Page 40 of Empire of Temptation

“I’ll drive you.” He placed his napkin on the table and rose out of his chair. “Let me dress first.”

“It’s okay. I’ll order a car.”

His hand suddenly covered my phone, lowering it. “Valentina.”

He waited, still and quiet, so I glanced up at him. His intense dark stare sucked me in, trapped me. He stood so close that I could see his morning scruff, the long lashes framing his eyelids, and I had no desire to move away. Instead, every beat of my heart urged me closer.

His fingers swept across my jaw, then brushed the hair back off my face. It was done so tenderly, so sweetly, that I actually felt my insides quiver.

Then his big hand cupped the back of my neck to hold me in place, and the heat from his large body sank into my bones. It was like we were in our own little bubble, and the resistance melted clean out of my body. I probably would’ve agreed to anything right then, as long as he kept staring at me like this.

His deep voice turned soft. Seductive. “Let me take care of you. Let me drive you home. Va bene?”

“Okay,” I whispered.

He didn’t release me right away. Instead, his fingers pressed into my skin, tightening. It wasn’t painful or intimidating.

No, this had the opposite effect.

I felt safe. Precious. Like I mattered. It almost seemed as if he was holding onto me because he didn’t want to let go.

Then it was over.

He blinked and the moment was broken. Releasing me, he stepped back, his face wiped clean of any emotion. “Aldo will bring you more cappuccino,” he said on his way to the terrace doors. “I’ll only be a minute.”

Luca

I was fucked.

As we drove back to the mansion after dropping Val off, I knew this like I knew my own name.

I need you in bed with me. I won’t feel safe without you.

She’d begged so sweetly that I broke one of my rules for her. I never slept overnight in the same bed as a woman. It was both dangerous and too intimate. Yet I’d climbed into bed with Val and actually slept.

Do you want to have sex with me, Luca? Please, say yes. I’m tired of wondering what it’s like.

Madre di dio, a virgin. I should be strung up and shot for the things I wanted to do to her.

“Check your phone.” Aldo’s eyes met mine in the rearview mirror. “Leo is trying to reach you.”

I unlocked my phone and didn’t bother reading the messages. I hit a button and rang my oldest son.

He picked up right away. “Papà, he’s missing.”

I could hear the worry in Leonardo’s voice. “Who?”

“Gabi.”

I froze, phone to my ear. “Explain.”

“We’ve been looking for him all day. He disappeared overnight.”

How could Gabriele disappear? The boys were never alone, guarded almost at all times. “Have you checked?—”

“Papà,” he interrupted. “I’ve checked everywhere. No one has seen him. And his cars are here.”

My chest squeezed so hard that I couldn’t breathe. Was this something to do with Segreto? Had Palmieri taken my youngest boy?

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