Page 177 of Can't Always Get What You Want

I reach for him in the dark, scooting back until my ass hits his pelvis, his arms automatically going around me. Luca’s nose nuzzles the crook of my neck and inhales, though he’s been fast asleep for hours.

I blink, the hazy fragments of the dream still clinging to me.

The red dress. The velvet ropes. That quiet hallway outside the bathroom.

That first long look.

That nervous smile.

The way he watched me walk away like he’d already fallen in love with me… and now I’m lying here, tangled in his limbs, wondering how the hell we got from those shy, bumbling moments in the hallway to this.

I love him so much.

I did from the second I laid eyes on him.

Behind me, Luca stirs.

His grip tightens around my waist, just slightly, like even unconscious he doesn’t want to let go. His nose nudges my neck again, slower this time. More intentional. And then I feel it—his lips brush against my shoulder, warm and lazy.

“Why are you awake?” he mumbles, voice thick with sleep.

“I was dreaming.”

“Mmm,” he hums. “’Bout what?”

My smile is lazy. Tired. “You. Us.”

“Sounds nice.” He kisses my shoulder, his palm sliding down my stomach and down between my legs.

I breathe in sharply, body already responding to his familiar touch.

“It was,” I whisper, eyes fluttering shut. “We were sweet in it.”

Shy.

Smitten.

He hums again; this time I can feel his small smile against my skin. “I’m sweet in real life.”

I moan softly when his middle and forefinger begin theirslow, circular motion over my clit; even half-asleep, he still knows exactly how to undo me.

“Want me to prove it?”

“Mmhmm. Yes, please…” It’s a breath and a whimper, my hips tilting instinctively into his hand. Wanton.

I love him so much…

Love his hands.

His mouth.

It curves against my skin, and I swear I can feel the smug satisfaction in the way he moves—slow, unhurried. He has all night to remind me how well he knows me.

39

luca

Why do I feel like I’m meeting her family for the first time?

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