Page 40 of His Win (His Obsession 3)

I would've argued with him, but I didn't have the energy. Besides, who was I kidding? He was absolutely right.

"Thank you," he breathed in my ear. "For trusting me not to hurt you. I would never hurt you, Veda."

"You were going to shoot me in the head in front of your brother." There was no accusation in my voice. It was said as a fact. I didn't even mention the fascination he seemed to have with his knife.

He sighed heavily. "We've been over this, amore."

"You almost choked me out in the gym." My mouth kept running, no matter how much I tried to stop. "You threatened me with a knife...more than once." Okay, so I did mention it.

He stilled, and his voice was coldly violent when he said, "I am not the one who used that knife to mark you." Carefully, he pulled out of me and rolled off to the side. I stayed as I was and turned my head to face him.

He brushed my hair out of my face. "You are my life. My vita. To hurt you would only be to destroy myself."

I studied the hard man beside me. I wanted to believe him. I truly did. "What will you do for me, Luca?"

"Anything, amore. I would do anything."

"Will you let me walk out of here again?"

He stared at me for a long moment. "Yes. As long as I come with you."

I closed my eyes. I never should've come back. "I don't want you to come with me. I want to go home."

"This is your home."

But I shook my head. "No. It's not. It can't be."

His bright blue eyes traveled over my face, studying me, searching for the lie in my words. But I kept it hidden deep down inside of me so he wouldn't find it. I couldn't give in to him. Not this time. If I did, I'd never come back from it. My fate would be tied with his forever. Luca throwing me out to the wolves when he caught me in his office was the most heartbreaking thing I'd ever gone through, even more so than when he was going to shoot me in front of Mario, and it had taught me something new about the rules of this world. To come back here had been stupid and reckless of me.

He was still moving the pieces on the board. Bringing my parents here had been nothing but a strategic move on his part to get me back into his home, and in my haste to make sure they were all right, I'd played right into his hands.

Luca sat up suddenly, and I couldn't help but run my eyes over his strong shoulders and back, honed by all of the hours he spends in his gym. Against my will, I felt the stirrings of renewed desire. "I want you here. With me." His voice had a tone of finality in it.

Pulling the comforter up around me, I rolled over and gingerly sat up with my back against the headboard. I was suddenly so tired. "I want to go back to my friend's apartment until such time my parents are able to be moved. And then I plan to take them and disappear."

His head whipped toward me, and I was caught in the iciness of his eyes. "No."

I shivered, but not from the cold, and pulled the comforter up closer around me. "Luca, this world you inhabit isn't for me. I don't belong here."

His eyes narrowed, and I could see that he didn't miss something very important that I hadn't said. I never said I didn't want to be with him.

Without a word, he rose from the bed and walked naked across the room to the bathroom. A few seconds later, I heard the shower come on.

I stared at the open door as I took stock of my body. I felt thoroughly fucked, and only a little bit sore. Less so than I thought I would. After a moment, I got up and followed him.

His eyes shot to me when I joined him in the shower, and I caught a flash of surprise right before they wandered over my body with just as much intensity as the first time he saw me like this, and his arms slowly fell back to his sides. "My father held a meeting tonight with the more powerful members of the family to discuss who would replace him when he steps down."

I stepped under the spray, schooling my features to hide my shock. He'd never volunteered information like this to me before. Usually, he told me what I absolutely needed to know and no more. I started to wet my hair as I waited for him to continue.

He picked up the shampoo and poured some into his hand, then stepped behind me and began to massage it into my scalp. "The other details aren't important, but there's one you should know."

I closed my eyes as I allowed him to take care of me. It felt good, and it seemed to distract him from the fact that he was sharing with me.

"Luigi, my father, laid down the law to the entire family. Mario is not to be harmed. He will take over my father's position when the time comes."

"What does that mean?"

"It means my brother will be in a position of complete power."

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