Page 243 of Mine Again
“Arms,” he says, and I wrap them tighter around his neck.
He lifts me higher, my legs locking around his hips. My bow clatters to the floor, but I don’t reach for it. I don’t need it anymore. Luca is here.
He carries me up the passage, kissing me between steps because he cannot stop. Nor can I.
Another groan rattles from Hale, but neither of us pays him any attention. Let him think we’re leaving him there to rot.
I vaguely notice two guys standing by the entrance of the hidden passageway.
Luca tears his lips from mine just long enough to order, “Tell Maximo I have Isa. Target contained in the east service tunnel. Bring cuffs and a medkit. He doesn’t get to die today unless I say so.”
“Copy,” one of them answers, already reaching for his comm.
Luca heads for the first door he sees, kicking it in with his boot. It crashes against the wall, and after a quick check that no threat is looming, he steps inside.
We’re in a small sitting room washed in daylight, dust motes spinning like gold in the air. It smells faintly of sunlight-warmed fabric, a softness so at odds with the earlier gunfire and smoke outside.
For a moment, it seems like we’ve entered another world. One that’s beautiful and serene, away from destruction, deceit, and chaos.
He shoves the door shut behind us and presses me to the wall, holding me tight.
I never want to be anywhere else.
Chapter Ninety-Four
Luca
I’m on Isa the moment I pin her against the wall. Light from the windows spills over her like powdered gold.
Fuck, she’s so damn beautiful. And she’s mine… again.
I kiss her with a desperation I’ve never known, like she’s the air in my lungs. She could have been ripped from me for good. I don’t know if I would have survived that.
As long as she breathes, I breathe. As long as her heart beats, mine does too.
Hale had a gun. Isa kicked it away. If he’d fired, she’d be gone. He wouldn’t have hesitated either, always keen to see me suffer.
The thought chills my spine, and I crush her closer, deepening the kiss like I can fuse us into one body.
The realization sinks into my bones, and something inside me breaks open. A protectiveness so fierce it burns to life, and I vow to never let this happen again. I will never let her out of my sight.
I pull her tighter until there’s no space left between us. She makes a sound in her throat, raw and unhinged, and it punches straight through my chest like a fist unclenching.
She melts into me, mouth hot and sure, arms locked around myneck. Her pulse beats wildly against my palm where I cradle her jaw. Mine hammers everywhere.
She’s alive. She’s here.
The words resound inside me like the sweetest prayer.
She winces when her hand slides into my hair, and the reminder of her injuries cuts through the haze.
I set her gently on her feet but keep my hands braced on her shoulders. Her chest is heaving rapidly as her eyes flicker with a flash of confusion, like she doesn’t understand why I’ve pulled back.
“I need to check you over,” I tell her, my voice rough and out of breath.
The desire in her eyes nearly makes me forget myself. The rich and intoxicating scent of her arousal isn’t helping either. It’s driving me wild.
I force myself to focus. “Do you need a doctor for those cuts?”
