Born in Blood Collection Volume 1: Collection of books 1-4

by Cora Reilly

  I licked my lips. “Luca?”

  He started unbuttoning his shirt, revealing small cuts and a longer wound below his ribs. His skin was covered with blood. But it couldn’t all have come from him, especially not all the blood on the shirt. It worried me that he still hadn’t spoken. He shed his shirt and dropped it on the ground. Then he unbuckled his belt.

  “Luca,” I said. “You’re scaring me. What happened?”

  He pushed his pants down and stepped out of them. He was barefoot and now only in his briefs as he knelt on the bed and brought one knee between my legs. I began to regret wearing only a nightgown. He slowly moved up until his head hovered over me. Terror gripped my throat, turned my heartbeat into a flutter.

  His eyes made me want to bolt, to cry and scream, to escape. Instead I lifted my hand and cupped his cheek. His expression shifted, a chink in the monstrous mask. He leaned into the touch, then he lowered his face and pressed it into the crook of my neck. He breathed in deeply and didn’t move for a long time. I tried not to panic. My hand was shaking against his cheek.

  “Luca?” I said softly.

  He raised his head again. I could see a flicker of the Luca I knew. He slid off the bed and headed for the bathroom. When he was out of sight, I let out a deep breath. Whatever had gone down today must have been horrible. I sat up as I listened to the running shower. In what kind of mood would Luca return into the bedroom? The monster in check, or almost unleashed like a moment ago?

  The water stopped and I quickly lay down on my side of the bed and pulled the covers up. A few minutes later, the door opened and Luca walked in with a towel around his waist. It was white, but a few droplets of blood had dripped from his wound and stained the fabric. He didn’t walk toward the cupboard to grab boxer shorts as he usually did; instead he came directly toward the bed. When he reached for the towel, I averted my eyes and turned on my other side, my back toward him. He lifted the blanket and the mattress shifted under his weight. He pressed up against me, his hand curled over my hip in an almost bruising grip before he turned me toward him.

  My mind screamed at me to stop him. He was completely naked and in a terrifying mood. He’d spent the day picking up the pieces of one of his men and the remainder of it killing his enemies. He grabbed the hem of my nightgown and began pulling it up. I put my hand over his.

  “Luca,” I whispered.

  His eyes met mine. I relaxed slightly. There was still darkness in them, but it was more contained. “I want to feel your body against mine tonight. I want to hold you.”

  I could almost hear the unspoken words: I need you. I swallowed. “Only hold me?”

  “I swear.” His voice was gruff, as if he’d spent hours screaming orders.

  I lowered my hand and let him pull my nightgown off. He released a low breath as he gazed at my naked breasts. I had to fight the urge to cover myself. His fingertips brushed the hem of my panties, but when I tensed they retreated, and he rolled onto his back and lifted me on top of him. I straddled his stomach, my knees on either side of him, my breasts pressed against his chest. I tried to keep my weight off him because I didn’t want to hurt his wounds, but he wrapped one arm around my back and pressed me tightly against him. His other hand touched my butt, making me jump. He began moving his thumb across my lower back and ass, and I relaxed slowly. The entire time his eyes were boring into mine, and with every passing moment, another tiny piece of the darkness dissipated.

  “Doesn’t your cut need stitches?”

  He bent forward and kissed me sweetly. “Tomorrow.” He kept stroking my backside and kissing me slowly, as if he wanted to savor every moment. I was completely overwhelmed but it felt good. I loved that he was suddenly so gentle. If he was like that when he took my virginity, then maybe it wouldn’t be so bad. My eyelids felt heavy, but I couldn’t look away from Luca. I touched his throat, an inch below the cut. I wasn’t sure why, but I leaned forward and pressed a featherlight kiss against the wound. It was small and wouldn’t need stitches, not like the one below his ribs. When I drew back, Luca looked almost surprised. His hand moved lower, cupping my ass cheek. His little finger was almost touching me there. He squeezed my cheek, and for a moment his finger brushed my opening through the fabric.

  I sucked in a breath, shocked by the jolt the small touch had sent through me. Heat gathered between my legs and I could feel myself getting wet. I squirmed in embarrassment, not wanting Luca to realize that a bare brush and his stroking of my butt had caused such a reaction. Maybe I wasn’t experienced, but I’d been imagining certain things, had caressed myself on many nights. It wasn’t that I was frigid. Luca’s body turned me on. Maybe I wanted love, but my body wanted something else. The feeling of Luca’s strong chest and muscled stomach under me, his gentle kisses, his soft touch…they made me want something more, even if my mind told me it was a bad idea.

  Luca’s eyes narrowed a fraction as he studied me, like I was a difficult equation he wanted to figure out. Then he lightly grazed the crotch of my panties with his fingertips, and I knew he could feel it. I could feel that the thin fabric was soaked. My cheeks flamed in mortification and I lowered my eyes, but I couldn’t bring myself to slide off him or even close my legs. His fingertips against my core felt good, even if they’d stopped moving.

  “Look at me, Aria,” Luca said in a rough voice.

  I peered into his eyes even as my face felt close to exploding from shame. “Are you embarrassed because of this?” He traced a finger over my wet panties. My pelvis arched and I exhaled harshly.

  I couldn’t say anything. My lips parted as small sounds that weren’t quite moans slid out. Luca moved his finger up and down, gently, teasingly, and small shivers of pleasure slithered through my body. I’d always thought that passion and orgasms came as a forceful wave leaving nothing in their wake, something almost intimidating, but this was like a slow trickling; a deliciously sweet tension mounting to something bigger.

  I quivered on top of Luca, my fingers clinging to his shoulders. He never sped up his stroking, but the pleasure rose with every brush. His eyes bored into mine as he slid two fingers over my opening, then between my folds, and pressed down on my clit. How could this feel so intense? He wasn’t even touching my skin. I gasped and trembled as sparks of pleasure shot through my body. I buried my face against Luca’s neck as I clung to him. His finger rubbed my clit through my panties, slower and slower until he simply rested his hand possessively over my folds.

  Luca pressed his face into my hair. “God, you’re so wet, Aria. If you knew how much I want you right now, you’d run away.” He laughed darkly. “I can almost feel your wetness on my cock.”

  I didn’t say anything, only tried to calm my breathing. Luca’s heartbeat was strong and fast beneath my cheek. He shifted and his length briefly brushed my inner thigh. He felt hot and hard.

  “Do you want me to touch you?” I said in the quietest whisper. I was half-scared and half-excited about seeing him naked and actually touching him. I wanted to lay my claim on him, wanted to make him forget about the women of his past. Luca’s hand on my back tightened and he drew in a deep breath, his chest expanding under me.

  “No,” he growled, and I lifted my head in confusion and a little hurt. Some of it must have showed, because Luca smiled grimly. “I’m not quite myself yet, Aria. There’s too much darkness on the surface, too much blood and anger. Today was bad.” He shook his head. “When I came home today and found you lying on the sofa, so innocent and vulnerable and mine…” Something flickered in his eyes, some of the darkness he’d mentioned. “I’m glad you don’t know the thoughts that ran through my head then. You are my wife and I swore to protect you, if necessary even from myself.”

  “You think you’d lose control?” I whispered.

  “I know it.”

  “Maybe you underestimate yourself.” I trailed my fingers over his shoulders. I wasn’t sure if I was trying to convince him or myself. He had scared me, there was no denying it. But he had sna
pped out of it.

  “Maybe you trust me too much.” He ran a finger over my spine, sending a new wave of tingling toward my core. “When I lay you down on the bed like a sacrificial lamb, you should have run.”

  “Someone once told me not to run from monsters because they give chase.”

  The ghost of a smile crossed his face. “Next time, you run. Or if you can’t, you ram your knee into my balls.”

  He wasn’t joking. “If I’d done that today, you would have lost control. The only reason you didn’t was because I treated you like my husband, not a monster.”

  He traced my lips with his thumb, then brushed my cheek. “You are far too beautiful and innocent to be married to someone like me, but I’m too much of a selfish bastard to ever let you go. You are mine. Forever.”

  “I know,” I said, then lowered my cheek back to his chest. Luca extinguished the lights, and I fell asleep listening to his heartbeat. I knew a normal person would have run from Luca, but I’d grown up among predators. Decent, normal guys with jobs that didn’t involve breaking laws were a foreign species to me. And deep down, a primal part of me couldn’t imagine being with someone who wasn’t an alpha like Luca. It thrilled me to know that a man like him could be gentle with me. It thrilled me that he was mine and I was his.

  * * *

  The sky was only just turning gray over New York’s skyline when I woke the next morning. I was still lying on Luca’s chest, my naked breasts pressed against his hot skin, but I’d slid down his body overnight and his stiff length was pressed against my leg. I shifted carefully and peered up into Luca’s face. His eyes were closed and he looked so peaceful in sleep, it was hard to belief that the same face had harbored so much violence and darkness last night.

  Curiosity gripped me. I’d never seen a naked erection, but I was worried about waking Luca. After what he’d said, I really didn’t want to risk him losing control. I tried to peek over my shoulder at Luca’s boner, but with the way we were positioned I’d have to break my neck to see it.

  Suddenly a buzzing came from the nightstand, and Luca sat up so fast I squeaked. He took me with him, one arm steadying me around the waist, the other reaching for his mobile. But the new position had made me slide down his body and now his erection was between my legs, its length pressed up against my core. I was practically riding it like a broom. I’d never been more grateful for my underwear.

  I stiffened and so did Luca, the mobile already pressed against his ear. I tried to maneuver into a less problematic position, but that only made his cock rub against me. He groaned and I froze. Luca’s eyes dilated as his fingers on my waist tightened.

  “I’m fine, Matteo,” he rasped. “I’m fucking fine. No. I can handle this. I don’t need to see the Doc. Now let me sleep.” Luca hung up, put the phone back on the nightstand and stared at me. I was so stiff he could have used me as an ironing board.

  He sank back slowly, with all the control only lots of sit-ups could give you. I remained in a sitting position, straddling his hips, but quickly draped one arm in front of my breasts. Now that he was lying down, his erection was no longer touching me. Gathering my courage, I swung my leg over his hips, accidentally brushing Luca’s boner.

  “Fuck,” Luca growled, jerking beneath me. I had to stifle a smile. I knelt beside him, my arm still covering my breasts, and then I allowed myself to look. Wow. I had nothing to compare him to, but I couldn’t imagine he could be any bigger. He was long and thick, and circumcised. Gianna had won her stupid bet.

  “You’re going to be the death of me, Aria,” Luca said in a low voice.

  I turned, embarrassed. I’d been staring. There was hunger on Luca’s face when I met his eyes. One of his hands rested on his stomach, while the other was thrown over his head. His abs were taut with tension; actually, every inch of his body seemed that way. Suddenly I was overcome with shyness. Why had I thought it was a good idea to take a look at him? I risked another peek.

  “If you keep looking at my cock with that stunned expression, I’m going to combust.”

  “I’m sorry if my expression bothers you, but this is new for me. I’ve never seen a naked man. Every first I’ll experience will be with you, so…”

  Luca sat up. His voice dropped an octave. “It doesn’t bother me. It’s fucking hot, and I’ll enjoy every first you’ll share with me.” He stroked my cheek. “You don’t even realize how much you turn me on.”

  With him sitting, our faces were close and Luca pulled me in for a kiss. I pressed my palm against his shoulder, then slowly ran it down his chest to his stomach. Luca paused the kiss. “Last night you asked me if I wanted you to touch me.”

  “Yeah,” I said, my breath catching. “Do you want me to touch you now?”

  The fire in his eyes darkened. “Fuck yes. More than anything.” He reached out for my arm pressed against my breasts. “Let me see you.” He curled his fingers around my wrist but didn’t pull. I hesitated. He’d seen them yesterday, but now I felt more exposed. Slowly I eased my arm down. I sat very still as Luca’s eyes roamed over me. “I know they’re not big.”

  “You’re fucking beautiful, Aria.”

  I didn’t know what to say.

  “Do you want to touch me now?” he said in a low voice.

  I nodded and licked my lips. I glanced down, then tentatively reached out and ran my finger over his length. He felt soft, hot and firm. Luca let out a harsh breath, the muscles in his arms straining from holding himself up. I brushed the tip, marveling at how soft he was. Luca gritted his teeth.

  I felt a strange sense of power over him as I ran my fingertips up and down slowly, fascinated by his silkiness.

  Luca quivered under my touch. “Take me in your hand,” he said in a low voice.

  I wrapped my fingers around his shaft lightly, worried about hurting him. I moved my hand down, then up, surprised at how heavy he felt in my palm. Luca lay back. I knew he was watching me but I couldn’t meet his gaze, too mortified by my own courage.

  “You can grip harder,” he said after a few more of my tentative strokes.

  I tightened my fingers.

  “Harder. It won’t fall off.”

  I flushed and turned away, dropping my hand. “I didn’t want to hurt you.” God, this was embarrassing. I couldn’t even do this. Maybe Luca should go back to his whore Grace. She knew what to do.

  “Hey,” Luca said calmly, pulling me against him. “I was teasing you. It’s okay.” He kissed me. His mouth moved against mine, unyielding but gentle, and his hand snaked down my arm, my hip and over the curve of my butt until his finger slipped between my legs and grazed over my folds. He slid back and forth lightly before moving the tip of his finger under my panties. I held my breath at the feel of him against my bare skin. He dipped between my folds, then slid up to my clit, coating it with my wetness. I moaned against his lips before slipping my tongue into his mouth to dance with his. Pleasure swept through me as he twirled his finger over my sensitive nub.

  He tore his mouth away from mine, his eyes boring into me. “Want to try again?” he rasped with a nod toward his hard length.

  His finger flicked over me again and I gasped, barely able to think straight, much less form a coherent sentence. My body ached with a need I’d never felt before. I slid my hand down his muscled torso, following the fine trail of dark hair to his erection. I curled my hand around it and it jumped under my touch.

  Luca’s fingers slid faster against my wet flesh. His steady caresses made me pant, but I was too far gone to care. Luca covered my hand around his length with his, showing me how hard to grip him. Then he moved our hands up and down his shaft. I watched in fascination. We moved faster and harder than I would have dared. Luca’s fingers between my folds rubbed me faster too, until I could barely breathe and my pulse pounded in my veins. I was about to topple over the edge.

  “Luca,” I gasped and he flicked my clit, sending me spiraling out of control. Spasms shot through my body as I moaned. My hand pumped Luca�
�s length even faster, and with a guttural growl Luca’s release washed over him. I shivered against him as I watched him come over our hands and his stomach. My nipples were hard and rubbed against his chest, sending ripples of pleasure through me. His erection, still throbbing in my palm, softened slowly. Luca pulled his fingers out from beneath my panties and rested them on my butt.

  I closed my eyes, listening to the thundering of his heart. Luca kissed the top of my head, startling me with the loving gesture. My heart burst with new hope. Gradually our breathing slowed. Luca reached out for a tissue box on the nightstand and handed me a tissue, before wiping himself clean. I felt self-conscious as I cleaned his sperm from my hand. I couldn’t believe I’d touched him like that. I was still sensitive between my legs, and yet I wanted to feel his fingers again. Was it wrong that I enjoyed Luca’s touch so much?

  He was my husband, but still. My mother had always treated sex like something only men desired. Women simply did their duty. Luca rubbed my arm and I decided not to think about it too much. I’d do what felt right. I released a small breath, but then my eyes focused on the cut below Luca’s ribs. Blood was trickling from it.

  I sat up. “You’re bleeding.” I’d forgotten all about it. “Does it hurt?”

  Luca looked utterly relaxed. He cast his gaze down to his wound. “Not much. It’s nothing. I’m used to it.”

  I touched the skin below the cut. “It needs stitches. What if it gets infected?”

  “Maybe you’ll get lucky and become a young widow.”

  I glared. “That’s not funny.” Not after what we’d just done. I felt closer to him than ever, and my father would only find me a new husband anyway.

  “If it bothers you so much, why don’t you grab the first-aid kit from the bathroom and bring it to me.”

  I jumped out of bed and rushed into the bathroom. “Where is it?”