Page 125 of Lunar Crest University

“What aboutyourdreams?” I whisper. “Your career?”

“Thisisthe dream. I want you to have everything you want. I can get a job anywhere. I don’t give a fuck about that. I give a fuck about you.”

A breathless laugh escapes me. “You’re crazy, Luca.”

His smile almost depletes the oxygen in my lungs. The corners of his mouth crinkle along with his eyes as he beams at me, his dark eyes honing on my lips just before he leans forward to press his against them. I can feel his quick breathing through his nose as he kisses me with fervor, and my hand still resting on his chest grips his shirt.

“You move fast,” I tease, pulling back slightly to look at him. “You just asked to move in with me and be my secret boyfriend only five minutes ago.”

“No time to waste,” he breathes, kissing me again. “You don’t have to be a secret.Wedon’t have to be a secret.”

I tug my bottom lip between my teeth as I search his eyes, and I see nothing but excitement flashing in his irises.

“We could have everything we want.”

“And no one will miss this money?” I ask tentatively, furrowing my brow.

His lips trail down to my jawline, his beard tickling me as he slowly kisses my sensitive skin. “I killed everyone, baby,” he murmurs. “There’s no one left to miss it.”

My eyes flutter closed as he pecks underneath my earlobe, his large nose brushing against me softly and making me shudder underneath his lips. Reaching up to swipe my hair back over my shoulder, he trails down my neck, chuckling as my thighs press together.

“I’ll build you a house,” he rasps into my neck. “Anywhere you want it.”

Leaning away from him, shattering the euphoric spell he almost had me under for a second, I grip his sweater in both of my hands as I shake him meekly. “And you’re sure you want that withme?”

“I should be asking you that. I don’t deserve you, Finley, but dammit, I want you anyway.”

Cocking my head softly, I slide my hand up his chest until it’s cupping his scruffy cheek. “Don’t say things like that. You deserve good things, Luca. Always.”

“You’regood.”

“And I’m not leaving,” I breathe, sweeping my thumb along his cheekbone. “I’ve always wanted this. Even when I tried not to, I did.”

He twists his head into my palm until it’s over his mouth, kissing my hand before leaning his face back into my touch. “Is that a yes, then?”

I nod simply. “Yes.”

“Yeah?”

“Yes.” I smile. “I’m yours.”

Since the moment he snapped at me in that alley, bloody and wounded, I was his. His blood hadn’t only stained my carpet that night—it stainedme. I was marked forever after cleaning him up as he sat on my toilet, no matter how hard I tried to rid him from my thoughts. We were always destined to meet—if I’d never stumbled down that alley that night, he was still going to be my professor. The tension was always going to be there.

Luca Serrano was always meant to be mine.

Epilogue: Part One

LUCA

SATURDAY, JUNE 1ST, 2024

Six months later, our new house is officially finished. It’s still a little empty, aside from the stuff Finley brought over from her tiny apartment, but she already has plans for us to go furniture shopping this weekend, and I’m following her lead.

I told her I’d build her a house, and I did. It’s all hers to do whatever she wants. As long as she’s here, I don’t give a fuck what kind of furniture she picks out.

All I care about is how beautiful she is, getting ready for graduation as she stands in front of our pristine bathroom mirror and blots the gloss she just swiped across her lips. Her raven-colored hair falls in smooth waves down her back, drawing my attention to the black dress that hugs her curves all the way down to mid-thigh. She bends over the sink as she inspects her reflection, because even the chunky black heels she’s wearing don’t give her enough height to see.

I tried to persuade her to wear flats, but she was determined to walk across the stage in heels. She still gets a sharp pain in her thigh when she stands for too long, and those shoes are going tokill her, I know it, but she didn’t want to let what happened to her affect her graduation day, so I didn’t fight her on it.

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