Page 47 of Devil's Embrace
He turned as the door clicked shut behind me, his gaze moving over me in a slow, deliberate appraisal that left heat in its wake.
"You changed."He took a sip of his drink.
I lifted my chin slightly."So did you."
The ghost of a smile touched his lips."Drink?"
"Please."I needed something to do with my hands, something to steady my nerves.
He poured a measure of whiskey into a second glass, then crossed the room to hand it to me.Our fingers brushed in the exchange, a brief contact that shouldn't have meant anything but somehow meant everything.
"Thank you.”I took a sip to hide my reaction.The liquor burned a welcome path down my throat.
"Mina's asleep?"he asked, moving back toward the fire.
"Out like a light.All that excitement at breakfast , then playtime in the garden this afternoon, wore her out."I followed, stopping a few feet away from him, close enough to feel the heat from the fire, to catch the scent of his cologne mingled with whiskey and something uniquely him.
"Good."He nodded, swirling the liquid in his glass."I've increased security on the east wing.New cameras, additional patrols.No one gets near her room without my direct approval."
A practical start to our conversation.Safe territory."Thank you.Have there been new threats?"
"Nothing specific."He took another sip of whiskey."But Mateo had allies.Not everyone is convinced his son's death was justified."
"Will they come for you?"The question slipped out before I could stop it, revealing more concern than I wanted to admit.
His gaze met mine, searching."They might try.They'll fail."
The confidence in his voice should have been arrogance, but I'd seen him fight, seen him command.It was simply fact.
"What about Mina and me?"I asked, the question we'd been circling since he'd invited me here."What happens to us now?"
He set his glass down on the mantle, his movements deliberate."That depends."
"On what?"
"On what you want, Emory."
The sound of my name in his mouth sent a shiver down my spine."What I want?Does that matter in your world?"
"In the mafia world, no."His voice dropped lower, his gaze intensifying."But on a personal level...yes."
Something shifted in the air between us, the pretense of a simple discussion about security arrangements falling away.We both knew this meeting was about more than practical matters.
"Why didn't you run when you had the chance?The east gate was minimally guarded during the shift change yesterday.You could have taken Mina and disappeared."
I stared at him, shock coursing through me."You knew?"
"I know everything that happens in my house."His expression remained unreadable."You packed a small bag.Checked the guard rotations.Stood at the window for twenty minutes watching the gate.But you didn't leave.Why?"
I set my glass down beside his, buying time while I searched for an answer I wasn't sure I had.Why hadn't I run?The opportunity had been there, just as he said.
"I don't know."The honestly surprised even me."I'm not certain I want to leave anymore."
The confession hung in the air between us, dangerous and electric.Luca moved closer, close enough that I had to tilt my head back to maintain eye contact.
"And what do you want, Emory Scott?"he asked, his voice barely above a whisper.
My breath caught in my throat as his hand came up to cup my face, his palm warm and slightly callused against my cheek.I should have pulled away.Should have remembered what those hands had done, the blood they'd spilled.Instead, I leaned into his touch, just slightly, a surrender I couldn't fight anymore.
