Page 8 of The Prizes We Win
“Are you thinking about him?” he finally asks. Reluctantly, I nod. “He deserves to be down there alone, Josephine. He’s lucky he’s not dead.”
“It’s not that,” I answer quietly, careful not to wake anyone up. “I just don’t understand what’s going on. Why is he working with the Russians? Why did they take the letters? Why—” My voice cracks. “Why can’t he just let me be happy?”
Despite how much I fight it, a small tear pools at the corner of my eye before falling onto Luca’s arm, and I curse myself for shedding another tear over him.
Luca softly kisses the tip of my nose. “As much as it pains me to say it, I don’t know, Vita Mia. But I can promise you that come the rise of the sun tomorrow morning, nothing will stop me, stopusfrom figuring it out. Okay?”
His deep eyes search mine for a second before he slowly uncovers us and stands. Holding his hand out to me, he pulls me up as well. “What are—”
He holds his index finger over his mouth and whispers, “Come with me.”
Quietly, the two of us tiptoe across the floor and up the stairs toward his bedroom. Once we’re inside, he gently closes it behind us. I inhale a deep breath and let the scent of Luca wrap me up like a warm blanket. The smell of citrus and spice reminds me of a cool fall day. Like the kind that the moment you step outside in the morning, the rays of the sun warm your face, while the brisk breeze threatens to break through your comfiest sweater. The kind of fall day where the air smells crisp and clean, yet when you look around, all you see are the beautiful signsof the trees dying as colors of orange, yellow, and red coat the ground. Except the thought of summer fading doesn’t bring a melancholy feeling but one of thankfulness and hope. That kind of fall day. And it’s one I’m reminded of every time I’m in his presence.
Luca’s room is what you would expect from the CEO of a multi-billion-dollar company. But for the most part, that’s what you get from Luca. What you see is what you get—well, besides the whole being the head of a hit-squad for hire thing. He tells people how it is. He keeps his friends and family close and allows them to see him for everything he is.
The room is filled with neutral and comforting shades of grays, tans, and whites. The wall opposite the door is painted a dark gray, and on it is a beautiful black and white painting of what I’m assuming is the Italian countryside. Beneath the painting sits a light-gray upholstered platform bed, decorated with multiple heavenly-looking pillows and the fluffiest duvet I’ve ever seen. There is an upholstered tan bench at the foot of his bed, and beneath them both is an ivory rug that looks like it costs more than everything I own. Chic black light fixtures hang on either side of his bed from the ceiling, stopping just above natural wood nightstands. On top of one nightstand sits another pair of his black glasses, which I really wish he would wear 24/7, a silver watch, a book, and a glass of water. I smile, knowing that’s exactly what I expected his nightstand to look like. Nothing more, nothing less.
“I love it in here,” I say softly. Truthfully, I love this entire penthouse. Don’t get me wrong, I love my apartment. Everything about it is exactly how I envisioned it. I worked hard for that space and to make it mine. Because that’s what it is,mine.But something about being here, in their space, brings a sense of calmness over me. I love it here. I love their ridiculously comfortable furniture, I love the view of the entirety of NewYork, I love that I feel safe here, like nobody could touch me. And the men here… I lo—
Oh, fuck.
“I love having you in here,” Luca’s deep Italian accent recenters me just as I am about to spin out.
I smile as he wraps his arms tightly around me from behind, tucking his face in the crook of my neck. “What are we doing in here? Those three won’t be happy if they wake up and I’m not there.”
I’m only half serious; the other half of me is more than eager for his answer.
“I just…” He exhales a deep breath and reaches up to gently pull the silk scrunchy from my hair before reaching down and placing his hands on my thighs beneath the hem of Dante’s ridiculously large shirt. “I just have never had you all to myself… and after today, I’m not sure if another day can go by where that’s not the case.”
I’ve never heard him sound so unsure, so… hesitant. “Luca… I—”
He releases the hem of Dante’s shirt and wraps his arms tightly around me. “And I know there are a million and one other things we should be doing and trying to sort out, and I know you’ve had the most mentally and physically taxing day possible, and if you want to go back out to that living room and go to sleep, all you have to do is say so, because I’ll do that for you, Vita Mia; I’ll do anything for you, which is why the only thing I can think about is being as close to you as I can possibly get and—”
I turn in his arms and press my finger against his lips, effectively silencing him. Grinning like a loon, I say, “If I didn’t know any better, I’d say that sounded like a Lorenzo rant if I’ve ever heard one. He must be rubbing off on you.”
The corners of his lips turn up, and he rolls his eyes as he makes sense of my double entendre. “He has that effect on people.”
“Hopefully only a select few people,” I answer with a wink. Despite every reason not to do this right now, like the fact that we have my father in a holding cell downstairs, or that Sebastian and I were kidnapped today, or that the fucking Russian mob now has some personal vendetta against me for some godforsaken reason, the only thing I can think of right now is being with him.
Holding him.
Embracing him.
Becomingpartof him.
And while, yes, we’ve had sex already, this feels…different.
It’s a moment between just us two. We’re about to create something that only we can share with each other.
So, I remove my finger from his lips and raise my arms in the air.
Luca’s eyes search mine for a moment before it seems as if his entire body has a visceral reaction to my invitation. His brown eyes darken to almost black in an instant, his breath quickens, and he tugs his bottom lip between his teeth.
Without pause, he pulls the large shirt up and over my arms, places his hands just below my ass, and lifts me from the floor.
7
Josephine
