CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
AYA
Staring at Luciano’s thundering expression, a smile picked up the corners of my lips. His eyes widened, the only change in his expression, and my brows came together even as his fingers splayed across my cheek.
“You’re so beautiful, mia Aya.” My heart squeezed painfully in its cage, and Luciano’s gentle palm conformed to my aching cheeks. “So beautiful… You’re so beautiful.”
I’m dead. I died in the gym. Heat bled into my cheeks, and the realization that Luciano cared for me was hammered against my soul. His eyes were no longer soulless pits as they gazed into my own; they were sparkling with every shade of black, an abyssal depth that went down and down forever. The darkness wrapped me in comfort and safety, blocking out everything else. That void held everything he was, camouflaging and tainting every emotion, distorting each thought and wisp of a feeling.
But that didn’t mean he cared less.
“Luciano…” Groaning softly, I pressed my forehead against his to sniffle and close my eyes. Luciano’s image flashed behind my lids, and I took a heaving breath of his smell. My arms tightened around his neck, and against my chest his muscles hardened. Carefully pressing my lips to his, I tensed at the butterflies that flapped wildly in my belly. His lips were soft, almost hesitant, and I opened my mouth as he gripped the back of my neck.
Holding me to him, Luciano licked my upper lip with a groan of his own. The sound rose goosebumps on my skin, and I ground my hips against his. His tongue slathered his taste against my inner cheeks to pull a gasp from my throat. Grasping at his shoulder blades, my fingertips burned and their nails dug into his hot, hard flesh.
My moan was loud and high pitched as Luciano squeezed my butt. Rocking my hips, a shiver rattled my spine as my core pulsed lowly.
“Hell!” Snarling against my chin, Luciano pushed down my globes, and I gasped. My aching slit brushed his basketball shorts, and I arched into his mouth as he traveled south. Fire trailed behind his tentative touch even while the rest of him grew harder. Tiny kisses lined my throat, and my breath was stabbed by the invisible needles he punctured me with.
“Lucian-n-no…” Fire licked my core, spreading through my body as I ground against him. Luciano groaned, the bulge in his pants pressing more firmly against my slit. Rocking in sync, his lips brushed my collar bone to pull a strangled whimper from me. Ducking my head, need leaked from my pores, and my palms wrapped around his strong jaw.
My lips tingled against Luciano’s, our kiss becoming deeper and rougher. Heat scorched my skin where his palms groped and kneaded, and goosebumps washed down my legs. Tightening around his waist, my thighs quivered from his creeping touch.
Grinding against him, an intense throb spread through my body as he gently pulled away. Following his lips, desperation replaced the arousal simmering in my veins, and he let out rumbling growl.
“Stop.” Jerking back, a shiver slid violently down my spine at Luciano’s command. His eyes glowed in the dark, and I stroked his face with trembling fingers while harsh pants filled the small space between our mouths. “We need to go, mia Aya.”
“B- but I… what if Sylvi tries to hurt you?” My lower lip wobbled at my murmur, and tears blurred my vision. Sniffling harshly, I pressed my mouth to his in frantic, hot kisses. “Please… please… I- I- I…”
“Sh-h…” Luciano’s soft coo squeezed my heart, and my eyes widened as it caressed my ears. Never in my wildest dreams did I expect such a noise to come out of his mouth. As if realizing what he’d done he pursed his lips together, his own pupils narrowing into fine points. “We’re going. Now.”
Holding me firmly to him, Luciano stood up easily to swipe his keys from a small table near the door. His strides were stiff, and I glanced around the room before sucking on my bottom lip. In the dark I could only see the corners of furniture, the slight glint off metal or glass. This was our safe place, and my heart squeezed at the fact that we were leaving it. Sylvi’s home was a battle ground I didn’t want to return to.
“Tell me how much money you have, Aya.” The room disappeared behind a door, and I blinked back the sting in my eyes. Luciano locked our place up tight with a soft, final click, and I rested my head on his shoulder. His question forced me away from our few minutes today, and I tightened my grip around his neck.
Sauntering down the hallway, Luciano’s gait caused every muscle he owned to ripple against me. The sensation was almost therapeutic, and I turned my attention to what he wanted to know. Why hadn’t I thought of it before deciding to run off and find him?
“My parents left me a note… I never showed the police. They said they left me $10 million, and there was some bank stuff and cards. They said- they said they were sorry for being bad parents.” Murmuring into the cool, pre-dawn air, I closed my eyes only to be encompassed by darkness. I couldn’t remember what my parents looked like; I couldn’t remember their names. A pang of sadness burrowed in my chest, but by the time we reached the car it had disappeared.
Just like my parents, my childhood, my everything. Until Luciano.
“Where did you put it?” My skin prickled at the question, and I took a sharp breath as Luciano wrenched open the door to his car. Memories bombarded me of the only other time he’d asked me something, and a whimper flew from my lips. The contrast was startling, jolting my heart and locking my muscles even as he palmed my thighs heavily. Prying my legs apart, he set me in the passenger seat to loom over me with a sharp gaze.
“I- I… T- there’s… in the backyard… against the gate.” For a long, pregnant moment Luciano stared, searching, and I sucked my lips between my teeth. Grunting, he leaned back to slam the door shut before I let out a hot breath. Clasping my clammy palms together, I sunk into the seat as he rounded the car to slip into the driver’s seat.
Silently Luciano pulled out of his spot, and I turned my gaze out to the scenery. My lips tingled with the residue of his essence, and my tongue sneaked out to swipe over them. Watching the city go by, my eyes ached to stray to the man that sat only a foot from me. His form radiated a tenseness that seeped into my skin and spread a harsh warmth through me. The car became cramped, and I tapped the button to roll down the window. Air streamed along the crown of my head, and my shoulders jerked in a shiver.
“... Aya…” Rough fingertips caressed my cheek, and I turned to Luciano with wide eyes. His expression was dark, hard like stone, but his touch was gentle when he thumbed my lips. “Don’t let me go.”
My jaw slackened at his demand, and his gaze glittered like a starless night as it locked onto mine. Thudding in my chest, my heart swelled to bursting, and tears clogged my throat. Sucking in air, my mouth curved into a watery smile before I managed to nod.
Green pooled in through the windshield, and Luciano grunted lowly before turning back to the road. His dry palm fell from my face slowly, almost reluctantly, to curl around the wheel as he stepped on the gas pedal. Glancing out of the car, the butterflies fluttering in my belly only intensified when I realized that was the last light before reaching Sylvi’s house. In mere moments we would arrive, and anxiety prickled up my arms.
Luciano would be the hero that thwarted the villain.