Page 29 of My Pucking Crush

Max

D ressed in Luca’s sweats because he wouldn’t let me go to my bedroom naked or in a towel with his sister in the apartment, I sit on the edge of his bed.

In walks what I can only describe as a female version of Luca without the height, and a long vanilla ice braid under a baseball cap. Samara slinks into my bedroom in a black skin-tight jumpsuit under a dark burgundy leather jacket.

“Max, this is Samara. My sister,” he says with pride. “But this meeting didn’t take place. Belova thinks she’s...”

“Dead,” Samara says with a teasing grin. “Plane crash.”

“Which commercial flight?” I ask like an idiot.

“Private plane,” she corrects me. “Some sleazeball trafficking young girls.”

“Between doing hits for Ivan Belova and marrying his sister, I couldn’t risk that Sam wouldn’t be used as a way to hurt me.”

The layers of the world Luca comes from and the sacrifices he’s made gut me. He’d found peace with the Crushers. I feel like I’ve ruined that. Even if it wasn’t my fault.

Luca, who’s now in jeans but shirtless, folds the attacker into a black body bag while Samara holds it in place. Wearing plastic gloves that go up to their elbows and sanitized plastic over their shoes, they lift the bag and carry the guy away.

Luca returns with a knife, and I step back.

“Relax.” He starts slicing away the carpet from the corner of the bedroom. There’s only a dresser and one nightstand.

How he’ll get rid of two hundred square feet of carpet...

While Luca and I move the furniture to lift the carpet away, a muffled buzzing rumbles from the other guest bathroom. Oh God, Samara is cutting up the body and it sparks my gag reflex.

“Samara will spray everything down.”

With the carpet rolled up, Luca pulls the linens off his bed and shoves them into a black plastic bag. Good thing I let the designer talk me into several extra sets of everything.

Luca bends down and slips plastic booties on me.

“This is so unsexy,” I say, gripping his shoulders.

“It’s just from here to your bedroom.”

My head snaps up. “I’m...”

“You have practice tomorrow. You need your sleep. Sam and I will finish up.”

“That will take all night.”

He shrugs.

“Luc,” I whisper. “Thank you.”

His sister comes back and she stops short, staring from me to him. A smile curls her lips. Guess she approves of me.

Damn, I like that.