Page 66 of Broken Prince

I nodded.

“Come with me.” We stopped at the buffet first for a drink and he exchanged a few words in Italian with a man in a jester mask. Once he turned toward me and bowed his head, I recognized the icy blue eyes of Matteo Genovese.

“Is everything okay?” I asked Luca as he pulled me to a darker corner.

“I’m not certain,'' he admitted truthfully before twisting a light fixture on the wall and a little panel just beside me slid open.

“How—”

“Come, quick,” he whispered, pulling me in and sliding the panel shut again.

We were in the dark for a few seconds before he got his phone out and turned on the flashlight.

He grabbed my hand again and pulled me up a set of stairs. “How do you know about this?”

“This used to be my home; I know all its secrets.”

I missed a step with my surprise but Luca held me up.

“God, thanks! I could have hurt myself.”

“I’ll always protect you.”

I opened my mouth but closed it again. This promise was so ominous and the effect it had on my mind and body were…unsettling at best.

“I thought Hartfield was your home?”

“It is,” he confirmed, opening a door and gesturing for me to go first.

It took me to a small alcove-like balcony on the first floor, half hidden by the decoration, giving me a full view of the ballroom.

“This is amazing!”

Luca pressed behind me, resting his hands beside mine on the railing, trapping me in his arms, his warm chest against my back.

I shivered but didn’t dare move. His faint cologne, his body heat, his strong presence—it was all so intoxicating.

“How come you don’t live here?”

“I never liked this house. I used to live in a condo downtown. This is not home. My mother and Arabella were not fans either. Hartfield was home for them.”

I leaned back against him, letting my head dip back a little, resting it against his shoulder. “I love Hartfield.”

Luca leaned down a little, brushing his lips against my neck. “I can’t stop thinking about it.” I shivered at his warm breath on my neck, his strong body against my back…the intimacy of the moment.

“What?” I asked breathlessly.

“The kiss…the one you shouldn’t have given me and is now branded in my chest.” His lips brushed my jawline. “You ran away before I had a chance to recover.”

“What if I had waited?”

He brought his hand up and turned my head to the side. As soon as I met his eyes he leaned down and kissed me. It was hard, bruising. He nipped at my bottom lip, demanding access to my mouth, and I was only too happy to surrender.

As soon as I granted him access, his tongue slid in my mouth, caressing, tasting, dominating. I could feel my arousal expanding and if that man could do that with just one kiss, I could only imagine what it would be like to have him pleasuring me in my bed and suddenly I wanted nothing more than this man, this pure brute force, to be my first.

I shivered and moaned in his mouth.

Luca growled, starting to kiss down my neck as his hand trailed up the slit on my dress, touching my bare thigh until he reached the hem of my underwear. He brushed his thumb back and forth against the fabric as he lightly bit my neck.

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