Chapter 484
He held her through every second. His arms stayed locked around her, one hand flat against her sternum, feeling her heart pound beneath his palm. He said nothing. Just held her, waiting for the trembling to subside.
When it did, he turned them over. She sank into the mattress and he was above her, settling between her thighs, and he pushed the damp hair back from her face.
He saw the wet brightness at the corners of her eyes. The corner of his mouth pulled up. “There is no way…it was that good, babe p>
She laughed and turned her face slightly away. He brought it back.
“Hey.” His thumb traced her cheekbone.
“Come back to me. Whatever you do. Whatever war you fight for us—” her fingers found his jaw, holding his face, making him stay with her, “—please. Come back to me p>
Always. He’d said it before without thinking, reflexive as breathing. She would have believed it. Part of her needed to.
He had promised her honesty in the ways that counted and this counted most. He couldn’t say always.
So he didn’t say anything. He kissed her instead and felt her exhale against his mouth. He didn’t know what tomorrow held. He didn’t know what the war would ask of him before it was finished. But he had now. He had her, here, and he was not going to waste a second of it.
He began to move against her again. His mouth at her ear, her jaw, the soft skin beneath it — whispering what she did to him, how she felt around him, how there was nothing else in the world that came close. He meant every word.
She held him tighter with every stroke. Until finally, with his face buried in her neck and her name in his throat and her legs wrapped around him, he spilled inside her with a low, gutted grunt.
His weight settled into her and she took it, arms staying wrapped around him, fingers in his hair. “I love you so much,” Luca said when his breathing finally steadied.
A few minutes later, they settled beneath the sheets, lying side by side and staring at the ceiling. Their wedding night was almost over.
The thought left a quiet ache inside her. One night as ordinary newlyweds before they returned to the real world, two people trying to hold each other while someone methodically tore at everyone they loved.
“Are you coming home tomorrow?” she asked.
Luca was silent for a second too long. Vee turned her head.
“Not yet,” he said. “I’m going to Paris.” Luca turned onto his side, facing her now. “I will give you some plans to work on. I need you to be very convincing. You are Donna,” he said, as if that explained everything. “Everyone answers to you. Whoever does not, shoot them p>
“You cannot make shooting people your solution to workplace insubordination p>
“It improves response time p>
Her lips twitched, but the humour faded quickly. Even here, beside her, part of him was already leaving. “You didn’t promise me p>
“What’s that?” Luca asked.
Vee reached across the space between them and caught his chin, forcing him to face her. “You will come back to me p>
Luca inhaled deeply. His hand closed around her wrist, thumb brushing over the pulse beneath her skin. He looked into her eyes. “Yes…Yes, I will come back to you p>
Luca and Vee headed to the airport together, booked on different flights. Morning had arrived. Vee carried a travel bag with her wedding dress packed carefully inside. Luca had nothing.
All he needed was a gun and that was waiting for him in Paris.
“I’m going to miss you, love,” Vee said.
Announcements drifted through the speakers. People hurried toward gates and the ordinary irritation of delayed flights.
Vee envied them. Their biggest concern was overhead luggage space. She was saying goodbye to her husband less than twenty-four hours after marrying him.
“Me too,” Luca said. “I’ll see you soon.” He looked handsome in his dark suit but she knew him now.
She knew the strain around his eyes. The slight tension in his shoulders that appeared whenever he was already calculating how many ways a plan could go wrong. Vee released the handle of her travel bag and took both his hands. “I know what you did, Luca p>
One dark brow rose. “And what’s that p>
She almost rolled her eyes. “I know you took the pills the doctor asked you not to yet.” Her fingers tightened around his. “I found them in the bathroom p>
“I He glanced away, jaw tightening. “I wanted last night to be special p>
“It was special,” she said softly. “It was. And thank you, but every moment with you is special.” She could see the argument forming in his mind already. Some arrogant claim about what a husband should provide. She cut him off before he started. “And you are not invincible, Luca, even if you think you are p>
“I don’t think p>
“You absolutely do p>
His mouth twitched, but she couldn’t smile not when the fear inside her was rising too fast.
“What if it hurts you?” she asked. “What if it does something irreparable to you? I don’t need some perfect performance,” she continued. “I don’t need you proving anything to me. I need you alive. I need you healthy. I need you coming home p>
“I can’t, Luca she stammered out. “I cannot live without you. I’m sorry that I made you feel like you needed to p>
“Hey, hey, hey Luca stopped her before she could finish destroying herself with guilt that did not belong to her. He tightened his hold on her hands, drawing her closer until the noise of the airport seemed to fade behind them. “You have been nothing but amazing, Vee p>
She lowered her eyes, but he released one of her hands and gently lifted her chin.
“I wanted to,” he continued. “I missed you. I needed to feel you. It was our wedding night, for God’s sake p>