Luca's Bad Girl (12 page)

You mean nothing.

Suzy smiled up at Finn, disconcerted to find he wasn’t looking at her. ‘I thought you’d never ask.’

Finn dragged his gaze away from the emotions in Evie’s hazel eyes. There was hurt and disgust and even a touch of scorn.

And he deserved every one of them.

He threw another dazzler Suzy’s way before tucking her hand in his, straightening his back and making a beeline for the door.

Evie watched him go, a veritable storm of emotions raging inside. Anger, repulsion, despair.

Where was the Finn from earlier? The one who had leaned into her and told her she was brilliant?

She looked back to find Pete watching her. He was holding up a cold beer and a shot glass and his gaze radiated warmth and sympathy.

Thank God for Pete.

CHAPTER SEVEN

T
WENTY
minutes later Charlie drained his glass and stood. ‘I’m going to go and check on my patient.’

‘That’s very dedicated of you,’ Mia teased, wishing both he and Carl would leave so she could drag Luca into the nearest dark corner and have him finish what he started, instead of taunting her in secret with those very clever fingers.

But she’d soon learned that two could play at his game and Luca was looking decidedly uncomfortable himself.

‘Of course the delectable Nurse Barry has nothing to do with it,’ Carl added.

Charlie grinned. ‘I’m affronted, Carl.’ And grinned again.

Carl tossed back his beer. ‘Hang on, then, I’ll walk you out.’

They said their goodbyes and Luca and Mia were finally left alone. Luca dropped his mouth to her ear. ‘You’re going to pay for that. Let’s go. Now.’

Mia smiled as his voice, thick with lust, emphasised his accent. A surge of anticipation tightened her pelvic floor. ‘If you can’t take it,’ she murmured, sliding slowly out of the booth, ‘you shouldn’t be dishing it out.’

‘Here you are, Mia. Sorry I’m late,’ Evie said, plonking herself down on the opposite seat, pushing a tray of orange juice, beer and shot glasses onto the table. ‘I’m warning you now, I plan on getting very, very drunk.’

Mia shut her eyes briefly
. Damn. Evie.

Luca’s caress had managed to erase all trace of the reason she’d come to Pete’s tonight in the first place. She glanced at Luca, saw lust rippling through the dark chocolate pools of his eyes and felt everything clench. She forced herself to look away.

‘I can see that,’ Mia murmured, as Evie raised the shot glass to her lips.

‘Oh, hello, Luca,’ Evie said as she slammed down the first shot and lined up her second. ‘So glad you’re here. Maybe you can explain to me how the male mind works?’

Luca looked from Mia to Evie and back to Mia again. He’d had a vision of how the evening was going to pan out and this had not been part of it. He watched as Evie threw back her second shot and knew enough about women to know that he had one too many y chromosomes to be a part of this conversation.

He glanced at Mia, who shrugged an apology at him, a small smile playing on her lips. He stroked up the centre seam of her jeans and was gratified to see the smile disappear.

He patted her leg twice. ‘I think I’ll go and leave you lovely ladies to it.’

Mia scooted out and Luca followed her, her rear end at an enticing level before he stood and towered over her.

He nodded at Evie. ‘Goodnight.’

Evie grunted something as she contemplated her
third shot and he turned to Mia. ‘I’ll see you …’ he quirked an eyebrow at her ‘… soon?’

Mia watched as Evie downed another tequila. ‘Later.’ She grimaced.

Luca dropped his gaze to her mouth then sighed. ‘Later.’

It was low and raw and whispered along her nerve endings and Mia felt decidedly wobbly as she slid back into the booth, her insides melting.

‘Are you okay?’ she asked Evie, refusing to turn and watch Luca walk out of the bar. Pete had already given her a speculative look as she’d sat—she didn’t want anyone else in the bar wising up.

Evie shook her head. ‘Nope. But I will be.’ She slammed another shot back. ‘Real soon.’

Mia sipped her orange juice. ‘You won’t be in the morning.’

‘Well, I have two days until I’m back on shift to recover.’

Mia pushed the beer towards her friend and dragged the tray with three more shots on it out of reach. ‘You may well need them.’

Evie didn’t protest, just sipped at her beer.

‘Carl was telling me you had a pretty harrowing time in Theatre with Finn. Tell me about it.’

Evie raised her eyes to her best friend. ‘Oh, Mia, it was the most incredible thing I’ve ever witnessed. Finn was … he was … magnificent.’ She sipped her beer again. ‘And then he went and acted like a total jerk.’

Mia nodded. ‘Okay, start at the beginning.’

Three hours later Evie had unburdened and Mia had managed to stagger home with her and put her to bed.
She left a jug of water, a glass and two tablets by Evie’s bed for when she woke up feeling like someone was drilling for oil in her brain, her mouth as dry and putrid as the newspaper that lined a budgie cage.

She watched her friend sleep for a moment. Evie really had it bad. She didn’t know it yet, of course, but a man who drove a girl that crazy was more than some nutty crush.

Which was why her way was much better. Give them your body but keep your heart and mind out of contention. Use them for sex then walk away.

Like her and Luca.

Except she hadn’t walked away, had she?

She looked at Evie’s face, troubled even in an alcohol-induced slumber. If this was what pining after a man got you then she wanted no part of it.

She had to end it with Luca.

After tonight.

Mia glanced at Evie’s bedside clock—it was nearly one in the morning. Would Luca be awake?

She remembered how hard he’d been beneath his jeans as she’d fondled him under the table.

He’d be awake.

Her own body was still humming like an electrical substation generating enough heat to power the entire eastern seaboard.

She smiled to herself as she hurried to her bedroom, stripping off her clothes, pulling her hair out of its ponytail, opening her wardrobe, yanking her long winter coat off its hanger and stepping into its folds, the lining cool against her bare, heated flesh. She overlapped the edges and tied the cord securely around her waist—there
were buttons but they were going to take too long to undo for her purposes.

Mia inspected herself in the mirror. She looked very modest in the calf-length coat and heels. Should she, on the slim off chance at after one in the morning, happen to bump into someone in the lift, they couldn’t possibly be aware she didn’t have a stitch on under the coat.

Neither would Luca.

Mia smiled at her reflection. All she needed was a little eye make-up and some lippy and she’d be perfect for an early-morning booty call.

Hell, if this was going to be their last time, she might as well blow his mind.

Luca was brooding in front of his magnificent bay window when he heard the knock. He allowed himself a smile for the first time since arriving home alone with a raging hard-on over three hours ago.

Anticipation tightened his groin as he stalked to the door and yanked it open to find a rugged up Mia leaning casually against the jamb.

‘Oh, good.’ She smiled. ‘You’re awake.’

Luca sucked in a breath. Her hair was loose and her eyes were heavily kohled in shades of grey and black, emphasising their blueness. Her mouth was painted fire-engine red. He moved in close until their bodies were almost touching. ‘It’s hard to sleep in my condition,’ he murmured.

Mia pouted. ‘Poor darling. Can I come in? I could help you with that.’

Luca’s gaze drifted to her mouth. ‘Are you sure? I wouldn’t want you entering into a recipe for disaster.’

Mia laughed as devilish memories from Pete’s surfaced.
Luca touching her under the table, stroking between her legs. She lifted a finger and traced his bottom lip, almost moaning out loud when he sucked it into his mouth. ‘Carl’s a sore loser,’ she whispered.

Luca, his body taut with longing, swirled his tongue around her finger and gently released it. ‘Come in, take your clothes off. You are way overdressed.’

He stepped back and Mia strode into the room. The heat enveloped her and she turned to find Luca watching her from the shut door. She untied the coat and shrugged out of it. It fell to the floor and she was standing before him in nothing but a pair of heels.

‘Will this do?’ she asked.

Luca’s brain temporarily powered down as his hungry gaze ate up her body. Her long legs, the jut of her breasts, the flare of her hips, the shadow of her sex.

Mia’s nipples hardened at the intensity of his scrutiny. It felt more intimate than if he’d touched her and she suddenly felt like he could see right inside her. She fought the urge to cover herself.

Luca swallowed. ‘Spin around.’

His husky command spread tentacles of heat through her belly and she performed a slow teasing rotation, looking over her shoulder at him as she circled her hips like she’d seen once in a documentary on pole dancing.

Luca’s belly clenched tight. He pushed away from the door and was in front of her, reaching for her in seconds, his hands sliding around her waist, his mouth descending.

And then he was kissing her and she was kissing him back. Long, deep, wet kisses that had her gasping and sighing and begging for more as she pulled at his clothes, desperate for some skin on skin.

Her nipples rubbed against his naked chest and Luca groaned deep in his throat. Then he swept her up into his arms and strode through the apartment, their mouths locked, their hearts beating to a rhythm that pulsed like a rock concert through the air around them.

Luca reached his bed and threw her on it. Mia was startled as she free-fell, landing softly but breathing hard. Somewhere along the way she’d lost her heels so she was one hundred per cent naked now.

She looked up at a half-undressed Luca. His lips were moist from their kissing, his shirt was half off, his zipper undone.

‘You look good,’ she murmured.

Luca grinned. ‘You look better.’

Then he was stripping off his clothes, reaching for a condom, sheathing himself, then joining her, tangling his limbs with hers, kissing her mouth and her neck and her breasts, ignoring her entreaties to finish it as he licked lower. And lower.

It wasn’t until she lay spent beneath him that he succumbed to his own body’s dictates, entering her slowly, revelling in her exultant cry, rocking and pulsing, building her again until he was pounding and pounding, pushing them both to impossible heights and then pushing them both over into oblivion.

It was several minutes before either of them was physically able to speak. Luca, who was now lying on his back, recovered first.

‘Do you realise this is the first time we’ve actually done it in a bed?’

Mia, her brain cells still reorganising themselves after a mass meltdown, just nodded. It took her another
couple of minutes to process and for a spike of worry to register.

Somehow landing in Luca’s bed made this whole thing seem more intimate. The other places had personified their relationship—the on-call room, the shower, the kitchen bench. Quick and impersonal.

Places to get off then move on.

They had spelled temporary, fleeting, momentary.

But to be in his bed, in his bedroom? What the hell did that spell?

Mia didn’t think it was prudent to stick around and find out. Just as soon as she could move without her legs collapsing, she was out of here. The perfect opportunity arose when Luca went to the bathroom to relieve himself of the condom but her legs refused to co-operate so she was still lying stark naked on his bed when he returned.

‘You look good there,’ Luca murmured as he approached the bed.

Mia watched him draw nearer, unashamedly naked, his beautiful smooth face and body a sight to behold. Desire stirred in her belly.

Right, that was it!
Get up now, McKenzie!

Except the phone beside Luca’s bed chose that moment to ring, scaring the living daylights out of her. She glanced at the clock. ‘Who on earth is ringing at this ungodly hour?’

Luca felt his heart rate accelerate.
People who lived in places where it wasn’t an ungodly hour.

He reached the phone in three purposeful strides and snatched it up.
‘Ciao.’

Mia saw another chance to escape but Luca talking in his native tongue was such a treat, even if she didn’t
understand a word, she just lay and listened to him. He sat on the side of the bed his back to her, and she resisted the urge to run her palm up and down the broad expanse of his ribs. To contrast the white of her skin with the tantalising copper of his.

The first sign that the phone call wasn’t social was Luca raising his voice. He raked his hand through his hair and seemed to be demanding something of the caller. She heard the word ‘
nonna
’ a lot. Wasn’t that Italian for grandmother? Had something happened to his grandmother?

There was some more rapid-fire conversation before Luca hung up, tossing the hands-free receiver onto the bedside table with a clatter.

Mia pushed herself up on to her elbows, staring at the solid wall of his back. ‘Is everything okay?’ she asked tentatively.

Luca dragged himself back from the brink of the abyss the phone call had taken him to. For a moment he’d forgotten Mia was even there. He was inordinately pleased she was.

Which didn’t sit well at all.

He rubbed the back of his neck. ‘No. That was a cousin of mine. My grandmother is dead.’

Mia heard the husky rawness behind the blunt delivery and in that instant she forgot that she was naked, forgot that she was supposed to have already gone, forgot that she didn’t get involved. The driving need to offer him comfort, as she would do anyone—a friend, a patient a colleague—overrode everything.

She sat and scooted over to him shunting in behind him, spreading her legs to accommodate him, his bottom
fitting snugly into the cradle of her pelvis, her thighs bracketing his.