She stood there stiffly, too afraid to move. She wasn’t afraid for herself, though, knowing by now Lucca would never hurt her. Not even the darkness would.
“W-What are y-you going to do with him?” she managed to get out.
“He touched you. I told you what I would do if anyone ever laid a hand on you,” Lucca spoke with finality.
“H-He won’t do it again. I-I won’t let him get close enough to, if that’s what it takes.”
“Baby, I’m not ever letting anyone get that close to you again.” He removed a hand from her hip and gently grabbed the wrist that had been touched by another man, lifting it up to eye level. “Did he hurt you?”
She knew her reaction to Amo touching her made it seem like he had, and in a way, he did, but it hadn’t physically hurt her. It was only mentally. “N-No, it just felt … strange.”
“How so?”
She stared at his thumb as he rubbed it back and forth over her wrist. Why doesn’t it feel this way with him? “Like it felt wrong.”
He brought the inside of her wrist up to his lips, his cool breath hitting a sensitive area. “Good.”
Chloe bit her lip hard, knowing exactly what he was about to do, and when his lips touched her skin with a kiss, her heart stuttered from his tenderness. It was like he was trying to replace the touch that wasn’t his, washing away any trace of another man. She had expected it, prepared for it to sting, never before having a man’s lips touch her, but that wasn’t what happened.
Her mind had repelled Amo’s touch, only to accept Lucca’s. It shouldn’t have accepted either’s, since her mind had belonged to the devil for years.
However, when he placed another kiss on her wrist, she could feel that the old chains that had ahold of her mind were actually weak and broken. It was only a matter of time before her mind would finally be freed from the devil.
With the hand that was inches from his lips, she reached out, lightly touching his hauntingly beautiful face, caressing. “W-Will you let him go for me?”
Letting go of her wrist, he returned it to her hip. “He saw you, darlin’. He knows you’re here now. If I let him go, it’ll put your life at risk, more than he already has by coming here.”
Continuing to touch him in hopes it would help Amo escape death, she trailed her fingers down to his beard, the rough texture tingling her fingertips. “Maria came here; you let her know I was here.”
“That was strategic. Maria also knows I’d kill her if anyone found out you are here because of her.” He moved his head to press deeper into her touch.
“Amo won’t tell anyone if it could get me hurt. You know he won’t. Please, just let him go.”
“Why should I?” Lucca’s eyes and voice became dark, letting her know she wasn’t going to like what was going to be said next. “What do I get out of it?”
Chloe’s hand fell from his face, her heavy chest becoming heavier, making it even harder to breathe. “W-What do you want?”
Lucca leaned down, bringing his lips to her ear and sending shivers down her spine. Then he whispered, “The things I want from you, darlin’, will give you nightmares, ones like you’ve never had before. A nightmare that will have you begging me not to wake you up.”
Even though his breath was cold and she shivered with each word he spoke, her body betrayed her as it began to burn, making it feel as if she had frostbite. If I say it, there’s no turning back.
“I … I’ll do anything you want.”
His cold breath whipped at her skin again. “Prove it.”
“H-How?”
Raising up to his full height, he stared down at her, moving one hand up the back of her body to her hair where he grabbed a fistful, forcing her to look up at him. “Let me kiss you.”
The little part in her mind that was still chained by the devil screamed at her not to do it, knowing that if she agreed, her mind would be free of him. She also knew that new chains would take their place, claiming her once again. Her mind would belong to the boogieman.
Chloe nervously licked her lips before she nodded, succumbing to him.
Both the hand on her hip and in her hair tightened as he positioned her just the way he wanted her before he leaned down, claiming her luscious bottom lip between his.
Her eyes slammed shut the second his lips touched hers. She kept perfectly still. The only thing moving was her heart as it attempted to beat out of her chest.
“Kiss me back,” he growled hungrily.
Chloe gasped. He seemed like he had been starved of any affection for years.