Total pages in book: 53
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 49562 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 248(@200wpm)___ 198(@250wpm)___ 165(@300wpm)
“Oh.” Chloe seemed a bit surprised at first that he’d actually told her. “Did you mean to break it?”
Staring into her gray eyes, he decided to tell her honestly, “Yes.” But he kept the part that he meant to break it the moment he’d met him to himself.
“Why?” she asked so simply.
Lucca had expected her to look at him differently, but she had yet to. So, he continued, “I did it to protect our future.”
“I see.” Chloe thought for several long moments with sadness crossing her features.
When it was apparent she felt bad that he had betrayed someone for her, Lucca leaned down to kiss the part of her scar that ran above her brow. “Don’t worry about it, d—”
“I think,” she interrupted him, “if you were friends and explain why you did it … I’m sure they’ll forgive you.”
He lightly shook his head with a slight tilt to his lips. It was cute how much she wanted to fix it, but the truth was she had no clue how broken it was. “I don’t think so, darlin’.”
“I think you might be surprised.” She smiled sweetly, with hopefulness in her depths. “It’s hard to let go of a longtime friendship. After a while, you start to forgive and forget the thing they did that hurt you, and you remember all the other times when they were there for you. Just give it some time. I’m sure they’ll come around.”
“Thank you,” Lucca said, taking her hand in his, knowing he was undeserving of her words.
As he stared at their intertwined hands, the fragileness within his grip brought a wave of disgust over him that he was even touching her. If Chloe knew the details of the things he had done, she would run screaming in terror. He was as brutal as she was gentle. Her love blinded her to the true extent of his cruelty and the power he wielded.
Raising her hand to his lips, he met her eyes and allowed the mask he lived behind to drop, exposing the true extent of his feelings for Chloe’s eyes only. Lucca would never let himself have the luxury with anyone else in the room. It was certain that the fragile woman clasped in his arms was the Boogieman’s one and only silver bullet.
Lucca glanced down at the modest top she was wearing and felt himself getting hard. Women regularly flaunted themselves, trying to catch his attention.
When he shifted her on his lap, Chloe turned to straddle him so she could run her fingers through his hair. Her simple black blouse was buttoned to her neck. One by one, he slowly undid the buttons until he could see the lacy bra underneath.
“Why are you staring at me like that?”
Lucca stared down at her captivating, scarred face. “Because you should be running from me instead of cuddling into me.”
Her eyes twinkled up at him mischievously. “Would you run after me?”
Lucca pulled her closer to him, his eyes turning dark. “I would never stop. I would chase you to the ends of the earth.”
The fact that Chloe didn’t seem terrified showed him how good of a job he had done at masking his true nature.
Slowly, her hand trailed from his hair to his chest to unknot his tie. Loosening it, she slipped it off his neck to lay it on his desk. Her gentle fingertips then went to his shirt to release the top three buttons. “There. Do you feel more comfortable?”
Lucca’s lips twisted wryly. “No.”
“Why not?” Chloe seemed confused. “You should be able to breathe now.”
He bent down to hover his lips over hers. “I haven’t been able to breathe from the moment I saw you.”
Flushing under his scrutiny, she met his mouth with hers, unable to deny him the kiss he so desperately wanted as he took her lips.
No matter how many times he kissed Chloe, the fire between them always flamed higher.
Lucca cupped her breast, kneading the flesh beneath the lacy bra. Brushing his thumb over the nipple he could see protruding out, he felt Chloe shudder beneath his touch.
“Are you cold?” He protectively started rubbing her back, trying to warm her.
“No.”
Good. Going back to tantalizing her nipple, he dragged his tongue over her bottom lip before gliding it across the curve of her jaw to her ear. Lucca let her feel the warmth of his breath until he felt her shudder again before teasing her earlobe.
He was determined to use their lovemaking to tie her further to him. Each time he made love to her, he tried to steal another piece of her heart … until there would be no Chloe without Lucca.
His hands went to her thighs, repositioning her so that she was fully straddling him. As he moved her, her skirt shifted higher, enabling him to see the silky peach panties she was wearing. Having yet to see her in anything but black, he was about as shocked to see her wearing any color as he was at the fact he liked it so much.