Total pages in book: 82
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 78155 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 391(@200wpm)___ 313(@250wpm)___ 261(@300wpm)
I didn’t leave my bedroom because it had everything I needed. A sitting area with a TV and a fireplace. A big, comfy bed with crisp and soft sheets. The bathroom was a piece of marble artwork with an enormous tub that felt more like a pool for a single person. The marble was rose gold with streaks of white through it, something probably imported from Italy.
If food was being brought to me three times a day, then why did I need to leave? At some point, I would get lonely having no one to talk to. Luca was my only company, but we didn’t really talk…at all. The butler didn’t care for me. That much was obvious.
The following day, there was a quick knock on my door before it opened, revealing Luca in nothing but his low-hanging sweatpants and bare feet. His short hair was a bit ruffled like he’d just woken up and didn’t care enough to comb it before coming to see me.
Not that I minded. I liked the unkempt, don’t-give-a-damn-what-you-think-of-me look. First thing after he woke up, he was even leaner, his body even tighter. But his chest muscles were still strong like the Great Wall of China, and his arms were like ancient sequoias in the west. I was seated on the couch when he walked in and sat in the armchair across from me. He propped one elbow on the armrest, rested his fingers against his temple, and stared.
I wasn’t sure what he wanted from me. He’d never been interested in talking, so I assumed it wasn’t that. But if he wanted to fuck, I would think that would be more obvious. I gently closed my laptop and set it on the coffee table between us. My café crème was sitting there, cold now. There was also a cup that held chocolate-covered biscotti. Not only did Andre bring three meals a day but snacks in between, and if I didn’t start hitting the gym or find the restraint to stop devouring everything, I would be in serious trouble.
Luca continued his hard stare, enormous like a Viking, his big muscles were his plates of armor. “You’re good in bed.”
I blinked. I hadn’t expected the conversation to start that way. I didn’t even know what to say to that. Yes, I know my way around a big dick?
“Do you fuck like that to stay, or do you actually want to fuck me?”
Surprised by his candor, I continued to blink.
“Your answer doesn’t matter.”
“Then why ask the question?” When we came together, we were two flames that made an inferno. He felt like a different person, an affectionate man who was gentle but hard at the same time. We were so synchronized, like two lovers who’d known each other for a lifetime.
One eyebrow kicked up slightly, equally annoyed and amused.
I let the silence return.
“Then I guess it does matter.” His hard stare continued. “Answer the question.”
It was easy to drop my guard and default to my old setting, fulfilling a man’s desires without him having to tell me what they were. But of all the clients I’d ever had, Luca was the best. Some of my clients had been handsome and interesting, but none of them had his presence. None of them had that smoldering stare. None of them had his aura or his subtly threatening confidence. And none of them were packed the way he was, with arms bigger than my head and a dick that was like a trunk. And they didn’t have…whatever it was that drew me to him in the first place. That made me kiss him on the threshold of his doorstep. “Both.”
His eyebrow rose slightly again.
“You’re really fucking hot, and I want to make sure I have a place to stay.” I’d never looked a guy in the eye and said something like that. I wasn’t normally so candid or confident on my dates or when I met a guy at a bar. The situation with Luca was far different from anything I’d ever done, so I was different. “My life has been unstable for years. I run, and I find a safe place for a few years. And then they find me again, and I’m on the run until I find somewhere new. This is the first time in years where I can just…” My eyes left his face as the emotion snuck up on me like a snake in the fucking garden. “Just fucking breathe. I’m either running or I’m hiding. I’m working a shitty job to get by, but all I’m doing is existing. Never getting close to any of the guys I see because I know I have no future to offer any of them. And hiding is somehow worse than running, because every morning and every night, I’m wondering how long I have until they find me again.” I kept my eyes off his because I was embarrassed that I was sharing all of this with him. He didn’t care, but I had no one to vent to. “I’ve been here almost a week, and I haven’t slept this well in years. I haven’t even left my bedroom because it’s become my sanctuary. My heart beats differently here. It’s slow, for the first time. So yes, I fuck your brains out because I want to give you a reason to keep me long enough for me to figure out what the fuck I’m going to do, but also…you’re really hot.” My eyes remained averted as I said that a second time, feeling the embarrassment creep into my face. “So…yeah.” My eyes returned to his, and I saw his expression hadn’t changed.