Luca (I Love the Way You Lie #1) (22 page)

“Oh, that’s heaven,” I said, reveling in the rich, chocolaty taste. “Is that German chocolate?”

“Belgium,” he responded quickly by placing another piece in my mouth.

“God, that’s so good, Oliver,” I said, looking at his darkened eyes alit with passion. My pulse spiked, my skin feverish. Oh fuck, what was happening?

He leaned over, thumbing the corner of my mouth. “You’ve got some chocolate on you.”

Then, he slowly brought it to his mouth, sucking the remnants off. “That’s heaven right there.”

I sat perfectly still, afraid to break the spell and afraid that he’d created this spell. He moved his face close to mine. His clean scent was all man. I held my breath, not daring to take another inhale.

“It’s time, Allison. Time to stop living in the past,” he said, kissing the corners of my mouth softly. “Be mine, Allie. Be mine…”

I closed my eyes and his lips took hold of mine. His kiss was commanding. It was impossible to refuse such a man—a man who took after giving so much of himself over the years. I opened, letting him set the pace. His hand held firmly to the back of my neck as he deepened the kiss, completely taking over my mind and body.

In the distance, the clang of fire-engine horns rang out, breaking the spell. “What the fuck?” Oliver jumped up, looking over the rooftop toward the pavement below. “There’s smoke coming from below.”

I ran over to see. “Fire?” I asked, biting my nails. Fuck. The penthouse was the last fucking place I wanted to be during a potential fire. Now, my pulse spiked for an entirely different reason. I thought I was going to have a panic attack. “Should we use the elevator?” I asked, trying to figure out the best possible way down. Images of the Towering Inferno flipped through my head. Christ.

Oliver looked up from his phone and grabbed my hand. “We’ve got to go.” We briskly walked to the elevator and waited for what felt like ten minutes. It opened and we stepped in. His arm drew me close to his body.

The alarm in the elevator was entirely different. Clang. Clang. Clank. I held my hands over my eyes.

“Sshhh, it’s probably something in the kitchen. I’m sure this is just a precaution.” He kissed the top of my head. I kept quiet. It wasn’t very likely that fire trucks would be called for a kitchen fire, I thought. But I didn’t want to go all doom and gloom on him.

The door opened and we were ushered out in one giant mass of people, everyone herding together trying to get through the revolving doors. I hate those doors. We pushed our way through the crowd. My hand grabbed Oliver’s and I made my way to the single fire door, pushing it open. There was a lot of smoke outside. Police and fireman were pushing people away from the building into the street. I looked up, thanking god that we were out. Fuck, that’s a long way up. My neck craned, looking to where we were ten minutes before.

We walked over to the barricades being set up and Oliver got a hold of a fireman. “Hey, where’s the fire?”

The twenty-something rookie looked up and smiled, recognizing Oliver. “Wow, must be my lucky day. My first fire and I get to meet Oliver Sven.” Oliver shook his hand. “Decent fire in the alleyway off the kitchen. A couple of vats of grease went up. You know how flammable that stuff is. Shouldn’t be long, though.” Then he joined the rest of his battalion. Wow, these guys were no joke. Four fire trucks from two different battalions. I sat back, watching the madness unfold.

Oliver nodded and turned to me. “I’m going to take you home.”

“Okay.”

His car was still parked out front. He grabbed the keys from the attendant and opened my door. I slid into the car, unable to shake the sick feeling we could have been hurt. Unease crept its spindly fingers over my skin. Oliver’s silence didn’t help my mood, either. I mean, shit happens. This time, the car ride was slow…painfully slow. “You sure you’re okay?”

“Yes,” was all he said. I hated his one word answer with a passion. It didn’t feel okay at all. It felt awkward.

“Well, it doesn’t feel okay,” I said softly.

We pulled up in front of my building and he turned the engine off. “It’s fine. I’m just a little freaked out and it’s not how I pictured this night going. I guess I’m just disappointed.”

Yeah, I got that. It was kind of scary. However, we were both fine and so was the hotel. “I had a great night,” I said, feeling the need to make him feel better and fill the silence with something positive. “Like, an unbelievably great night.”

He smiled widely. “I’m glad, and so did I. I wanted…”

I leaned over the armrest touching his face. “I know.” I kissed him softly. “It’s not the last time we’re going to see each other so…”

“Nope, I’ll be back in town in May. Rain check?” he said, kissing my nose.

“Rain check.”

He came around, opening my door, and walked me to my door. I hugged him with all my might, silently thanking him for being the man he is. “I’ll see you soon, pretty girl. Text, call me, whatever. I’ll be up.”

I nodded and watched as he left. It was bittersweet. There was no denying there was something between us. What, I didn’t have a name for yet. But soon, I’d hope to.

A movement to my left caught my attention. “Hello?” I waited, squinting to make out the shape beyond the tree. “Hello? I’m not in the mood for games. Whoever you are, just keep walking.”

A man stepped forward, just edging out of the darkness. He was dressed in all black so I couldn’t make out any of his features. He stood perfectly still. What in the world is he doing? Trying to scare me? Flick. Flick. Flick. Tiny bursts of light from the flint revealed a dark hoody. I sucked in a breath, turned, and ran into my house, locking the door.

It’s not him. It’s not him. It’s not him
, I chanted.
You’re fucking crazy and now you’re imaging things you want to happen. He’s not coming back—ever
.

Tonight was the first night I took sleeping medications in a few years…

I spent my days with the fever of expectation and disappointment, and my nights consumed with having her in my arms. The weeks dragged on like years, leaving me in a vile mood. I didn’t
need
air to breathe. I
needed
her, and it was fucking with me hard. My cock was perpetually hard with need of relief. I refused to give into it. She would be under me—pinned—when I did. The monster in me was rearing its ugly head. The darkness threatened to crush me. My obsession left me in tormented anguish. Images of Sven with my girl infected me, leaving me openly wounded. Fire, my constant ally, put an end to his time with her. He’s lucky I didn’t rip his fucking heart out. Oh, it fucking crossed my mind and I ached for his death. If it hadn’t been for Archer, he’d be long gone. However, I’d most likely be in jail. And I couldn’t do that to my Allison—leave her alone and vulnerable for another creeper to sink his claws into her. Instead, the fire had danced across the W’s kitchen, creating a perfect diversion. My body glowed in the darkness and my heart swelled with pride. Fuck, it’s been a long time. And it felt good. I felt alive—again. No, he would never have her.
She is mine
. His days as a staple in her life were numbered. That fact kept me going as my campaign for Allison’s heart came to life.

The day of the gala was finally here. My body was knotted, mangled, and aching.

My blood, sweat, and sanity went into making sure this event was perfect. This morning, I walked the grounds with the staff, Mrs. Blakeman, and her snobby entourage of misfits. Archer chose to spend the morning wrapping up loose ends at the office. We were meeting at the gym to train with Gunner. My body needed to be put through a rigorous workout to keep my mind off seeing her tonight. Half-crazed by the thought, my cock twitched in my shorts. Brooklyn Botanical Garden was tucked away in an oasis of trees, flower borders, and pastoral lawns—green color and life everywhere. This gesture was a true symbol of rebirth, relight, and a reawakening of old feeling and a new beginning. With fifty-two acres of flora and twelve thousand different flowering plants, I sure hoped the symbolism wasn’t lost on her. I’ve waited seven long, arduous fucking years for this day. Until we both had careers and matured into who we are today. All I ever wanted was to be the man—her man—that she could be proud of. Not the monster most thought of me.

We passed the lily-pool I had requested and I hoped this wasn’t lost on Allison. It was our first time together. Tonight, I’d start by reminding her of all the memories and emotions of our past. I took a moment to myself, taking in the sinuous floor-to-ceiling glass atrium where cherry blossoms hung stunningly to the floor. I could hardly wait to see it tonight with all the white twinkle lights I knew she loved. I smiled to myself, checking my watch. It was time to meet Archer. I thanked everyone and left to start my day.

We all entered the cage, Gunner, our MMA instructor beside us. I snapped my headgear on. We tapped gloves and it was on.

“Come on, you big pussy.” Archer’s jesting started immediately. Fucking big mouth. We boxed around for a minute before we started with kicks and punches.

“Fuck your mother,” I said with a right jab. He deflected easily.

“Let’s not talk about my mother’s titty-baby.” He kicked. I checked it easily. We were both dedicated to the sport and had a deep understanding of it.

“Let’s take off the gloves, you little cunt,” I said, easily taking him down. With my hand on his stomach between his legs, Archer went for the Kimura defense. I wedged my arm between my belly and his, reinforcing it so he couldn’t break free. My right arm extended free to punch him. He tapped out. However, anger now flashed in his eyes. Archer was a fierce competitor, and I respected that about him. We were so much alike and yet so fucking different.

He approached, gloves up and ready. “I’d say yes to bare-knuckle any day of the week. But you can’t get that handsome face fucked up before your big night.”

This was true. While I thrived on the thrill of pain. I didn’t want Allison to see me bruised and bloody. I doubted that would be a good first impression after so many years. I moved closer to his face, putting my nose to his. “Rain check?” I said the words I knew would be about more fury in me than any other. Not that Archer realized that. Sven’s last words to Allison, and I wanted to hurt something or someone big-time.

“Deal,” he threw a crisp left hook, but I slipped the shot and charged inside.

I took him to the ground again with a haai goshi, a hip sweep from judo. I used his momentum against him. He sailed ass-over-elbow through the air and I slammed him hard to the mat.
That’s fucking right, big mouth,
I thought. I had something he didn’t—rage and jealously coursing my veins.

“Argh.” The air whooshed from his lungs. Satisfaction all over my face, I smiled. Like a jungle predator I was on him. Elbow to the top of his head, knee to his kidney, a forearm shiver to the base of his jaw that landed with the force of a metal pipe. In the octagon, we were animals and pretty much everything went. I knew Archer was doing this mostly for me. That selflessness not lost on me, either. I needed this outlet so tonight I could be the tamest I have been in weeks. This was more than a physical release. It was an emotional one.

Triangle chokehold, I locked him in a figure-four that gave him no options, defense, and no way to counter-attack. He had no air. Tapping out was his only option. Rage consumed me. Hate for Sven finally at the surface. I began to squeeze and squeeze. He was purple, eyes bulging and Gunner was yelling over my shoulder. Archer tapped. I released my grip, breathing just as hard.

Archer wheezed, rubbing his neck as I helped him up. “You feel better, dude?”

An eerie quiet finally filled me. I did feel better, lighter, and calmer. “Yes.” I grabbed us two drinks, throwing him his.

Gunner walked over to us. “What the fuck was that?” He looked between us.

Archer drank, gulping his water down and poured the rest over his head. “Relationships fuck with men.”

Gunner nodded and looked at me. “Fucking chicks.” He shook his head, directing us to the heavy bags. Now, an hour at the bag and I should be good.

We wrapped knuckles tightly to protect them and waited at the bag for Gunner. “Remember, memories are lodged in the tissue of the body. Not just your mind.” He pointed to his head. “We free ourselves through touch and breath. When you free the body, and not just the mind, you increase your chances of a person becoming a different performer in the world. Capable of taking different actions and not just thinking differently.” And this was why he got paid top dollar. It was more than just physical conditioning. It was mental. And I needed all the fucking help in the world.