Chapter 13: One Night of Us

HAYLEY

Luca’s house was impressive from the outside: huge, modern, and sleek. Sure, she’d been to his home already, but she was unconscious when she’d arrived the last time, so she hadn’t been able to truly appreciate it.

He led her through the house to a modern white and gray kitchen, where she took a seat on a stool while he opened a bottle of wine and poured two large glasses.

Conscious of his eyes on her, she removed her faux fur coat and placed it on the empty stool beside her.

He handed her a glass of wine, then pulled up a stool on the opposite side of the kitchen island. “Your poker skills are impressive, Hayley.”

She smiled as she thought of the hours she spent in her father’s apartment playing poker with him and his best friend, Ivan. “My dad and my uncle played, so I was taught to play.”

Then she remembered her father was the reason she was in New York, and her smile faded.

“Is your dad the one you’re running from?” Luca asked.

She sighed. Was she really having this conversation with Luca Marcello, a man well known for sleeping with Siobhan’s feather girls? Was he really interested, or was he just being polite?

“Yeah,” she replied, although she had no idea why she was telling him this. “We had a disagreement.”

He leaned in. “A disagreement?”

She nodded and pressed her lips together.

“You ran from your family because of an argument with your dad?” He took a sip of wine, keeping his eyes on her.

She shook her head as her mind flashed back to her father’s violence—how it had caused her to be hospitalized and made her feel unsafe. Broken.

Who was she kidding? She couldn’t sleep with Luca. She hadn’t slept with a man since her fucked-up relationship with Alex Hunter nearly four years ago.

She slipped off the stool, still shaking her head, and grabbed her coat.

“I’m sorry, Luca, I…”

She didn’t finish her sentence, just started walking out of the kitchen. But when she reached the front door, she felt Luca grab her arm.

He turned her to face him, and she looked up at the beautiful man in front of her.

LUCA

“Hayley…” He had no idea what was going on in her head, had no idea what she was thinking, but he wanted to protect her, look after her—such an unfamiliar feeling for him.

“Luca,” she said, looking up at him, her brilliant blue eyes sparkling with tears. “I’m no good. I’m broken. I thought I could do this, but I can’t.”

He gently put his finger under her chin and made her look up at him.

“Hayley, talk to me. I’m not going to hurt you.” He’d never wanted anyone to trust him as much as he wanted Hayley to trust him right now.

She shook her head. “I’m not what you need.”

He kissed her gently, then pulled away and rested his forehead against hers. “You have no idea what I need,” he murmured. “I want you, Hayley.”

He tenderly kissed her cheek, then moved down to nuzzle her neck, kissing the sweet spot under her ear. She groaned, but pushed him away.

“I can’t.”

He put his hand on her cheek. She was shaking.

“Why are you frightened, bella? What are you scared of?”

A tear slipped out of her eye and ran down her cheek.

This was new—he was used to women who jumped at the chance to be with him, but here she was crying at the prospect.

“Talk to me, Hayley,” he practically begged. And Luca Marcello never begged for anything.

“I’m scared,” she whispered honestly.

He stepped back a little, but she shook her head.

“I’m not scared of ~you~, Luca. I… I’ve only had one man.”

Luca couldn’t believe what he was hearing. Hayley was beautiful and captivating—he’d seen how the men at the club looked at her. How on earth had she only managed to have one guy?

“He was…different. And the last time we were together, he hurt me. That was years ago, and I’ve never been with another person.” She dropped her head. “I’m sorry, Luca.”

The silence was heavy in the space he’d created between them, and Luca could hear the sound of her rapid breathing.

His mind was all over the place. How could anyone hurt her? And how could he find the guy to kill him?

This beautiful woman had suffered. Her trust had been shattered, and something inside him wanted to fix that, wanted to give her the chance to feel alive again.

But he needed Hayley to trust him, to trust herself—without that, he couldn’t let himself have her. His eyes wandered to the feather she’d worn tonight. Had she wanted to be a feather girl, even if just for tonight?

He stepped forward and took her shoulders.

“Hayley, I want you to know that I would never hurt you. But I won’t push you to do something you’re not comfortable with either. I can take you home if you want, or you can stay in a guest suite.”

He would never force a woman to have sex with him. He wanted Hayley, but he was prepared to wait for her. Or leave her be if that’s what she wanted.

But, in the back of his mind, anger simmered. Anger toward the bastard who’d hurt her so badly she’d hidden from men for so long.

“I want to… I’m just nervous, I think.”

He smiled and kissed her again. He could feel that she was still trembling, so he pulled away and put his lips to her ear.

“Don’t be nervous. I’ll go slow.”

HAYLEY

His words made her face flush and her core ache.

He stepped back and looked into her eyes. “Trust me, Hayley.”

And though she had no real reason to trust him, she nodded and allowed him to take her hand and lead her up the stairs to his bedroom.

As soon as he shut the door, he started kissing her, gently at first, and then more passionately as she abandoned herself to his kiss.

When he pulled her dress over her head, she eagerly helped him get it off of her—and was glad she was wearing her nicest underwear—a white lace bra and panty set that had gold embroidery on it.

They kept kissing as she impatiently pushed off his jacket and unbuttoned his shirt.

She pulled back to look at his perfect body—taking in the artwork on his chest and upper arms—before he swept her into his arms and laid her on the bed.

He made quick work of removing her bra, then went back to kissing her mouth, then her jaw, and then down her neck.

She squirmed, rubbing herself against the hard bulge in his pants as he took one of her nipples into his hot, wet mouth and teased the other between his fingers.

His lips trailed down her stomach to the edge of the white lace. She moaned, and when she shifted restlessly, he held her legs open and nuzzled her inner thighs, then kissed her through her underpants.

“You’re amazing…,” he murmured, slipping a finger under the damp fabric. “So wet for me.” He looked up and flashed a smug smile, and she bit her lip at the sight of him between her legs.

He gently took off her underwear with both hands, gliding them down her legs and over her thigh-high stockings until he’d removed them completely.

Still nervous, she watched him kiss up her left leg then slowly pull the stocking off, before moving his kisses to the right and slipping that one off too.

He returned his mouth to her pussy, then put a finger on her clit, circling the swollen bud. She jerked and moaned at his touch.

He slipped his finger from her clit to her entrance, then pushed it inside.

“Luca,” she moaned as his tongue found her clit, and he licked, sucked, and kissed her there as he added another finger, sliding them in and out to get her ready for him.

Her back arched as she felt herself about to cum, but her mind was conflicted—something wouldn’t allow her to let go.

“Cum for me, baby,” he growled, and the command in his voice tipped her over the edge.

She shook as she came, her toes curling as he kept sucking and licking her.

When she was done, he stepped back and removed his trousers and boxer briefs, then reached for a condom and expertly rolled it on.

Her eyes widened—he was huge!

“Are you okay?” he asked her as he returned to the bed.

She nodded, and when he captured her mouth again, she could taste herself on his lips. As he deepened the kiss, he gently pushed himself past her wet folds, giving her time to adjust to his size.

Once he was in to the hilt, he paused and held her eyes before he began to move.

His lips found hers again, and she moaned into his mouth as they found their rhythm. She cried out his name when he began to pick up speed, and he linked their fingers together and held her hands above her head.

“Oh, baby…you’re so tight…you’re so good,” he groaned out with the rhythm of each thrust. She felt her body shudder and her back arch as he plunged into her. She was close—and so was Luca.

“Luca!” she cried out as a tear slipped down her face. She pushed through the feelings, pushed through the confusion her body was dealing with. This was Luca, not Alex.

She’d once loved Alex, but he’d hurt her and left her years ago. Maybe it was time for her heart to move on.

LUCA

Hayley tightened around him, crying out his name with her release, and he sped up his pace and came right after. He kissed her as they came down from their euphoria.

Luca hadn’t felt this good during sex, this alive, since he’d been a teenager.

He waited for her shaking to subside, then kissed her forehead and left the bed to discreetly remove the used condom. When he came back, she was already slipping into a sex coma.

He laughed as she drowsily tried to speak to him, then tucked her under the bedsheets and slipped in beside her—pulling her close before going to sleep himself.