Page 92 of Stolen Seconds

Was it an enemy? What could have they possibly gained from this?

On shaky feet, I exhaled a breath as I walked toward the bedroom door. The last time I’d been in here, I’d saidgoodbye to Luca, and it felt like a lifetime ago, the heartache still lingering in the air.

I couldn’t stay here.

When I reached for the knob, the door swung open,hislarger-than-life presence entering the room.

“Going somewhere,piccola ribelle?” He approached me lazily, his caramel eyes drinking me in.

“What do you think?” My blood boiled at his casual demeanor, as if he hadn’t drugged me to sleep. “I will not be your captive, you psychopath.”

“I thought we’d already established that I was one.” He towered over me, a mocking grin curling his lips. “Besides, I wouldn’t call you a captive.”

“You brought me here against my will.” My teeth ached from clenching them. Why did I have to get involved with someone who was as delusional as they came? “If not captivity, then what?”

“Captors usually aren’t driven to the brink of insanity by their captives.” He leaned down until he was eye level with me. “Are they?”

His scent surrounded me, an immediate blockage to my sensibility and morality.

What the hell was happening to me?

“They usually aren’t pained by the mere thought of their captive hurt.” His tone became vicious, as if he was angry with me but mostly himself. “Are they?”

“Luca. . . ”

He pressed his forehead against mine, his palm holding my jaw. “They usually aren’t concerned for their captive’s soul more than their own. Are they?”

Thick emotions whirled in my chest, adrenalinespiking through my blood from his words. If only it were easy to give into him and forget about who and what I was, but I couldn’t.

“We’re only biding our time, Luca,” I whispered, my voice cracking, and I didn’t even care how weak it made me seem. “We both know how our story will end, and it’ll never be a happy one.”

In a flash, I felt his demeanor change. His fingertips had gone cold, his gaze even colder before he stepped away from me.

“Take off your clothes.”

My stomach dropped at his abruptness. “Wh-what?”

“We need to clean you.”

“We? You’re not getting anywhere near me.”

“Would you rather I resort to unpleasant methods?”

“You did it once. I wouldn’t put it past you to do it again.” He’d taken away my will like every other man I’d ever encountered, and it hurt because I knew he was nothing like them.

Luca stood there with pursed lips and arms crossed, not denying it.

I wanted to continue fighting him, but I was exhausted. It would get me nowhere and right now I wanted to be left alone.

He might be dealing the cards here, but I’d make sure I had the upper hand.

With firm movements, I let the hospital gown fall off my body in a heap at my feet.

My heart beat against my chest at a painful rhythm, aware of how exposed I was—how I looked but I bit the inside of my cheek to refrain myself from hiding.

I may not be ready to see the aftermath of what happened to me, but I wouldn’t allow anyone to make me feel ashamed for something I couldn’t change.

Yet, the way Luca unashamedly took his time trailing the length of my body, proved he wasn’t just anyone.

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