Page 74 of Be Very Quiet

“Is this a private party?”

She opened her eyes to find Luca standing before her with a glass of wine in one hand and, bless him, the bottle in the other.

“Come on in, the water’s fine.” Liliana cringed at the overused cliché.

Luca didn’t seem to mind as he handed her the glass, placed the bottle on the floor next to the tub, and stripped in record time. She didn’t get to appreciate his impressive body long enough before he slid in across from her. He should’ve looked silly in the mountain of purple bubbles, but he was magnificent.

“Did you and Reese find anything?” She wasn’t sure what they had left to do but knew it involved Douglas.

“No, we didn’t.”

Liliana sipped the wine, savoring the feel as it slid down her throat. When she opened her eyes, it was to find Luca staring at her with naked desire.

Before she knew what was happening, he surged forward and scooped her in his arms. Water sloshed over the side of the tub, but it said something that she didn’t spill her wine.

“Damn it, Lil. You scared the hell out of me today. Why didn’t you trust me to keep you safe?”

The starkness in his voice made her heart clench. “I did. I do. But, Luca, I couldn’t risk Nina’s life. If something happened to her because I didn’t follow the instructions, I wouldn’t have been able to live with myself.”

Luca took the glass from her hand, placed it on the shelf beside them, and kissed her. Consumed her was a better description. There was passion and heat but also desperation that spoke to his fear. For her.

Liliana wrapped herself around him, feeling his need for her. She didn’t want to wait any longer and neither did he as he sheathed himself. She rose to take him inside her. The feelings were intense. Exquisite. She wanted them to last, but they needed each other too much. After simultaneously exploding, she collapsed against him.

“Don’t ever do that to me again, Lil. I couldn’t take it.”

His heart beat a steady rhythm beneath her ear. She understood his passionate plea and would feel the same in his position. Maybe it had been a stupid decision, but she had trusted him to come for her, and he had, in more ways than one.

Luca scooped her out of the tub and carried her to the bedroom.

“Luca, wait. What’s that?”

“Oh, that’s Smoke.”

“Meow.”

Liliana scrambled out of his arms and cuddled the feline. “You brought me a cat?”

“Technically, it belongs to Georgia Perkins.”

“Georgia? Why do you have it?”

“Because she’s missing.”

Liliana stood, dread replacing her feelings of euphoria. “What happened to her?”

Luca explained the possible connection to Douglas Speke.

“Now that you mention it, I remember seeing them talking several times.”

Was it possible Georgia was in on it? She didn’t seem the type, but then, wasn’t that what people always said about serial killers?

Chapter Twenty-Three

Luca had fallen asleep last night with Liliana tucked in his arms and Smoke butted up against his legs. He’d been scared out of his mind when he discovered Liliana had left without protection. If something had happened to her, he wasn’t sure his heart would survive.

Smoke was up early, batting at Luca’s face and licking him with a tongue that felt like sandpaper. He eased away from Liliana with Smoke in his arm and dressed. He headed to the kitchen. Audria was up and drinking a cup of coffee.

“I thought you were taking the cat to Liliana’s room?” She raised one brow, letting him know he wasn’t fooling anyone. She knew where he’d spent the night.

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