Dante held out his hand to Dominic then, and the younger man took his hand in his firmly, agreeing to the terms.
A threat came to Dante’s eyes and voice when he warned, “Don’t you fucking disappoint me.”
Lucca inhaled deeply, letting the end of his cigarette burn bright red. He remembered an old Italian proverb Dante had drilled into his head when he was younger. Come semini, cosi raccogli.
As ye sow, so shall ye reap.
Forty-Five
Not Even in Death
Chloe had stayed at the house with Lucca for a week, not leaving, giving herself time to heal and for Lucca to make sure all threats were gone.
It was weird to think of the future, something she had pushed out of her mind for the past week, unsure of where exactly she belonged anymore.
Ever since her scars, she had no longer felt she belonged in this city because it had betrayed her, but she no longer felt she could belong anywhere without Lucca, and Lucca did belong in Kansas City.
She once thought she always belonged beside her best friend Elle, but it had been unrealistic for her to think it would last past college. Now, Elle had found her place in the city beside Nero.
The future was a scary, dark thing, especially when she felt the bond between her and Lucca so strongly and so soon. It scared the shit out of her, to be honest.
On one hand, she loved being protected by him. And the power he held made her feel as if she could never be hurt and always be saved. And yet, the little girl in her still believed it was too good to be true, that Lucca might get sick of her and toss her aside, just like her parents had.
So, when Lucca had asked her to pack her bags, a creeping fear had snuck in that it was already that time. Then he had brought her to the casino hotel, carrying her bags up to the top floor and heading down toward Nero and Elle’s place.
Even though she was excited to see her best friend for the first time in a long time, she was also scared that Lucca was leaving her, dropping her off to become Elle’s problem until she could go to Stanford, for real this time.
Getting to almost the end of the hall, Nero’s door flew open and Elle ran out. Then she froze in place the second she saw Chloe, who was just as frozen.
A furious Nero came out of the door a moment later.
“Lucca, I tried t—” He stopped when Lucca raised his hand behind Chloe, stopping him. That was when Nero finally noticed the girls hadn’t yet moved.
Not until Chloe saw Elle’s face had she realized just exactly how much she had missed her. Then Chloe was the one to take the first step toward her, opening her arms when Elle closed the distance between them. They held each other tightly for a few minutes, their eyes becoming teary.
“I’ve missed you so much,” Elle cried. “I haven’t even been able to watch a movie without crying, wishing you were here.”
Chloe giggled through her own cries. “I’ve missed you so much, too.” She had been sure Elle would probably hate her guts for lying to her for over a month. “I-I’m sorry I didn’t tell—”
Elle quickly pulled away from her then, going right up to Lucca’s face and shoving him right in the chest as hard as she could.
What the—
“I told you that you couldn’t have her!” Elle pushed him harder this time. Lucca didn’t budge.
“What the fuck!” Nero yelled, running to get her away from him.
Lucca held his hand up, stopping him again.
“I told you that if you hurt her, I will kill you!” Elle hit his unresponsive chest again.
Chloe’s mouth dropped to the floor.
Lucca stood there, taking the hits. “I promise you that if I do, I’ll let you.”
Elle, who was mid-hit, stopped, shocked by the answer. “Really?”
Lucca nodded. “Yes.”
What Chloe saw next shocked her even more while it also warmed her heart.
Elle wrapped her arms around Lucca, hugging him. “Thank you for saving her.”
“You’re welcome, Elle.” He accepted her hug, patting her on the back.
Aw … Chloe felt herself getting emotional again.
“I still don’t like you.” Elle composed herself, going back to pushing him. “You’re not good enough for her. She deserves a nice boy. I know why you’re so secretive at your place. All you do is fuc—”
Lucca reached out, grabbing her and covering her mouth with his hand. “Okay, you can fucking get her away from me now,” he growled at Nero.
Nero, completely stunned, hurriedly went for Elle.
“W-What did she just say?” Chloe bit her lip.
Elle managed to get her mouth free when they transferred her. “Women. Probably hundr—”
Nero slammed his hand over her mouth. “I’m sorry, Lucca. I’ll get her under contr—OW!” He jerked his hand from her mouth when she bit him.
“No, you will not. I’m still mad at you for knowing she was with Lucca this whole time!”
Chloe could see by Lucca’s face he hadn’t even known Nero had known.
He then pulled Chloe to the door opposite of Nero and Elle’s and started unlocking it.
“Is this your place? Where she said you fu …?” She couldn’t even think clearly.
“Yep! He answered the door, covered in sweat, with no shirt on. Me and Lake think he has a sex dunge—”
“Shut her the fuck up before I do it my-fucking-self!” Lucca yelled over his shoulder while trying to hurry up and unlock all his bolts.
“I’m trying, but she’s fucking slippery!” Nero tried to push a fighting Elle back into his place.
“I-I-Is all that true?” Chloe started wringing her hands. A sex dungeon?
“She’s just assuming, darlin’,” he assured her as he started pushing her quickly inside, along with her things. “When she needs to look at who she’s with.”
“Fuck it.” Nero quit worrying about Elle’s mouth and just picked her up over his shoulder.
“Don’t let him call you that. He calls every girl darlin’. You got to nip it in the bud like I did with Nero when he called me bab—”
Both doors slammed at the same time.
She wasn’t even able to look up at him, not knowing what to think.
Lucca’s ferocity simmered out at seeing Chloe’s nerves, and he gently took her hand in his. “Come with me.”
Following him, she looked around the space, noticing it was laid out just like Nero’s, but mirrored. The styles, however, were completely different. Lucca’s had earth tones of dark wood and greens, just like in his room at the house. It was modern, but not too modern. More traditional than the other penthouses she had seen. It was cozy, warm, and perfect, reminding her of the outdoors that perfectly sat in downtown Kansas City.
With it being a corner penthouse, it had floor-to-ceiling windows on two of the walls, really giving juxtaposition on the outdoors and the city.
A slight pain reached her heart, thinking about what Elle had said. It was hard to imagine Lucca in here with many women.
Pulling her close, he wrapped his arms around her, holding her tightly. “I’m not going to pretend I’m a virgin, when we both know I’m not.”
“I-I know.” She pressed her face into his chest, not wanting him to see the hurt on her face.
She knew he was far from a virgin, but it had stung to hear how he brought many other women here when this was her first time coming here. Admittedly, it hurt to even think about Lucca with a woman.
He leaned his head down, nestling into her neck. “But I can promise you, you’re the first and last woman I have or ever will bring here.”
Moving her head, she wanted to look into his eyes, almost not believing it.
“I’ve had this place for a long time now. I don’t like letting anyone in here because it’s my own personal space and a place for me to think. The only one to come in here, other than me, is Sal on occasion.”
Chloe smiled, pressing her face back into his chest. For once in her life, she fel
t important. She took it as an honor for a man like Lucca to trust her in a space so special to him.
“Now, is there anything else that upset you?” he asked teasingly, bending down to bite her earlobe.
Biting her lip, she didn’t know how to come out and say it, but … “I-I like it when you call me darlin’, but …”
“You don’t want me calling anyone else that,” Lucca finished for her, smiling.
She nodded as she blushed from confessing how the darlin’ thing worked on her so much so she didn’t want him to stop calling her that.
He took another bite of her earlobe. “Then I won’t, darlin’.”
Leaning up, she gave him a quick kiss on the lips, wanting him to know how happy he made her.
When she dropped back to her feet, she couldn’t help laughing. “So, what were you doing to get all sweaty?”
“I’ll show you.” Lucca took her hand again, leading her through his penthouse and going up the stairs that led off into the master bedroom. She could see a spiral staircase that hadn’t been in Nero’s, which he led her to, allowing her to head up first.
With each step, she became more confused. “How can it go anywhere? This is the top floor.”
“You’ll see.” He helped her push up the top hatch in the ceiling.
Chloe looked down at her feet as she watched her step, finishing the climb up. Then the slight noise of the city greeted her ears, making her finally look up. When she did, she almost fell back on Lucca, the beauty taking her breath away.
He was silent, holding her up in front of him and keeping her steady as she took it all in.
“I-Is this real?” she whispered, blinking to see if it was heaven or just a mirage.
“Yes, darlin’.”
Taking a step forward and spinning around, her eyes moved over the flowers then to the glass walls where she could see the city all around. It was a little greenhouse filled with many flowers on top of the building. The breathtaking view was unlike anything she had ever seen.
It took her a few moments of looking around before she turned to look into his eyes. “You did this?”
Lucca’s eyes were now a fully bright shade of green. “For you, yes.”
Another slight pain reached her heart. Except, this one was different.
When she turned back to him, it was like the wind had been knocked out of her to stare at someone like him, surrounded by something like this.
“It’s so beautiful,” she whispered.
Walking toward her, he wrapped his strong arms around her again. “I started working on it months ago, to keep myself busy so I wouldn’t come for you. I haven’t been with a single woman since I first saw you. I couldn’t. None of them were you. Every time I wanted you so fucking bad, I would come here to keep myself sane.”
The pain in her chest only grew stronger, consuming her whole heart. The heavy, old chains on her soul were beginning to rattle.
“I didn’t think I would ever be capable of love, until you.” He lightly tugged her hair down, forcing her to look into his eyes. “I love you, Chloe. You’re the only person I’ve loved, or ever will love.”
The chains broke free, her soul feeling freedom for the first time in four years. Freedom that only lasted a second before it was claimed again as lighter, tighter chains took hold, claiming her as his.
These chains might hold her captive, but they were ones she could live with. Chains that didn’t weigh heavily on her body, mind, or soul. Chains that were more permanent. Chains that could never be broken … Not even in death.
I am yours forever.
Forty-Six
A Taste of You … Is Worth a Lifetime in Hell.
“I thought you brought me here to have me stay with Elle,” Chloe admitted nervously as Lucca helped her down the last step of the winding staircase after spending hours in the greenhouse.
Lucca lost his smile at her words, stopping to stare down at her bowed head. “Chloe, look at me.”
She made herself look up, seeing mixed emotions on his face.
“I once promised you that, when the semester was over, I would let you leave. You don’t have to be afraid of Lucifer ever again. You don’t have to be afraid of anyone anymore.” He ran a tender finger down her cheek, watching her lip tremble at the love glowing in his eyes, making them look greener than she had ever seen them before. “I can’t keep that promise, though. I can’t let you leave and walk out that door, because now I know what it’s like to have you.”
“I don’t want you to let me leave,” she breathed helplessly. Ever. “I gave myself over to you. I said the words.”
Lucca raised his hand to her throat, his eyes now turning back to blue-green. “Say the words, darlin’.”
Her chest rose and fell with a force, knowing exactly what she was about to do.
Setting her fate in stone, she said. “I am yours … forever.”
He squeezed her delicate throat under his grasp a little tighter. “Again.”
She looked at the frightening being, unafraid, her heart swelling. “I am yours forever.”
His eyes flashed blue for a split second before he lifted her up and carried her to his bed, where he was going to prove he owned her body the way she had always known he had.
Chloe buried her head in his shoulder, nervously imagining the things he was going to do to her. Shockingly, she didn’t feel any of the fear she had always expected. Instead, she was more nervous that she would disappoint him. He had waited months for her, for this moment.
“You won’t be disappointed if I get it wrong the first time? I mean, you’ve been with a lot of women …”
“Darlin’,” Lucca set her down on the bed, then started tearing his clothes off. “That would be fucking impossible.”
She wanted to look away when he unzipped his pants, but she couldn’t. His arousal was so evident her body wouldn’t allow her to. It wanted to see all of him.
When his long, thick length was set free, she didn’t know if she gasped or moaned.
Lifting her up from the bed, he wasn’t giving her time to decide which one it was. He took her clothes off just as fast as he had his own. Then he slammed her ass back down onto the mattress, causing another gasp to escape her.
Leaning down to press a quick kiss to her lips, he brought his hands to her shoulders, pushing her farther down on his bed.
Chloe could feel the fire between her legs as he braced his hands on the bed next to her and began kissing the side of her neck, working down until he was kissing the cleft between her breasts.
She stiffened, the fire wanting to simmer when he went lower, kissing the scars across her abdomen.
“Beautiful,” he murmured as his tongue wiped every memory of Lucifer inflicting them on her. “I’m never going to let anyone hurt you again, baby.”
Chloe’s breath hitched at the sight and the words he had spoken. How does someone like him exist?
“I know you won’t.” Her trust in him was unbreakable.
The fire burned hotter than ever when he slid his mouth lower until his bearded lips hovered over her center.
“I’m going to have to go to confession,” he told her. “God is going to damn me to Hell for what I’m about to do.”
“W-Wha—”
With the tip of his tongue, he parted her flesh and swiped up and down her slit.
Chloe jumped at the startling sensation, her head falling back and her legs beginning to shake.
He pressed his arm into her hips, holding her still. Groaning, he then pressed his mouth closer. “A taste of you … is worth a lifetime in Hell.”
When he increased the pressure of his mouth against her, Chloe felt him sliding his tongue inside of her in quick licks, and then deeper as he became more demanding, more hungered.
Lifting one of her legs over his shoulder, he plunged his tongue into her writhing body.
Oh my God. She began panting. “Take me with you.”
Her admission had him tightening his
grip on her thigh, his mouth working harder, becoming more ravenous.
The fire inside of her blazed stronger, each lick exposing nerve endings that had lain dormant until Lucca had set them off.
“Lucca!” she loudly moaned. Her nerves had reached their breaking point, sending her to an abyss that she hadn’t seen before and didn’t want to come back from.
As she tried to come back, she felt Lucca lower her leg to the bed before his arousal went to where his mouth had been.
Her breaths became haggard, her nerves coming back. “I-I might need to catch my bre—”
His hand went to her throat as he stared down at her with fierce eyes that silenced her. Then she felt his arousal start to slide inside as he wrapped his other arm around her.
Chloe winced at the slight pain, writhing to adjust herself.
“Stay still, Chloe,” he demanded as he took her bottom lip between his teeth. “It won’t hurt for long.”
She wasn’t so sure.
The hand on her throat tightened slightly. “Which one do you think is tighter: my hand or your tight pussy?”
At his words, her eyes wanted to roll to the back of her head and a rush of wetness hit her that made him move more easily inside of her.
Without warning, she felt a hard thrust deep inside as he loosened his hand around her neck. When his length started to retreat again, his hold on her throat then tightened. Chloe couldn’t regain her equilibrium, becoming lost in the repetitive motions. He was playing her body like a musical instrument, like a violinist that made breathtakingly beautiful music with his hands.
The now familiar curling sensation was coming back, making her grab Lucca’s broad shoulders as she tightened her legs around his hips, thrusting herself up as he thrust down.
Lucca kept his eyes intently on her scarred face, reading every expression. “You like that, darlin’?”
“Yes!” Chloe cried, shocking herself. She couldn’t believe she enjoyed him holding her throat as much as when he rocked inside her body.
Lucca (Made Men #4) Page 21
