Saving Innocence (Luca and Caden #2) (manxman) (boyxboy)

Chapter One

Luca

It’s hard to believe that I’m here right now. It feels like a dream. An amazing, wonderful dream. But still a dream.

“I don’t wanna go to bed daddy.” Maria screams as she tries to wriggle out of my grasp. Her dark hair flops against her face and parts of it end up in her mouth. She doesn’t notice—or care—because she’s busy trying to fight me on this. Again.

“You have to go to bed so you can grow up and be a big girl one day,” I tell her. “Don’t you want to be as big as daddy?”

“No,” she and Aria, her twin, say loudly. They’re very smart for three years old. A little too smart if you ask me.

“But I want my girls to be big and strong one day. And that means going to be and getting a good night sleep.”

Maria pouts. It’s one of the most adorable pouts ever. Then again, maybe I’m a little biased. Her sister, who’s been a little quieter than normal, starts complaining too. And then I’m left with two little girls saying they don’t want to go to bed. I sigh, knowing no matter how tired I am, I wouldn’t change a thing about any of this because I can honestly say I have never been happier. I have two beautiful twin girls, a sexy husband and a wonderful extended family who love us and only want the best for us.

“Daddy?” Aria says quietly.

I look down at the two little angels in front of me with their pleading eyes and innocent faces. I have a hard time saying no to them when they look at me like that, so innocent and pure. But I also know I have to be the parent. They deserve someone who will do what’s best for them. Like mamma did for me, and Caden’s parents did for him. So I crouch down in front of them and start whispering promises in their ear, hoping it will be enough to make them be okay with going to bed. I’m not stupid. They’ll never willingly go to bed without any problems, but maybe a little bribery will help.

With the promise of a visit to see their nonnina in the morning, the girls climb into their little beds and close their eyes. I kiss their foreheads, smooth the hair out of their faces, and quietly retreat out of the room.

Closing the door behind me softly, I walk down the hallway into my bedroom. As soon I open the door, I see my husband splayed out on the bed. Naked. He’s grinning, I can tell, and trying hard to make me go over to him. I stand in the doorway, unmoving and watch as the smile disappears slowly. He opens his eyes and looks straight over. Relief fills his eyes and he growls.

“You’re lucky I love you so much or I’d kill you right now,” he says.

“Moi?” I point to myself.

He jumps off the bed and strolls over, pressing me against the wall with his body. He uses one hand to close the door while the other is pressed against the wall, bracketing me between the wall and his body so I can’t escape.

I giggle and loll my head back to give him access to my neck. He bites and licks and kisses his way along the column of my throat, leaving his marks along the way. If you were to strip me down most days, you’d see a lot of possessive markings as well as all the scars and burns I have. Caden doesn’t notice anything but his own marks, and he takes pride in their upkeep, making sure he freshens them up every week or so. Never leaving them long enough to fade or disappear with time.

“How is it you get sexier every year?” he whispers against my skin.

I gasp. “I-I didn’t know that I did.”

“Uh huh, you do. It drives me crazy, knowing other guys are going to look at you. Going to want you.” He looks up and meets my eyes. “But you’re mine, aren’t you? All mine.”

“Yours. All yours,” I respond and then we’re kissing.

His mouth is soft. He kisses me deeply and his tongue licks at mine. I moan, or at least I think I do, and he sinks his tongue in deeper. I don’t think I’ll ever get enough of him. I haven’t up until now, and I hope I never do. When the kiss goes on for too long, and I can no longer breathe, I place my hands on his shoulders and push him away gently. The two of us are left panting. He slumps against me and I lean against the wall, desperately trying to stop my legs from giving out.

“Jesus. One day you’re going to kill me,” I pant and he laughs.

He presses a kiss against my neck. “Then I’m doing it right.” He pulls away slightly and smirks. “Well, actually, if I was doing it right you’d be on the floor right now and you wouldn’t have these one,” he says and tugs at my clothes.

I smack his hand away. He looks at me with an even bigger smirk. I love challenging him. It makes things… interesting, to say the least.

“Think you can stop me?”

He manoeuvres me over to the bed and the two of us fall back against the soft mattress. For a while, we just kiss and paw at each other. The passion is still there, but he’s always enjoyed this part. I think part of it is to prove a point. That we can still madly in love and attracted to each other, but we can also takes things slow and enjoy everything. Don’t get me wrong, I love this part too. But the last few years I’ve definitely felt better about having sex, and I really don’t like waiting anymore.

I pull my shirt over my head, which means breaking the kiss for a minute. Caden’s eyes fill with lust as his hands and eyes roam over my body. My skin tingles where his hands are touching and I fist my hands in the sheets to stop myself from forcing him to do more. He’s still afraid, even after all these years, that he’s going to do something wrong and I’ll end up having a flashback of the past. Those only happen at night, when I’m asleep. But they still scare the crap out of him, and if I’m honest, they scare the crap out of me, too. He never triggers it, though. It’s my fucked up head that does that.

“Luca,” he whispers. And then a little louder. “Luca.”

I blink and my eyes focus on his worried face. He’s leaning over me and it’s only then I realize our bodies aren’t touching anymore. Again, he’s trying to make things better by pulling himself away from me.

“Are you okay? You zoned out on me there.”

I clear my throat. “I’m fine. Sorry, I didn’t mean to worry you.”

He kisses my forehead. “You have nothing to apologize for. I should have realized this would be too much.”

I wish he hadn’t been here earlier. He would never have seen that damn letter and things would not be like this right now.

“It’s not. I promise you. It’s nothing to do with you.”

He looks unsure, so damn unsure my heart aches because I know I’ve put that look there.

He reaches out and begins to trace my lips with his index finger. It’s slow and sensual and my breath catches in my throat. His eyes are warm and full of love as he gazes down at me. There are no words out there that can accurately describe how much that look affects me, how much it warms my heart and makes me strive to become a better person. I don’t believe in God or heaven or hell or anything like that, but if I did I would say that he was sent to me by God to give me a reason to get up every day and to keep breathing.

He is my reason. My biggest reason. Him and my girls. Our family. The people who have loved me and supported me through the toughest time in my life.

“Thank you,” I blurt out and a confused looks flickers across his face.

“What are you thanking me for? I didn’t do anything.”

I smile. “You did everything and you don’t even realize it.

He shakes his head. “I-“

I grab the back of his neck and pull him down for a kiss. His arms slide against the sheets and I use that to pull his body against mine. I might not be able to erase all the pain that’s in his past because of me. But one thing’s for sure. As long as I’m breathing, I will do everything within my power to make sure he has the happiest life imaginable. Continuing right now.