The Plutocrats' Lovers

Chapter 2

Laura Conti's POV

The dream of the day that my father passed away, the stupid memories of my first high school day, and those secrets about Lucca had kept me awake at night. The nightmare still haunted me even though it has been months since I've returned to Italy. I got a job at my old university in Verona as an assistant professor of Archeology and History in the Department of Arts and Civilization.

My old Professor of Art History, Madame Rossi, a French immigrate that married an Italian man, has been kind enough to let me work under her. I was grateful for her help as my work in Albania needed to be delayed due to my availability to go back and forth to that country.

I also reconnected with my old friends from my college years. There was Stella Canali, now she was known as Stella Marchand, who happened to be an English professor, and Timothy Regio, my ex, that continued his study in Ph.D. of Economics.

I hung out with them in my free time, even though it was awkward at first with Tim who I have not seen in 5 years. He already moved on from our time together as he has been married to a nice woman named Isabella Rodriguez, an heiress from Spain.

Like most of the days that went on in my life, we went to a nearby pub that served great beer and wine in the area. I went ahead of time before them because Friday was the least busy day of the week in my schedule.

I went to sit at a table that was near the window that overlooked the street. A waiter came by to ask what I want to drink and went to fetch it for me. I ordered a red wine as it was raining lightly outside as it was almost winter.

Someone put the red wine on the table and I just ignored its presence. But, this particular waiter did not move from his spot, waiting for me to acknowledge him. I sighed, ready to tell him that I was good for now, but when I turned around, I saw him standing in front of me.

Him, Lucca Giovanni. My childhood best friend. My first crush and my first shattered love.

"Mind if I join in?" he asked, taking a seat without hearing my answer.

"I'm busy," I said, annoyed at his presence beside me. I basically rolled my eyes in my mind at him, hoping he would leave me alone.

"I can see that you're busy staring at the street through the window," he said casually. I rolled my eyes at him, did not have the feeling of fighting him.

I sighed, "What do you want?" I asked as I took the wine to sip it, hoping the burning sensation would calm my nerves and my anger toward him.

"I want to talk," he said.

"There is nothing to talk about. Your business with my father was not one of my concerns," I said and put the glass down. Lucca looked at me before he leaned forward. I can smell his signature cologne around the table.

My insides were churning from the sensation.

"He may be dead, but his businesses are still alive. As it was stated in the will from Mr. Russo, you are the acting president of the empire now. So, that makes you are the one that runs the meetings now," he said while putting his arm across the chair.

With his presence nearing me, it made me hard to breathe as his body heat was spreading beside me. I turned my head to look outside to ease this uneasiness. Damn this man whose presence I don't need at the moment. Then, someone was rushing to our table before I turned to look.

Crap! It's Stella.

"Sorry, we're late. The traffic was unbelievable. You will not believe..." her sweet voice was trailing off before she cleared her throat and started to speak again.

"Oh hello, I believe we haven't met yet. Are you a friend of Laura?" Stella's voice rang inside the whole bar, trusting her to talk with all the people. I heard some shuffles beside me as I turned to look at Stella. My glare toward her could burn the whole city.

"No, I believe we did not. I am Lucca Giovanni, Laura's boyfriend. Nice to meet you," he said. My eyes turned to big saucers as I turned to tell Stella that was a lie.

"No, no, no. He's joking. We're, we're not together," I stammered. Lucca chuckled. I glared at him for making me stammer on my words.

"Well, not yet anyway. She always keeps turning me down," Lucca said, trying to gain sympathy from Stella. Stella looked at me with her big blue eyes that stated 'What's the matter with you turning this hot man down!' look. I rolled my eyes at her. Lucca went to get the chair for Stella to sit. Lucca took his seat next to me and waved to get the orders for us.

Stella and Lucca were talking animatedly as I drank and watched them engrossed in their conversation. I occasionally reacted and engaged in the conversation but mostly drank my wine and heard them talking. One particular topic really attracted me to hear it.

"So, I got to tell you, when Laura came back from doing jobs in Albania, Tim was surprised to see her again. I told him that she will be an assistant professor at the university, he sweated uncomfortably the night that we went out to drink!" Stella said animatedly.

Lucca just looked at her before turning to look at me. His slate orbs clashed with my violet ones. He smirked before I gulped at his intense stare. Lucca turned his face away from me and looked at Stella again.

"Really? Interesting. What's his relationship with Laura?" Lucca asked Stella but I felt like the question was directed to me. In which case I just shut my mouth even more as I turned to look outside the window onto the streets.

"Oh, he's her ex. They used to date back in their college years. They were the cutest couple of our year. Anyway, Laura's lost because he is now happily married to Baroness of Spain." she said before her phone rang and she picked it up. Thank goodness my secret past had been saved by the phone.

"Hello? Oh hey, babe, what's up? What time is it again? 7 PM? Oh, shoot I forgot. I go back right away. Bye, love you!" Stella said before hanging up the phone.

"Sorry guys, I totally forgot that my in-laws are coming to visit. Anyway, I've got to run. See you later. Nice meeting you, Lucca. Goodbye Laura, I see you on Monday," Stella said before kissing my cheeks and Lucca's. She bolted toward the door through the crowd inside the pub.

I was about to leave when Lucca blocked me on my way out. I looked into his orbs before he pulled me through the back door and out into a deserted alley. He was holding onto my arm and I must say his grip was hard, but not hard enough to leave a bruise.

I was struggling to let him get off me. I was relieved when he let me go but got trapped between his arms as my back came in contact with the cold walls. I held my chin high and looked into his slate orbs. I will not be intimidated by Lucca's height. Not in the least.

"So, you're interested in Tim but not me? My, my, you are something, I must say, Laura," he said while caressing my cheek with the back of his hand. I shivered but I covered it well. I turned to look at his slate orbs before I clenched my jaws.

"Let me go, Lucca. You're drunk. I can smell your breath reeks of alcohol," I said before trying to push him off me and get out of his trap.

"Too bad he's already married. Now, you have nobody," he said while nuzzling my neck. The hairs on my nape stood up. Suddenly, it was hard to breathe as I was trapped between his arms and the cold walls. I was breathing heavily when Lucca suddenly told me the words that I never expected him to say or even tell me in private or public.

"Marry me, Laura," he whispered as his hot breaths were hitting my neck, sending delicious shivers all over my body.

"What? Lucca, you're drunk. Let's get you back to your house," I said before trying to push him away. He stood there, not moving an inch. He moved away from my neck before he was staring into my eyes like a lion ready to pounce on its prey.

"Marry me, Laura," he said again, firmly this time, before he did something stupid. Something that I would never expect him to do with me.

He kissed me, on the lips. I was shocked at first and tried to break free but his kisses were so enticing, erotic, and passionate that I ended up kissing him back. All the pent-up feelings from our childhood and high school years, I poured it down into that kiss that we first shared together.

Which was also my first kiss ever.

We were f*****g each other mouths until my brain cells can't function anymore. The feel of his mouth on me really burned me up inside. I have been holding onto my feelings for many years now, since our childhood, the first moment I laid my eyes on him when we were introduced to each other.

His hands were moving up and down my body. He was caressing my boobs as I whimpered when he squeezed them. I clung to him as my hands snaked to his neck, gripping his hair. His tongue was wetting my lips to open up for him. I gasped and he took that chance to take control of my mouth.

I was on fire as I can sense his hands were roaming my body, caressing gently as I was a precious porcelain vase. I was kissing him hard before he had the nerve to put a stop to it. He touched our foreheads together before looking into my eyes.

"Think about it, please," he said before kissing me again, with much tenderness this time before stepping back and walking out of the alley. I was breathless as I slid down the wall of the deserted alley, trying to comprehend the situation.

What had happened?

Lucca Giovanni's POV

I needed to get away from Laura as soon as I kissed her in the mouth. It has been a long time since I've been that close to her. Her feminine smell, her hair, her neck, her body were so intoxicating and mesmerizing that I just can't control myself when I was around her.

I've longed to want to trap her underneath my sheets and ravish her forever as I wanted her to call out my name. My blood pump to my c**k as I was walking down the alley.

I stopped as I turned around the corner. I stopped to take a breath and exhaled it loudly. I looked back at her to see that she was too stunned to move after our little encounter. Her figure was still static from the moment that I left. The wind was blowing into her hair, sending her scent to me and I inhaled it like the oxygen that I needed to survive. I really needed to get out of here before I went back and took her right there and now.

I shook my head before moving out of the deserted alley to my car at the end of the block.