Page 51 of Charity's Torment

I pulled my mask down. Shit was right.What was I going to do now?

Chapter 20

It was the only way to get the police off my back, and she fucking deserved it. She was a loose cannon and way too easy.

No need to beg for permission… it was easier to ask for forgiveness.

Grunts from a man and the slapping of flesh upon flesh echoed down the hall as I approached the room. Luca hadn’t answered my calls for a few days, so it left me with tracking him down and showing up unannounced.

The moaning increased as I stepped closer and swung the door open.

Luca stood over a man strapped to a chair with his fist raised, then swung down with a powerful blow to the face. Blood splattered to the floor. The man laughed and spat his broken tooth at Luca.

“Blood looks good on you.”

Luca threw daggers with his glare, then rubbed his bloodied knuckles on the man’s shirt. I plopped in the chair sitting in the corner to watch him finish his work, but he had no intention of continuing.

“What did the poor man do to deserve your wrath?”

“What else? He stole from me. Do I not treat my men well? Do they not have food on their tables and money in their banks?”

“You are good to them, Luca. It’s their own character flaws that cause disloyalty.”

He had a mean streak that kept me in linemosttimes. I never questioned that he would put a bullet in my face should I disobey so grievously. When Giovanni said Luca loved me, I questioned everything. It swirled me in an additional torment I hadn’t experienced before. Do I test the boundaries with him and see if the confession was true—that he loved me—or do I continue to stay in line?

I knew this man would die. Luca was taking his resentments out on him before he put the bullet in his brain. So I know he’d never get a chance to say a word of what he witnessed in this room.

His stubble gracing his face was longer than it’s ever been. He always kept it trimmed or cleanly shaven. It poked my sensitive fingertips like little needles pressing into my hand as I turned his face towards me. His mouth softened under my touch as our lips entwined in a feverish kiss.

Luca’s hand cupped my cheek and caressed my chin with his thumb. Our lips devoured each other in a sensual dance of predator and prey until we were both confused about who was who. I nipped his lip, eliciting a growl from deep within his chest.

His hand tightened around my hip, digging his fingers into my soft flesh. Each fingertip brought bruising pain beneath it, marring my delicate skin. I moaned into his mouth, losing myself in the sensation.

He slipped away from me and ran his hand down his face. “What are you doing?”

“Testing a theory.” I tipped my face back up to meet his lips, and he moved back, stopping me from proceeding. Rejected… for now.

“What are you trying to find out?” He was becoming suspicious of my actions. I had never been so brazen with him, but it was high time that I was.

I shrugged a lopsided shrug, then took my seat in the chair against the wall.

“I’ll let you know my findings when I get the results.”

Luca adjusted himself through his pants pocket, and my lips drew up into a smile.

“Do you want to know my theory?”

He stalked towards me, leaned over, and rested his hands on the armrests, pinning me in. His face was so close to mine. I can smell the liquor I tasted moments ago.

“What’s that?” My chest needed to shatter, to release the organ demanding freedom.

“You need something, and you’re afraid to ask.”

He bit my lip and pulled. I grabbed him and brought him closer, reducing the pain from his bite. He released me with a grunt and tore my nails from the nape of his neck. I won this round. But would I come out alive the next one?

“I’m not afraid to ask. I’m afraid of the answer.” I sucked in my injured lip and ran my tongue over the top, tasting him.

“Ask.”

“I need your forgiveness.”

Luca reared back as if I slapped him. His brows knit together, genuine worry struck his features. “What did you do?”

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