Page 34 of Weaponized

“Lead the way.”

He doesn’t move. Suddenly his brawny arms go around me and he hugs me tightly. “You do deserve better. I can be better. But I need you to know I wouldneverhit you.”

I sigh. “I do know that, baby.” I was just trying to make a point about his anger level.

His big body shudders. I pull out of his embrace and again reach for his hand. I thread my fingers through his.

“Let’s go, baby. I want us to be alone.”

He frowns at that. He has obviously come down from whatever anger high he was on, lost in his own thoughts.

“Luca,” I say as we get near his car at the back of the lot. He doesn’t respond, but continues forward, and then opens the passenger door for me. I climb inside and wait for him to take his place in the driver’s seat.

Once he’s settled, I try again. “Luca.”

His eyes meet mine. He looks…resigned. I move across the console to sit in his lap and I slam my mouth to his. He doesn’t move, doesn’t kiss me back, but I don’t stop. I nip his bottom lip, and he sucks in a breath, so I sweep my tongue into his mouth.

Suddenly, his large hand is on the back of my head and he’s kissing me as if it’s our last day on earth. The windows are fogging as our mouths mate, tongues fighting for dominance. I pull back after a few minutes to catch my breath and press my forehead to his.

“You’re mine,” I pant into his mouth.

“Yes,” he rasps.

“I’m yours.Onlyyours,” I say emphatically. His eyes glow as he listens. “That was never in question. No one will take me away from you. It’s not possible.”

He makes a sound that may be a groan as he hugs me to him. “I don’t deserve you.”

“Hmmmm, and I don’t deserve you. That’s why we are perfect for each other.”

He lets out a strangled laugh.

“Can we go home and go to bed now? I need you to really hold me. With your whole body.” I feel him shiver again and nod.

“Yeah,” he says gruffly. “Let’s go.”

I had begun to think the tales of Luca’s temper were overblown, but he was definitely out of his mind tonight. I’ve seen before what happens when evil and anger collide, and yet, that isn’t what I see in Luca. Even after witnessing his wrath, I have no doubt he is a good person. There just seems to be something about people looking at me wrong that triggers him. What would he think if he knew why I was sent to St. A’s? If he found out I chose him from a name on a list? Would his rage turn on me?

I shiver at the thought and snuggle closer to him as we pull into my parking lot.Yes, Luca is a good person. And, I want to be the woman he believes I am. Someone worthy of his trust and adoration. If I can help eliminate the threat against Luca’s family, I may just have a chance at becoming the person he deserves.

Luca

I wake up with my sexy, warm, beautiful girlfriend wrapped around me. She’s in nothing but my T-shirt and little panties, and her smooth legs are threaded through my large ones. Her blond hair is trailing down my arm as her head rests on my bare chest. I breathe in her sweet scent. It calms me.

I fucked up last night. Shame slams into me as I remember how badly I lost my cool. How I treated her. What she said to me.

Are you going to hit me?

A wave of nausea hits me. When I first saw her getting bumped around, everything in me told me to go to her, get her out of that mess. But, I couldn’t right then, and my frustration level went from zero to 100 in less than a second. Of course, it was then that I noticed Liam fucking McGuiness pressed against her. To say I lost my mind would be an understatement. He was right up on her as she smiled up at him. He shouldn’t be the one touching her. Helping her. Protecting her. Smiling with her. Who did he fucking think he was? Was he back to thinking she was promised to him? Fuck that.

I told Matteo he had three minutes to knock out the motherfucker in the ring or else I would. He told me to consider it done.Good to his word, the fight was over in under thirty seconds. As I made my way to Gráinne, I saw McGuiness’s arm go fully around her. It wasn’t even a completely conscious thought: I was going to kill him for putting his hands on what was mine. The red haze came over my vision, and I couldn’t even hear the crowd around me. It was all just a buzzing in my head. I was laser focused on getting to her. I wasn’t going to let that Irish fuck touch her. But then, she shocked the hell out of me by stepping in between us. Demanding we leave. I was so pissed off that I stood outside with her, clenching my fists, trying to take deep breaths so I didn’t turn right back around to finish him.

Are you going to hit me?

Fuck. I scared her. The person I want to protect. The person who matters most. That definitely broke through my rage.

Then, when I was absolutely convinced she was going to break up with me, she all but molested me in my car. I was stunned.

No one will take me away from you. It’s not possible.

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