Page 25 of Luka

It isn’t as though I can’t understand the pain and fear she must be feeling. It’s that there isn’t anything I can do about that now. It’s already been done. She was dead the minute she pulled up with the whore to meet me. It isn’t her fault that it happened. She couldn’t have possibly known.

But neither could I.

And as my mother would say, we don’t get to fuss about the circumstances that are thrust upon us. We must accept and endure. Responding any other way would be weak.

“Lucia.”

She startles before blinking more tears, then she clears her throat to speak. “He—he’s a businessman.”

“What kind?”

She shakes her head. “You only get one question.”

Sighing impatiently, I tap the armrest. “Fine. Ask me another.”

“When?” she says immediately, her voice croaking like the word was lodged in her throat. She coughs. “When are you going to…?”

“As soon as Arseni and I are bored with you.”

She lets out a cry and covers her mouth, like that answer was somehow more painful than the last. She should stop asking questions she doesn’t want to know the answers to.

“What kind of businessman is your father?”

She closes her eyes, takes several deep breaths, then lowers her hand from her mouth. “His interests are varied. He owns many different establishments, including a few high-end resorts, a horse ranch, and a chain of pharmacies.” She barely pauses before going into her question. “What can I do to…” Her eyes flick while she tries to word her question.

“Yes?”

Her head lowers as she hunches forward uncomfortably. It’s baffling to me that this question could be more difficult than the last two.

“What do I need to do to extend the length of my life?”

Why would youwantto extend it?

I almost ask. The question sits on the tip of my tongue until I swallow it back down, relaxing into my seat. It isn’t my turn to ask a question, but more than that, I don’t want her to consider the answer. I want her to try to play me, to manipulate me, to show me all the ways I can’t trust her. Her attempts are cute, and not only that, they’re validating.

She can never be let go because she can never be trusted. It’s a fact I already know, but why not let her prove it to me anyway?

“Come here,” I say, gently patting my thigh.

Her eyes flicker before she lowers them to her lap, her throat visibly contracting as she swallows. It takes time for her to work up the courage, but I can tell the moment she does. Asharp breath slices through her nostrils, her palms flatten on her thighs, and she stands.

Her eyes don’t meet mine as she slowly makes her way to me, tugging my shirt down as if it isn’t already swallowing her. She carefully perches on my knee with her thighs pressed together, as well as her lips. She stiffens even further as I run my knuckles up her arm, lifting the loose sleeve of the shirt to her shoulder.

“Who will get bored of me first?” she asks with false bravery. The arm I caress trembles.

“It isn’t your turn to ask a question.”

“You never answered my last one,” she counters sharply, then stiffens as if she thinks I’ll react to her attitude.

I pull her hair back to get a better look at her face, so flawless, unmarked by even the sun, evenlaughter. Maybe it’s just her age. I can’t remember what my skin looked like at nineteen.

A breath skitters through her lips when I move my hand to her thigh and slide it beneath the shirt up to her pussy. I don’t pry her legs apart or even push too hard. I just leave my hand cupping the top of her thigh, her legs squeezing my fingers that tuck between them. “I didn’t answer you with words, but I think you get the gist.”

“That isn’t an answer,” Lucia says, her voice raised several octaves. “And that makes me think you don’twantto answer. Because there isn’t anything you think I can do to prolong my life, so… If you won’t tell me the truth, then I get a new question or the game is over.”

I chuckle. “You seem very convinced of your authority. How come you get to make all the rules?”

“Because I’m one of the players, and these are my terms,” she grinds, much more evenly.

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