For Luca (Chicago Syndicate Book 2) (31 page)

She hick-ups while trying to speak. “I’m…sorry for not—”

“Don’t. There is absolutely no need for you to say you’re sorry – you did nothing wrong.” With both my hands on the side of her face, I pull her back to lock eyes with mine. “You don’t need to apologize, okay?”

She nods almost unnoticeably, and I kiss her forehead.

“You are so brave, and you’re one of the strongest women I know. After everything you’ve been through, look at how you keep going.” Not only did I underestimate her strength, but I completely undervalued the warrior hidden inside Fallon. “Do you want to talk about it with me?” I ask cautiously.

Shaking her head, she rejects the offer. “Do you?”

“I want what you want.”

“Then no, not now.”

“Let’s—” I’m cut off by the buzzer announcing that our food has arrived.

We eat on the sofa in companionable silence, sitting intimately close together, and I touch her continually to reassure her that I’m not angry in the least. Not at her, anyway; my fury will be unleashed on Ashton.

My resolve to talk about our relationship evaporates after reading her diary, and I can’t bring myself to push her for answers right now.

That night, as we fall asleep with our bodies entangled, arms and legs hooked together to find comfort in the warmth of each other, I come up with an idea to surprise her this weekend.

***

“Where are we going?” She grins at me excitedly as the sun is setting on this cold winter night.

“Stop fishing, Miss Impatient. And get in the car.”

After almost an hour of driving, we pass the sign she recognizes and beams at me. “The cabin. I love that cottage.”

“But wait, there’s more,” I counter while parking my Maserati in front of the cottage, equally eager because I want to spoil her, take her mind off of everything. Jumping out, I round the car to help her out and lead us to the door. After I unlock it, she steps inside, and her mouth drops open at the décor.

“Oh, Luca.”

Dozens of scented candles light the room, and the already-fired-up hearth warms the cottage. The aged wooden table is filled with desserts: chocolate muffins, crème brûlée, red velvet cake, and dark chocolate cake.

Swiveling around, she jumps into my arms, twining her arms and legs around me. I hold her up by her ass and lead us to sit in front of the fireplace while she presses her soft lips to mine.

I trace her mouth with my tongue before excitedly delving inside as she grinds her hips against me, and I hurriedly remove our coats while avoiding to break our kiss.

She lies back on the white angora rug, pulling me down with her. “I need your touch to make me feel safe again. I need to know that I’m still desirable to you. Make love to me.” Fallon rubs her palm over my hardening length through my dress slacks and coaxes my mouth open with her tongue.

All rational thoughts fly out the window. I grab her hips and push myself between her legs. Her soft moan spurs me on. “You will always be desirable to me, but I want you to talk to me, tell me what kind of intimacy you want. I want you to take the lead, and if at any time you want to stop, we’ll stop immediately, okay?” She covers a hand over my jaw, and I rub my cheek against her palm. “Talk to me.”

“I want it to be the way it always was, not different.”

My thumb strokes the corner of her full lips. “That I can do.” I wink and pull her sweater over her head and yank down her tank top to lavish her hard, pink nipple with my tongue, causing her to squirm and arch in anticipation. “Just focus on the pleasure I’m going to give you.” I place a feather light kiss on one nipple, and then the other.

With slow movements, constantly brushing my lips against her bare skin, I remove every item of clothing until she’s naked and lying back on the thick, white rug. I know exactly what she loves and plan to give it to her.

“Spread your legs,” I order while unbuttoning my collared shirt, and she pulls up her knees and lets her legs fall open seductively, offering herself to me.

I groan and strip my clothes as she watches me. My palms skim a path from her feet, up her legs, and over her outer thighs and hips as I kneel down. She trembles when I press my lips to her inner thigh, and her hands clench in my hair. Another kiss, a little higher, and then one right between her legs that causes her to moan, so I lick her once, briefly, just to tease.

“Ah… Luca.” Her breathing is shallow, full of expectation.

She starts to writhe and circle her hips, but I move up, kissing my way over her stomach and marking her by biting the curve of her breast, making her scream and moan my name. Taking her hands in mine, I intertwine our fingers while pinning them beside her head, and I grind my erection between her legs as I push my tongue into her mouth.

She has always been desirable to me, but I worship her voluptuous body with wider hips and fuller breasts even more now. As I move away from between her thighs, her eyes open lazily, and I stroke myself as she bites her lip.

“Sei da mozzare il fiato.”
You’re breathtaking.

CHAPTER 30

Fallon

“Sei da mozzare il fiato.”
You’re breathtaking.

I smile because that’s actually one of the first Italian phrases I Googled since he said that a lot when we first met.

His kisses have healed the wounds of pain and loss of the last few weeks. His touch slowly builds up my trust and makes me whole again, one step at a time, offering me a heavenly sense of security – what I’ve been longing for.

Luca’s smoldering eyes trace my naked body, and I get a magnificent view of his sculpted chest while he kneels beside me. My fingers explore his well-defined muscles, tracing the dark line of hair down from his navel as he hisses from my touch, locks eyes with me, and catches my wrist before I get to touch his erection.

“On your stomach,” he orders in a throaty voice, and I obey instantly.

I look back over my shoulder at him, expecting he’ll give me what I need: hard and fast.

Pulling me back up by my hips, he places his hand between my shoulder blades so that my cheek stays on the soft rug, and he bites the swell of my behind before moving his mouth over my center, the sensation intensified by my exposed position. His tongue pleasures me while I push back against his face, and he growls and sucks hard until I almost come. But then he stops, so I meet his eyes, and his salacious expression promises me so much more. I lift up, on my hands and knees now, as h
is fingers mesh into my hair and down my back.

He covers my body with his. “I’m going to give you what you want. I’m going to fuck you now, Fallon,” he whispers against my ear as he rubs the head of his arousal against my center.

Pushing in deeply with one hard thrust, he releases a long groan, and I moan loudly from the wonderful fullness.

He thrusts over and over, breathing harshly against my neck.
“Mi sei mancata.”
I missed you.

His chest leaves my back, and I whimper when Luca’s fingers dig into my hips as he keeps driving into me, and a deep rumble escapes him. Tingles ignite in my lower belly, and I climb to release as a thousand stars explode behind my eyelids. Luca rakes his nails down my back, slowing his movement, and then he moves me to my side and spoons me as we face the hearth. As I turn my head slightly, a wicked grin flicks across his face.

“We’re not done yet,” he murmurs.

I guide him as he lifts my leg to plunge in, his breath caressing my neck. Teeth graze my earlobe, and he hooks my leg underneath his arm, hugging me tightly to him while I arch my back to take him in deeper. Taking my hand, he tangles our fingers and grips my breast, massaging the swell roughly as he drives into me, panting in my hair.

Luca rolls back on the rug with one arm secured around my waist, spreading me wider as pleasure throbs through me. With my back to his front and his gasps hot on my ear, he cups me between my quivering thighs, giving me what I asked for.

“You have no idea how fucking good you feel… How much I’ve wanted you every day that we’ve been apart.” He pistons into me hard, bringing another climax trembling through my entire body before he releases in a long, low groan as I writhe on him.

Gently smoothing my hair back, he holds me to maintain our position as the fire crackles in the hearth. Then his low voice tickles my ear. “I couldn’t have stopped or taken it slow with you. You make me crazy with desire, and I just have to fuck you hard.”

Laughing, I roll off of him, and a loud crash outside makes Luca jolt up and immediately pull on his boxer briefs and pants.

“Dress,” he instructs harshly as he takes his gun from his suit jacket on the floor by the fireplace while I scramble for my clothes.

CHAPTER 31

Luca

“Dress.”

After I grab my Smith & Wesson, I hurriedly put my boxers and pants back on and head toward the window by the front door. Holding my gun against my chest, I inch the curtain open and witness a car slamming into the back of mine repeatedly. In the darkness of the night, the headlights of the other vehicle are blinding me so that I can’t see who’s driving it and whether I’m dealing with one or more people.

Turning back to Fallon, I see she’s in only her jeans and tank top. “Put on your shoes and sweater. Now!”

With round eyes, she obeys me immediately, and I yank on my dress shirt to quickly button it up and step into my shoes. Another slam outside and a bullet being fired
–
a sound I recognize instantly
–
has me pulling Fallon down behind the sofa as the window next to the front door shatters into a million pieces and an ice-cold breeze blows inside.

My suit jacket with my cellphone is out of reach, so I can’t call Adriano.

Shit!

“Who is it?” The tremble in her voice conveys her fear.

Jumping up with her hand clasped in mine, I drag Fallon to the back door of the cottage amid flying bullets and splintering wood, swiftly pulling her in front of me to cover her with my body. “Run fast, Fallon!” I shout while throwing open the back door as a bullet grazes right by my shoulder.

Looking back, I see the shooter hasn’t entered the cottage but is still shooting from outside, and I try to come up with a plan to keep her safe. My only concern is protecting her since I’m alone and have only one weapon: my handgun.

The woods behind the cottages are a known hunting zone with animal traps and underground blinds, and although it’s fucking dark now, it’s our only chance.

Pushing Fallon forward to urge her to hurry, I decide to take the lead again and drag her behind me as her breathing becomes erratic.

“I’m scared…slow down—” And she falls forward in the cold grass when I’m moving too quickly for her to keep up with me.

“Hurry.” I tug her up.
“Fuck!” I mutter when we run into the trees, and the moonlight barely illuminates the dark space.

Her hand is clutching mine tightly as I scan the ground, knowing there are small white signs where the traps and underground blinds are located. But in my panic to get her to safety, I have trouble finding one, and I can already hear our shooter running toward the woods. “Look for a white sign on the ground,” I whisper as we disappear deeper into the trees.

“I-I can barely see anything.” The nervousness in her voice is heartbreaking, so I slow down to hold her against my side with my gun still in my other hand, and we almost slam into a tree.

“You’re going to be fine.” Thankfully, my eyesight is adjusting to the darkness slightly.

The branches snap loudly as we make our path through the area, and Fallon’s body is trembling in distress and cold, but I can’t afford to slow down any more than I already have. Before I can reassure her again, I finally spot a white sign. I stop immediately and kneel down, patting the freezing dirt around the sign to try to find a handle or something.

Yes!

Pulling it open, I squint my eyes and feel around quickly to discover it’s a tiny space with only enough room to hold one individual. I haul her down beside me and cradle her head. “You have to get in there and stay! Understand?” I whisper-yell in a desperate tone.

She clasps my dress shirt with both hands. “No! What are
you
going to do?”

“Fallon, goddammit. I can’t afford to worry about you too right now. I have to know that you’re safe. You have to promise me you won’t come out. You have got to fucking listen to me.”

Footsteps are approaching. Our faces are barely an inch apart, so I can at least see her tear-filled eyes as darkness surrounds us, and I feel the wetness flowing down her cheek. I embrace her because I have a bad feeling about this, and she knows it because she holds me firmly around my middle, not wanting to release me.

Leaving a hard kiss on her forehead, I thumb away her tears. “Get in.”

Fear for her life has me on high alert as she folds herself into the space, and I press the lid closed. Then I kick the sign loose, cover it with a layer of dirt, and quickly run in another direction, leading whoever is following us away from her.