It had to.
As we made our way back to the city, I sent Luca a sidelong glance. He was working on a laptop computer on the bench seat next to me. Violet was between us in her car seat, but he hadn't paid the child much attention. She’d finally nodded off a few minutes earlier. I used the opportunity to study Luca and didn't like what I saw. His jaw was set like it usually was and his fingers flew over the keyboard. His eyes stayed on the computer screen in front of him. It was like we weren't even there.
I told myself to just leave it all alone, that the sooner this ended, the better. But then I remembered waking up pressed against him on the couch, his fingers trailing up and down my spine. The image of his mouth descending toward mine after I’d all but begged him without words to kiss me was etched into my brain, and I relived that moment over and over in my mind every single night. I'd even gone to the living room a few times in the hopes of finding him again just so we could pick up where we’d left off. I was desperate to know what his touch would feel like. I wanted to hear the gruffness in his voice as he said my name with that mix of need and denial.
"Luca," I said softly. I assumed he wouldn't hear me the first time I said his name, but I saw his fingers pause and his already stiff jaw got even stiffer. But he didn't take his eyes off the computer.
It was pretty much a slap in the face.
I turned to look out the window again, but then that little part of my brain that had always urged me not to remain silent began to ping. I reminded myself that Luca had insisted that Violet and I stay with him. If he didn't want us anymore, he’d have to come right out and tell us. The silent treatment just wasn't going to work for me anymore.
"I'd like to take Violet to the park," I said firmly. I could feel a little bit of the old me returning as I considered how much fun Violet would have playing outside. The penthouse at the hotel was gorgeous, but it couldn't replace the feel of soft grass beneath one’s feet or offer the coolest of breezes washing over skin.
"It's too dangerous."
That was his only response. He didn't even look up when he said it.
I kept my voice soft so I wouldn't wake Violet up. "It's been two weeks. What danger are we actually in?"
Not surprisingly, he didn't answer me.
I leaned forward and stuck my hand between the front seats. "Stan, may I use your phone?"
Before Stan could even hand me the phone or look to Luca to get his permission, Luca was saying, "Who are you calling?"
"Information," I sniped. Something in his tone bit at the last little reserves of patience I had left. "To ask them why you're being such a dick."
The silence in the car was deafening. But I kept my hand opened expectantly and saw Stan’s eyes dart back and forth between me and Luca. Normally, I would've taken pity on the man, considering how temperamental Luca was these days, especially with the men he paid to protect him, but I was fed up.
"If you want to call someone, you can use my phone," Luca muttered. I looked over at the confounding man.
"I want to use Stan's phone. I like Stan's phone," I responded just to needle him. "Stan's phone is comfortable and fits me perfectly."
If I hadn't had Luca's attention before, I certainly did now. His flinty eyes met mine and then he was looking at Stan. I was definitely going to owe Stan an apology after all this.
Luca’s eyes returned to mine and we stared at one another, each waiting for the other to back down. But now that my blood was finally boiling with something besides the need to get high, I wasn't going anywhere. Luca controlled everything about my life at the moment, but I’d be damned if he controlled something as frivolous as this. I told myself that the excitement that was firing beneath my skin had absolutely nothing to do with the way Luca was watching me. And I definitely, absolutely did not want more than anything in the world to be alone with the man at the moment.
I. Did. Not.
Even as I lied to myself, the image of Luca pushing me down on the seat as his heavy body came down over mine had my dick straining against the zipper of my jeans.
I had no clue how long we stared each other down for, but surprisingly, there was no sense of victory when Luca merely nodded his head at Stan and Stan handed me his phone. I began dialing Aleks's number with the intent of asking him to meet me at the hotel because I wasn't quite brave enough to be in Luca's presence when I told Aleks I thought I'd made a mistake staying with Luca, but before I could hit dial, Luca slammed his laptop shut. I ended up flinching at the sound and when I looked over at him, I saw that he was staring out the window.