Page 58 of Stolen Seconds

“What do you see?” Luca’s voice broke the silence, reminding me he’d always been there.

I didn’t understand why he’d brought me here or what his intentions were but there was something about the irony of this situation that had me sharing a glimpse of myself.

“Moments are short-lived.” I could feel the heat of his gaze against the side of my face as I stared at the artwork that resonated with me far beyond any verbal interpretation of what I felt. “And time doesn’t wait for anyone.”

My voice echoed around the room, cementing my fear against the crafted walls and I wanted to hide.

Luca didn’t say anything, but I could feel him watching me, stripping me under his scurrility and it became unbearable to be near him when his presence was all-consuming.

With a shaky breath, I turned my head and caught his eyes, the emotion flickering in them weakening me down to the bone. Every second that passed, I could sense myself succumbing to this tragedy.

He lifted his hand, a lone finger tracing a path from my cheekbone down to my chin. “I never stood a chance,” he whispered as his gaze lingered to my mouth.

I didn’t know the meaning behind his words but the expression on his face was enough to make me understand. It was the softness around his fervid eyes, the scrunch between his brows and the downcast of his smile that pulled me deeper into him.

“Why did you bring me here, Luca?” My voice sounded hoarse to my own ears, wavering slightly. “This art. . . ”

“I watch you, Irina. So, the next time you get lost in that head of yours, just know that I’m there with you.”

His words slammed into me with such force, I took a step back. He’d said this to me once before but the gravity of them weighed differently now. He wasn’t only telling me; he wasshowingme.

My pulse raced beneath my skin, my breathing turning shallow as the pressure in my ears intensified.

Anyone but him. Please. Don’t let it be him.

He nudged under my chin, breaching through my unnerving thoughts and crossed the room, pausing at the exit for me to join him.

I aimlessly followed him into another area of the museum, too busy sorting through my turmoil of emotions to take notice of the glass ceiling above us until Luca turned the lights off.

It was a replica of the one in Luca’s house, only this time, the stars shined so brightly, I tilted my head in awe for a better view.

“Do you like it?” he asked, standing beside me.

“I. . . ” When I looked at him, a knowing gleam sparked in his eyes causing my heart to thud against my chest. “You knew.”

He shrugged, a playful smile crossing his mouth lazily. “You were in my house.”

He said it so casually as if it was the only reasonable justification.

How long had he been watching me that day, lurking in the shadows like a psychopath when I was too enamored by the view in his home?

“You’re truly something else,” I whispered. “You know that?”

He tilted his head in amusement. “Is this your way of flirting with me?”

“You wish, Luca Canaveri.” I felt my own lips twitch into a small grin.

If there was a moment in time that I could freeze between us, it’d be this. The mind-numbing trance of free falling into the pleasurable unknown and all it took was one enchanting stare from him with the silence of the starry night above us to make me feel this way. I didn’t want it short-lived, I wanted it over and over again.

He clapped his hands once as he walked backward toward the center of the room where there was a pile of pillows and blankets on the floor. “The view is better from down here,” he said, a light energy radiating from him.

It was hard to believe he’d never been on a date before when he’d set up one so perfectly, it left me jarred.

“I hope you’re hungry.” He continued speaking to me, opening containers but it sounded far away as if I was drowning, a suffocating pressure crushing me.

It became hard to breathe, the familiar sensation of a harsh grip around my neck, clawing at me and pulling me under.

I stumbled back, clutching my shirt as my body trembled in anxiousness.

---