“Why not?” she asks as we sway on the dance floor. “He’s handsome and rich, and they’re in the same industry. He’ll take good care of her, and I think he’ll make her happy. She can’t work for you forever, Luca. Besides, do you see the way he looks at her?”
I stare at Valentina, taking in her relaxed expression and the flirtatious look in her eyes. Anger unlike anything I’ve ever experienced before settles deep in my stomach, and I clench my jaw in an effort to suppress it.
“They’d make such beautiful babies together,” Grandma says, her tone amused. “Don’t you think?”
Joshua’s hand dips a little lower, until his fingertips are brushing right over her ass, and he pulls her flush against him. I expected her to push away from him, but she smiles up at him.
For a moment, thoughts of the two of them flash through my mind. His lips on hers, a soft moan escaping her lips as she rises to her tiptoes… his hands roaming over her body, feeling every single one of those irresistible curves, her eyes filling with lust. Each thought torments me further, until I can barely stand it.
I grit my teeth and take a step away from my grandmother. “Excuse me, Grandma,” I tell her, barely able to restrain my anger. “Come to think of it, there’s something I need to discuss with Valentina.”
“Very well, Luca.” She smiles as I walk away, as though she knows I was lying but is letting it be.
Valentina’s eyes meet mine before I reach her, and that beautiful smile melts right off her face. Why is it that she’s always so expressionless around me, when she laughs like that around assholes like Joshua?
I grit my teeth and reach for her, my hand wrapping around her waist as I pull her away from Joshua and into my arms in one smooth move.
She gasps, her eyes wide as she crashes into me, her body flush against mine. “Luca?” she murmurs, a hint of confusion in those stunning hazel eyes.
“What the hell are you doing, Windsor?” Joshua asks, an undercurrent of genuine anger in his tone. He looks at her with such longing that I can’t help but tighten my grip.
“Apologies,” I say through gritted teeth. “She’s mine.”
Valentina’s eyes widen, and she glances at Joshua. “He means that I work for him,” she clarifies, and I smirk as I push her hair behind her ear.
“He knew what I meant,” I tell her as I pull her into a dance. Her arms wrap around my neck, our bodies in the same position she was just in with Joshua. It’s far too intimate. Standing here like this… he’d have felt her entire body pressing against his. The feel of her soft curves against my chest is almost too much. I don’t have to guess to know what that swine was thinking as he danced with her. It’s impossible not to want her.
Valentina frowns as we sway to the music the live band is playing. “What was that all about?” she asks.
“Why?” I snap. “Annoyed I pulled you away from Joshua? You seemed to be having such a good time you forgot you’re on the clock. This isn’t a social event for you. You’re here to work.”
She glares at me and steps on my foot before pasting a mock apologetic look onto her face. “Oops,” she says. “Sorry.”
She really does make a mockery of me every chance she gets. I pull her closer and thread one hand through her hair, the tips of my fingers trailing over her scalp. An image of her on her knees in front of me flashes through my mind, my cock in between those beautiful full lips of hers, my hand in her hair the way I’ve got it now. “Childish,” I tell her as I tighten my grip on her, my touch possessive.
“No more than you are,” she retorts. “You don’t like others playing with your toys, huh?”
I chuckle and lower my face to hers. Even with the heels she’s wearing today, she’s at least a full head shorter than me. “Valentina, if I ever were to play with you, you’d never look at another again. I’d have you so hooked, you’d want no one’s hands on your body but mine.”
Her cheeks flush, and she averts her gaze, her annoyance draining away. “W-what are you even talking about?” she stammers.
The song comes to an end, and I grab her hand. “Follow me,” I murmur as I lead her through the wide doors and onto the candlelit path in the vineyard.
Chapter Seven
Valentina
Luca holds my hand tightly as we deviate from the candlelit path that connects the wedding and reception venues. He seems angry, but I’m uncertain why. Is it because I was distracted for a bit? He brought me here to network and shield him, but instead of that, I’ve been sipping wine and dancing, when I know how he feels about unprofessionalism — no matter how momentarily.
I gasp when my heels sink into the grass, and Luca looks back over his shoulder, his gaze dark as he lets go of my hand. “Struggling?” he asks, his voice soft despite the anger flashing through his eyes.
Before I even have a chance to reply, he leans in, startling me. He wraps one arm behind my back and the other behind my knees as he lifts me into his arms with ease. “Luca,” I murmur, my tone betraying my surprise. “What are you doing?”
He tightens his grip on me until he’s got my head resting against his shoulder, my lips brushing over his neck. Up close, his cologne is even more intoxicating than usual.
Luca’s body feels strong against mine, and it does something to me. I felt the same way when we danced together too. He affects me in a way no one else ever has. He makes me feel protected, irritated, and flustered, all at once.
The music fades away with every step he takes, until it’s barely audible in the distance. “Luca,” I whisper. “Where are you taking me?”
He smiles at me as he steps into a wooden gazebo illuminated by the full moon above us. “I saw this on the way here, and I wondered what it’d look like at night.”
He puts me down gently and I take a step back, dazed. It’s beautiful, and it’s almost like I stepped right into a dream. The wooden gazebo is lit with fairy lights, the moon and stars twinkling above us. “What are we doing here?” I ask, my heart racing.
Luca smiles humorlessly and steps closer, making me retreat, until my back hits one of the gazebo’s pillars. He places his arms on either side of me, caging me in. The way he looks at me makes my heart race, and tonight, more than ever, I wish I could read the thoughts he keeps behind lock and key.
“Have you finally lost your mind?” I ask, my voice soft. “Did I drive you insane at last?”
He smiles at me, yet his gaze exudes loneliness. Luca reaches for me, the tips of his fingers brushing over my temple tenderly. I inhale sharply and lean back against the pillar, my eyes on his. He looks dangerous tonight, his usually unreadable mask cracked.
His hand wraps around the back of my neck for a moment, before he pushes it up and into my hair, until he’s holding me the way he did on the dance floor. I inhale sharply when he steps closer to me, his body brushing against mine.
“Yes. I think you have.” He tightens his grip on my hair and tilts my face up toward his as he leans in. “You drive me truly, utterly, entirely, mad,” he whispers, his forehead pressed against mine.
Just a little closer, and his lips would be on mine. I shouldn’t want a taste of him, but I do. Perhaps it’s the wine, or the moonlight. Maybe it’s a little bit of both. All I know is that I want the one thing I should never crave. Him.