkward.
