Can you damage someone beyond repair?
Luca plays his role as the loyal underboss. Violent, lethal, flawless. The lapdog, the starboy.
On the surface, he maintains his facade of smirks and casual charm, but beneath the mask, thereʼs a profound dark...
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I WAKE UP TO THE scent of white musk, cedar, and cinnamon. Soft morning light filters through the cracks in my curtains. Luca’s heavy arm is sprawled across my waist, pinning me to the mattress. He’s so close, so big that he’s taking up all the space in my tiny twin-size bed.
I blink, wide awake and on high alert in an instant.
Luca Costa is asleep in my bed.
His body is practically glued to mine.
Every nerve in my body is on edge, and my stomach flips with nervous energy.
I have no clue how it ended up this way. Or how I fell asleep so easily while all squashed up against him.
What am I supposed to do now?
He’s pressing me to his chest, one arm around my torso, the other splayed around the crown of my head, cradling it, almost. I swallow. His hand is as big as my skull.
I look up and oh, his jaw. So sharp I can feel it slicing through my heart.
I drag my gaze over his profile from this new angle. The Adam’s apple of his throat. His beautifully smooth, tanned skin, faintly marred by scratches. Bruises, one fading, one fresh. And my Hello Kitty bandaid, still plastered to his cheek.
My entire body shifts to the cadence of his beathing. In. And out. In. And out.
He’s hot. Literally.
Heat pours out of his body into mine. My legs are bare, which means I was so hot that I peeled off my socks in my sleep. That never happens — I run cold. My hands and feet are perpetually icy.
I squirm a little, trying to slip out from under him, but he’s heavy—so much bigger than me.
When I move again, his chest rumbles and he holds me tighter.
Our proximity hits me anew, sending my heartbeat into a frenzied rush.
Suddenly, there’s a knock at my door.
I bolt upright, as much as I can with Luca’s arm still wrapped around me. My heart slams against my chest as I stare at the door wide-eyed, my heart racing.
“Wren?” Archie’s voice is muffled through the wood. “Dad says come down for breakfast.”
My heart drops to my stomach. Dad?
No no no. Why is he here? He’s not supposed to be here. He never comes back this early.
Luca stirs beside me, his arm tightening around my waist as he mumbles something incoherent.
Panic surges through me as I glance down at Luca, still asleep in my bed, blissfully unaware of the state I’m in. I push at him frantically, whispering, “Luca, wake up! You have to go!”
