Page 64 of Worth the Risk

“I had,” I say, clearing my throat as I slide back into his lap and straddle his legs, “an ex-boyfriend who would get a little handsy while he was drinking. It never culminated in rape, but it got close a couple times. More than once I woke up with him already inside me, and I was definitely not a fan of that. Since our relationship ended, I’ve come to realize that Jefferson actually raped me. But that’s how I know the difference between what Woodward did and what my ex did.”

Luca’s eyes narrow as his entire body goes taut. “Give me his last name. Right fucking now.”

“No.”

“Hannah, you will give me his motherfucking name.”

“Luca, I will not give you his motherfucking name.”

“Don’t tease me, baby. I’ll find out one way or another, and I suggest you choose the easy way of just giving me his name.”

“Oh yeah? What’s the hard way?” I taunt.

“I recognize and support your attempt at redirection, Pixie, but let’s stay focused,” he says, his determined gaze not veering from mine.

“Luca,” I sigh. “It doesn’t matter what his name is, or what our past was. It’s the past. I refuse to focus on that. Yeah, I should have reported him. But I just wanted to get away from him. I hope that you can be my future, and we never have to speak of him again.”

He rests his forehead against mine as we sit quietly together. My heartbeat has slowed, finally in tune with his, as I make a relieved exhale. Just being here in his arms has made everything worth it.

“God I’ve missed you,” he murmurs, his hot breath dancing across my skin. Luca leans down to press a tender kiss against the crook of my neck.

“I’ve missed you too,” I respond. “I didn’t know what to do, Luca. I didn’t know who to trust or who to approach.”

“Why didn’t you come to me? You could have trusted me, Pix.”

“I didn’t want Woodward to release the tape. Your family — I haven’t met them, and I didn’t want their first memory of me to be a sex tape. And the thought of me embarrassing you …” I trail off.

Luca raises his head to look at me, but I close my eyes and avoid him. He grabs my chin gently with his thumb and forefinger. “You could never embarrass me, Pixie. Never.”

“You’ve talked about how the public perceives you, and I didn’t want to be responsible for another negative storyline. I wanted to figure out a way to save us both,” I confess.

“We’re stronger together, baby. Promise me you’ll trust me from now on with everything, no matter what.”

I nod as my head drops to his shoulder. “I promise, but just for fun, what would happen if I didn’t trust you in the future?”

Luca chuckles against me. “You’d be punished, of course. Like the hard way you just asked about.”

“Oh yeah? Explain.”

“Well, while very much fun for me, it may not be much fun for you.”

I tilt my head to the side, studying him. “Why is that?”

“Well,” Luca says, his voice suddenly an octave lower and husky, “it involves edging you to the point of hysteria. Making your ass red with my hand, so red in fact, that you can’t sit for a week without remembering how I own you. Choking you with my cock, and covering you with so much of my cum that you smell like me for days. Marking you as mine in every fucking way possible.”

“That way, I choose that way,” I say breathlessly.

Luca barks back a laugh. “I never said you’d come in that example, Pixie.”

“I don’t care, I choose that way. Please. Please, Luca,” I whimper. He rests his forehead against mine as his hands clutch at my neck, holding me tightly against him.

“I would love nothing more than that, Pixie, but I have barely slept since Boston. I’m so fucking beat,” he confesses.

“Luca, that was weeks ago!”

“Can I just hold you? I promise, I’ll do what I said another time. We’ve got a game tomorrow night, and I just want to sleep,” Luca says. I begin lightly scratching my fingernails up and down his back, and he sighs softly as his head drops to my shoulder. “God, I’ve fucking missed you, Pix. You’re not allowed to leave me again.”

“Okay,” I whisper. As Luca’s body begins to relax, I realize he’s seconds away from falling asleep. As much as I don’t want to wake him up, I don’t think Claire needs to walk in on me and my maybe-boyfriend on the couch. “Come on, Luca. My bed is more comfortable than the couch.”

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