Page 63 of Charity's Redemption

He asked me with a calmness that soothed my nerves away and compelled me to spill my guts about everything that had happened. Of course, I had nothing to hide, so there was no reason to keep any details from him.

“You will not like what I suggest, but I think it needs to be done,” Luca said.

“Stop right there,” I said, holding my hand up like a crosswalk lady directing traffic. “Who are you, and what have you done with the demanding Luca I know?”

“Charity,” he said, as though it was a warning.

“I’ll take spankings for five-fifty, please.”

“That’s not even an option.” He pinched the bridge of his nose and shook his head. “The numbers are in hundreds.”

“Fine. I’ll take spankings for five-hundred, and I won’t ask nicely this time.”

“Are you done now?”

My shoulders sagged as I faked a pout, lightening the mood. “Yes.”

“Good.” He rose from his desk chair and came to sit across from us. A move I noticed he did when he wanted to be on a more personal level. “I think you need to move in here. Permanently.”

Air whooshed from my lungs as if he’d sucker-punched me. How was I supposed to prepare for something like that? Even though he’d suggested it before on a temporary basis, I never thought for once in my life he’d ask for permanency. But then again, he alluded to it when he apologized and said he wanted to wake up to me every morning. He never said it aloud, though.

“I, um,” I looked at Max and Nico, hoping they’d give me the right words to say. “I was thinking I’d get a better security system.”

“You won’t get a better one anywhere else than here.”

True. This place was a fucking fortress, and no one had or even tried to waltz in here, much less sit on your couch, pet your cat, and wait for you to arrive.

“I need to think about it, Luca.”

Fear buckled my composure. What if when I moved in, he couldn’t handle me? I mean, right now, we have the best of it all. We get our space; we enjoy each other’s company, and then we go to our separate homes. What if he grows tired of me? Then what?

This was a major step in our relationship, and he just tossed it out there like he’d just asked what I wanted for dinner. You can’t spring that on a girl like that. There needs to be buildup… predictability.

“Decide quickly because I won’t have you living in that house anymore.” He leaned over and wrapped his hands around my naked knees. “It’s not secure. Too many people have broken in already, and who knows who might succeed the next time.”

Another valid point. My home was secure, or at least it felt like it, until my brother cursed it when he broke in and stood in my living room like a psychopath. Then there was the man who tried to garrotte me, and now Elias. My home was no longer safe, and I’d been ignoring the fact for way too long.

“Okay. Let me concentrate on one thing at a time.”

I was still learning the masterful game of chess with all my moving parts. When Kane died, the game reset. Now it’s in full force with Elias, and I’m pretty sure I’m losing. He’s got the upper hand, and I saw no way out.

If I have to kill the senator in order to get him off my back and away from me, that’s something I’m willing to do. I think I’d established that thought with Luca plenty of times. It’ll protect them and me. It’s for the best.

Luca’s spicy cologne spilled over me as his thumbs applied pressure to the inside of my knees, parting them every so slightly. His gaze dipped down between them, then back at me with a hunger that bled into his seductive eyes, stealing my breath from me. A look that fed me beautiful secrets—if they weren’t sitting beside me, he’d consume me and never stop.

Cool air skimmed over the wetness between my thighs as I sucked on my damaged lip and pinched my brows together.

It was painful to have his eyes on me, knowing what he wanted to do to me, but not touching me—leaving me in sweet, sweet agony.

Luca cleared his throat as if it pulled him from the trance we’d set ourselves in. “Head to bed, and we’ll discuss this plan of yours in the morning.”

“But I thought you wanted to discuss Elias?”

“It’ll have to wait. I can’t concentrate with you sitting here like that.”

“Like what?”

“A tease.”

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