Page 46 of Stolen Christmas
“I’ll talk to you later.” I open the door to the bedroom and hear that little bastard trying to get my woman to leave.
Chapter Fifteen
Angel
I was in the middle of getting dressed after our last rendezvous in the shower, looking in the mirror, when my reflection catches something else. “Noah,” I gasp as he stands at my bedroom doorway. “What are you doing here?”
“Your captor sent me.” I wonder if it’s because I overheard his video call. Is he feeling guilty? No, the man doesn’t have a remorseful bone in his body, especially when it comes to Fields. Not that I blame him after the past week and Sammy’s death. “Aren’t you happy to see me?” he asks.
“Of course! Come here.” That is without a doubt, but I have a dozen other emotions running through my head. He comes to me, and I throw my arms around him. I don’t know what I expected when I hugged my brother, but he feels the same, if not stronger. I pull back slightly to get a better look at him. It’s been nearly a week, but it seems like only a couple of days. “How are they treating you?” His facial hair seems to have grown in a little more. Did they give my brother some testosterone while he was locked up?
“Good, but not as good as you.” He noisily walks around the room, scoping everything out. “Wow, this is your bedroom.” I nod and blush. Then, the realization that it’s Luca’s room too pings in his head, and his face contorts to revulsion. “Oh, wait—this is your guys’ bedroom. Ew. Fucking gross.”
“Your mouth,” I scold and wag my finger. He’s still a minor, and I don’t need to raise a little brat with a foul mouth. It’s bad enough he’s been arrested twice.
“Come on, I know he says a lot worse.”
“Yes, and he does a lot worse. I don’t expect him to be a role model for you, Noah.”
He scoffs. “Then I suggest we get the hell out of here.”
“I suggest you don’t mention that again, boy,” Luca snarls from the doorway. Damn, he looks so good in his pressed, light gray dress shirt with the top buttons undone and the sleeves rolled up to his forearms, displaying his tattoos on his right arm. It’s so enticing that I get annoyed and give him attitude.
“He wasn’t talking about running away, exactly, but that’s what you get when you eavesdrop.” I’m one to talk, especially after catching his chat with his cousin.
He tilts his head with his expression mixed between dark and dangerous, and something closer to lust. “Really? First, Amore, this is my bedroom, so there is no conversation that I can’t hear in this room. Second, I wasn’t eavesdropping, as you put it. I was inviting you both to a private brunch.”
“Private?”
“Yes, I thought you two could spend some time together before we gather for the wedding this afternoon.”
“Wedding, today?” Noah blurts out before I can do the same. This guy changes plans so fast and often that my head should be spinning, but I’m starting to realize there must be a reason for it, and it probably has to do with Fields. Everything has to do with him. It’s not like Luca’s in a major rush because he can’t imagine waiting a moment longer to have me as his wife. That’s silly, of course.
“Yes, today.” Luca gives him a strange look, as if there is some sort of secret exchange I don’t know about.
“Now, if you head to our private sitting room, the brunch has been set up.” He comes all the way in and steps between us, pulling me in for a possessive kiss. “I’ll see you later, Amore.”
He steps back and does something that sets my body ablaze with need. He rakes his eyes over my body like he needs to have me this instant, but instead backs up and looks directly at my brother. “Behave,” he warns him and then leaves the room.
“Wow, are you in love with him?” Noah asks.
I whip my head toward him with my mouth parted. “What? No. Why would you say something like that?” Damn it, could I sound more guilty?
“The look on your face. The dude had me locked up in his dungeon as a prisoner, and you’re all gooey eyed for the asshole.”
“Watch your mouth.”
“Whatever. Let’s eat. I’m hungry, and I need to eat before shit goes down and I lose my lunch.” We head into the sitting room and sit in the comfortable chaises. “Wow. Seriously, this is the reason you don’t care where I was. You were living it up.”
“Are you being for real? Was I the one who got us in this mess? I’ve asked him to let us go more than once, okay?” I want to kick his ass. I wouldn’t have met Luca if I hadn’t rushed to the station in the first place to beg for his release. “I can assure you the answer was a ‘hell, no’ and ‘not going to happen,’ but with a lot more cuss words, okay?”
“Fine. It’s just he’s a douche and only using you to get his revenge on Fields.” I’m guessing that Luca or his men haven’t told him about the house yet. I’m afraid to break it to him. How am I supposed to break the news that our entire life, memories, and everything that was tied to our parents is nothing but ashes?
“That’s not the only reason.”
“You can’t think the guy is in love with you. Aren’t you supposed to be the adult here?” My teeth clench at his insult because it holds some level of truth.
I huff, rise, and stomp my foot, annoyed by the reminder that I’m a means to an end. A marriage of convenience. “Look, you little fucking brat, I know he’s not. I didn’t say that he was. I said that’s not the only reason. He wants a baby, and I happen to be the one he’s picked.”
