He grabbed the shirt from the floor and slipped it on, his muscular stomach equally scarred. Luca flung open the door and pulled me inside with a snarl. “What did you see?”
Fear rocked through my body as my heart thudded in my chest.
“Nothing,” I whispered, my voice shaking.
“Bullshit.” His mouth twisted in disgust. “Why are you up here? Are you spying on me, Little Wellington?”
Luca slammed the door, caging me inside his bedroom. He pushed me onto his bed, and his eyes traveled over the front of my dress before settling on my face.
“No, I’m not a spy. I was looking for my brother.”
He stood between my legs and slid his fingers beneath my chin to tilt my head back until our eyes met. “Are you lying to me?”
I shook my head.
His thumb grazed my bottom lip, and my pulse raced as the scent of the sea and sandalwood invaded my senses. He smelled so good I wanted to lick his skin, taste the cocky asshole who held me captive.
“Are you afraid of me?”
Yes.
“No,” I choked out. “You won’t hurt me.”
He raised an eyebrow, a wicked smirk tugging at his mouth. “What makes you so certain?”
I bit my lip to stop it from trembling, and his face contorted into something sinister. His eyes fell to my mouth like he wanted to take my lip between his teeth. A man like Luca wouldn’t give me a sweet kiss or a peck on the cheek. He would make every second hurt as he branded my lips with his sinful touch.
“Use your words,” Luca demanded. “Answer me, Little Wellington… or I’ll have to punish you for being a bad girl.”
My jaw unhinged at his nasty comment. “I’m not a bad girl,” I shot back with fire behind my words.
“No? Because I think there’s a little devil hidden beneath your beautiful exterior.” His long fingers inched down my arm, flames scorching my skin. “And I think she wants to come out and play.”
I cleared my throat, ignoring his last statement. “I know when someone wants to hurt me. You won’t hurt me, Luca.” I slapped his hand away from my body. “So cut the shit and let me go.”
Unfortunately, I’d learned this lesson the hard way. Most of the people in my life had tried to hurt me over the years. Because of them, I wasn’t a delicate girl who handed out her trust to anyone. I could spot a snake a mile away, and despite his intimidation tactics, I knew Luca did not want to cause me physical harm. But what he was doing to my emotions… and my body. Well, that was another story.
A moment of silence passed between us, and Luca inspected me like he was peeling back my skin, looking beneath each layer. Like it wouldn’t satisfy him until he discovered my darkest secrets. But I could tell even my worst ones wouldn’t compare to what he was hiding.
A monster lurked in the shadows. He couldn’t fool me. I’d known enough evil people to see right through him.
Luca Salvatore was rotten to the core and didn’t give a shit what anyone thought about him. He wanted people to see the ugliness inside him. I knew from firsthand experience it was easier to push someone away before they got too close than to let them into my life, only to end up disappointed. It was easier to be the aggressor because it still allowed me a certain amount of control. And after years of having none, I needed it. And I could tell Luca needed it, too.
“What happened to your back?” I said to take the attention from me.
He turned away from me, his eyes on the balcony to our left. “You don’t want to know.”
A warm breeze blew in through the French doors that led to a large patio overlooking the bay. His jaw looked even harder from the side, all clean lines and sharp edges. My fingers itched at the chance to sketch every detail of his face, to capture his essence with my charcoals.
“Art tells the truth, even when people lie,” I said, a direct quote from his deceased mother, a famous painter named Evangeline Franco.
She was my idol, the woman who had inspired most of my art. When I heard Luca was Evangeline’s son, I jumped at the chance to attend this fancy party with my grandparents. I wasn’t excited about being paraded around like a pageant queen, but I thought… Well, I don’t know what I thought I would get out of coming here. But seeing the world my idol once ruled over helped me understand her art better.
Luca’s head snapped to me, and heat rushed down my arms from the intensity on his face. I couldn’t tell if he wanted to kiss me or kill me. Knowing his family, I assumed the latter. They were richer than gods, but the Salvatores made their real money from illegal activities.