Luca (I Love the Way You Lie #1) (25 page)

“Truth?” I said, letting the full weight of the word hit her. She stiffened to attention. “I still and will always love you, Allison. No matter what your decision is.” The words left my lungs before I could think if it were too soon to say them.

“Truth.” She bit her lip. “I’ve always loved you. Only and always you Luca,” she said breathlessly. This time, I brought her hand to my lips, kissing the back of each and every finger. The hard truth of her words pummeling my chest, as I silently thanked God for hearing my prayers.

“I thought about you every day. Every hour, and every minute we weren’t together.” The truth of my words sent a tingle to my balls as they drew up painfully. I tugged her arm, drawing her closer. “We will never be apart again. Do you hear me Allison—ever?” Each word stabbed my heart again and again. My hands traced the delicate contours of her face until I captured her face between my hands and guided her lips to mine. My heart pounded with unrelenting pressure. Fuck. I growled, seizing her lips, no longer able to resist her.

She met my lips with eagerness. This pleased me to no end. She was hungry—demanding. I moaned deep in the back of my throat. She loved that sound, I remembered. She clawed at my chest, trying to get closer. I was desperate for her demand and responsiveness.

I cut off the kiss, dragging my lips from her bruised swollen ones. My mind spun to move this little reunion along. I wanted her spread wide beneath me, purring my name as she came, and the swell of her pussy squeezing my cock as she did. I groaned in frustration, realizing we were captive at this event. Fuck it. I could do as I pleased. And if it pleased me to leave, then so be it.

Her trembling fingers touched my face so reverently. “I can’t believe this is really happening.”

“Neither can I,” a loud, angry, baritone voice sounded behind us. Without turning, I knew who it was and why he was here. He’s been digging around the fountain and came up with a name. My name.

“Oliver.” She jumped up, righting her gown.

I moved to her side protectively. “What the fuck are you doing here, Sven?” My voice was laced with irritation. This motherfucker was the b-rated slasher, Mike Myers, of my life. When the fuck would he go away? When? I wanted to scream.

“Allison, you’ve got to be kidding me right now.” He pointed angrily. “I mean, talk about slumming.”

“Hey,” she screamed in warning. “That’s not fair.” She pointed right back, meeting his chest.

“You know what’s not fair? Coming here and finding this after all the fucking years I put into this relationship. I’m in love with you. Or haven’t you been able to figure that out yet?” He paced, seething angrily. “Him.” He shook his head. “A gangster’s son…everything handed to him. What the fuck does he know about hard work? Making it on your own? He doesn’t,” he spat at her.

I pulled her behind me. “Hard work? I had nothing handed to me, you poser—fuck. You’re owned by your record label, which tells you to breathe, piss, shit, and—fuck.”

Oliver’s face turned purple with anger. “So, let’s hear it, Allison. Him or me. Right now, right fucking here. And I swear to fuck, if you pick him, you’ll never see me again.”

Her limbs stiffened and her expression clouded with confusion and pain. Watching it ripped my fucking heart out all over again. Her sob ricocheted through the depths of my soul. “Please, Ollie, don’t do this.” She wiped her tears with the backs of her hands. “Don’t make me choose.”

I could hardly bear to hear her plea from her lips. Her tears streamed down her perfectly made face. Her trembling fingers met her shaky lip. “Please, Ollie, don’t…please.”

Betrayal stung like a fuck. My heart squeezed and twisted in agony hearing her pleas. Suddenly, all the years of my absence swirled in tandem before me, kicking me hard in the balls. My fists balled and I wanted his blood as an offering to my love.

“Stop, Allison; it all comes down to this. I’m so fucking tired of living—existing in his shadow.” He pointed his thick ringed finger at me. “Grow a pair of balls for once and say it.” His voice grew in anger as he pushed her.

Tears stained her pretty face. “It’s always been him.” She pointed at me sobbing. “My heart never forgot for a day.” She cried harder. “I’ve always been in love with him, Oliver. You knew that. I told you. I’ve always been honest from day one.”

His fingers ran threw his hair as he laughed bitterly. “I actually thought you’d get over him. It’s been seven fucking years. After all that hurt, all those pieces we put back together, you’re so willing to give him the benefit of your heart…so easily. It fucking kills me.” He threw up his hands. Then reached for the bottle of scotch and smashed it against the wall.

She ran to him, and I let her. This was the end of her and Oliver Sven. I felt it bubbling to the surface. She needed the closure I never gave her. “Oliver, please…”

“Don’t fucking touch me, and make your decision so I can finally go on with my life,” he snarled.

I stepped forward, pushing my chest against her back—a show of unity—and prayed it gave her the strength I knew she had. “I choose him, Ollie. I choose him…” she cried.

Oliver wiped a single tear that fell to his cheekbone. “Goodbye, Allison.” He turned and left, pushing the door open and slamming it shut.

Allison folded neatly into a ball, crying her eyes out. Anger weaved its way through me. However, this was my time to comfort her, my time to be a shoulder for her burden.

“I’m so sorry, Luca.” She continued to cry. I scooped her up easily into my arms, drawing her to me. Her body shivered. “I’m not crying because I’m in love with him. He’s just been…well…everything you haven’t…a shoulder when I needed it—constant.”

My emotions were all over the place. I got what
she
was saying. But fuck, I didn’t like the implication that I had left my girl so vulnerable to another man. Her tears shredded what was left of my heart. The low hum of my lighter called to me.

“I understand,” I lied easily and carried her to the Rolls Royce I had waiting. The driver opened the door and I ducked in with her in my arms. I grabbed a blanket off the bench, spreading it over her shivering body. I mustered cooing words of encouragement until she fell asleep in my lap. And then I took the time wiping her tears from her eyes and the hair away from her forehead. She was beautiful and in my arms.

I closed my eyes, relishing the weight of her body over my thighs. This night didn’t go as planned. However, my girl was wrapped tightly in my arms against my beating heart. For that, I sent up a silent prayer. I vowed to attend church when I could, for divinity slept soundly in my arms, and my heart was bursting with affection for my baby girl.

The sun hovered just above his shoulder and the glare was painful to my morning eyes. However, I couldn’t stop myself from looking. I blinked against the glare, quietly stretching and marveling at the beautifully naked man beside me. Black ink stretched across his muscled shoulders,
No Regrets
with a cross below, meeting the base of his spine. My fingers carefully traced each letter, marveling at the intricate words and the meaning behind it.

Luca’s brand of love nearly killed me in the past, and yet it still burned so brightly I couldn’t look away. However, now my spirit was being strangled into a slow death because of Oliver. I knew his absence would leave a gaping wound, a constant reminder of my own failures. But beyond the new pain was the fact that I was still hopelessly in love with someone who, at best, had no moral compass, and at worst, was an out and out criminal. Or at least his father is. He confided in me his tormented years while he was supposed to be sleeping. I should have been, too, but I couldn’t shut my brain off and his truthfulness kept me yearning for more. His honesty, while brutal, was emotional and kept the gaping maw of need and desperation that I had become from growing. His truth needed to be told, and I needed to hear it.

After last night, I couldn’t imagine a life without him in it, filling my soul. Last night was a tsunami containing every emotion I’ve ever felt in my entire life. My body was pounded relentlessly by surge after surge of anger, frustration, longing, and finally, grief. Grief and I had a long history together, and I don’t think he’d be leaving me anytime soon. Yes, I forgave Luca quickly, however, I had been in love with him for seven years. Love blinds people the same way rage does. The mixture of love and rage that pumped through my veins caused me to see nothing but Luca’s face. And it was in that face—in those emerald eyes—where I saw the love he felt for me. That was all I needed. I didn’t need a long, drawn-out argument, rehashing everything that had happened over the last two thousand and fifty-five days. That was the past, and I refused to live in it without him. I’d rather live in the present with him—
my
Luca.

Peeling back the covers, I toed off the bed to find the bathroom. Luca’s tuxedo shirt lay neatly across the back of the brown suede couch. I reached for it and put it over my naked body. The rich, clean scent of man assailed my nose, sending an erotic shiver all the way to my toes. I turned the collar up, sniffing it deeply, and moaned. God, he was delicious.

I padded my way through the expanse of his loft quietly. The maple-corked floors were polished to a high shine and stained darkly, providing a rich warmth. I followed the architect mixed maple with flame-finished French limestone slabs that created a kind of trail within the flooring. This pathway connected the entry on the west to the kitchen on the east. A frosted-glass wall with a sliding glass panel ran north to south, screening the bedrooms from the dining area. The screen glowed in the morning light as the sun filled the space.
I can’t wait to see it at night
, I thought. Last night was wasted in tears and heartache. I didn’t want to leave his arms for a nosy expedition of his home. Translucent glass doors and walls were constructed to allow natural light to flow deep into the center and beyond the darker areas. I took note of the magazine that sat atop his coffee table,
Loft Living in an Urban Society.
I smiled. He was adorable.

Windows lined three walls of the building with an elevator that opened directly into the loft. The sun had full access to the space providing warmth and light. I wasn’t a fan of sunlight by nature, and I lived in a space shrouded in darkness. While the space was completely juxtapose to the Luca I once knew, I had no doubt he changed. The evidence was before me in this palatial loft. It was an entire floor of a building, and I wondered how much it set him back. It was simply decorated, peaceful, and wide open. Beautiful.

I found the bathroom and slid the heavy panel closed. Wow. The marble floor was heated and felt glorious on my aching feet. A single claw foot tub was in one corner, and a lapis tiled shower that could easily fit twelve in the other. I went to the bathroom and then found an unopened toothbrush. My makeup was smeared under my eyes darkly. I opted to wash it off. There was no salvaging it in the name of vanity. After freshening up the best I could, it dawned on me: I never spoke to Melissa and I didn’t have clothes. She’d understand and, hopefully, roll-tape moving over the event without judgment. When I entered the bedroom, Luca was up, stretching with a predatory gleam in his eyes.

He eyed his shirt on me and smiled, holding the cover up for me to climb into. With his arm around me, I nestled into the warmth of his body. He drew me in closer, twisting to face me. “I don’t want to spend a minute of our time today talking about last night. I want to start over and I hope you’ll allow that to happen. Don’t let your head dictate. Let your heart…okay?”

I nodded, smiling. I didn’t know if I could ever get used to this new and improved Luca. However, I was looking forward to doing so. His lazy smile did things to me. I was already drenched. He was affected, just as I was. His thickness pulsed along my leg until, finally, I moaned. His eyes widened and darkened at once. Pulse. Pulse. Pulse. My breath hitched and I swallowed loudly. After all these years, we were sharing a bed, and had all the time in the world to explore each other fully.

He moved his weight over me, pinning me to the bed, and then slowly unbuttoned me. “One rule I have for you while you’re in my bed. I want you naked so I can see what I’ve missed all these years. These…” His breath skimmed across my nipple. “Never hide these from me—ever.” Then he leaned closer, pulling my nipple into his warm mouth. I arched naturally, wanting to give him more. He chuckled, smiling at my response. “I’m taking my time, Allison. Don’t rush me. I have seven fucking years winding through me. And I’m about to snap.”