Page 46 of Wicked Knight 2

“Are there other nightmares?”

He cradled my cheek and smiled. “Not all my dreams are bad. Especially when you’re in them. I dreamed of us, like this.” He touched the pad of his thumb to my lips. “Before I even met you in person, I knew being with you would be this intense and all-consuming.”

His gaze swept from my face down to my chest. He kneaded my breast, rolling my nipple with every tug. My eyes fluttered closed as he continued to explore my body. He slid his fingers down to my waist and then my hip.

“How do I know your body so well?” He asked, mostly to himself, before he lifted his gaze to meet mine. “I’ve never told this to anyone. Only Papa knows.” He let out a breath. “About a year ago, I was jumped by a couple of assholes. Or at least, that’s what Papa told me. The truth is, I don’t remember a goddamn thing about my life before I came here.”

Luca.

“I know you don’t remember anything.” I pressed my forehead to his and whispered, “but I remember you.”

CHAPTER16

We Can Be Happy Here

Donata

He buried his fingers in my hair and brought me in for a kiss. “Did we meet in some dream a long time ago?”

A part of me knew that telling him the truth all at once wasn’t a good idea. But I couldn’t stand the thought that Luca didn’t know who I was, that he didn’t know everything we’d shared over the past ten years. Sure, not all of it was roses and champagne, but we had each other.

“I met you when I was fifteen.” I exhaled. “You were teaching at Midtown High, an elite high school for members of the Society.”

He chuckled, but after a few beats when I didn’t back down, his smile faded. I had no way of knowing what was going through his head. For all I knew, his brain blocked my words or the absurd concept that Maxim and the niece of Don Salvatore met so long ago. Could he even entertain such a thing?

“You were fresh out of college. Six years older than me. Back then, you didn’t even see me. I was persistent.” I glanced down at my hands.

Maybe he didn’t need to remember all the things I did before we finally got together—the lies I told about him when he rejected me because I was too young, the stalking, or the time I tricked him into meeting me in the Hamptons. That had been the night Ava Conti was killed.

“The woman in your dreams, Ava. She was your fiancée. She was innocent like in your dreams. You searched for her killer for years. When you found him…” I stopped to get a better read on him. “He was your first kill.”

He lay so still next to me. For a moment, I thought he’d stopped breathing. I braced my hand on his bare chest. The drumming against my palm was the only clue that he’d heard what I’d said.

“I think that’s why you keep going back to that moment in time.” I brushed a strand of hair away from his face. “It was an important event in your life. That night, everything changed for you and me. It’s been eight years since then.”

“Were you there?” His gaze cut to me.

“At Nathan’s house? When you…” I cleared my throat. “No. But my friend Enzo told me everything. You gave him a letter to give to me. I made him tell me every single detail.”

Slowly, he sat up and let his legs fall down the side of the bed. With his wide back to me, it was as if he was shutting me out. But I had already started down this road. I couldn’t stop now.

“Three men were with you that night. At Nathan’s place. Enzo was one of them. Also, Rex and Santino. Do you see them in your dream?”

“How the fuck do you know all this?” He braced his arms on his knees and let his head hang. Every breath he took, his back expanded with the tiniest tremor. “Did Papa tell you?”

“No, he didn’t. I told you. Enzo did. Don’t you understand?” I pressed my lips to his shoulder. “You’re him. Luca.” That single word came out barely above a whisper. In the past few weeks, the name had become a point of contention between us.

“That asshole again?” He rose to his feet and faced me. “This is about you getting back to him.”

I glanced up at him. His pants were still undone from our love making. Even in this state of disarray, he looked formidable. When he braced his hands on his hips and glared at me, I realized the truth hadn’t had the desired effect. He didn’t believe me.

“Papa would never have betrayed my confidence. Were you spying on us? Is that how you know every detail from my nightmares?” He pursed his lips. “You heard us, and so you thought you could use my weakness against me. Is that it? You think you can fill my head with lies to confuse me and get me to let you go. You’re wasting your time. I’m never setting you free.”

“I think you know I’m not making this up. You just don’t want to see it.” I grabbed my T-shirt and pulled it over my head before I climbed out of bed. “Your dreams. I think they’re broken memories. Jesus. Listen to me. Everything Papa has told you is a lie.” I wrapped my fingers around his wrist. “Your mother was never raped. She didn’t kill herself.”

“Stop.” He cradled my neck.

“No. I can’t. You have to remember.” My voice faltered. “Luca, please. You have to remember us.”

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