Page 33 of Somewhere in the Sunset

This is why he left me. To be wild and free, to get drunk on a random Tuesday night.Thisis what he chose over me, yet I still let him walk through the door.

I flick on some lights, toss my jacket onto the couch, kick off my sneakers. Luca wanders the apartment in fascination as though he’s never seen it before, let alonelivedhere. He grabs a fistful of the curtains and then trails his fingers along the kitchen countertops. The last time he was here, I told him he was never coming back. I have the backbone of a worm.

Leaning back against the breakfast bar, I cross my arms and watch him scornfully. Maybe it’s the wine that makes me brazen enough to ask, “So? Did you kiss anyone tonight?”

Luca turns his head. “What?”

“You want to be single. You want to be free to do whatever you want without consequences. So, I’m asking you: Did you kiss anyone tonight?” I glare at him as my stomach churns, and as much as I want to make him squirm, I also can’t bear to hear the answer. The thought of Luca evenflirtingwith another woman turns my blood cold.

But .?.?. I slept with Weston. So, I really don’t have a leg to stand on right now. Luca would lose it if he knew. He was always the seething, jealous type, but it was rarely an issue. There was never anything to be jealous of. I only had eyes for him.

“Ignore me,” I mumble, shaking my head. “It doesn’t matter. I don’t want to know.”

In the silence of our apartment that was once so filled with laughter, Luca closes the distance between us. He moves in, bending to make us eye-level, and touches the ends of my hair. He twists the curl around his fingers and breathes a sigh, the scent of vodka unmistakable. “No one compares to you,” he says.

My throat dries, and even my knees wobble. His words may be drunken thoughts, but I cling to them. I grab onto the slightest bit of hope that maybe he’s realized the grass isn’t greener on the other side of the fence, that he’s made a mistake, that he wants to come home. And I should push him away for breaking my heart. I should shove him out of my way for putting me through the pain he has these past three weeks, but when I look into his blue-gray eyes and feel my heart swell with all the love I hold for him, the only thing I want to do is pull him closer and kiss him.

“You’re just saying that because you’re drunk,” I manage to force out. I’m fighting for my life trying to keep my hands to myself when all I want is to sink back into his embrace and remember how it felt when we were together.

Luca smiles and presses his forehead to mine, his hand wrapped into my hair. “No, Gracie. I mean it.No onecompares.”

“You can’t .?.?.” The words get stuck. His mouth is almost brushing mine.

He gazes so intently into my eyes, it’s like he’s staring into my soul. “I miss you,” he whispers, and I squeeze my eyes shut as he presses his lips delicately to mine. He pulls back for a split second, then kisses me again. “I miss you so much.”

And just like that, Luca is mine again. I part my lips and deepen the kiss as I cup my hands around his jaw. Our movements are always so perfectly in sync with one another after so many years together. Maybe we’re both just predictable at this point, but it’s seamless. Both his hands are in my hair and he braces me harder against the wall, pinning his body to mine. I worried I’d never feel his touch again, but he still wants me. My heartbeat rockets with overwhelming relief.

The tender kisses turn fierce and passionate as Luca bites my lower lip, my neck, my earlobe. His hand drops from my hair and travels down the curves of my body before disappearing under my dress. He skims his fingertips up the soft skin of my thigh, so light and teasing it sets my body on fire, and then he slides his hand into my panties.

Luca takes my chin in his free hand, angling my face toward his and forcing me to meet his eyes as he pleasures me. “You missed me too, didn’t you?”

“Mm-hmm,” I breathe, burying my face into the crook of his neck and holding on tightly as my legs weaken. All I can do is collapse into him. I forgot just how good his fingers feel.

Luca laughs against my ear. “Stand up, Gracie, and tell me just how much you missed me.”

I try to regain some strength in my legs to stabilize myself. Luca knows exactly where and how to touch me, with the right amount of pressure and just the right speed. An art he’s perfected.

Drawing my head back, I lock my eyes on his and slide my hand over the nape of his neck, guiding his lips back to mine. “I’ve missed everything about you,” I whisper. As I kiss him, I moan softly into his mouth.

Luca slips his hands beneath my thighs and lifts me off my feet. His slim figure is deceiving – he was on the wrestling team all through high school, and his strength catches even me off-guard sometimes. He carries me across the apartment as I kiss him wildly, desperately, and then lowers me onto the couch. I reach out and flatten my palm over the bulge in his jeans, feeling how hard he is. I undo the button and hook my index finger over the waistband of his boxers.

“I want you so bad,” I murmur.

Luca grasps my wrist to restrain my hand. He brings his face near and, with his opposite hand, tucks my hair behind my ear. His thumb brushes softly against my cheek. “Then what do you say?”

God, I miss how dominant he is in bed. I’d let Luca do anything, I’m that in love with him. I gaze sweetly into his eyes and plead, “Please, Luca.”

I don’t know how he does it so swiftly, but suddenly I’m flipped over on the couch, flat on my stomach. We don’t even undress. Luca frees himself, his jeans around his ankles, and hikes my dress up around my waist. As he slides off my panties, he leans over me and bites my ear, his breath hot and sensual. I bury my face into a pillow and clench my fists as Luca enters me from behind. I don’t know who groans the loudest. All I know is that I love our bodies being entwined as one, because I love this man more than anything else in my life.

“You feel so fucking good,” Luca hisses as he fucks me slow and hard.

He presses both hands into the small of my back, keeping me pinned down. I can’t keep my mouth shut. The pillow muffles my moans of pleasure as I bite into the fabric. As Luca changes his rhythm, he grabs a fistful of my hair and pulls hard, lifting my face from the pillow and curving my spine, allowing him even deeper inside of me. It hurts in all the right ways.

“I’ve missed you so much, baby,” he whispers into my ear as he releases my hair and I sink forward again into the cushions. He smacks my ass once, twice, three times. “Missed you so much I can’t even last.” He leans down against me, his chest pressed to my back, his lips against my temple, and his entire body tenses as he finishes inside of me with a low, drawn-out groan. The sound of Luca getting off will always be my favorite sound in the world.

He exhales heavily and climbs off me. I crane my neck to look back at him, waiting for more, but feel my body deflate as I watch him pull up his jeans. We’reneverdone until both of us have gotten off, because Luca has never been a selfish lover – until this exact moment. He wipes a hand over his brow and crosses to the kitchen to fetch himself a glass of water. He’s just drunk and caught up in the moment. What’s really important, I remind myself, is that he’s here. He still wants me, still loves me. Everything is going to be okay.Weare going to be okay.

“I can stay, right?” Luca asks as he approaches with a glass of water for me too. Before I take it from him, I adjust my dress and panties, sitting upright.

---