Page 75 of Broken Prince

I nodded. “Of course.” I forced a smile. “I’ll see you later, okay?”

He nodded, moving from his spot in front of the door. “Yeah, later.”

Chapter Eighteen

LUCA

It had been four days since the party at my old home and despite everything, only the end of the night unsettled me.

I’d not looked forward to going there, seeing the house my parents used to live in, the place I was driving my family back to when I’d killed them.

But Dom had his allergy and I knew I could not turn back. I’d committed to Matteo and I knew that Cassie had been looking forward to an evening out, and somehow just the thought of disappointing her unsettled me much more than it ought to.

She’d made the experience so much better than it could have been. She didn’t know but she had been my anchor on that night. I hated how my uncle had transformed the house. I’d hated seeing him sitting like a fucking king looking down at his subjects. I’d hated seeing the men with the eagle tattoos on their necks. The fucking Bajrak of the Albanian Mafia invited at a famiglia party when we’d finally managed to settle on a rocky truce with the Russians.

I’d felt on the verge of exploding the whole evening, my uncle so much more of a fool than I’d originally thought, but then I felt her tiny hand in mine, everything just stopped…hurting. I hadn’t planned what I did to her in the secrecy of the alcove but that woman breathed such life and fire into me I hadn’t been able to stop myself. I had to touch her, possess her.

No matter what I promised her, I couldn’t forget how she tasted, how soft her skin was, how her moans had resonated all the way down to my soul.

I’ve been fucking my hand every night since then, but this desire still burned so deep inside of me.

She might have said it was all forgotten and forgiven, but she’d put a sort of barrier between us; the easy relationship had fizzled. She was more guarded and I hated that.

I couldn’t blame her though; what I’d done was bad, really bad. Well, at least it would be the way she saw it…as rejection.

If only she knew that walking away from her, so beautiful and so receptive to my touch, had been the hardest thing I ever had to do.

But when she admitted she was a virgin, the chivalrous part of me had reared its ugly head. I had no right to take something that couldn’t belong to me.

I was dying to be her first, her last, her only. But I needed to be deserving of this part of her, this little piece of her history that would only belong to me, but I wasn’t. I was a sinner with blood covering my hands.

She didn’t know Matteo locked us with the famiglia, but I knew I could grant her her freedom. I could see how desperate Matteo was for me to take my place.

I’d do it for her. I’d step up and take my throne in hell if he promised to leave her alone and not curse her to a life with us. I’d do it.

“Your cousin Savio is here.”

I looked up, startled to find her standing in front of my office.

I grimaced. “Is he?”

She chuckled. “Yes, he is waiting in front of the gate. I needed to find you, but I didn’t know where you were.” She smiled sheepishly.

I leaned back in my chair, a smile tugging at my lips. That woman managed to make me happy even when I didn’t think it was possible anymore. “I was hiding very well too. I bet you never would have expected to find me here, in my office,” I teased, playing along.

“Nope.”

“And how long did it take you to find me?”

“Twenty minutes so far.”

I let out a startled laugh. “That’s my girl,” I said, sobering up almost immediately.

She gave me a soft look and gentle smile. She didn’t miss what I called her and she liked it. If only she knew how much I loved calling her mine.

“I’ll let you deal with him. I’ll be in my room watching my show. No offense but I'm not a fan of him.”

“Who is? I think he is the only one who is a fan of himself.”

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