“Why are you mad at me now?” he asked, escorting me into a bathroom at the far corner of the room.
I flipped up the top of the toilet seat and gave him a look as though I wanted him to leave, but he was too stubborn. “I heard some girls outside, saying you were with the twins. And I don’t know why, but it pissed me off.”
“I wasn’t with anyone before you came. I mean, girls were trying to hook up with me, but I’d been waiting for you to come all night. Trust me, I haven’t done anything to screw this up. I promise.”
The room was still spinning, and the pasta salad I had at lunch was about to make a comeback. I used the vanity next to the toilet to support my weight, dropping to my knees to position myself over the bowl. “You don’t want to watch this, Luca. I’d go wait outside if I were you.”
He gripped my hair and held it for me as I hurled the contents of my stomach. When I was done, I closed the lid and sat on top of it. Luca sat next to me on the floor, stroking my hair. I couldn’t help but like him for that.
Why did he have to do things that made me hate him less? I needed to hate him. He was wrong for me, a lapse in judgment I would regret, whether or not he knew it.
I cocked my head to the side, allowing him to continue touching my hair.
His fingers grazed my cheek, and he scooted closer to me.
“I need to brush my teeth,” I said, trying not to breathe on him.
“I have extra toothbrushes.” He reached into the top vanity drawer, removed a toothbrush from its package, slid some minty paste on it, and handed it to me.
I took the brush from his hand, leaning over the sink to scrub my teeth and tongue, and then I spit and rinsed. “What are you looking to accomplish here?”
He handed me a towel to wipe my mouth and shrugged. “I don’t know. I like you. I want to be around you. Is that okay?”
“I don’t understand it.” I sat back on the toilet seat and leaned my elbows on my knees, not giving a shit that my breasts were pouring out of my bikini top, as I hunched over. “Everyone always wants something from me. I’m sick of people using me for what they think I can do for them.”
Luca sat on the tiled floor in front of me. “That’s not why I like you. I don’t have any ulterior motives here.”
I huffed. “Just so we’re clear, I can take care of myself. I’ve been doing it my entire life, and I don’t need a man to come to my rescue. My mother is a flighty bitch who ran away every time another husband popped up, and my grandfather works so much that my nanny raised me. And, for the record, I might be a Rinaldi, I might own a percentage of the company, but I’ve worked for the money I spend. I came to this school on a full scholarship because I was valedictorian of my high school and won the Penn Scholarship all on my own. Not because I have a rich family.”
Luca touched my leg and rubbed his thumb over my skin, staring up at me in admiration. “I couldn’t care less who you are or how much money you have. You’re beautiful, smart, and nothing like I thought you would be but in the best way possible. I just want to sit here and hold your hand for as long as you’ll let me. Is that okay?”
I cupped his face in my hands. “I know how your family makes a living, and I’m trying not to like you, but you’re making it hard. I know this will end as fast as it begins.”
Our faces were so close that the heat from his breath made my body tingle. I didn’t know what I wanted to do. Before I could make the decision, Luca threaded his fingers through my curls and pulled me toward him. His lips were soft, and he smelled sweet. What started out as slow and passionate grew more intense as he deepened the kiss.
I slid off the toilet seat and onto his lap, straddling him. I moaned as he peppered my neck with kisses, and he grunted against my skin. His erection poked my thigh through his board shorts. I wanted him inside me so bad that I was in physical agony. He kissed his way to my chest, his mouth hovering over the thin material of my bikini. I untied the strings, sliding the top to the floor. Luca shoved his face between my breasts, and I leaned back, so he could navigate my skin with his tongue.
“Luca,” I breathed.
Once I got my hands on him, I couldn’t resist the urge to explore every part of his toned body. I pushed up his white cotton shirt and ran my palm over his stomach. “I don’t want to stop. Please make me stop, Luca.” I sucked on his bottom lip, unable to peel myself from his lap.
I tugged at the string of his shorts, and he separated his lips from mine.
“Bella,” he moaned.
Luca had more willpower than I’d thought.
He gripped my shoulders, gazing at me with those beautiful denim irises I loved so much. “We should stop. You’re too drunk. I shouldn’t have…” He shook his head in disapproval with himself. “I feel like I’m taking advantage of you. I want you but not like this.”
My entire world came to a screeching halt. I glared at him for a few seconds before I hopped off him. A little wobbly, I steadied myself on the sink counter.
“This was a mistake. Look what you do to me. I can’t control myself around you. You’re dangerous.” I bit down on my lip, holding back tears. “It’s like you have me under some kind of spell. I can’t think straight around you. We can’t be together. You’re incapable of being with one woman.”
He laughed. “I like you a lot, maybe too much. This is all new for me. What if I didn’t hook up with anyone else? I don’t know why, but I’m drawn to you in a way that doesn’t make sense to me. You’re all I’ve thought about for days, and I can’t stay away from you.”
“Then, don’t.” I covered his mouth with mine, once again consumed by him.
Drugs would’ve been easier to kick than Luca.
Chapter Ten
LUCA
After our conversation, Izzie got sick again, so I held her hair while she puked. Then, I helped her onto one of the couches in my living room. I sank into the microfiber with her head cradled in the crook of my arm, smiling like I’d just won the lottery. I had been so lost before I’d met her. Less than one week with her, I knew I’d never let her go.
I swiped a blonde curl behind her ear and kissed her forehead. Izzie stirred in my arms, her eyes closed, as she mumbled my name under her breath. I picked her up, deciding to let her sleep off the hangover in my bedroom. Kicking the door open with my foot, I placed her on the king-size mattress and sat on the edge of the bed. Next to her, I ran my fingers down her arm and let out a sigh. I’d never been so happy to have a woman in my bed.
She opened her eyes for a few moments and smiled.
I grabbed a bottle of water from the mini fridge and two Advil. When I sat back down, she leaned forward and took the pills. Then, she pressed her lips against my ear and burped. I laughed so hard that I snorted.
Izzie traced a line down the bridge of my nose, stopping when she reached my lips. We stared at each other for minutes. It was the first time a girl touched me, and I didn’t feel the need to rip off her clothes. Well, that thought was always in the back of my mind but not at the moment.
She slid her thumb along my bottom lip, puckering hers at the same time. “You’re perfect,” she said, a genuine smile on her face. She rubbed at the corners of her eyes, fighting hard against the urge to sleep. “Has anyone ever told you that, Luca?”
“I don’t know about all that. I have plenty of flaws.”
She shook her head, as though it were the craziest thing she’d ever heard. “Nuh-uh…you’re kind of amazing, Luca Marchese.”
My heart thumped out of my chest, overcome with a strange mixture of emotions. She made me so nervous yet excited, all at the same time.
“I think you’re kind of amazing, too, Isabella Rinaldi.”
She leaned in, as if she were about to kiss me, and then she jumped off the bed, staggering toward the door. I followed behind her. The last thing I wanted was for her to fall down the stairs.
With her hand against the doorframe, Izzie turned around and slurred, “I have to pee.”
I hooked my arm around hers and helped her into the bathroom.
After a few bangs and a curse or two in Italian, she quieted. I plopped down onto the living room couch, threaded my fingers together, and slid them behind my head. My eyes fluttered closed, and a few minutes later, I awoke to a loud thud as Izzie emerged from the bathroom.
“It’s hot in here.” She started walking toward me, her hands behind her back.
I stood up, about to help her back to my bed, when her arms flung out, and the strings of her red bikini dangled at her sides.
“Izzie,” I warned. “What are you doing, babe?”
Instead of responding, she lowered her brows and bit her bottom lip while tugging at the strings around her neck. I went to reach for her, to tell her to stop, when her top fell to the floor.
My God, she was beautiful, her smooth alabaster skin absolute perfection.
With her perky breasts on display as an offering just for me, I was so hard that my dick throbbed. It was impossible not to look at her.
She untied the see-through white fabric from her waist, pinched it between her fingers, and threw it at me. “Don’t you want me, Luca?” Her eyes fell to her breasts, and she peeked up at me, her finger pulling down her bottom lip.
“I want you more than anything I’ve ever wanted in my entire life. But not like this. You don’t want to do this, not tonight. You’ll wake up tomorrow, hating me and regretting every second.”
She blew out a gust of air. Her face twisted in anger as she stepped forward. “You’ll fuck any girl on campus, but you won’t fuck me?”
“It’s not you,” I said, feeling like a piece of shit. It took every bit of my self-control not to look at her gorgeous body.
“Oh, it’s not you; it’s me. Screw you, Luca.” She bent over, grabbed her bikini, and stomped into my bedroom.
I followed after her, and she spun around, her teeth clenched together. With a loud grunt, she threw her bikini at me. It missed my head and landed on the computer monitor on my desk. I pulled a Delta Sig T-shirt from the top drawer of my dresser and edged toward her with caution. One wrong move, and she was likely to punch me in the face.
“Bella, baby, put this on.” I placed my hand on her shoulder, afraid she might make a run for it. “It’s not you, trust me. You’re beautiful, sexy, and probably the most intriguing girl I’ve ever met. I would give my left nut for a chance to be with you. But you’ll regret this tomorrow, and I don’t want to be the asshole who took advantage of you.”
She slipped the tee over her head, and I helped pull her arms through the sleeves. I loved the sight of her in my shirt as it dropped just above her knees.
Curling the soft cotton around her finger, hiking it further up her leg, she raised her eyebrow at me. “You think I’m sexy?”
How did she not see herself the way I did, the way every man on campus did?
I laughed at her and leaned down to kiss the top of her head. “That’s all you took away from what I said?”
She nodded, her hair brushing against my cheek.
“Of course I think you’re sexy. You do things to me that even I don’t understand.”
Izzie laced her fingers between mine, studying my hand, and ran the pad of her thumb over my knuckles. “Does this feel right to you?” She glanced up at me with those wide blue eyes that ripped right through me.
Unsure of how to respond, I bobbed my head and slipped my other hand through her hair.
She wrapped her arm around my back, laid her head on my chest, and whispered, “You feel like home, Luca.”
We stood there, me holding my breath and Izzie sighing loudly, before she pulled away and slipped under my covers.
“You feel like home, Luca.” Her words raced through my mind a thousand times. No matter how much I analyzed them, she was drunk. But I wanted to be that for her even if I wasn’t sure what she meant.
With the duvet clutched in her hands, she yanked it up to her chin and fell back onto the mound of pillows. I couldn’t take my eyes off this girl as she smiled at me without a care in the world.
“You’re a good friend, Luca. Thank you for taking care of me.”
My heart plummeted into my stomach, like an anchor hitting the ocean floor.
Friends. She wanted to be my friend. Friends didn’t kiss, strip, or almost fuck each other. Do they?
I’d never had a female friend before, and I wasn’t sure how to interpret her response.
“You’re welcome.” I kissed her forehead. Then, I reached for my pillow and started walking toward the door.
I was about to flip the light switch when she sat up in bed.
“Wait! Aren’t you going to sleep next to me?” she whined, her words no longer slurred.
“Not tonight, babe. You get some rest, and I’ll check on you in the morning.”
She slammed her fist on the empty space next to her. “Luca Marchese, get your ass in this bed, and spoon me, goddamn it.”
I stood there in awe, my hand on my hip, and then I laughed into the pillow. “You’re something else, you know that?”
Cursing under her breath in Italian, she patted the mattress again. “Would you understand me better in another language? I speak several others.”
Instead of arguing, I closed the door, shut off the lights, and undressed. I climbed over her, wearing black boxer briefs, and plopped my head down on the pillow next to her. She reached behind her back and found my hand, tugging until she had it wrapped around her stomach.
Dirty thoughts ran through my head. The itch in my groin would not quit, so I counted off scores I’d read earlier on my ESPN app. I curled up against her back, taking in the vanilla scent of her skin, and as I kissed her head, I noticed a hint of vanilla in her perfect curls.
“Good night, Izzie,” I whispered in her ear.
She closed her hand over mine and held it over her stomach. “Good night, Luca.”
Chapter Eleven
IZZIE
I awoke to the sun in my eyes and my head pounding like a jackhammer. Every bone and muscle in my body ached. My throat burned, each breath stirring a fire inside my stomach. How stupid of me to think I could handle shots. The white walls were mostly barren with the exception of a single paddle hanging next to the door. Green and white letters carved into the wood read, Luca Marchese, President, under the Delta Sigma emblem.
On a computer desk with a stack of textbooks, I saw a monitor with my red bikini top. I propped myself up onto my side and gasped at the sight of Luca sleeping next to me. Even in sleep, he was unbelievably handsome. His olive skin looked radiant.
I looked down in disbelief. I had on a hunter-green Delta Sigma T-shirt. I peeled the tee up, revealing red bikini bottoms, and let out a sigh of relief.
“Bella, calm down.” Luca’s voice was more gruff than normal. “You look like you’re going to have a heart attack.”
He rolled over, and a set of chiseled abs and the most amazing smile distracted me. As much as I wanted to hate him, it was impossible. The moment he flashed one of his boyish grins, I’d melt all over again.
“You have no idea how sexy you look right now.” He had a seductive look in his eyes.
His sheets were so soft that I wrapped myself in them, and the image of me doing that the night before played in my mind. He raised his eyebrow at me, amused by my obsession with the silky cotton.
“Don’t get any ideas, okay?” I rolled over to face him, cocooning myself in the duvet.
Luca laced his fingers behind his head and leaned back against the wooden headboard. “I’m not trying to have sex with you. I was just stating a fact.” He sounded offended, which surprised me.
His confession hurt, and I frowned at his words. “Why am I wearing your shirt?”
“You took your top off, yelled at me for not having sex with you, and then hopped in my bed like it’d never happened.”
I cringed when he laughed.
“As much as I loved the view, I made you put the shirt on b
efore you fell asleep.”
“Oh,” I said, still piecing together my night.
Considering his alleged reputation, I’d expected him to take advantage. Slivers of our almost bathroom sex crept into my mind. I buried my head in the pillow and wanted to scream. It smelled like his cologne, and I shamelessly took a whiff.
Everything about him lured me in and made me lose control. I never lost control, not unless I’d chosen to. For years, I’d planned my perfect life, consisting of graduating summa cum laude and then going to law school. That was the agreement I’d made with my grandfather.
But, around Luca, I couldn’t get my head on straight.
I peeked up at him and relaxed when I saw his beautiful blue eyes. As much as it killed me to feel something for him, I did. That much, I could not deny. A relationship with Luca would be sex, nothing more.
We stared at each other for several minutes without speaking before he broke the silence. “You hungry?” He sat up in bed, holding out his hand to me.
My eyes traveled over his muscular legs to a pair of black boxer briefs that hugged him in all the right places. By the time I reached his chiseled stomach, I didn’t even realize I had been licking my lips. A low rumble echoed from his mouth, but he didn’t say anything. I refused to face him, not when he knew I’d eyed him up like a piece of meat.
I flattened out on my back and looked up at the ceiling. “Does your dad own another restaurant?”
“Yes, but not one that serves breakfast, smart-ass.”
Luca slid off the bed, his leg brushing mine. My entire body felt electrified from his touch.
He dug through a chest of drawers and threw a pair of green-and-white plaid boxers in front of me. “Put them on.”
“Is this some kind of sick frat tradition?” I asked, confused.
He laughed and sat next to me on the bed. “I thought you wouldn’t want to sit in the kitchen in that.” He pointed to the shirt he’d dressed me in before bed. “I’m making you breakfast. C’mon, get up.”
I slipped into Luca’s shorts and he tugged on my hand, pulling me to my feet. When he opened the door, we stepped into a living room with couches and a bathroom in the corner. A giant flat screen TV hung over a mantel above various gadgets. Unlike the other floors in the house, there was no hallway or doors leading to other bedrooms.
Corrupt Me Page 9
