Chapter 76

Chapter 76

I lean forward, wanting to kiss him very much again, but suddenly his words register fully. with me and I

give a little squeak, sitting up straight.

“What?” Luca asks, suddenly concerned.

“Wait,” I say, looking at him askance as I let my knees fall on either side of his waist, straddling him with

my hands on his chest. “Precisely how slutty were you, Luca Grant?”

He grins up at me, broad and happy. “What answer do you want, Ariel? The truth, or the one that’s

going to make you want to kiss me again?”

“The truth,” I growl, giving him a little smack on the chest.

“Do that again,” he murmurs, one hand slipping to my back and pressing me forward a little bit, “I liked

that.”

“Pay attention, boy,” I command, pointing a finger into his face, though I lean forward a little more.

“Now, spill.”

Luca shrugs, noncommittal, laying casually back on the magical dream bed and letting his hands rest

on my thighs. “I have not been a very chaste man, Ariel. If a girl and I liked each other, and we wanted

to, I didn’t hold back. Does that upset you?”

I tilt my head to the side for a second, balancing my jealousy with my common sense. “Well, no,” I say,

my words slow and measured. “But, how many girls were there?”

“That I’ve kissed? Or that I’ve slept with? Because those are very different numbers –”

My mouth falls open in shock as I stare at him, and he grins at me again, clearly y amused. “You’re

very sweet,” he murmurs, his hands starting to rub distracting circles on my thighs.

“Slept with, then,” I say, through my teeth, doing my best to not get distracted by the way. his hands

feel on my legs.

Luca’s grin deepens. “Somewhere around fifty?” he says, giving another one of those too- casual

shrugs.

My jaw drops again, accompanied by a shocked huff of air.

“What?” he says, grinning at me, his hands pausing on my thighs and taking hold there, like he’d stop

me if I tried to run away. “Too many?”

“You hussy!” I gasp, raising my hand before I think about what I’m doing and smacking him again on

the chest.

Luca bursts out laughing at this as I raise my hand again.

“And around fifty!?” I raise my hand again, “like you can’t even be bothered to remember some of

them!?” My hand falls, aiming for the same place, but before it can connect Luca’s moving, sitting up as

he grabs my wrist out of the air, his movement shifting me back at little so that I’m sitting in his lap with

his other hand tight against the small of my back so I don’t fall backwards.

“I’m your hussy now,” he murmurs, his voice honestly a little delighted at my outrage. “just think of it as

my…education, which I can now put to good use.” And then, almost as if to prove his point, Luca uses

the hand pressed to the small of my back to press me tighter into his lap, grinding against me in a way

that lets me feel all of him. At the same time, he leans in and presses his lips to the soft skin of my

throat, just above my clavicle.

And in combination…

I groan, my head falling back as I feel a heat bloom in my core. My eyes flutter shut as Luca delivers a

long, slow lick to my throat, and I find my hips moving on their own, wanting to press tighter against the

hard length of him now instead of shying away from it.

“See?” he murmurs, his lips still against the skin of my neck. “It’s not all so bad.”

“Luca,” I say, half moan and half sigh, as I raise my head and take his face in my hands. Because as

much as I definitely want to keep going, want to keep experimenting, this is definitely a conversation we

need to have.

“Hmm?” he hums, inviting my question.

“How…” I hesitate, not wanting to hurt his feelings, “how can you have slept with fifty women?”

He grins, like it wasn’t difficult at all, and I laugh a little, surprised to find myself grinning

back at him.

“I’m serious, Luca!” I say, looping my arms around his neck and forcing myself to pout a little, wanting

him to be just a little more serious. “I mean…” I blush lightly, because I know I’m going to sound naive

but…well, I want to know. “You can’t have loved them all. Did you love…any of them?”

“A few,” he says, his face falling into more serious lines as he tightens his arm around my waist, pulling

me close. “I’ve had serious relationships, Ariel. But the majority of them…no, I didn’t love them. But sex

it’s not always about love.”

—

“Then what’s it about?” I ask, dead curious. Because I’ve never had anyone to talk to about this sort of

stuff. My mom made sure I know everything I need to know about the mechanics of sex and babies,

and I know that I could always go to her to ask whatever I wanted.

But this sort of thing, the personal side of it? The sort of thing you talk to your friends. about?

Well, my friends are just as naïve as me.

Or at least I thought they were

until Jesse blew their cover. I scowl, a little, thinking about it, and Luca grins at me, lifting a hand and

brushing his thumb over my frowning lip like he loves the shape of it.

“Sometimes,” he murmurs, “sex is just about two people who are attracted to each other getting naked

and doing really weird things to each other’s bodies.”

I burst into laughter then, my head tilting back on my neck. Luca laughs with me, I can feel his body

vibrating against mine. “Luca!” I gasp. “That is the least romantic thing I’ve ever heard!”

“Well, sometimes it’s not romantic!” he replies, laughing with me as I raise my head and smile at him.

“But it can be. Or it can be really intimate, and bring people closer.” Almost as if to illustrate he tightens

his arm again, pulling me flush against his chest and brushing his cheek up the length of my neck

before pulling back a little and staring into my face, his brown eyes warm.

“I think I’d prefer the latter,” I say, my voice a little dry.

“With you?” he says, tilting his head to the side. “It will be all of it, Ariel, at different times. But,” he gives

me a soft smile now, understanding, that warms me body and soul. “We don’t have to do any of that

now or anytime soon. We’ll go slow. I…want you to like it.”

I take my face in my hands, leaning close so my lips brush his as I speak. “I do like it, Luca,” I murmur.

“I just…it’s new.”

He nods, understanding. “Plus,” he says, considering, “you shouldn’t lose your virginity in a dream

state.”

“Oh yeah?” I ask, my face bursting into a smile. “Then where should I lose it, the dorm room of an all–

boys war academy?”

“Certainly not,” he says, frowning at me like it’s a ridiculous idea. “I was thinking, like, the hallway of

that academy, about five minutes from now? We’ll meet halfway, I’ll just like, pin you down in the

staircase –”

I burst out laughing, tucking my head against his shoulder and shaking it. “Luca!” I protest.

“I know,” he murmurs, laughing with me, holding me close and rocking me back and forth just a little.

“I’m just kidding, gorgeous.”

“Gorgeous,” I say, lifting my head and smiling down at him again. “I like this new nickname. Better than

Shrimp.”

“Shrimp is for the rest of the world,” he sighs, grinning at me. “Gorgeous that’s just for me and you.”

“Good,” I murmur, lowering my face to his again, wanting nothing more than to kiss him and kiss him

and kiss him for the rest of the night. “I like this – having a secret with you.”

“First of many,” he murmurs, and then Luca turns me again, laying me flat out on the mattress and

proceeding to kiss me senseless for hours on end.