Lucca's Lust: The Luminara Series Book 3 (13 page)

I am completely honest and I never leave her direct eye gaze. When she asks me about her colleague Mark and why I called him, I fluster and need to think quickly. I cannot tell her I made him an offer, tried to bribe him, and put him in an awkward position, but I do not want to lie to her either.

“I said I hoped you were off somewhere nice, and he mentioned you were going to Italy. Of course, I asked where in Italy. He said somewhere in Tuscany, and I thought this was a huge coincidence as I knew I would be here too, but it is a big place. The chances of meeting you were slim. Until I saw you so distressed this evening, I could not believe that you were even standing in front of me. Beautiful, taking my breath away, and then you looked pained to see me. I had the wind taken from me when you cried and ran away.” I frown and hold my finger on my forehead and temple.

Fuck! I am a complete prick. I only hope Mark never told her exactly what I said because she will definitely think I am a stalker and run a fucking mile.

Thankfully she does not challenge me on it. Maybe this dude Mark is a gentleman and never warned her to stay away from me after all. I might just drop his rent and give him a bonus. The guy has just saved my sorry ass.

“It was a surprise to see you here, but not in a bad way. It was a very pleasant surprise for me. I am very happy to see you again. I wish you would believe that,” I add because I need her to know despite the fact it is a mindfuck for me too, it is an overwhelming and complete surprise.

Lexi seems distraught, but I will her to know it is an exceptionally nice and welcomed surprise for me. The best fucking surprise. I hope she believes me.

“Now it is my turn,” I add, moving a sexy little wave of hair behind her ears. It does not sit well with her. She has been standoffish, similar to the way she was when I asked her to go on a date with me.

“Why did you run away from me? And why are you so uptight and anxious. Have I offended or upset you?” I ask before sipping some wine.

“No, you haven’t offended me. I just can’t talk about it. I’m sorry if I hurt your feelings. I just have personal issues that I don’t handle particularly well, and many of these problems have challenged me over the past two days. I guess I was alarmed to see you and my mind over-complicated my thoughts to be able to think rationally.” Her voice is broken and her cheeks are heated.

Shit, that was not the answer I was expecting. All I can think about is who fucking did this to her. What the fuck did the ex-boyfriend do to make her like this? Some guy has fucked her over and maybe I look like him or remind her of him. I do not know but she refuses to let me in.

One of my first encounters with Jasmine plays out in my mind. She was withdrawn the same way Lexi is now. Understandably, she was ill and battling cancer, but she had secrets, things to hide, and I get the same horrible gut feeling that Lexi is covering something up. It makes me think that some guy has broken her fucking heart and screwed her over.

If there was any a miniscule of doubt that I wanted to help Lexi before, then it has been zapped from me. I want to help her, care for her, and protect her more than my next breath. The thought of her being used sickens me. She is fucking beautiful, sweet, and precious for fuck’s sake. What sort of dickhead could treat her so badly that she would be as vulnerable as she is?

“Lexi, you panicked. I obviously intimidate you in some way because when you saw me in the villa, you looked petrified. I do not understand why. And your friend was reluctant to leave you. It fucking cuts me up that I would stress you out like that. Fuck …” I shove my hands through my hair. I want to lift her up and wrap her in my arms.

I want to kiss away the bruises in her mind. I want to kiss away her secrets. I want to tenderly kiss her heart. I want to kiss every inch of her to show her how special she is, and I want to kiss my way into her future. Hopefully forever.

“Why do I scare you? Please let me put this right,” I beg, plead, and sound irrational, but I need to do this. I want to do this.

She goes on about the coincidence of us both being here and lists off excuses. I am not buying it. She is lying. I watch the way her lip trembles, her body recoiling.

“You are not being honest, I can tell, but you are tired and you are stressed, so I am not going to press it just now.” I pull her against me when I see her shake. I think it might be a mixture of her nerves and feeling cold.

My arms wrap around her slim, feminine little body perfectly. She melts against me, relaxing in my embrace, and snuggles into the crook of my neck. Fuck, I cannot get her close enough to me. She feels perfect. Resting my chin on her head, I stroke her bare arms trying to heat her up and soothe her.

The familiar smell I remember from the clinic invades my senses. Shampoo and body cream smelling of nuts and that sweet smelling floral and musky fragrance she wears. Her skin is soft under my hands, breaths ragged against my neck, and the faint beat of her heart vibrates against my chest.

Sweet fucking Jesus. The woman was made to be wrapped in my arms. I could close my eyes and caress her here all night long. I could scoop her up and place her on my lap and hold her cheeks in both my hands and kiss her lips. I could run my hands all over that sexy body until she liquefied against me. But I cannot just yet. She needs to set the pace. She needs to let me in.

“Is this too much? If you are uncomfortable or I am hurting you, please tell me,” I croon, my lips brushes against her soft hair.

“No, I think it’s just what I needed tonight.
To feel safe
,” she whispers in that sexy, womanly way.

Always, baby. Always safe in my arms if I have anything to do with it.

“Fuck, Doc, you will always be safe around me. The minute I saw you crying, I wanted to cradle you in my arms to comfort you. I seriously felt like I was being kicked in the stomach when I witnessed you like that. You are still shivering. Are you still afraid? Please tell me you are not afraid of me.” I now sound vulnerable. I cannot get enough, but at the same time I am torn because she is still a reluctant, shaking, nervous mess.

“I’m afraid of life, afraid to feel, afraid of everything, Lucca. You can probably gather I’m a bit of a mess,” she replies, trying to mask the embarrassment in her tone. But it is there. She is ashamed. Christ! I could cry for her right now.

What the fuck has happened to her? The alpha male in me wants to ask what his fucking name is so I can go and shred that fucker then toss his remains in a fire for making her feel like this, but the softer and more sensitive male inside me is hurt she feels so afraid but equally happy that there is a chance I can help take her fears away.

So many things run through my mind. It is not what I was expecting to hear, but I can work with it. I can show her, teach her how to feel just like my papa said I should with the right woman. In turn, she would see life differently … or at least I hope she will. I have a chance to help her live a little … as long as I get to do it with her, then I do not care how challenging or hard it will be.

I vow to myself right here, right now with her leaning against my chest, that I will be as patient and considerate as she needs. I will wait for her to come around … fuck if it is the last thing I do but I will never give up on her.

She needs someone to love her and take care of her, and if I did not want to do all that before, I most definitely do now. With every beat of my heart. I have never been so sure or passionate about caring for someone in my life.

I need Lexi in my life, and if I need to make her feel, I will do what every other Caruso man before me has done. I will go to the ends of the fucking earth to make her feel. Giving her a demonstration of how to feel, I touch her cheek, arm, then kiss her head. Resting her hand over my heart, I ask if she feels it. I know she can feel my heartbeat because it is so strong and powerful and racing faster than a fucking steam engine right now.

The light-hearted giggle that escapes her lips is simply fucking beautiful and sounds perfect. Cute. When she lifts herself off of my chest, she takes a sip of wine as I do. She is more relaxed already.

When she tells me not to confuse that moment we shared, a cocky smile ghosts my lips as I expected her to withdraw and push me away. She is going to be a hard conker to crack. Placing my finger on her lips to hush her, I seize the moment.

“Yeah, I got that part, but it is time that was changed. You deserve a whole lot more than you allow yourself to have, to feel, to experience, and I most certainly am not confused, Lexi. Anything but. I know exactly how I felt just then. I have never been more certain of anything in my life. But do you know how you felt?”

I do not expect her to answer. She blushes and wiggles her fingers in front of her lips again. That is enough to tell me she felt it too. Of course she changes the subject, but I am happy to if it makes her feel at ease and lets me get to know her a little better.

Finding out her stay here is for three weeks has just changed my diary considerably for the next month. Marco and Suzanne are going to be pissed off and have a lot of rescheduling to do. It is non-negotiable.

I am making this girl my priority and everything else can get put on hold for now. My goal is making her feel and giving her all of me. I have never been reckless in making business decisions, and I am not about to start now, but I will need to be smart and one step ahead. I can work from here and spend as much time with Lexi as I can. She deserves some attention. She deserves my attention.

It pleases me that she finally eats some of the bread, but it pisses me off when she continually puts herself down. I wipe under her eyes and gently sweep hair away from her face.

“Jesus, Doc, breathe,” I say when I realise she is holding her breath. She apologises again, which I notice she seems to do a lot, then gulps her wine. I need to lift her spirits again before I lose her to being withdrawn like she was earlier.

“You are very cute when you do that,” I say, cocking my head, admiring every small thing about her and appreciating her quirky little habits.

“Do what?” she asks with apprehension.

“Blush. And the wrinkling of the nose, also very cute. And you chew the inside of your cheek when you are nervous,” I reply, flashing her my wide, dimpled smile.

It fires her up. I hear the same heat in her voice I heard in the clinic and the body language … chest lifting and heaving … Christ, it is as sexy as fuck. It leads us on to talk about
Bewitched
. I love to hear her laugh. Her whole body lights up. Innocently, she has no fucking idea how much she has me under her spell. I thank my lucky stars for hot, sexy witches in this moment because it lightens Lexi’s mood.

Hazel returns and asks us if we are friends. I very much hope so. Lexi agrees, and I feel like the heavy fucking elephant has been lifted from my chest. I am even more ecstatic that she has agreed I can join her and Hazel for dinner.

Part one: Lussuria ~ Lucca’s Words

“Lussuria ~ Chapter Ten: Choices”

Fallen

After I have convinced my nonna that I managed to calm Lexi slightly and she agreed to have her evening meal with me, I pay the kitchen a visit to let Maurizio know. I offer to help, but they have everything under control. Before I leave, I make a point of asking Maurizio what time the girls’ first cooking lesson is at tomorrow.

Nonno stops me before I go back outside. “She is a very beautiful woman, no?” he asks me.

“Si, she is. Extremely beautiful,” I add staring at the open archway towards outside. He knows I am mystified by her.

“And a very nice soul, such a polite charming young bella ragazza, no?” he continues.

“Si. I have never met anyone like her before. I am fascinated. I want her and I am sure she needs me, she just does not know it yet.” I fix the sleeves on my shirt, tucking them in a little at the cuff. I tell him because we have always been liberal and open in our family.

“We saw a special quality in her yesterday when she arrived. I spoke with Nonna when you were outside with her and we think that you would be very good for her. You need to charm her and be very patient. Show her nothing but kindness and win her over and I am sure she will fall for you, just as you have already fallen for her,” he advises while smiling and nodding at one of the guests walking through the lobby.

“How do you know I have fallen for her?” I ask.

“We see the spark and glint in your eyes. We know you and we have never seen you so enthused or passionate about a woman before. She makes you come alive, Lucca. I am happy for you, but please do everything you can to look after her and take good care of her. She needs lots of love … I can tell, and Nonna says she is hurting.” He pats me on the back. Before I get the chance to tell him I barely know her but plan on getting to know her, Nonna and Maurizio stride past us with entrée plates.

Nonno and I grab some too, and more wine, and follow them out. Hazel has her arms wrapped around Lexi, cuddling or comforting her in that chick way women do. I smile, admiring them both and how close they are, but then I feel a sudden pang of envy as I wish I had Lexi back in my arms, even for a brief moment because it felt so goddamn nice.