Page 51 of His Stakes (His Obsession 2)

The vulnerability I saw there made me want to weep. “I’m yours,” I told him. And it was true. I couldn’t fight it anymore.

Triumph lit his blue eyes and he started to move inside of me, each thrust more possessive than the last. He whispered in my ear as he claimed me. Scandalous things that made me arch into him and beg for more.

And when he came, I came with him, our cries mingling in the cool air of the cabin.

Luca heldmy hand all the way back to the house, and more times than not, I’d glance over to find him looking at me with a bemused expression on his handsome face.

I knew exactly how he felt.

“I’m sorry I had to do that,” he suddenly said. “I’m sorry I embarrassed you that way. It was the only way to get Gino off your scent.”

“I’m not a dog,” I told him.

“No, but he is. Once he sets his sights on something he wants, there’s no deterring him until he has it. And he wanted you.”

“Why?”

He let out a little laugh. “Why? What kind of question is that?” His eyes roamed over me, once again concealed beneath my coverup. “You’re stunning, Veda. A woman through and through, but one who still has the slightest essence of innocence about her.”

“Well, I won’t have that for long hanging around with you.”

Luca smiled and Enzo barked out a laugh from the front seat. “Sorry,” he said. “Sorry,” he repeated, focusing on the road.

“Anyway,” Luca continued after he’d waved away his apology. “I apologize that I had to put you through that. Truly.”

He was watching me, waiting for my reaction, and I saw a glimmer of uncertainty in his blue eyes that made my breath catch and my heart skip a beat. That I was the one who caused this powerful man to feel that gave me a heady sense of power, even as I immediately tried to console him. I squeezed his hand. “It’s okay. I mean, it’s not okay, but I understand.”

The relief he felt was palpable. “When we get home, I need to speak to my men for just a few minutes and then the rest of the night I’m free. Will you wait for me?”

“Sure,” I told him. “I’ll see what Lisa packed us for dinner.”

He brought my hand to his mouth and kissed the back of my knuckles as we pulled up to the house. I got out and walked around to the back to get the cooler. Enzo joined me, pulling it out and setting it on the ground while he closed the hatch. The others were already there, standing around the other SUVs while they waited for us.

“Enzo, I need you here,” Luca told Enzo as he was about to lift the cooler and help me take it inside. Turning around, he waved one of the other guys over.

I started to protest as the one who’d cornered me in my old apartment came forward. “It’s okay. I can carry it in myself.”

“I know you can, but you won’t,” Luca told me. “Not while there’re all of these strong, able-bodied males just standing around doing nothing.”

Not knowing what else I could say to convince him without making myself look suspicious, I gave him a small smile and backed out of the way as his man came over to pick up the cooler. “I’ll just be in the kitchen.”

“I’ll be there as soon as I can.”

Still, I hesitated until Luca cocked his head in question. With no other way to avoid making a scene, I turned on my heel and marched into the house, Luca’s man right behind me.

I nearly cried in relief when I saw Lisa was still there, drinking a cup of tea at the table, a notepad in front of her and a pen in her hand. She jumped up when we walked in. “How was the lake?” she asked with a smile.

“It was hot,” I told her. “But nice.” I lowered my eyes before she could see the lie in them. “We never even made it to our dinner,” I explained as Luca’s man set down the cooler.

“Oh! Well, here.” Lisa jumped out of her chair and went right over to it. “Let me just get that going for you. Y’all must be starving.”

Any other time I would have shoo’d her away, but there was no way in hell I was about to put myself into that position again. So I just smiled and thanked her as I stood awkwardly just inside the room, shifting my weight back and forth.

Luca’s man gave Lisa a wave as she bent over the cooler, then headed my way, his eyes hard on my face. As he passed me, he smiled. “You have three days,” he told me, too quiet for Lisa to hear. “You’d better have something for me.” The “or else” didn’t even need to be said. It was in his tone. “Enjoy your dinner,” he said, louder this time. And then he was gone.

Three days. What the hell was I supposed to find out in three days? I stayed where I was until I heard the front door slam. Somewhere through the pounding of my pulse in my ears, I realized Lisa was talking to me. “I’m sorry, what?”

She gave me a look, but repeated what she’d said. “I said you look good. You got some sun.”

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