Page 23 of The Vengeance You Crave
A sob erupts as I pull to a stop outside the house.
I can't walk in there like this, Aunt Fee will take one look at me and demand to know what's wrong.
I could lie, sure. I've got enough to cry about in my life right now, but she'd see straight through it. She'd know that this was different. It is. It's different because it's about him. The only person I've ever given my heart to.
Instead of turning the engine off, I throw the car back into drive and pull off again.
I can't sit out here in case one of them notices, and I can't walk inside until I've got myself under control.
I drive around town, wishing that I was back in Rosewood and that I could go and sit on the beach. Listening to the crashing waves is perfect when you need to get out of your own head.
Luc and I used to spend hours down on the beach after dark just laying on the cool sand putting the world to rights.
My chest tightens. What I wouldn't give to go back to easier times with him.
I find a coffee shop with a drive-thru in the center of town and order myself the biggest hot chocolate with all the trimmings that they have before pulling into the parking lot, sliding my chair back and just allowing myself a moment to breathe.
My time with Luca was intense. Part of me is surprised by his brutality, his need to hurt me. But another part isn't. I've seen that side of him before. But in the past, it was only ever directed at his dad or occasionally an opposing player who touched a sore spot. It was never—other than just before I left—been directed at me quite like that.
A shiver races up my spine as I think about his electric touch. Although vicious and tinged with hate, it was exactly as I hoped it would be. The second he brushed his thumb over my nipple, the same electric sparks I remember all too well zipped through my body, assaulting my nerve endings.
My nipples harden once more, the throb in my clit returning from my lost orgasm. Resting my head back, I close my eyes and blow out a long, slow breath. I can almost feel the ghost of his fingers still deep inside me.
My head flies up as I realize what I'm doing.
What the fuck is wrong with me?
I didn't want that. I didn't ask for that. Why am I sitting here fantasizing about it?
Shaking my head, my cheeks burn red hot in the knowledge that I'd have let that continue tonight, and possibly so much more given the chance.
It didn't matter the malicious words he'd spat at me. I was with Luca again. Something about his presence just spoke to my soul.
He knew it too.
It's why he played me like he did.
My hot chocolate is long gone by the time I start the engine once more, feeling like I'm going to be able to walk through Aunt Fee's front door and not give myself away instantly.
I don't realize just how late it is until I pull back up outside the house and notice that it's in darkness.
It's not often that Aunt Fee heads to bed before I'm home, but clearly, she got bored with waiting tonight.
With a heavy heart and a knot that seems to be a permanent fixture in the pit of my stomach, I head inside.
The house is as quiet as I expected, and I tiptoe down the hallway toward the kitchen to grab a glass of water to take upstairs with me.
I'm standing at the sink, staring at my reflection in the window before me, still questioning myself over how I felt tonight with Luca when a voice makes me drop the glass in my hand.
"Holy sh—moly," I curse when I spin around and see a small face looking at me with his brows drawn in concern. "You scared me, baby boy."
His lips twist in the way they always do when I call him that.
"You're late," he states.
"Err… yeah, I got held up. You should be asleep," I warn.
"I know." He stares at me with sad eyes.“I was waiting for you.”
