He slides his arm around my shoulders and gives me an affectionate squeeze. “That’s right. The platform isn’t floating. It’s supported by a beam that comes up from the pond’s floor. It’s immovable.”
“So we won’t have to balance on the water. And fall in.”
“Exactly.” He points to a hut at the edge of the pond, soft light coming from within. “That’s our restaurant. We can order whatever we like.”
“And they’ll make it in that little hut?”
He chuckles, eyes glimmering sportively. “The kitchen is underground. That’s just the entrance.”
“Underground kitchens. Special love platforms. I thought you never dated.”
I mean for it to come out sounding like a joke, but there’s an unbidden bitterness that makes me sound needy and accusatory. I want to bite it back, but Luca is staring at me.
He’s staring hard.
His eyes seem glassy and his mouth tight, as though he can barely contain his rage.
“I’m sorry. I didn’t—”
“Why are you apologizing?” he snaps.
“For making you angry,” I say quickly, hoping I get the right answer to please my mafia king.
He leans down and brings his face close to mine, our lips almost touching. “I want you, Lucy. You don’t have to pretend. You don’t have to apologize for speaking. And I definitely don’t want you to be afraid of me. You’re a mafia queen now.”
“I’m not afraid of you,” I murmur. “I’m afraid of disappointing you.”
“That too,” he growls. “You could never disappoint me.”
He claims my lips and I kiss him back, gasping in lust through the kiss. It’s like my body has been waiting at just below a boil, simmering for this moment, and now all my nerves are sparking and boiling over.
My clit surges and my lips swell and my hole floods with my wetness.
My nipples feel raw and sensitive as his rock hard body crashes into me.
The kiss ends as passionately as it began, with me biting his lip, clawing onto the last moments of the pleasure. I expect him to tell me to stop, but his eyes light up like he’s seeing me for the first time.
But every time my man looks at me it’s like he’s seeing me for the first time.
It’s like he’s constantly as amazed by what we have as I am.
“So why is it here?” I ask, forgetting the rage that captivated him last time.
No, not rage… I see it now, a flicker.
Sadness.
“My father had it built,” he says, his voice somber. “When my mother became ill, he wanted to catch up on the time they’d missed when he was working… when he was building the family and solidifying his rule. He had this built and they’d dine out here several times a week. It was their favorite place toward the end.”
I reach up and clasp onto his face, feeling the tension move through him.
“Oh, Luca. I’m so sorry. I didn’t mean to dredge that all up.”
“No, it’s good.” He presses down on the back of my hand, pushing my palm closer to his face. “I’ve never spoken about any of this before. But with you, I feel like I can talk about anything.”
“You can,” I assure him, passion loud in my voice. “You don’t have to be alone anymore. I’m here.”
“I wouldn’t change it for the world.”
He leans down and kisses me again, as the sun kisses the air one final time, and our glittering date waits for us on the water.
Chapter Thirteen
Luca
“You haven’t seen the best part yet,” I tell her, breaking off the kiss.
I have to.
If I keep kissing her I won’t be able to stop myself from doing more, especially with the heat of the emotions we just shared flaring between us.
I never expected to open up about this spot, but with Lucy, it’s like I can cast aside – for a little while – the protective walls I’ve built over the years to protect me from life.
Perhaps with Lucy, I can just be a man – her man – instead of the don.
But when it’s time to return to business I’ll have to flip the switch.
Is it that easy to turn savagery off and on?
I’m trying it with Lucy, pulling away at the last moment as we kiss, knowing that if we continued I’d take her like a beast.
“The best part?” she asks.
I smirk and turn to the water, taking out my phone and swiping a few buttons. Then I take my woman’s hand and pull her back a few inches, away from the edge of the pond.
She tilts her head at me, her curious eyes wide and tempting like she’s casting a spell on me.
I fucking love you, I want to roar, but some instinct pulls me back.
She says she’s not ready for sex.
Is she ready to be loved? Am I?
I have to be. We belong to each other.
She giggles as a smaller platform rises from the pond, sloshing some water onto our platform, which is why I pulled her back. I wait for the platform to stop moving and then incline my head.