Bloody Intentions { BL SLOWBURN }

Sixteen : Anything

Luka’s fingers twitched around the hilt of his blade. “Fight me back, goddamnit!”

“Why?”

“That question again.” He snarled, his frustration boiling over, voice strained as his pulse thundered in his veins. “You’re supposed to fight me, that’s how this works!”

Damon finally released him and the sudden absence of his grip left Luka feeling oddly unmoored, his wrist throbbing where those strong fingers had held him. Damon took a step back, the faintest hint of something dark glinting in his eyes as he watched him struggle to rein in his composure.

“That’s how you think it works.” He murmured, his tone maddeningly calm. “But I decide when and who I fight. Not you.”

The words were a blow, striking with a weight that left Luka’s anger fraying, his pulse quickening as he tried to steady himself.

“We’re enemies.” He shot back, his voice almost desperate, clinging to the reminder as if it would ground him.

Damon c****d his head to the side, studying him. “Are we?”

Luka’s mouth opened, but no words came out. They were enemies—that was the foundation of everything between them. Or, at least, they had been. He supposed now, with the merger forcing their families together, that line had blurred and technically, they were on the same side. But that didn’t mean they were allies… Right? Damon’s gaze remained steady as if he were dissecting Luka’s silence, peeling back layers he’d tried to keep hidden. Luka’s pulse thundered and he could feel the ground beneath him shifting, the certainty he’d once clung to slipping away. The simple lines between loyalty, rivalry and whatever the Hell this was was growing dangerously blurred and he hated it.

“Well?” Damon pressed, his voice a low rumble.

“We’re not friends, if that’s what you’re implying.” Luka managed stubbornly, his tone sharper than he intended.

Damon’s gaze didn’t waver. “You’re right. We’re not friends.” He agreed.

The words should’ve offered Luka some relief, should’ve affirmed the divide he was clinging to, but the way Damon said it, the finality in his tone, felt unsettling and Luka realized he wasn’t sure whether he was relieved or… Something else, something he wasn’t sure he wanted to dig deeper into.

“Good.” Luka agreed at last.

For a moment, neither of them moved and Luka could feel his pulse thrumming in his veins, each beat echoing louder in the tense silence. Damon’s expression remained impassive but something darker—colder, more dangerous—flashed across his face, like a shadow slipping over ice. And then it was gone, leaving Luka wondering if he’d even seen it.

“Luka!” Tony’s shout broke the silence.

Luka turned to see Tony and a few others fighting with Novak men as Matteo loaded Izzy into a car. Swearing lowly, he made to head over when Damon’s hand shot out, once again wrapping around his wrist.

“Let go.” He hissed, trying to tug his arm free. “I swear to God Damon, if you don’t let me go…”

“He won’t hurt her.” Damon assured lowly, refusing to listen.

“Like Hell he won’t! You know firsthand what that Bastard has been up to behind her back.”

A muscle in Damon’s jaw ticked, and for the briefest moment, Luka thought he’d struck a nerve. But then Damon’s expression hardened, his grip like iron.

“He knows what she means to their families, to this merger. He won’t harm her.”

“She’s more than some asset, Salvatore, she’s my best friend and he may not hurt her physically, but he’ll hurt her in ways that will do more damage. I won’t allow that. Not anymore.”

Damon’s hand loosened, but he didn’t let go entirely, his gaze fixed on Luka’s with an intensity that made the air feel heavy. “If he does anything—anything—to her, he’ll have me to answer to.” He murmured, his tone suddenly fierce.

Luka’s eyes searched Damon’s face, but the vow had left him uncharacteristically speechless. Part of him wanted to push back, to throw Damon’s confidence in Matteo’s loyalty right back in his face, but the raw, unwavering conviction in those dark eyes made that impossible.

“Anything?”

“Anything.”

Luka swallowed thickly. “If you’re lying… If anything happens to her…” His voice dropped to a cold, almost dangerous whisper. “I swear I’ll chop his rancid d**k off and force him to eat it.”

Damon’s gaze didn’t falter. “Understandable.”

He took a step back, finally allowing Luka space, but his gaze lingered on him until it was Luka who broke it to face his men again.

“Stand down!” He called out.

Tony’s eyes widened incredulously. “But he’s going to take her!”

“I’m letting him take her.” Luka corrected as he walked over, purposely staring Matteo down as he hovered in front of the door, Izzy already tucked away inside. “And if he does anything, anything at all to hurt her, I’ll take her back.”

Matteo’s eyes narrowed, his jaw tightening as he held Luka’s gaze, a flicker of anger flashing across his face. “You think you’re in any position to make demands here, De Luca?”

“I’m not making demands.” Luka assured, his tone low and menacing, “I’m telling you. If she’s hurt I’ll take her back and make no mistake, Novak, I won’t care what I have to do to make that happen.”

A tense silence stretched between them and Matteo’s grip on the car door tightened, his fingers whitening as he held Luka’s glare, defiance blazing in his eyes. Then Damon’s voice cut through the silence as he walked to put himself between Luka and his Boss once again.

“Go now, Matteo.”

Matteo narrowed his eyes on him. “You heard what that Bastard said!”

“I heard him say he’s letting you take her.” Damon said calmly. “That’s what you wanted, so, take her.”

Matteo’s gaze flickered before he finally stepped back, casting a final scowl Luka’s way. Without another word, he climbed into the car, his movements stiff with residual tension and Luka watched as the door closed, the engine humming to life as the car pulled away. The sight of Izzy disappearing down the road left a bitter taste in his mouth, but he held his ground, fists clenched at his sides.

“You sure about letting her go like that?” Tony muttered as he came up beside Luka, eyes following the car until it was out of sight.

“He’s her husband.”

“But he’s a Novak!”

Luka’s gaze lingered on Damon as he opened the door to his own car, pausing just before he climbed in. Even with the distance between them, Luka felt Damon’s eyes shift back, that cold, assessing gaze meeting his for one long, silent moment.

“They’re not our enemies anymore.” He reminded Tony softly, but the words came out colder than he intended.

“Is that a good enough reason to trust them?” Tony challenged.

The question hanging in the air as Damon finally slipped into his car, shutting the door with a finality that seemed to echo across the empty road. Luka narrowed his eyes thoughtfully.

“I guess we’ll have to find out.”