Page 20 of Between Steel and Secrets
Her gaze tightens with confusion, but she doesn’t question what I’m doing.
“Luca,” she whispers, staring at me in her bra and pants.
My fingers smooth down her stomach, her skin soft and warm, making this hell of a lot harder than I intended.
I undo the button on her pants and slide them down her hips, my fingers trailing over her skin, teasing her.
Harper sucks in a sharp breath and spreads her legs for me as I help her out of her bottoms.
It takes all of my willpower not to kiss a path back up her thighs or nestle my nose in her panties and lick her through the thin fabric.
Anger seeps through me, but want and desire floods my senses.
“Luca,” her voice is soft, warm, easily forgiving, but I can’t pretend she didn’t hurt me. Betrayal ices my veins as I force myself to fully undress her.
I need to know she’s not wearing a wire.
That her betrayal doesn’t run so deep as to intentionally hurt me.
Her fingers move to my chest, lifting the hem of my shirt, and I shake my head no, capturing her hands with mine.
This isn’t about sex or desire.
I need to know she’s faithful to me and only me.
I reach around and pinch the back of her bra clasp, letting the material glide down her arms, revealing her perfect breasts to me.
My tongue darts out to the corner of my lip, wanting to taste her nipples, kiss a path down to the juncture of her thighs, but I refrain from giving her pleasure.
“Luca,” her voice breaks, when she meets my stare and her hands move from my chest to my waist, her fingers snaking into the front of my pants, teasing my waistband.
I let out a hiss, heat flooding my senses.
The woman has the power to bring me down to my knees with just a simple touch.
Fuck.
I hate being weak.
Control. I need to be in command.
I push her hands away, my fingers hooking into the sides of her panties and sliding them down her legs. My nose is just inches from her pussy, and hell, she smells fucking amazing.
I bite down on my tongue to keep from doing something stupid, like giving in to desire.
Temptation is just a breath away, and I pull back, glancing her over, convinced she’s clean and not helping the police. At least not with a wire.
“Now, talk,” I demand, folding my arms across my chest, doing everything in my power to keep from falling weak to her body, her charms, the desires that ebb and flow at me.
Harper’s brow pinches and she purses her lips, taking a step back. “What was that, Luca?” She fumbles backward another step, and the back of her knees hit the bed. “Were you just searching me for a wire?”
“Figured me out,” I huff with indignation, and she covers herself with her hands, moving to the bed, climbing under the covers, hiding her body from me.
“You’re just like your father.”
I can’t tell if her words are meant to burn, but they hurt far less than I imagined. Perhaps she’s right, and I’m becoming more like him every day. Working for him is bound to do that to a man, eventually.
“If you’re going to the cops, then I can’t trust you.” I pin her with my stare and climb toward the bed, feeling heat and need inundate my senses.
