Page 60

Chapter fifty-nine

Samara

I pull off my flip-flops, tossing them in my backpack as we step out onto the sand, not wanting to kick any up onto my legs.

A short man with dark hair is wearing a cowboy hat, standing by the edge of the water with two huge brown horses.

I hear a sharp intake of breath and turn to see Luca staring at the horses, eyes wide and jaw clenched.

“Everything okay?” I ask him, stopping about thirty feet away from the man.

“No”—he shakes his head adamantly—“I am not okay, Samara,” he tells me, his chest heaving.

“What’s going on with you?” I ask him, confused.

“Horses. No one said shit about horses!” He sounds near hysterics.

“What’s wrong with horses?”

“They’re terrifying. That’s what!” he tells me, his voice thin. “They’re these giant, omnivorous beasts, and everyone tells you they’re sweet as can be, but what’s to stop them from knocking us off and kicking our skulls in? Not to mention how goddamn high off the ground we are! And the shit! They take massive shits, Samara! How is this supposed to be romantic ? Why would anyone choose this for a day away on vacation?!” His arms are flailing in front of his face the same way his mom’s do when she’s passionate about something.

I can no longer contain my laughter. It bubbles out of me, spilling over as I lean forward, grabbing my thighs to keep myself upright. Luca De Laurentiis, six-foot-four hockey god, is afraid of horses.

By the time I catch my breath, my cheeks are burning from smiling, and Luca is shooting daggers at me with his arms crossed over his chest.

“What’s so funny, princess?” he asks, his tone sounding so grumbly, it’s almost cute.

“Come on, Luca. It’ll be fine,” I assure him, stifling another laugh.

His eyes narrow at me. “You’re right, princess. It will be fine. Because we’ll be sharing one of those beasts since you know so much about them. You’ll keep me safe.” He smirks.

“Absolutely not,” I tell him, my tone firm.

“It’s that or nothing.”

I look over my shoulder to the man waiting by his horses, feeding them each a carrot.

Releasing a quick breath through my nose, I reluctantly agree. “Fine,” I say before stomping off toward the horses. The sand slows me down, and I lose some of the dramatic impact. I’ll never admit this, but I’m actually glad we’re sharing a horse because I’m a little afraid of them too. I’m not a fan of relying on another being for my safety.

The man introduces himself as Yandel and then the horses. The larger one is named Nitro, and the smaller one is Poppy.

He hands us carrots and apple slices, instructing us on how to hold our palms open to feed them. Luca refuses, standing behind me and using my body as a shield. My smile refuses to fade. I love knowing this about him.

“Alright, give me one of those carrots.” He huffs, grabbing one from the bucket on the ground.

He stands with his spine ramrod straight, arm extended out and palm up with the carrot, but when I look at his face, his eyes are clenched shut, and his head is turned away. “Luca, look.” I point to the horse as she gingerly takes the carrot from his palm. His eyes burst open just in time, and a grin spreads across his lips into the most breathtaking smile.

“I guess that wasn’t so bad,” he says, his voice quiet.

“We’ll be riding the same horse. Is that okay?” I ask our guide.

He nods. “I’ll follow behind then.”

I stick my foot in the stirrup and feel Luca’s warm hands squeeze my hips as he hoists me up onto the horse’s back. Once I’m sufficiently settled, he follows suit, groaning as he does. A cool, salty breeze wraps around us. “This was a horrible idea. Your parents have atrocious taste,” he murmurs as he settles in behind me.

Another giggle slips past my lips, and I take the reins, just how Yandel had shown me. I see him mount the horse beside us, and we take off at a slow trot.

“I think I’m gonna be sick.” Luca groans behind me. He’s got a death grip on my hips, and I feel his words vibrate through my spine, his chest pressed firmly into me.

“You’ll be fine, and if you puke, you better do it over the side, or I’ll kick your ass,” I nearly hiss at him.

“Noted,” he says, trying and failing to hide his chuckle.

We maintain a slow, steady pace, and the sun’s rays heat me all over. The sounds of the waves crashing against the sand are so soothing that I barely even realize it when Luca starts to relax behind me, loosening his grip.

I look over my shoulder for a moment, noting that Yandel has started to trail farther behind us. “Eyes on the road, Samara,” Luca growls behind me.

“Sand, eyes on the sand ,” I correct him.

“Yeah, yeah, yeah, whatever. Eyes forward, principessa .” He drags his hands down my waist, settling them on the tops of my bare thighs. A shiver wracks through me, and goosebumps line my skin all over.

“It’s a hundred degrees out here; how do you have a chill?” he whispers against the shell of my ear. I suppress the shudder that threatens its way through me.

I’m realizing just how romantic this excursion could be. With the right person that is.

I do my best to ignore him, focusing instead on the palm trees dancing in the wind, the sounds of children laughing as they play with their families in the water, and the music surrounding us each time we pass a cabana or a bar.

We stroll by a couple lying on their sides, facing one another under their rented cabana. I try to pull my eyes away when I realize that the man is fondling her topless breasts, squeezing her nipples tightly in his grip, but I can’t peel my eyes away. Luca’s hot breath coasts over the side of my neck, and I feel his hard length press into my spine. “We could be doing that right now if you didn’t have me sitting on the back of this vegetarian monster.”

I shake my head. “No, we couldn’t. Remember, Luca, this is a fake relationship,” I tell him, but my thighs still clench from the feeling of his growing erection trying to burrow itself into me.

“The relationship might be, but that doesn’t mean we can’t still work out our frustrations together,” he says, groaning as I involuntarily wiggle my ass farther into his embrace.

His hands trail up my thighs, one settling on my hip and the other slipping under my bathing suit cover-up. The closer his fingers trail near my core, the harder it is to protest. I lean forward, hoping the separation between us will clear my head, but the new position has my clit pressed firmly into the saddle. My breath is knocked out of me, and my fingers grip the reins more tightly.

The hand on my hip trails toward my navel, lying flat on my stomach and pressing me back into Luca. His dick is hard as ever, straining against me through the thin fabric of his swim trunks. “Just this once, principessa. Let me make you feel good. No one’s looking,” he whispers, dipping his head to tug on my earlobe.

My limbs tingle, and as much as I try to convince myself that it’s just from my legs dangling, I know it isn’t true.

I can’t take it anymore. My eyes scan our surroundings, and as luck would have it, we’ve reached an alcove with no one besides Yandel around. He’s trailed so far behind us, I’m sure he couldn’t see or hear anything. My resolve shatters.

I nod, giving in to Luca’s request to make me feel good. “No can do, princess. I need your words. If you want me to finger-fuck your soaking cunt, you’re going to have to open that pretty mouth of yours and tell me.”

A moan slips past my lips, and he sucks on the side of my neck in response, nipping the skin and releasing me. A finger trails up the side of my bathing suit, slipping under the strip that’s covering my center. “You say you don’t like me,” he whispers, “but your pussy has other ideas. You’re absolutely drenched, and it’s all for me , isn’t it?”

Damn this man and his delicious, sinful mouth.

“Yes.” I groan.

“Yes, what? Yes, you’re drenched for me, or yes, you want me to make you come? Or… both.” He chuckles, already knowing the answer.

“Luca,” I grit out. “Shut up and make me come.” Annoyance and desire tingle through me in equal measure.

“Yes, ma’am,” he says, sliding one thick finger into me. I cry out, clenching around his finger. I slump forward, but Luca’s hand on my abdomen keeps me straight, pressing me into his chest. “God damn, princess, you’re so tight.” He pumps that finger in and out of me.

We’re now traveling so slowly we may as well be at a complete stop. He slips another finger inside, separating them once inside me and stretching me out around him. It sends pain and pleasure spearing through me, and my chest heaves with the effort to sit still.

“Look at you, soaking my fingers and practically begging for me. I bet if you got that stick out of your ass, we could have a fantastic fucking time with that too,” he purrs.

“Fuck you,” I grit out, but his words have me reluctantly spasming around his fingers.

He trails his nose up my neck, breathing me in, and whispers, “That can be your job.” My skin is on fire, and I know it’s not just from the sun. A gentle gust of wind breezes by, pulling tendrils of my hair into my face. Luca gently tucks the errant hairs behind my ear with his free hand before returning it to my waist.

He pumps his fingers, changing his tempo and, finally, speeding up as my moans become louder and more uncontained. “Yes, just like that,” I tell him, pleading for my release.

His thumb grazes my clit, and he presses himself farther into me, holding me up as he brings me to the edge. My vision starts to narrow, my breath coming out in pants. He whispers as he ruthlessly drags me toward my orgasm, “I’ll always give you exactly what you need, principessa ,” as his hand trails from my waist to my breast. His fingers graze over the pebbled bud, and I’m a goner.

My pussy clenches around his fingers, my orgasm sucking the air out of my lungs as I pulsate around him, stars littering my vision. And just when I’ve had enough, maybe even too much, my skin searing with heat, Luca pinches my nipple. He does it the same way the man on the beach had his partner, and a second wave of euphoria hits me, rearing through me until I’m a puddle. I fear Luca De Laurentiis has ruined me for every man after him.

“You’re so pretty when you come undone for me,” he whispers, licking a heated trail up my neck and extracting his fingers. He brings them to his lips, and I turn my head, watching as he sucks them into his mouth, effectively cleaning them of any trace of me. “And delicious too,” he says, moaning. He gives me a small smile, straightening me and grabbing the reins for himself, steering us the rest of the way around the alcove and back the way we came. When my breath has returned to normal, I take them from him, eager to busy myself with anything but the concern rearing through me at the realization of what we’d just done.

“This needs to stop,” I whisper to myself, but he hears me.

“I disagree.” He chuckles, wrapping his arms back around my waist.

This is bad. Really fucking bad.

***

After our excursion, we have a quick lunch and head back to the room.

I make it out onto the deck to lie by the pool and read, and Luca decides to go to the gym. I guess a body like his doesn’t make itself.

My book is good, fantastic even, but it’s hard to focus when I’m still wound up from earlier.

And this book has so much sexual tension in it that it’s almost painful to read right now. I’ve never been someone who was overly sexual. I enjoy it, usually, and really enjoy reading it, but I haven’t been with someone who left me feeling simultaneously fulfilled and perpetually unsatiated.

Until Luca, that is, and we haven’t even had sex.

Nor will we ever.

That was the last time I let myself get carried away.

The last time, Samara. Even just telling myself this, it feels like a lie.

My entire life, I’ve never struggled to make a decision. Hell, I’m usually the most decisive person in any room, but that changed when Luca De Laurentiis entered my life.

I shake my head, and once inside, I drop the book and climb into bed. I turn off the lamp, allowing the light seeping in from the sheer curtains to illuminate the space to be comfortable.

Grabbing for the remote, I turn the TV on, flipping through channel after channel and not finding anything that catches my attention.

“Okay, maybe a nap then,” I say to myself, turning off the TV and rolling over onto my side.

I close my eyes, but my mind wanders all over. I can’t stop Luca from popping into those thoughts over and over. His pretty eyes, that damn dimpled cheek, and his pretty, pierced dick all swarm my mind.

My core floods, clenching as images of Luca’s fingers delving inside me race through my brain.

My hand snakes down between my thighs, and my eyes snap open. “Shit,” I groan out.

Awareness of what I was about to do hits me like a horse’s hoof to the face, and I’m catapulting out of the bed. “I need to get out of this room.”

I grab a pair of leggings, sliding them up my hips and grabbing the room key before making my way down the endless halls of the resort. I know I’m risking running into my family, but at least with them around, I wouldn’t be thinking about Luca.

It’s our second day here, and I haven’t had a chance to explore, so I wander aimlessly, passing conference rooms, the spa I so badly wish I were at right now, and an infinite number of rooms.

When I pass the gym, I stop in my tracks.

Luca is facing his phone, which is propped up on a piece of equipment. I watch through the wall of windows, staring as his impressive muscles glide with ease through the air, his fist repeatedly making contact with a punching bag. He turns to face the camera again, saying something I can’t make out, but he’s smiling.

I hedge closer, and my hand wraps around the door handle. I look around, ensuring no one is here to see me standing outside the door like a total creep.

When I’ve confirmed the coast is clear, I crack the door open, just enough that a rush of cool air shocks me for a second until I hear Luca speaking.

“Alright, ladies, you try next. I probably won’t be able to fix your form too much since I’m having to do this on my phone and can’t see you all very well, but just have some fun with it. We’ll make corrections next week when I’m back,” he assures his viewers.

What the hell is going on?

“Hell yeah, just like that, Charice!” he cheers. “You’ve got this, girlfriend!”

He’s clapping excitedly, nearly bouncing on the balls of his feet as he cheers for the “ladies” on the other end of his phone.

I continue to watch, maintaining the death grip I have on the door handle, afraid to let it slip and risk making my presence known.

I’m utterly stunned as he continues teaching what appears to be a self-defense class. What bothers me is the familiarity I notice. There’s something that’s not sitting with me, and I can’t figure it out.

Luca claps once more, beaming at his phone. “Alright, ladies, you all did an incredible job. I’m sorry for the lack of a live class today, but we made it work. Everyone, give a huge round of applause to Brandi. Not only does she flawlessly execute every job she’s given, but today, that includes camerawoman too.”

They all cheer, clapping enthusiastically, and it clicks.

Charice.

Brandi.

Luca is the one teaching the women at the shelter self-defense lessons. And according to Brandi, he has been for years.

Shock continues to ripple through me, but I have to get out of here before I’m caught.

Releasing the handle, I spin toward the direction of our room and haul ass out of here, my mind left reeling with this new information.

I’m the worst person ever because Luca is clearly the best.