Page 66 of Their Reckless Thief
“Celeste? Do you need help? Talk to me.”
I focused my attention back on Viv. “No. I have everything under control.”
I fucking did not.
19
LUCA
Celeste.
Godsdamn her.
I slammed the door shut behind me, the sound echoing off the walls. I pressed my back against the solid wood, but no physical barrier could keep out the memories clawing their way to the surface. I couldn’t do this. Not with her. Not with anyone. Getting close to me wasn’t just dangerous—it was fatal.
I’d learned that lesson the hard way. Once, someone had gotten too close, someone I should have protected above all else. It started with something so small, so meaningless—a moment of anger, a spark of frustration. Before I even understood my powers, before I knew what I was capable of, the shadows came alive. I lost control. One second, they were there, and the next... they were gone.
The memory had etched itself into my soul—the shadows swallowing them whole, the silence that followed, the horrifying realization that no amount of screaming or pleading could undo what I’d done. By the time I’d managed to pull the shadows back, it was already over. It was already too late.
I clenched my fists, my shadows coiling restlessly at my feet as if they, too, remembered the taste of that failure. Thatmoment had defined me, shaped the person I’d become. It was proof of what I’d always known deep down—I was a weapon. Unstable. Destructive. Unworthy of trust or connection.
And now Celeste was dangerously close to stepping into that fire. She thought she could handle it, but she didn’t understand. She couldn’t. The more I let her in, the greater the risk that she’d meet the same end. It was better to keep her at arm’s length, better to push her away. Losing her laughter, her warmth, her endless stubbornness… it would destroy me, but not as much as watching the shadows take her like they took?—
I shoved the thought down and straightened, my heart a heavy drumbeat in my chest. Proximity to me didn’t just burn—it consumed. I wouldn’t let history repeat itself. Not again. Not with Celeste.
I paced back and forth in my room, running a hand through my hair, trying to shake the storm of emotions raging inside me. She was out there, just beyond my bedroom door, and all I could think about was the way her scent clung to the air, how her lips had parted when I got too close. The tension between us was enough to suffocate me, and for the life of me, I couldn’t understand why.
My shadows had searched every inch of her, and I’d memorized each and every damn curve of her perfect body.
I wanted to fuck her. Badly. Maybe if I did, I’d get her out of my system. I should just pin her up against the counter and fuck her until she stops driving me crazy. Until I’d wrung that defiance out of her, and I didn’t want her anymore.
I wasn’t stupid enough to think that would work. No. She would still drive me insane, still crawl under my skin like the maddening woman she was.
She had zero self-preservation. That much was clear. It killed me. I rolled my jaw, forcing my mind away from the memory of her face, flushed with anger and something more when I’dgotten close. The way her eyes had darkened with want, even if she wouldn’t admit it.
Fuck.
The elevator dinged, signaling that she was leaving, and that snapped me out of my haze. Without a second thought, I headed for the stairs. I couldn’t let her walk out into The Below’s streets alone. Not here. Not in The Shadow’s territory. This place wasn’t like Vincenzo’s. Here, danger lurked around every corner, and she had already proven she wasn’t cautious enough to handle it.
By the time I reached her, she was heading toward her SUV. She snarled when she saw me approaching.
“I don’t need an escort, Luca,” she snapped.
Stubborn. Always so damn stubborn.
I snorted. “Obviously you do, considering you’ve got zero sense of danger and when you shouldn’t be involved in it.”
Her gaze hardened, and for a second, I thought she’d argue. She didn’t. Instead, she folded her arms across her chest, exhaling sharply. “I can take care of myself.”
“Yeah? You almost got yourself killed today, remember?” I shot back, stepping closer. “You’re reckless, Celeste. You need to stop acting like you’re invincible.”
She glared at me, defiant as ever, but there was something else in her eyes. Vulnerability, maybe. She was trying so hard to act tough, to prove she didn’t need anyone. But I could see right through her.
“Don’t use Phantomine as a coping mechanism anymore,” I said through gritted teeth. I couldn’t help it. Seeing her about to take that hit earlier had twisted something inside me. “If you want to use it to get high, to have fun, whatever, then go ahead. But don’t use it to numb yourself. You’re better than that.”
She raised an eyebrow, clearly surprised by my sudden demand. “You sound just like Vivian.”
“Vivian sounds like good people.”
