Page 59 of Luca

“Giada, I don’t think—”

“I don’t want to think, Luca. I need to feel something good, something that will take away the horrible thoughts swirling around my head. Something true.” And something that’s mine.

Luca studies me and then leans in for a kiss, allowing my tongue to delve into his mouth. When I pull away, he brushes the side of my face, which I'm sure is covered in dried tears. “Anything you need, sweetheart. I’ve got you.”

My mouth crashes to his and when I rub my center against him, I find him ready to do just that. I quickly slip out of the tank and yoga pants I was wearing when he came home, and he looks at me with his molten blue eyes. It’s exactly what I need. Not pity in his gaze but the burning desire we’ve just begun exploring. I lift his undershirt from his body and press myself into him, needing his skin against mine before finding his mouth again. The kiss is desperate and slightly unhinged, but Luca doesn’t stop and doesn’t question me again. My hands find his belt, then his zipper, and I lower it, reaching in and grasping his hard length in my palm. His hand yanks down his pants and he shimmies them off his legs before grabbing one of mine and wrapping it around his hips, opening me up to him. When he guides himself into me, I let out a moan into our kiss. His hand grasps my hip as he begins to move slowly and so fucking deep. He never breaks the kiss; he just gives me what I desperately need from him right now—an escape.

“Oh, God,” I cry, breaking the kiss. “I’m almost there.”

His hand comes to where we’re connected and his expert finger begins strumming my clit. “That’s it, Giada. Strangle my cock. God, you feel so good.”

It’s all so much, nearly too much. His finger and the angle he’s hitting so deep inside break me, and I fall into an abyss of sensation as I come apart in his arms. Luca’s groan fills the room and I feel his cock jerk as he comes, still thrusting so deep inside of me. He takes my mouth in a ravenous kiss before stilling and eventually pulling out.

When he breaks our connection, his eyes find mine, and I trace my finger along the sweat lining his brow.

“Thank you,” I whisper. “For being here, for being who you are. I…” I want you. I need you. I think I love you. “I couldn’t do this without you.”

Luca looks in my eyes, surely seeing the unspoken words I’m too afraid to say.

“Always,” is all he says before wrapping me in his arms and tucking me into his chest. I let out a contented sigh, feeling safe and protected before sleep claims me.

Chapter seventeen

Luca

The last three days haven’t brought us any new information about Carlo’s whereabouts. Finn has his people actively looking for him, along with his father-in-law’s men. That bastard is damn good at hiding, I’ll give him that.

Alessia has stopped by every day and worked with Giada on her target practice. Of course I offered, I’m not too shabby myself, but Giada enjoys Alessia’s company, finding an almost big sister in her. Personally, I think forming a bond with Alessia is the best thing for her after the hell she grew up around. She needs all the support and care she can get right now.

My wife hasn’t talked too much about what she found out the day I came home from the meeting with the other capos in the Cataldi organization. I also haven’t pushed. When I found out who Frank was and what he’d done, it took a full three weeks before I could look him in the eye without wanting to scream and rage at him. And that was after years of love and support from him. Honestly, had he not been dying, I don’t know if I would have been able to forgive him or, at the very least, give him any sort of compassion during the last nineteen months of his life. Death is permanent. Feelings are not. Though I can't say I’ve fully forgiven Frank for what he did and the lies through the years, I was able to be the son he raised when he needed it, and I can live with that.

I’m finishing up a workout in the living room, having moved the furniture again like I’ve been doing for Giada so she can lose herself in dance. It’s one of the things that helps keep her mind from spinning with the new reality she’s found herself in. When she dances, there’s always a smile on her face. She told me it’s one of the ways she feels closer to her mom since they shared a love for it.

The elevator doors that lead to the underground gun range open, and Giada and Alessia come walking into the penthouse with smiles on their faces. Giada stops when she sees I'm shirtless and sweaty after having worked out. The instant flare of desire in her eyes doesn't make me stand a bit taller, nor does it send a small amount of pride through me that my wife appreciates the physical shape I’ve worked through the years to keep myself in. Nope. Not at all.

Alessia chuckles next to her, seeing the brief exchange and recognizing it for what it is. I don’t think the woman misses a thing, just like her husband.

“Thanks for coming over again,” Giada says to Alessia. “I think I’m getting better.”

Alessia smiles proudly at my wife and nods. “I think so too. It won’t be long until you’re as good as me.”

Giada shakes her head. “Let’s not get ahead of ourselves. I only just started hitting the actual target and not the space around it.”

“No one is perfect their first time out. Trust me. When I started practicing with my dad and Enzo, I was a shaking mess. They probably shouldn’t have even let me hold a gun, let alone fire one.”

Giada told me a few things about Alessia’s past that I already knew from Finn and why she takes learning any and all self-defense methods for women so seriously. There was a reason Orlando Farina is dead and it’s not just for helping Carlo try to kidnap Alessia and shooting her guard in the back. He would have died regardless, but there was a brutality in the way Finn handled the situation that was very personal. I can’t help but wish I’d been there to see that piece of shit take his last breath.

Giada lets out a loud yawn then shakes her head. “Sorry,” she tells Alessia. “I haven’t been sleeping great.”

That’s putting it mildly. No more than a couple hours pass before Giada jerks awake every night. Then, when she eventually succumbs to sleep, she tosses and turns. Neither of us has been sleeping well because of it, but it’s understandable. The three weeks I spent away from Frank I was barely functioning off a few hours of sleep a night, instead lying awake thinking about everything he told me on a loop over and over. Imagining what it must have been like for my parents to know they were taking their last breaths, that they were being ripped away from each other and their baby.

Alessia waves off her concerns. “Don’t worry about it. Go take a nap. I’ll come by tomorrow, and we’ll practice some more. If you want, I can invite my best friend over and we can start some hand-to-hand self-defense lessons.”

“That sounds great.” Giada gives Alessia a sleepy smile. “See you tomorrow.”

Giada walks up the stairs to our bedroom and my eyes trail her the entire time, watching the sway of her hips that I love grabbing hold of as she takes each step.

Turning back around, I catch Alessia’s perceptive stare, along with the little smirk playing on her lips.

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