Page 30 of Stolen Seconds

Kissing Luca was explosive, a drug I never knew I needed. Injected into my veins so deeply I didn’t think I’d ever come down from the high.

He squeezed my throat, opening my mouth for him so he could slide his tongue inside. Goosebumps sparked on my skin, my head swimming from every lash.

This was wrong. I shouldn’t want this man. Not only was he a member of the Italian Mafia, but he was Roman’s best friend. And I doubt he’d take it lightly if he knew what was happening under his roof.

Besides, men were tedious creatures, and I had no intention of getting involved with Luca, aside from the sensations his mouth was evoking in me.

I grabbed onto his shoulders and urged him to move on his back.

Without breaking contact, I straddled his waist and dug my fingers into his tee shirt, deepening the kiss.

He was utterly insane. Sneaking into my room in the middle of the night to claim me as his own. It enraged me beyond belief, but I couldn’t ignore the way my insidesfluttered from needing more of this insanity.Hisinsanity.

There was something deeply wrong with me.

His hands settled on my waist, pushing me further down onto him, the sensation sending a shiver up my spine.

The kiss was harsh, as if we were starved for one another. He tasted of sin and smoke, the concoction of a psychopath.

I took it.

I wanted it.

I needed it.

My soul was being fed. That black hole inside my chest ceased to exist in a way it hadn’t before.

If this was a onetime occurrence—and it was—I wanted my fill.

It wasn’t only me who was selfish. Luca nipped, sucked and stroked my lips like he couldn’t get enough of me. I felt his need to mark me in any way deep into my bones.

But I wouldn’t allow it. I belonged to no one.

Catching his bottom lip between my teeth, I pulled on it slowly before releasing, “Get out of my room, Luca.” I shifted to move away from him, but before I could, he squeezed my waist and flipped me onto my back.

His pupils were dilated, his lips parted and bruised, the look of pure madness.

I held my breath as he slid a finger down my cheek until he reached below my chin and nudged it.

That gesture meant something. It wasn’t the first time he’d done it, and I had a suspicion it wouldn’t be the last. Itwas almost as if he was telling me that he’d leave, but only for now.

Luca pushed himself off the bed and stood to his full height. He stared at me with his head tilted, eyeing the length of me before walking toward the door.

Then he stopped, his hand on the knob and his back to me when he spoke. “Any man who touches you will meet the same fate as the one who did it tonight.” His head turned to the side slightly. “Death.”

Chapter 8

Irina

“You know we don’t leave for another hour, right?” Nicolai joined me in the foyer, wearing a pressed gray suit.

“I don’t like being late. What’s your excuse?”

He pushed his glasses up with the tip of his middle finger and grinned. “I’m not fond of being late either.”

I pressed my lips together in amusement. My brother and I were alike, and it pained me that he didn’t know.

“Do you always dress so. . . pristine?” I gestured at him with the wave of my hand.

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