Page 50 of The Vengeance You Crave

"You're sick. They won't be expecting you tonight."

Anger surges through me turning my blood to lava.

"You can't do that," I screech. "I need that job. I need that money."

He pushes from the couch and begins stalking toward me.

"Why, P? Why are you so desperate for the money?"

My heart kicks up a notch as he stares at me through his lashes, demanding to know all my secrets.

"I… I…" I hesitate, my gut telling me to be at least partially honest while my head screams at me to lie because he doesn't deserve the truth, especially not after last night. "I need it to pay medical bills," I blurt, my gut winning out.

His brows pull together. "Medical bills?" he asks, his eyes dropping down my body as if he's now only just going to notice I've got a limb missing or something. "But… you're perfect."

His admission floors me but I force myself to move past it because from the widening of his eyes two seconds after the words pass his lips, I'm assuming he didn't mean to say them out loud.

"T-they're not mine," I explain but immediately regret it. I'm opening myself up to too many questions.

"Okay, so whose are they?"

"Family."

His eyes narrow. "Your mom or sister then," he surmises.

This time it's my turn to narrow my eyes in suspicion.

"Or my gran?" The reality is, she died only a year after we all moved to South Carolina to live with her, but the only way for Luca to really know that would be for him to have been keeping tabs on me and I really don't think he was.

"Oh, yeah. So…"

"I'm not discussing this with you, Luc. I just need to leave."

His smile isn't at all welcome. There's no friendly happiness in it, it's purely wicked and full of dark intentions.

"You can't keep me locked up in here like some kind of sex slave, Luc. That's insane."

"You're right. I'd much rather have you chained up in my own bedroom, but we're here now so this will have to do."

My jaw drops. He's joking, right?

But his face is deadly serious.

Jesus, have I totally underestimated this new Luca?

"So you've spent the past few weeks stalking me at work and now you're what, holding me against my will?"

He closes the last bit of space between us, the heat of his body burning through his jersey and making my skin prickle with awareness.

Reaching out, he cups my chin in his hand and tilts my head up to look at him.

He lowers his head as if he's about to kiss me and I have to force my eyes to stay open, because I know he's not going to. And I'm right, because he stops only a centimeter from my lips.

My chest heaves with his nearness, my head spinning as his scent fills my nose and reminds me of the things he did to me last night. I swear to God, each hickey and mark on my body burns hot just thinking about his lips and teeth on me.

"Against your will?" he asks, his lips ghosting over my cheek until they brush against my ear. "I think you're exactly where you want to be, baby."

A violent shudder rips through me and he chuckles, clearly noticing my reaction to him.