His features are tight with anger, his irises dark as night.
“You want romance, I’ll give you fucking romance,” he mutters right before his arm wraps around my lower back, and my body’s yanked flush with his.
My hands quickly find his shoulders, then I’m stunned out of my mind as his head lowers. When I feel his breath on my lips, his eyes bore into mine with so much intensity I forget how to breathe.
Sweet Jesus.
Luca lifts his other hand and weaves his fingers into my hair, and the moment is so damn intense I can’t even move as he closes the last of the distance and claims my mouth.
I swear the ground quakes beneath my feet. My thoughts and emotions instantly spiral into a chaotic mess.
There’s not a single drop of willpower in me to push him away. Instead, my lips part, and the moment his tongue strokes hard against mine, the ground gives way beneath me, and I fall into everything he makes me feel.
There’s only the scent of his masculine aftershave, the feel of his lips, the sound of our breaths.
I’ve spent endless nights dreaming about Luca kissing me. Nothing prepared me for the real thing.
A hard tremor rakes my body, and my heart threatens to beat right out of my chest.
God, surely he feels the connection between us?
He kisses me with so much dominance and passion I can’t keep up. His lips knead mine, his tongue lashes, and his teeth tug, drawing a moan from me.
All I can do is hold onto his shoulders as he possesses me in a way I’ve never been possessed.
His arm becomes a steel band around my lower back while his fingers fist in my hair.
I melt until I’m nothing more than clay in his hands.
When he ends the kiss and pulls back slightly, I keep my eyes closed. My breaths are embarrassingly fast, my heart still pounding a mile a minute.
“Look at me,” Luca demands with a hoarse voice.
Slowly my lashes lift until I’m staring into his darkened eyes.
“One way or another, we’re going to make this work.”
With my emotions all over the place, I press close to him again and wrap my arms around his neck. When he returns the hug, I squeeze my eyes shut, working to regain my equilibrium.
“I just need a moment,” I whisper against his neck.
“We can stand here all night, baby.” He presses a kiss to my shoulder.
The term of endearment makes goosebumps erupt over my skin, and I hold him tighter.
Please, God. Let this man fall in love with me. I beg you.
Luca starts to rub my back, and it’s so comforting, it eases some of the tension in me.
Pulling back, I say, “I’m good. Let’s have dinner.”
Luca takes my hand and leads me toward the establishment while I try to come to terms with the fact that he just rocked my entire world with a single kiss.
Dear God, I’m in so much trouble.
Chapter 14
Luca
I should’ve kissed her sooner.
I got to hold Mariya, which made up for all the arguing, and having her look for comfort in my arms is a huge fucking win in my books.
I wrap my arm around her shoulders and tug her to my side as we walk to the restaurant's entrance.
Once Mariya and I are seated at a table with Ivan and Lev sitting at another table nearby, I ask, “What are you having?”
She checks the menu. “I’m not sure. I’m not that hungry.”
“You didn’t eat much at brunch,” I comment.
She sets the menu down, then leans back in her chair. “I’ll have the same as you.”
When the waiter comes, I order two steaks with steamed vegetables and sparkling water.
I turn my attention back to Mariya. “What don’t you like to eat?”
“Fish.” She scrunches her nose. “I can’t stand the taste.”
“What’s your favorite food?”
She thinks for a moment. “Pasta. My mom makes the best Alfredo.”
The corner of my mouth lifts.
Her gaze rests on my face. “And you?”
“As long as it has meat in it, I’ll eat it,” I chuckle.
A server brings the chilled sparkling water and pours some into our glasses. When we’re alone again, I lock eyes with Mariya. “I think it’s time we talk about where to go from here.”
Mariya lets out a sigh, clearly not in the mood for this conversation. “Okay.”
“I want you to make yourself at home in the apartment,” I start with something easy which shouldn’t turn into a fight.
“It’s going to take a while before it will feel like home,” she admits. She thinks for a moment, then asks, “Can I add color to the place?”
“Sure. As long as it doesn’t look like a unicorn went to town on it.” I take a sip of my water, then relax back in the chair before I say, “We’ll share a bedroom. Even if we fight, there’s no sleeping in separate rooms.”