“Luca,” she whispers as she shakes her head, my name a plea on her lips. I chuckle, my heart overflowing with love for her. I’m crazy about her.
I thread my hand through her hair and pull her face toward mine roughly. My lips come crashing down against hers, and she moans into my mouth as I make her come, her pussy clamping down on my fingers. I really fucking love this woman, with all my heart. I’ve never felt anything like this before, and I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of her.
She tears her lips off mine and drops her forehead against my shoulder, her body trembling slightly as I pull my fingers away, pure fucking satisfaction flowing through me.
“I apologize,” I tell Jessica, who looks at us with an expression that can only be described as jealousy and torment. “My wife isn’t feeling too well, it seems. I’d better take her home.”
“Wife?” she repeats, her gaze filling with regret and defeat.
I wrap my arm around Valentina, who can’t bring herself to lift her face. She’s too fucking cute, and I have no doubt that she’ll make me pay for this the second we get home. I just couldn’t help myself. “Yeah,” I murmur. “Mywife.”
Valentina looks into my eyes, clearly flustered, and I can’t help but chuckle. “You’re the one who made me come here,” I tell her, unable to wipe the smile off my face. “Now that you’ve…come… too and outlined the offer, we can finally wrap this up and go home, right?”
Her eyes flash, but I see the way she tries to suppress a smile as she turns toward Jessica. “I truly apologize,” Valentina says. “My husband is right. I’m feeling somewhat out of it tonight. Please contact me directly if you’d like to further discuss our offer, and we’ll reschedule.”
Finally. I can’t wait to get her to bed and lay to rest any insecurities she may still have. One by one, I’ll make them vanish, until she’s certain that she’s it for me.
Chapter Fifty-Five
Luca
I sigh in irritation as I walk toward Lexington’s house for poker night. I really wish I could’ve just stayed home with my wife, which is fucking insane, because poker night used to be the highlight of my month. I used to love hanging out with my brothers, but now it feels like I’m sacrificing time with my wife. I can’t skip tonight, though, since even Dion made it back for this one. If he can make it here from London, I unfortunately have no excuse not to walk over, considering it’s only ten minutes to Lex’s house.
I frown when I find Xavier and Zane loitering by Lex’s front door, lost in a seemingly intense conversation. . “It couldn’t have been her,” Zane says, his voice strained.
“Couldn’t have beenwho?” I ask.
Both men look up in surprise, and I raise a brow. Zane looks away and runs a hand through his hair, his expression tormented. What in the hell has him so rattled?
I glance at Xavier and cross my arms. “Speak up, or I’ll tell Sierra that you’ve been crashing our monthly poker nights. What do you think she’ll do with that information?”
Honestly, the possibilities are endless. Sierra hates Xavier, so she could show up at poker night and antagonize him, she could tell our security team to ban him from entering our premises, or she could use his location knowledge against him — one night a month where she knows for sure where he’ll be? That information is dangerous in her hands.
I honestly have no idea why a man like Xavier lets my sister get away with so much shit. She fucking torments him. If I were him, I’d already have had her arrested for some of the shit she pulls. I guess he doesn’t out of courtesy toward us and the friendship we’ve forged over the years.
“Celeste,” Xavier says, and the smile melts off my face.
“What?” I glance at Zane, concerned. No wonder my usual quiet and unshakeable brother seems so frenzied.
“I told her I’d make her pay if she ever dared appear in front of me again,” he says, his voice soft. “So, for her sake, I hope she stays far away.”
I nod, worried. Zane tries to shake it off and walks into the house, but the mere mention of her has him rattled. I hope she doesn’t go anywhere near him, but even I know that it’s inevitable. Those two are like a moth and a flame — I just can’t tell which is which.
“Where’s Dion?” I ask as I sit down.
Lexington shrugs and pours me a drink. “He said something came up, so he’s running late. He said to start without him.”
I nod and take a sip of my drink, my gaze roaming over my brothers. Everyone looks excited to be here and catch up, except for Ares and me. He catches my eye and smiles knowingly as he holds up his glass.
I tap my glass against his, and he shakes his head. “I guess I’m forgiven for instigating you when you rocked up here drunk a few months ago?”
I smile as Lex deals the cards. “I forgave you the second Valentina agreed to marry me.”
Ares chuckles. “Make sure you pay it forward. One by one, these idiots are going to fall. Since you and I both found happiness thanks to the little pushes we received, it’s only fair we return the favor.”
I nod and raise my glass. Ares is right, of course. All of us can be fucking idiots, but our saving grace is our bond, our family.
“There’s no way you’re not cheating,” Xavier says, his eyes flashing with irritation. Xavier doesn’t like to lose, which makes it all the more confusing that he continues to lose high value real estate deals to my sister. I could barely even get him to give up the land that Valentina’s tree is on.