Forever Lies

13

“When do you go to work in the morning?” “Why?” What did it matter to him when I went to work? “I’ll drive you. I’m heading to the Triton building, so I might as well give you a ride—there’s too much crime in this city for you to be walking.” “Actually, I have a driver,” I admitted reluctantly. “I don’t tend to tell people because they often treat me differently when they realize I have money.” “I’m not like other people; surely, you’ve figured that out. No lies and no omissions, not with me. Understand?” His hand gently secured a stray strand of hair behind my ear, and I could see in the softening of his features, he was genuinely pleased I wouldn’t be walking. He lowered his lips and gently kissed my temple, hands threaded through my hair. “I’m not coming upstairs with you tonight … but soon. I suggest you get used to the idea.” He spoke against my skin, the soft caress of his lips sending waves of chills down my spine. Pulling back, he gazed longingly at my lips. “I’ll see you tomorrow,” he promised, then drifted away down the sidewalk, leaving me cold and alone. We’d had no plans to see one another again, but his parting words indicated there would be more—much more. I had never pictured myself with a man like Luca. I figured I’d find a stockbroker or some executive and have a standard suburban life similar to my own upbringing. Luca made it hard to see anything but him—like looking into the sun, blinding me to everything else. There was only Luca. My mind became entrenched in thoughts of when I’d see him next. It didn’t matter that I had an important meeting in the morning, that laundry needed to be done, or that I had Sunday lunch plans with my family—I wanted to spend that time with Luca. Would he call or text before then? Would I let him f**k me the next time we went out? Could I tell him no even if I wanted to? The question was pointless—I’d wanted to see him naked since the moment I spotted him walking through the Triton lobby. I might have given in to him after dinner had he pressed the issue. I started to worry I was becoming obsessed, which wasn’t like me. Even as a young girl, I never lined my bedroom walls with posters of my favorite celebrity or doodled hearts around a boyfriend’s name. I was rational and intentional about my choices in life, but nothing about my desire for Luca was rational. My interest in him defied logic and consumed my every thought. He was a poisonous fruit, and I was a woman starved. He was likely bad for me, but my mouth watered with hunger for him. I would convince myself one taste wouldn’t hurt, and that would be the end of me. I would no longer be Alessia—I would be his. OceanofPDF.com 6 Luca When I first asked Alessia out over text, she’d made me wait longer than I’d expected for an answer. Most of the women I’d been around fell over themselves to spend time with me. Had I not stopped her from walking into traffic, I wasn’t sure she would have agreed to a date at all. The reminder of seeing her nearly killed had me clenching my fists until my knuckles ached. What had she been thinking, being so careless on a city street? The drivers in New York were lunatics; it was a miracle more pedestrians weren’t killed each year. It made me livid to think about what might have happened if I hadn’t been following her. When I’d leaned in to tell her how she could thank me, my lungs filled with the sweet scent of her. My gut clenched, and I was overtaken with the need to know if she tasted just as delicious—like raspberries in the summer breeze. I thought I’d all but guaranteed I’d get the chance to taste her that night until her text came through, canceling our plans. If she’d thought she could shake me off so easily, she had sorely misjudged me. I hadn’t crawled my way out of the gutter without a little determination and an unwillingness to take no for an answer. It had been time for her to get a glimpse of who she was dealing with—a hint of the cutthroat man who lurked beneath the outer façade of restraint and civility. I was endlessly curious how she’d respond to him. When I walked into her office and saw her almond-shaped eyes round with surprise and her painted red lips part on a silent gasp, all I could think about was how I wanted to see that red lipstick smeared all over my d**k. I wasn’t sure what she thought I was going to do in her glass-walled office, but she’d obviously been worried. She was out of her chair, tugging me down the hall before I’d gotten a single word out. I would never have jeopardized her job, but she hadn’t known that. Her fear played into my hand perfectly—once she had tucked us away into a secluded room, I was free to do whatever I pleased, and it wouldn’t have taken any coercing. She had practically begged me to kiss her. The way her lips had parted… The way her chocolate brown eyes had liquified … I’d had to blow my load afterward to get my raging hard-on under control. She was the epitome of everything I found sexy in a woman. It had only taken a couple of strokes, she had me so on edge. My lack of control had been an embarrassment—I hadn’t come that quickly since my voice had first changed in the eighth grade. Had I given in to my urge to kiss her in the conference room, caved to that raw need, there was no telling how far it would have gone. Fortunately, I managed to maintain control of myself, knowing it was more important to leave her wanting than to quench my own desire. She had already proven as skittish as a frightened rabbit. I didn’t want to give her any additional reason to pull away. Alessia was a study in contradictions. The more I learned, the less I understood, and the more fascinated I became. She was prickly yet soft, spoiled but grounded, independent while remaining pliant. The most intriguing part of her was her guileless innocence—as if she were clueless to the world around her. Could it all be an act? Or was the sexy siren truly as naïve as she seemed? If so, the right thing to do would be to keep things aboveboard— get my information and get out. She would be better off not tangled up in my world. Unfortunately for her, I was never very good at doing the right thing for anyone but myself. It was her own fault she was so f*****g tempting, at least that’s what I told myself. However, chances were slim to none the gorgeous career girl was as pure as she seemed. I had discovered a crucial bit of information when I’d gone in search of Alessia at her office. What I found indicated she likely didn’t have an innocent bone in her body.