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

by Cora Reilly

  I forced my lips into a smile. “You are a dead man.”

  Confusion flickered across the man’s face a second before it contorted in agony. He released me and my legs gave way, but Cesare caught me, his arm replacing that of the man. My eyes darted around for Gianna. She hovered beside Cesare, face drawn in worry. Romero was close behind my attacker, his knife buried in the man’s upper thigh. “You will follow us. If you try to run, you’ll die.”

  “Take her drink,” Cesare said to Gianna. “But don’t drink.”

  Cesare half carried me toward the back of the club and down a flight of stairs. He shouldered open a door and we walked into a sort of office. Matteo rose from his chair. “What’s going on?”

  “Probably roofies,” Romero said, giving the man he was holding a good shake.

  “I’ll get Luca,” Matteo said with a twisted smile. He walked through another door and a moment later Luca stalked into the room, as tall and impressive as ever. I hung in Cesare’s grasp, my face half-pressed against his chest. Luca’s eyes narrowed, then flitted between me and my attacker.

  “What happened?” he snarled.

  Suddenly he was in front of me, lifting me into his arms. My head lolled against his chest as I gazed up at him. He put me down on the couch. Gianna knelt beside me, gripping my hand. “What’s happening to her?” she cried.

  “Roofies,” Romero said again. “This sick fuck was trying to drag her outside.”

  Luca drew himself up before my attacker. “You put roofies in my wife’s drink, Rick?”

  Luca knew that man? Confusion flickered in my hazy mind.

  “Wife! I didn’t know she was yours. I didn’t. I swear!” The man’s lower lip was trembling.

  Luca pushed away Romero’s hand and curled his fingers around the handle of the knife still buried in Rick’s leg. He twisted and the man screamed. Romero held him upright by the arms. “What did you plan to do to her once you had her outside?”

  “Nothing!” the man cried.

  “Nothing? So if my men hadn’t stopped you, you would have just dropped her off at a hospital?” Luca’s voice was pleasant, calm, his face devoid of emotion.

  Gianna’s grip on my hand was painful. I swallowed and cleared my throat. “I’ll fuck your tight ass,” I whispered.

  Luca’s head whirled around, then he was at my side, his face so close to mine, I could have kissed him. Maybe it was the roofies, but I really wanted to kiss him senseless in that moment, wanted to rip his shirt off, wanted to…

  “What did you say, Aria?”

  “‘I’ll fuck your tight ass. I’ll make you scream, bitch. I’ll fuck you bloody, cunt.’ That’s what he said to me.” Luca stared into my eyes, a muscle in his jaw working. Before he could move, Gianna had leaped to her feet and flew at Rick. She hit his face and kicked his groin, and struggled ferociously against Matteo’s grip as he dragged her away from Rick.

  “You will die!” she screamed.

  Luca straightened and she stopped moving.

  “Let me go,” she hissed.

  “You promise to behave?” Matteo asked with an amused smile.

  She nodded, her stare fixed on Rick. Matteo dropped his arms and she straightened her clothes. “They will make you bleed,” she said coldly. “And I hope they will rape your ugly ass with that broomstick over there.”

  “Gianna,” I rasped. She came over to me and sank down on the edge of the couch, taking my hand again.

  Matteo didn’t take his eyes off her. “I’ll make him pay, Gianna.”

  “No,” Luca said firmly. Rick looked ready to burst from relief. “He’s my responsibility.” Matteo and Luca exchanged a long look, then Matteo nodded.

  Luca brought his face close to Rick’s. “You wanted to fuck my wife? Wanted to make her scream?” His voice tore through my growing dizziness and sent a shiver down my back. I was glad it wasn’t directed at me. I’d been scared of Luca before, but never had he sounded anything like this.

  Rick shook his head frantically. “No, please.”

  Luca wrapped his hand around Rick’s throat and lifted him until he stood on his tiptoes and his face was turning red. Then he tossed him away, and Rick collided with the wall and crumpled to the floor.

  “I hope you’re hungry,” Luca snarled. “Because I’m going to feed you your cock.”

  “Take the girls to the car, Romero,” Matteo ordered as Luca unsheathed his knife. Romero lifted me into his arms and walked out the back door, Gianna close behind. Dizziness cloaked my brain and I pressed my face into Romero’s jacket. He stiffened.

  Gianna snorted. “Do you think Luca will cut off your dick too because she leaned against you while she was sick?”

  “Luca is my boss and Aria is his.”

  Gianna muttered something under her breath, but I couldn’t make out the words.

  “Open the door for me,” Romero said, and then I was lying on cool leather. Gianna lifted my head and put it in her lap. Her fingers untangled my hair and she rested her forehead against mine. “That guy gets what he deserves.”

  I closed my eyes. I had condemned a man to his death with my words. My first murder. But what about the girls he would have attacked in the future? They were safe now.

  “Your bodyguard doesn’t even dare to wait in a car with us. Luca is a beast.”

  “Romero keeps watch,” I whispered.

  “Sure.” I must have dozed off because suddenly the door was ripped open and Luca spoke. “How is she?”

  “Holy fuck,” Gianna said, voice shrill. “You’re covered in blood.”

  I opened my eyes, but had trouble focusing.

  “Only my shirt,” Luca said, annoyance clear in his voice. There was rustling.

  “You have no shame,” Gianna said.

  “I’m taking off my shirt, not my fucking pants. Do you ever shut your mouth?”

  “Here, Boss.”

  Blurrily I saw Luca putting on a new shirt. “Burn that one and take care of everything, Romero. I’ll drive.”

  A hand brushed my cheek and Luca’s face hovered over me. Then he was gone, the door closed and he slipped behind the driver’s seat. The car started moving and my stomach churned.

  Gianna leaned forward, her head between the seats. “You are quite a hunk, you know that? If you weren’t married to my sister and not such an asshole, I might consider giving you a go.”

  “Gianna,” I groaned. When she was scared or nervous or angry, she never stopped talking, and the longer she talked the more offensive she got. And around Luca she was constantly angry.

  “What, cat got your tongue? I hear you usually jump everything that doesn’t have a dick,” Gianna said.

  Luca still didn’t say anything. I wished I could see his face to find out how close to exploding he was. He’d killed a man not long ago; Gianna should really shut up.

  Gianna sat back, but I knew she wasn’t done yet. She wouldn’t give up until she got a rise out of him. He pulled into the underground garage of our apartment building. “We’re here,” Gianna whispered into my ear. I wished she would talk as reasonably to Luca as she did to me.

  The car door swung open and Luca hoisted me into his arms. He carried me toward the private elevator and stepped in. The bright halogen lights hurt my eyes, but I kept them open to watch Gianna and Luca in the mirror. She leaned beside him and her expression didn’t bode well. “Have you ever had a threesome?”

  Luca didn’t move a muscle. He was looking down at me but I kept my attention on the mirror, trying to send Gianna a silent message to close her mouth. “How many women have you raped before my sister?”

  Luca’s head shot up, eyes burning as he stared at Gianna. I pressed my palm gently against his chest, and he glanced down at me. The tension remained. “Can’t you do something else with your mouth than yap?”

  Gianna straightened. “Like what? Give you a blow job?”

  Luca laughed. “Girl, you’ve never even seen a dick. Just keep your lips shut.”

 
“Gianna,” I croaked in warning.

  At last, we arrived on the top floor and Luca stepped out into our penthouse. He headed for the stairs to our bedroom when Gianna blocked his way. “Where are you taking her?”

  “To bed,” Luca said, trying to sidestep my sister, but she followed his movements.

  “She’s high on roofies. That’s probably the chance you’ve been waiting for. I won’t let her alone with you.”

  Luca became very still, like a wolf on the verge of attacking. “I’m going to say it only once, and you’d better obey: get out of my way and go to bed.”

  “Or what?”

  “Gianna, please,” I pleaded. She searched my face, then she nodded once and quickly kissed my cheek. “Get better.”

  Luca walked past her, carried me up the stairs and then into the master bedroom. The sickness that had been a distant pressure in my stomach turned into an insistent throbbing. “I’m going to be sick.”

  Luca carried me into the bathroom and held me over the toilet as I retched. When I was done, I said, “I’m sorry.”

  “What for?” He helped me stand, though the only thing keeping me upright was his steely grip on my waist.

  “For throwing up.”

  Luca shook his head and handed me a wet towel. My hands shook as I wiped my face with it. “It’s good that you got some of that shit out of your system. Fucking roofies. It’s the only way for ugly fucks like Rick to get their dicks into a pussy.”

  He led me back into the bedroom and toward the bed. “Can you undress?”

  “Yeah.” The moment he let go, I fell backward and landed on the mattress. Laughter bubbled out of me, then a new wave of dizziness hit me and I groaned. He leaned over me, his face slightly blurry.

  “I’m going to get you out of your clothes. They stink of smoke and vomit.” I wasn’t sure why he was telling me. It wasn’t as if he hadn’t seen me naked before. He grabbed the hem of my shirt and pulled it over my head. I watched him as he unzipped my leather pants and slid them down my legs, his knuckles brushing my skin, leaving goose bumps in their wake. He unhooked my glittery bra and threw it to the ground before he straightened and stared down at me. He turned abruptly and disappeared from my view. Dots danced in and out of my vision and I was on the brink of another laughing fit when Luca returned and helped me into one of his shirts. He was only in his briefs. He slid his arms under my knees and shoulder blades and moved me up until my head rested on the pillow, then he got into bed beside me.

  “You’re impressive, you know?” I babbled.

  Luca scanned my face, then pressed a palm against my forehead. I giggled and reached out, wanting to touch his tattoo but misjudging the distance and brushing my fingertips across his abdomen and then lower. He hissed, snatched my hand away and pressed it against my stomach. “Aria, you’re drugged. Try to sleep.”

  “Maybe I don’t want to sleep.” I wriggled in his grip.

  “Yes, you do.”

  I yawned. “Will you hold me?”

  Luca didn’t say anything, but he extinguished the lights and wrapped his arms around me from behind. “You’d better lie on your side in case you feel sick again.”

  “Did you kill him?”

  There was a pause. “Yes.”

  “Now there’s blood on my hands.”

  “You didn’t kill him.”

  “But you killed him because of me.”

  “I’m a killer, Aria. It had nothing to do with you.” It had everything to do with me, but I was too tired to argue.

  I listened to his breathing for a few heartbeats. “You know, sometimes I wish I could hate you, but I can’t. I think I love you. I never thought I could. And sometimes I wonder how it would be if you made love to me.”

  Luca pressed his lips against my neck. “Sleep.”

  “But you don’t love me,” I mumbled. “You don’t want to make love to me. You want to fuck me because you own me.” His arm tightened around me. “Sometimes I wish you had taken me in our wedding night; then at least I wouldn’t still wish for something that will never be. You want to fuck me like you fucked Grace, like an animal. That’s why she told me you would fuck me bloody, right?”

  My tongue felt heavy and my eyelids stuck together. I was talking nonsense, a garble of words I shouldn’t say.

  “When did she say that? Aria, when?”

  Luca’s sharp voice couldn’t rip through the fog blanketing my thoughts, and blackness claimed me.

  CHAPTER THIRTEEN

  A wave of sickness wrenched me from sleep. I stumbled toward the bathroom and threw up again, kneeling on the cold marble floor, too exhausted to get up. I shuddered. Luca reached over me and flushed the toilet before stroking my hair back from my forehead. “Not that hot anymore, am I?” I laughed hoarsely.

  “That shouldn’t have happened. I should have kept you safe.”

  “You did.” I gripped the toilet seat and staggered to my feet. Luca’s hands grasped my waist.

  “Maybe a bath will help.”

  “I think I’ll drown if I lie in the bathtub now.”

  Luca turned the water on in the tub while still holding me with one hand. The sky was turning gray over New York. “We can take a bath together.”

  I tried a teasing smile. “You just want to grab a feel.”

  “I won’t touch you while you’re still vulnerable.”

  “A Capo with morals?”

  Luca’s face was serious. “I’m not Capo yet. And I have morals. Not many, but a couple.”

  “I’m only teasing,” I whispered as I leaned my forehead against his naked chest. He rubbed my back and the motion sent a sweet tingling down into my core. I drew back and carefully walked over to the washbasin to brush my teeth and wash my face.

  Luca shut the water off when the tub was almost full. Then he helped me out of my panties and got out of his boxers before he lifted me into the tub. I ducked my face under the water for a moment, hoping it would clear the remaining fog from my head. Luca slid in behind me and pulled me back against his chest. His erection pressed against my thigh. I turned so I was facing Luca, and his length slid between my legs and brushed my entrance. I stiffened. Luca would only have to push his hips upward to enter me. He groaned, gritted his teeth, then he reached between us and pushed his erection back so it rested against my thigh again and pulled me flat on his torso.

  “Some men would have taken advantage of the situation,” I murmured.

  Luca’s jaw clenched. “I’m that kind of man, Aria. Don’t kid yourself into believing I’m a good man. I’m neither noble nor a gentleman. I’m a cruel bastard.”

  “Not to me.” I pressed my nose against the crook of his neck, breathing in his familiar, musky scent.

  Luca kissed the top of my head. “It’s better if you hate me. There’s less chance of you getting hurt that way.”

  What had I told him last night when I was out of it? Had I told him I’d fallen in love with him? I couldn’t remember. “But I don’t hate you.”

  Luca kissed my head again. I wished he’d say something. I wished he’d say that he…

  “You mentioned something Grace said to you.” His voice was casual but tension gripped his body. “Something about fucking you bloody.”

  “Oh, yeah. She said you’d hurt me, fuck me like an animal, fuck me bloody when she talked to me during our wedding reception. Scared me out of my mind.” Then I frowned. “I think that guy last night almost said the same thing.”

  “Before I killed him, he said one of the women who bought dope from him told him you were a skank who needed to be taught a lesson. She gave him cash.”

  I lifted my head. “Do you think it was Grace?”

  Luca’s eyes were like a stormy sky. “I’m sure it was her. The description fits, and who else would have an interest in attacking you.”

  “What are you going to do?”

  “I can’t kill her, even if I want to cut her fucking throat—that would cause too much trouble with her father and
brother. I’ll have to talk to them, though. Tell them they need to put her on a fucking leash or there won’t be any more money from us.”

  “What if they refuse?”

  “They won’t. Grace has been fucking things up for a long time. They’ll probably ship her off to Europe or Asia for rehab or some shit like that.”

  I kissed him, but the tension didn’t leave Luca’s body. “I can’t stop thinking about what would have happened if Romero and Cesare hadn’t been there, if that fucker had gotten you out of the club. The thought of his dirty hands on you makes me want to kill him again. The thought that he might have…” He shook his head.

  I knew his turmoil wasn’t because Luca had emotions for me. He was possessive. He couldn’t bear the thought that someone might have gotten his hands on me, that someone might have taken what Luca considered his. Resignation filled me. “When Gianna leaves in a few days, you can have me,” I whispered against his throat. Luca’s hands stilled on my back. He didn’t ask me if I was sure. I hadn’t expected him to. Luca had said it himself; he wasn’t a good man.

  * * *

  Gianna and I had spent the last few days trying different cafés and restaurants, talking and laughing and shopping, but today Gianna had to go back to Chicago. My arms around her were tight as we stood in the departure hall of JFK. Gianna needed to go through security soon, but I didn’t want to let her go. Not only because I’d miss her terribly but also because I was anxious about my promise to Luca.

  I braced myself and took a step back from Gianna. “Visit again soon, okay?”

  She nodded, her lips pressed together. “You call me every day, don’t forget.”

  “I won’t,” I promised. She backed away slowly, then turned and headed for the line at security. I waited until she walked through and disappeared from view.