Page 13

LUCA

I reach into the glove compartment, nudging aside the extra pistol I keep right next to the car manual, and grab a handful of napkins.

“For your knees,” I say, handing them over to Anders. He blinks down at his scraped skin with a look of mild surprise, then takes the napkins and chuckles. “What’s funny?”

He dabs at the already drying blood, not making much of an impact with the dry napkins, and shrugs in response my question.

“I don’t know, there was just something really funny about the visual of you pulling up to a drive-thru in your BMW and buying a little box of ninety-nine-cent chicken nuggets, then stuffing all the leftover napkins into your glove compartment like a normal person.”

“I am a normal person.”

Anders snorts and then gives up on trying to clean himself up, wadding up the napkin and tossing it onto the floor by his feet. I glance over and arch an eyebrow, and he stares back with defiance, a smile spreading slowly over his lips. My cock throbs and my lips tingle with the memory of the kiss.

“So, what are we eating? Cannoli?” He cackles at his own joke and my lips twitch with a smile. I like him feral and defiant, but relaxed and snarky might be my favorite.

“Ninety-nine-cent chicken nuggets,” I deadpan, and he laughs again. As we leave campus behind, I run through a mental list of places I’d like to take him before deciding on one. “I’m glad you’re not convinced I’m going to kill you anymore,” I say rather than answering his question.

I see his shoulders twitch out of the corner of my eye. “Not sure I’m convinced, but if you’re going to stalk me anyway, running isn’t going to do me much good. I decided it’s better to face death head-on if it’s coming for me.”

A surge of pride and affection fills my chest.

“You strike me as the type to face most things head-on.”

He’s quiet for several seconds, like he’s considering the assessment, and then he clears his throat. “Most things,” he agrees, but there’s something underneath it I can’t quite figure out. Guilt maybe.

I manage to find parking less than a block from our destination. Anders jumps out the second the car stops, and I half expect him to bolt like he did before. But he lingers on the sidewalk, alternating between curling his arms around himself and shooting defiant glares at random passersby.

“I doubt I’m dressed for anyplace fancy,” he says as soon as I get out.

I rake my gaze over him, noting the road rash on his knees again before taking in the rest of him.

He’s wearing a tight white t-shirt tonight, the fabric so sheer I can see the darker outline of his nipples through it, and a pair of tight shorts that leave his toned thighs on full display and hug his bouncy ass just right.

“We’re not going somewhere fancy,” I assure him, coming around the car to stop right in front of him.

He doesn’t give up an inch of space, tilting his head to look up at me when I close in on him.

I bring my hand to his face and graze my thumb over the smooth curve of his jaw.

“And if we were, I can assure you that as long as you’re with me, no one is going to give you any trouble. ”

“Why? Because you’ll shoot them if they do?” He arches an eyebrow, the look in his eyes too cool and controlled to give away how he feels about that possibility.

I dip my head to bring my face closer to his.

“If I have to,” I answer.

Anders shivers, and for a second, the impassivity slips from his eyes again and they dance with excitement. He pulls himself back together and licks his lips. Our mouths are so close that I can feel the heat of his tongue even though it doesn’t quite brush my lips.

“Why?” he asks.

That’s the question of the fucking century, isn’t it?

Why? Why Anders? Why am I so damn smitten with a man I barely know?

Chemistry, perhaps. Good old-fashioned attraction?

Why does it have to be more complicated than that?

I can tell that’s not going to be good enough for him though.

Not when someone’s been working hard to make him feel helpless and useless.

“Hmm, it sounds like you finally found something left we have to talk about,” I say lightly, letting my hand fall from his jaw.

I smirk when he huffs, and then I jerk my chin in the direction we’re headed, and Anders leads the way.

I reach out and tug him to a stop in front of my favorite hole-in-the-wall diner, the smell of greasy onion rings and grilled meat wafting out to make my mouth water.

I hold the door open for Anders, and he doesn’t say anything as I greet the hostess by name and thank her after she leads us to my usual booth in the back corner.

When we’re alone again, he glances around and then opens his menu.

“So, I’m guessing the man you were defending was your brother.”

His head whips up and the predatory look I’ve loved in his eyes before has absolutely nothing on the feral way he bares his teeth, his whole body tensing as he digs his fingers into the table like he’s seconds from vaulting over it to throttle me.

My cock thickens against my thigh again and my breath catches.

“Don’t fucking talk about him. Don’t think about him. He doesn’t have anything to do with any of this,” Anders hisses.

“He doesn’t know how you’ve made your money in the past?” I wait a beat to see if he’s going to pick up on the implication that he’s done selling himself, if he’s going to fight me on that too, but he just keeps glaring at me, his chest heaving.

“No, and he won’t.” His eyes bore into mine and the heat in my gut spreads. “I’m the one who stole from you, so whatever you need to settle that, it’s going to come from me . If you go anywhere near him…” He swallows hard and then the look in his eyes turns to pure steel. “I’ll fucking kill you.”

My cock jerks and a quiet moan vibrates in my throat. “Christ, Anders, if you keep up with the dirty talk, I’m going to embarrass myself.”

Lust and confusion war on his face. “You’re really not going to hurt me, are you?” he asks, cocking his head and pulling his eyebrows together.

“No,” I say simply. “By the way, the chicken and waffles here will change your life.”

Anders blinks, sputters a laugh, then closes his menu. “Chicken and waffles it is.”

ANDERS

After the waiter comes by to take our order, I shift in my seat and look around the diner, mostly because it’s less awkward than staring silently at Luca. What kind of small talk are you supposed to make with the mafioso you fucked to tears and then robbed?

“So, what kinds of movies do you like?” he asks.

I chuckle. “Movies? Really?”

“What would you rather talk about?”

My mind goes blank, and I realize it’s been a really long time since anyone has asked me anything like that.

The only way my dad communicates is through insults and violence, believe it or not my clients don’t tend to want to make small talk, and as much as I love Finn, he mostly just wants to talk about his own shit.

It’s better that way though. It’s easier to lie to him about my life if I don’t have to talk about it at all.

“Mindless action movies,” I say. “I just want to turn my brain off and watch shit blow up.”

Luca grins, and there’s something so disarming and unguarded about the way the smile lights up his face that it makes me want to kiss him and kick him in the shin at the same time.

“It’s fun to watch shit blow up. I’ve always been a big fan of over-the-top slasher flicks too. They’re just so campy and ridiculous, it’s hard to hate them.”

I nod and lean forward an inch. “Have you ever seen Chopping Mall ? It’s eighties slasher movie perfection.”

“Hell yes. Dude Bro Party Massacre III is probably my favorite. It’s more of a parody, but it’s so damn stupid and amazing it’s become a comfort watch for me.”

I laugh, trying to imagine him in a pair of cozy flannel pajamas, eating popcorn and watching a stupid murder movie all by himself in the dark.

“I haven’t seen that one,” I admit. “I’ll have to put it on my list.” Saying it out loud makes me think about the not-too-distant future, just a few weeks from now when I’ll be somewhere else… I’ll be some one else.

Our food comes, and Luca was right, it’s the best chicken and waffles I’ve ever had.

While we eat, we talk about more delightfully bad movies and for a little while, it almost feels like we’re two normal guys on a first date instead of a pair of criminals doing…

what? Sizing each other up? I’m not quite sure, honestly.

He pays for the meal when we’re done, and a sliver of guilt niggles at the back of my mind over the lie I told him. It’s not like it was a big lie. Technically I still have the money I took from him, but I know I need it more than he does. Shouldn’t that count for something?

“You never answered my question,” I remind him on our walk back to his car. His hand rests on my lower back, the same way it did when he led me out of Wonderland the other night—claiming without being pushy and controlling, comforting even though I know who he is now.

“Which question is that?”

“Why?” I ask, just like I did earlier. “Why take me to dinner? Why track me down if you aren’t planning to kill me?

” I stop when we reach his car, turning to look at him.

“Why pick me up in the first place? I’m sure there are plenty of nice guys in this city who would trip over themselves to have your attention. ”

Luca’s mouth draws into a smirk, and he brings a hand up to my face, dragging his thumb along my bottom lip. I part them and dart my tongue out to tease the soft indents of his fingerprint, holding his gaze and waiting for him to answer my question.

“I don’t want a nice guy , Anders. I thought I’d made that pretty clear by now.

” I nip at his fingertip and his eyes smolder with lust. I wait for the usual disdain to ice my veins, but it doesn’t come.

The way Luca looks at me feels different from anyone else, and that should probably scare me a hell of a lot more than it does.

“Why me ?” I repeat, adding a little more force behind the words.

I don’t want him to keep dodging this. “Am I an exotic pet you’re hoping you can tame?

” I catch the full tip of his thumb between my teeth and bite down a little harder, watching his pupils dilate as he hisses through his teeth.

“Or do you think I need saving? Because if it’s that one, don’t waste your time and energy. I’m already saving myself.”

“I have no doubt about that, my little viper.” He hums, shoving his thumb in again when I let up with my teeth, pressing it against my tongue.

“But I don’t think I have an answer that’s going to satisfy you.

I saw you at Wonderland and I could tell that none of the men who were clamoring for your attention were going to be able to appreciate you.

Something about the look in your eyes made me want to show you the side of myself I’ve never trusted anyone else with. ”

My heart beats faster and I wrap my hand around his wrist to pull his thumb out of my mouth, dragging the damp digit down my chin, my throat, all the way to the V-shaped dip in the collar of my t-shirt.

“And what do you expect to happen now? Are you planning to pay me my nightly fee indefinitely to keep everyone else’s hands off of me?

It might be cheaper just to buy me outright, keep me locked up in a tower like a princess where no one can touch me but you.

It’ll be like a promotion—instead of getting turned out, I’ll be a sex slave just for you.

” My voice gets lower and deadlier with every word, my grip on Luca’s wrist tightening until I’m sure I’m grabbing him hard enough to leave bruises, but he doesn’t so much as flinch.

“I was thinking more along the lines of ‘boyfriend,’ but we can bicker about the title later,” he says calmly.

I let go of him and yank my hand back like I’ve been burned. My throat tightens and I try to laugh but, embarrassingly, it comes out sounding a lot more like a sob.

“Fuck off,” I mutter.

He advances on me again, backing me up against his car, the cool exterior making the bare skin on my legs prickle.

“I love that acid tongue of yours, little viper,” he murmurs, bracing his hands on the hood of the car and leaning in to nuzzle his nose against mine. Then, he reaches over and pulls open the passenger door. “Get in, I’m taking you home.”

I glare at him and give him a small shove for good measure, even though my pulse is racing and my cock is harder than it’s ever been. For a man who claims not to get off on head games, he’s fucking good at them.

Once we’re both in the car, he pulls away from the curb and I start to give him directions back to my place.

“I don’t need them.” He waves me off.

“Oh, right, I forgot you stalked me,” I mutter.

“I was checking on you, not stalking you,” Luca says. “But that’s not why I don’t need directions.”

“Oh?”

“I’m taking you back to my place.”

I sputter a scoff. “Excuse me? Stalking and kidnapping? Are you fucking serious right now?”

“Kidnapping? That’s a bit dramatic, don’t you think?”

I twist in my seat to glare at him. “Then take me home.”

His jaw ticks and his grip tightens on the steering wheel. We slow to a stop at a red light, and he turns his head to look at me. “Look me in the eye and tell me you’re safe there, and I’ll take you back.”

The lie forms readily on my lips, but my mouth goes dry, and my throat tightens before I can spit it out. I open and close my mouth a few times, and a knowing, cocky smile twitches on Lucas’s lips then vanishes.

“That’s what I thought.” He turns his attention back to the road.

The way he can switch between whimpering submissive begging to be hurt and deadly, confident mafioso in the blink of an eye is enough to give me whiplash… and, unfortunately, a massive erection.

I growl with frustration and petulantly kick the dashboard.

“Be careful,” he scolds.

“Take me home or so help me god, I will…” The wheels inside my head spin, trying to come up with a plausible threat to level at him.

Luca hums low in his throat and slides one hand between his thighs to cup the thick bulge of his cock.

“Tell me.” The pleading in his voice solidifies the molten heat inside of me and washes away the panicked need to escape that was clawing at the inside of my chest just seconds ago.

He flies past the last turn that will take us towards my part of town and I settle back in my seat with my arms crossed.

“I guess you’re going to find out.”