CLOSER THAN SHE EXPECTED
626 Words
Chapter 12
Raina waited on the bed for what felt like hours. Every small sound in the mansion made her heart jump. She hated feeling powerless… but she hated feeling alone even more.
The door suddenly opened.
She sat up fast.
Luca walked in, closing the door behind him with a slow, controlled movement. His expression was unreadable, but his eyes were darker than before—stormy, intense.
“Is everything okay?” Raina asked, her voice small.
“No.”
He ran a hand through his hair, pacing once. “The bounty on you just doubled. Someone wants you very badly.”
Her stomach twisted. “Because of you?”
His eyes snapped to hers. “Because you’re mine.”
The words hit her harder than she expected.
Luca walked to the side of the bed and sat beside her. Not close enough to touch. But close enough that she felt his warmth, his presence, the strength in the way he carried himself.
“You should rest,” he said softly.
“I’m trying,” she whispered, “but I can’t stop thinking. About the attack… about everything…”
He turned his head, eyes tracing her face. “You’re afraid.”
She nodded.
He didn’t mock her. He didn’t lecture her.
Instead, Luca reached out slowly—giving her time to pull away—but she didn’t. His fingers brushed her wrist, warm and steady.
“Fear keeps you alive,” he murmured. “But you’re stronger than you think.”
Raina felt her pulse jump at his touch. “How would you know?”
“Because you looked a man in the eyes while he was tied to a chair.” His voice lowered. “Because you stood beside me even when gunfire was everywhere. Because you haven’t broken yet.”
She swallowed hard. “Maybe I’m already broken.”
His fingers curled gently around her wrist, holding her just enough to make her breath catch.
“No,” he whispered. “You’re not.”
Silence wrapped around them—heavy, intimate, electric.
He didn’t let go.
She didn’t pull away.
For the first time, she saw something behind his dangerous exterior—something almost human. A softness he tried to hide.
Raina’s voice trembled. “Why are you being… gentle with me?”
Luca exhaled quietly, almost like the question surprised him too.
“Because you’re not like the others,” he said. “You don’t tremble when I speak. You don’t flatter me. You don’t lie. You face danger and still breathe. That makes you… different.”
Her cheeks warmed. She didn’t know what to say.
He moved his hand from her wrist to her chin, lifting her face gently until she had to look into his eyes.
The tension between them shifted—danger mixing with something deeper.
“Tell me the truth,” he said softly. “Do you still wish you chose death?”
Raina’s breath trembled. “I… I don’t know.”
His thumb brushed her jaw lightly, and her heart nearly stopped.
“You will,” he whispered. “Soon.”
The moment thickened—
Then suddenly someone knocked at the door.
“Boss,” a guard called. “We need you. Now.”
Luca’s jaw tightened. He pulled back, but not completely. “I’ll be back.”
He stood, walked to the door, and paused without looking at her.
“Raina.”
“Yes?”
“Don’t be afraid of me,” he said. “Be afraid of every man who isn’t me.”
The door closed.
Raina pressed a hand to her chest.
She wasn’t sure what terrified her more:
The danger outside the door…
Or the way her heart reacted when he touched her.
- Writer
