Treachery

I return to the house around seven or so. Gabriel called me after talking to Luca and explained that she is finally onboard when it comes to the servers.

Not really caring about that, at least not as much as I should, given everything I’ve done to get my hands on them, I asked about Luca.

Apparently, she still hates me.

Understandably, she has no intention of ever speaking to me.

Sadly, that probably means she won’t have sex with me again.

And that part stings.

More than I want it to.

More than it should.

But it also gives me a reason to try a little harder to get her to come back to me. It also just happens to be mighty convenient that she’s stuck in my house and is trapped within reach. I want to hate our fathers for attempting to kill her, but at the same time, I have to be a little thankful for the fact that it made my life a little easier.

Taking advantage of situations has always been my forte. And I won’t hesitate to do the same now.

Luca can’t get away for a while, and that gives me more than enough opportunity to prove to her that I’m not such a bad guy.

Not when it comes to her anyway.

Not anymore.

I can’t help but thank fate for setting this up. Had Luca not been stuck at my place, she would have run off to hide. It would have pissed me off, forced me to chase her down, and would have made my efforts to convince her to forgive me much more difficult.

Thankfully, that’s not how it played out, and I’m willing to suffer a few days of cute, little, narrow-eyed glares being tossed my direction, the tilt of her rebellious chin, and what I’m sure will be some nasty words hissed at me from between her pretty lips while I seduce her all over again.

I’m looking forward to this, to be honest. Only because nothing turns me on more than Luca in a bad mood.

That’s fucked up.

I know it.

But there’s just something about a woman who has a backbone of steel. It makes the chase more enjoyable. The win that much more of a victory. It makes you take a closer look at the value of a person, only because you had to fight like hell to be with them.

I’ve never had to chase a woman before. Never had to do more than crook a finger.

But Luca has come close to ru

That woman is mine.

Whether she knows it or not.

Regardless of the fight she puts up.

There’s just the tiny, minuscule issue of all the shitty things I’ve done. An issue I like to think is in the past now.

I won’t hurt her again, not for anything or anyone. Because now that I’ve claimed her, I’ll protect her to my dying breath. Because she’s the type of woman that deserves my love. I just need to make her see the truth in that.

Which probably won’t be easy. This is Luca we’re talking about. She never makes anything easy.

Climbing out of the car, I walk a slow path to the side door of the house leading into the kitchen. I open the door and peek inside, careful to make sure Luca’s not waiting on the other side with a knife she’ll use to chop off my balls.

Not seeing her, I walk inside and set my keys on a table near the door, my eyes sca

The likelihood of her physically attacking me is slim to none. I’m bigger than her. Stronger. And it would require she touch me in some way. And it would give me a reason to touch her.

Luca wouldn’t go that route.

Knowing that, I feel confident enough to run upstairs and change out of my work clothes, take a shower and decide how I’ll begin the process of seducing her all over again.

When I leave my room, I’m wearing nothing other than a pair of loose black pants that are comfortable, water still dripping from the ends of my hair as I run downstairs and wind my way back to the kitchen.

I stop in the doorway to find Luca sitting at the kitchen island, her blue eyes dragging my direction with so much disdain behind them that it feels like razors slicing my skin.

Still, I refuse to be a pussy around her. She can be as mad as she wants. It’s cute that way. I’ve always enjoyed staring across a room at her knowing I’ll make her mine even when she thinks she can’t stand me.

“You hungry?” I ask as I pad barefoot past her toward the fridge.

“I’m not down here to be your friend,” she says, her voice calmer than when I last spoke to her.

Cold air impacts my chest when I pull the refrigerator door open. After grabbing two steaks, a bag of potatoes and fresh mushrooms, I turn to place them on the counter before meeting her stare.

“I take it that means fucking is out of the question, too?”

Her eyes narrow, and I smirk. Pissing her off is too much fun. Hate fucking her is even better, but that will take time.

Crossing her arms over her chest, Luca watches me as I grab a cutting board and a knife. I don’t miss how her gaze travels down my body and back up again, her cheeks tingeing pink when I catch her.

“Besides the food, is there something else you want?”

She huffs, rolling her eyes. “I’m here to call a truce.”

My lips curl at the sound of that. Every truce we’ve had has always ended in my favor...or in my bed.

“Not that kind of truce,” she growls.

I make it a point not to look up at her while chopping the potatoes into small blocks.

“Wanting to fuck me is not a bad thing, Luca. I won’t hold it against you.”

She gets quiet, and I bite the inside of my cheek to keep from reacting.

Voice a soft purr, she says, “Actually, I was looking forward to returning the favor from what you did to me in the shower.”

The knife slips and slices the side of my finger, my cock twitching to life despite the pain. Lifting my finger to my mouth, I suck on the cut to staunch the flow of blood.

Luca grins at me.

Winks.

But then gives me a fake as fuck frown.

“Awe, did you hurt yourself?”

I grin, just the corner of my mouth tilting up because I’ll get even with her for what she’s doing.

Digging in a drawer for a bandage, I wrap my finger before cleaning the knife and getting back to work.

“If you want to return the favor, I’m always happy to drop my pants.”

“It’s too bad you’re too big of a dick for me to be able to handle it.”

I laugh, my cock swelling at this point. “I haven’t heard you complain yet.”

Dropping the knife to the counter, I glance up.

“Unless those cute little whimpers are your way of complaining.”

Her cheeks heat, and she struggles to gain her composure.

“I’m here to talk about the servers.”

It was fun while it lasted, but on this, she’s right. Leaning back against the counter, I grip my hands at the edges on my sides and lock my stare with hers.

Luca’s gaze drops down my body before lifting again, more heat chasing across her cheeks because she has to be able to see the rigid line of just how much I want her.

Straightening her posture, she clears her throat and gets down to business.

“I spoke with my father’s former partner after the party you dragged me to Saturday night. He told me the files in the servers are all encrypted. And that the language used to encrypt them is one my father developed. Nobody knows it. He developed the code himself.”