Page 29 of Luka

Oh dear God, please.

When he crawls onto the bed, I clench my eyes shut, my throat feeling overly vulnerable, wondering which breath will be my last.

“Luka,” I whisper as his body situates on top of mine. His erection presses against my opening, the fabric of the shirt I’m wearing the only barrier.

“I don’t want to die,” I stutter when he doesn’t respond. “Please.”

His thumb presses against my quivering lips to stop any words that threaten to spill from my mouth. After several moments pass, I open my eyes.

He’s staring at my mouth, his thumb toying with my bottom lip. The life he had in his eyes from earlier hasn’t returned, but there’s something there, a flicker of humanity that gives me the faintest hope and has my chest lifting, my body shifting beneath him.

He notices the movement and meets my gaze.

Slowly, he lowers his lips to mine, staring carefully into my eyes before he kisses me, his hand sliding to cup my face. I close my eyes and part my lips for him but don’t otherwise move. My heart beats wildly against my chest, thumping in my ears.

Tall breaks away from my mouth to whisper. “Kiss me.”

I swallow. It’s hard to argue. It feelsimpossibleto argue, knowing what he could do to me in anger.

But even more impossible to do what he’s asking.

“I can’t.”

When his hand wraps around my throat, I gasp, my eyes opening as they fill with frightened tears.

“Kiss me,” Tall demands, more forcefully.

I shake beneath him, scared to speak, scared to move, but knowing that I have to. Despite the hand around my neck, I have to.

“Luka,” I start, feeling the grip of his hand as I swallow. “Pleaseunderstand.Please.”

His fiery eyes sear mine as he stares, waiting with his hand around my throat. I don’t know if he’s waiting for me to explain or simply waiting for me to comply.

“I owe myself to another man who has earned the right to claim me,” I say, praying it isn’t the wrong thing. “If you must take from me, fine. But I can’t give myself to you. You’ve already told me you’re going to kill me. At least let me die with my honor, dignity, and character intact.Please.”

Tall’s brow furrows. He doesn’t speak for several moments. “You’re saying you won’t kiss me because you have a boyfriend.”

After considering that, I nod.

Another minute passes, but finally, his lips quirk on one side. It’s subtle, not nearly as pronounced as his earlier smiles, but it brings so much relief that I stare at it like it’s water in a desert.

My eyes stay wide open to watch it, like it’ll disappear if I let it go, but when he dips his head to replace his hand around my neck with his lips, I let my eyes slide closed.

He kisses his way up to my ear. “You’re naive, Peach. Naive and foolish. But it’s all right…” He licks my earlobe, making my back tense with a tingle running across my shoulders. “We’ll work on it.”

One of his hands slides up my side and squeezes my breast through the shirt.

“What would he think about you in my bed right now?” Tall asks.

I don’t bother answering such a ridiculous question. Mario must be worried sick about me by now. His concern would be for my safety, not for what happens in this bed. I’ve only known Mario for a month and a half, but in that time, he’s proven his love, his devotion, his care. All things Tall couldnevergrasp.

“Would he be jealous?” he asks, adding evidence to my theory. He doesn’t understand love.

He moves down to my chest, his hand massaging one breast while he kisses the other through my shirt. I don’t look. I’m terrified to meet his eyes. As if he’d see what’s happening inside of me, the slow thawing of my core, the tingling of my nipples he plays with.

“Why haven’t you given him your pussy if he’s ‘earned the right to claim you?’”

If he wants a real answer, he doesn’t wait long for it. My mouth falls open when his mouth latches onto my nipple, sucking me through the cotton material. I slam my mouth shut and stare at the ceiling, wishing his body wasn’t in the way so I could clench my legs together.

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