Luca - You Will Be Mine (Sicilian Mafia #1)

  That was it for me. I couldn’t possible take anymore. I grabbed at his head and pushed him towards my lips. The only problem was I had completely forgotten about my lip, which was reminding me all too soon how painful it was.

  Gasping in pain, I pulled away from him. “What’s wrong?” Luca asked. He stared at my lips and growled. “I’m going to fucking kill that son of a bitch!” He was off me like a shot and almost out the door.

  “Luca!” I shouted as I ran towards him like lightening. “Please, Luca. Don’t get angry. I’m okay. Look at me.” It surprised me that my demand worked as his eyes found mine. I didn’t know what to say or do to diffuse the situation, so the only thing I could come up with was to go on the defensive. “What just happened was a mistake, and it can’t happen again. I don’t want you, so please stop pursuing me.”

  I think that helped. Suddenly the rage in his eyes subsided as a humorous glint now took its place. “You will remain in here until such time as you come to your senses.”

  I was suddenly enraged again. I had never had someone give me so many emotions within a span of a few minutes. He was terrifying, unbelievably spoilt, and too fucking handsome for his own good. No matter how much I wanted to fight him, I knew he wasn’t going to let me go.

  “Okay,” I whispered.

  “Okay, what?” His hand quickly moved away from the handle as he turned to me.

  “Come on. Do what you want to me. Fuck me, Luca Belatoni.”

  Luca’s nostrils flared as I saw him make a slight move towards me. Pretty soon he seemed to come to his senses as he smiled. “Ah-ah, Clara. You’re not playing games with me.”

  I fisted my hands together. “What do you mean? You want to fuck me, so fuck me.”

  Luca closed the distance between us. “Number one, I don’t fuck. And number two, if you think I was born yesterday, then you have another thing coming.”

  “What are you talking about?” My God, this man was frustrating the hell out of me.

  “You’re only saying this now because you think I will let you go once I’ve taken you.”

  “This is what you wanted,” I protested.

  “Yes, but I want you to want it, too. Giving into me because you think you’ll get something in return is not an option for me. You have to want it—want me.”

  “I do want you.” I held his eyes as I closed the gap even further. I picked his hand up and placed it on my breast. “Do you feel that? Do you feel how much they’re heaving for your touch?” I almost had him for a moment. He squeezed a little and ran his thumb across my nipple. My God, if I didn’t want him a minute ago, I definitely wanted him after that!

  No sooner had he begun, than I felt him pull his hand away. “No games, Clara.”

  I flung my hands up in frustration. “I can’t keep up with you. First, you demand to have me, and then—when I finally give in to you—you turn me down. All because you think I don’t want it.”

  “But you don’t want it.” His no-nonsense frown was the last straw.

  “How the hell can you say that you know what I want? Why don’t you stop fart-arsing around and fuck me!” I couldn’t believe I was begging him. How the tables had turned.

  “Fart-arsing?” His smile curved up in so much amusement that it had me doing the same.

  “Yes, you’re fart-arsing.” Again, I was completely calm after just shouting at him.

  “You’re an exceptional woman, Clara Murphy.” I looked into his sincere eyes and nearly melted again. “See now, that look I can believe. You’ll get there in the end.” With that, he turned the handle and stepped out the door. “I’ll bring Mia up to see you now.”

  As quick as a flash, he was out the door, leaving me sighing my frustration on the bed. Why did he have to be so infuriating and oh so fucking handsome at the same time? He could charm me, frustrate me, bewilder me, and entrance me all at the same time. How on earth had that happened?

  No sooner had I begun to wrap that thought around my head then it was interrupted by a knock sounding at my door. I was so excited I practically sprinted to it. “Mia!” I screamed as I opened the door.

  “Clara! Oh my God! Are you okay?”

  I looked for any signs of distress, but she seemed calm.

  “You have ten minutes.” I looked over to the door and found Alessandro hovering in the doorway. I liked Alessandro, but I wasn’t too keen on his tone of voice. My face depicted as much. He winced slightly from my glare, gave an apologetic glance, and was out the door.

  I immediately turned my attention back to Mia. “I’m fine. I’ve been more worried about you and the girls.”

  She sighed a little. “I must admit, when I came back from that appointment I thought the cops had finally foiled us. I couldn’t believe it when Mr. Belatoni appeared and asked me if I knew where the girls were.”

  I bit my lip. “They’re at the lodge.”

  “Yes, I know.” Her look was mischievous, causing my suspicions to rise.

  Mia dug in her pocket and pulled out a small walkie-talkie. “Mia, no. You shouldn’t have done that. What if they catch you with it?”

  “It’s fine.” She looked over to the door and then back at me. “I’ve spoken to Belinda, and she said everyone is okay. They’re all going ballistic over you, though. They all want to know you’re safe.”

  I smiled so she would know I was okay. “I’ve been fine. Despite Luca’s heavy-handed manner with my home, he’s been good to me.”

  She looked down at my mouth and winced. “Not if he did that to your lip.”

  I shook my head. “He didn’t do it. The guy who did wished he never had, though. I’ve found out rather quickly that Luca doesn’t take too kindly to men hitting women.”

  Mia quickly looked at the door again. “What are his plans?”

  I sighed. “To take over my business.” I looked away and sighed again. “To take me.”

  Her head snapped to me quickly. “What?”

  “I’m to stay in here until I give into him.”

  “Give into him?” She frowned a little. “He can’t do that.”

  “Oh, he can … and he will.”

  She started looking panicked. “But that’s … that’s almost like rape. He can’t force you to have sex with him.”

  I looked away sheepishly before replying. “You see, the thing is—I do want him, and he knows it.”

  Mia’s eyes widened like saucers. “You’re fucking shitting me?”

  I shook my head. I couldn’t believe I was actually admitting this out loud. “I shit you not. I hate him, and I want to fuck his brains out all at the same fucked up time. Call me insane.”

  Mia smirked. “I’ll call you human, as that’s exactly what you are. I’ve never heard you say that about anyone since I’ve known you. He must be special … and lucky.”

  She winked at me and I smiled. “I don’t know why I’m smiling. There’s nothing to smile about.”

  She bit her lip, trying hard to hide her wide smile. “Don’t worry. I’ve spoken to the girls, and we’re going to try to get you out.”

  I shook my head. “Oh, no you’re not. I’m not putting any of them in danger. It’s bad enough that you’re here. I won’t see them being held here against their will as well.”

  Mia huffed. “Clara, come on. You’ve just said he won’t hurt any of us.”

  I frowned for a moment. “I know. I just—”

  Mia placed her hand on mine, interrupting me. “Just nothing. We’re getting you out. It won’t be today, but we’ll try tomorrow. For now, the girls want to make sure you’re okay.”

  Taking the walkie-talkie from her other hand, I quickly hid it away in my drawer before turning back to Mia. “I’ll speak to them the next time I get a chance.”

  Mia smiled and squeezed my hand. “Are you sure you’re okay?”

  I nodded. “I’m fine. I’m worried about you, though.”

  Her cheeky grin lit up her face. “I’m having a ball. Some men may be tough, but they’ve
all got one thing in common.”

  “Oh yeah?” I said, knowing full well where this was going.

  “I’m wrapping them all round my little finger. I even had one make me a cheese sandwich earlier. Talking of which, Luca said he was coming up with some food for you shortly.”

  Nodding my head, I realised just how hungry I was. I did have my own kitchen and could make my own food, but eating had kind of been the last thing on my mind.

  “Alessandro is my favourite in particular.”

  Looking back up to meet Mia’s eyes, I found them glinting with pleasure. “Yes, he is rather handsome, isn’t he?”

  “Oh, yes. I think I may have to work my magic on him. He looks delicious.”

  “Who looks delicious?” Luca was standing by the door with a tray of food in his hands.

  I sighed loudly. “Don’t you ever knock?”

  “Why should I knock when this room—and what I have inside of it—is mine?”

  Shooting up from my bed, I looked at Mia and pointed to Luca. “Do you see what I have to put up with? He’s a menace.”

  Luca chuckled and Mia smiled. “This is not funny, Mia.”

  “No, of course not. Sorry. It’s just… You were doing so well, and then you called him a menace. It just didn’t sound … serious.”

  I rolled my eyes and turned my attention back to a smiling Luca. “I’m not eating that. It could have cyanide in it.”

  “Amore mio, if I wanted to kill you, I could think of many better ways then trying to poison you.”

  I looked at the spaghetti and my tummy rumbled. “What is it anyway?”

  “It’s Carbonara. A specialty of mine.”

  I cocked my eyebrow at him. “You cooked this?”

  “I got started on it earlier and just finished up now. Buon appetito.” Luca sauntered over to my dining table and laid down the contents of two plates, two glasses, and a bottle of wine. With one swift tug, Luca had the cork open and was pouring the wine.

  Mia started moving to the door. “I better go then and leave you to your meal.”

  Luca turned to Mia and smiled. “Thank you, Mia. I have ensured that all of my men will cater to all your needs this evening.”

  Mia smirked. I could tell she was getting a rise out of this. I know my castle is normally filled with horny men, but not this many gorgeous men. I think Mia was secretly in her element.

  “I’m sure I’ll be just fine.” She winked across at me and gave me the thumbs-up sign.

  Pretty soon, she was out the door and purring at Alessandro. The poor boy was not going to know what hit him.

  “You like white I take it?”

  “Excuse me?” I looked up and was met with Luca’s expectant eyes.

  He pointed to the bottle. “White wine. I take it that you like it?”

  I nodded. “Oh, yes. Sorry. I was miles away.”

  He saw my hesitancy at the door and smiled. “She’s going to be okay, you know. I’ll make sure of it.”

  I sat down on the bed. “You could make sure of it by taking your men and leaving. Then, I could get back to business.”

  “You know all this could have been avoided if you had just paid me what I’m owed.”

  I rose again from the bed in anger. “What you’re owed? What you’re owed?”

  Luca looked me up and down. My God, it was sexy. “Yes—and you don’t have to say it twice.”

  “You bastard! I don’t owe you a goddamned thing.”

  Luca shook his head. “Maybe you don’t, but the business does.”

  I frowned. “I don’t know what you mean.”

  “Oh, come on, Clara. You’re an intelligent lady. Do you really think Trudy financed this all by herself?

  My heart started beating wildly again. “She owns seventy percent of the business,” I said, blinking.

  “Of which, seventy percent of that is now owned by… Guess who?”

  I blinked rapidly, but then what he said just started to sink in. “You.”

  “Yes.”

  Trudy never said a thing to me. “Why didn’t she tell me?”

  “Your aunt took a gamble on some shares which tumbled. She was hoping to raise more collateral for the business, but ended up losing it all instead. She didn’t want to let you down.”

  “So, you came to save the day.”

  Luca sat down on the chair and motioned for me to sit with him. “Your aunt speaks very highly of you. I think I was kind of smitten by you from the start. Meeting you was my next priority after the deal was signed.”

  I sighed and took a sip of my wine. “So why are you going to all of this trouble? You’re getting money, aren’t you?”

  “Yes, but I wanted to know more about you. See how much your cage could be rattled. I was pleasantly surprised.”

  “So, you deliberately sent your hooligans out to demand money from me hoping I would tell them to take a hike?”

  “Exactly.” He smiled triumphantly and sucked up a piece of spaghetti.

  As the burn rose between my legs, I found myself clearing my throat. “You’re weird.”

  Luca smirked. “Maybe I am, but if you think about it, it makes logical sense. I wanted to make sure you were as good as I was told you were. I can’t have people running my businesses without making sure they’re perfectly capable.”

  I stared him down. “This is my business, Luca.”

  “It may be yours in the physical sense. You run the place. But not in the financial sense. I put a lot of money into your little venture. I even recently bought another ten percent.”

  “If it’s doing so well, then why is Trudy selling you shares of the place?”

  Luca looked a little worried for a moment. “I think she may be in over her head. She needed the money to help pay off some bad debt.”

  I frowned. “I don’t know what you’re talking about.”

  Luca sighed. “I have gone too far. You need to speak with your aunt about this.”

  I started panicking even more. What had my aunt gotten herself into? “I’m asking you.”

  Luca shook his head. “It doesn’t matter. What’s done is done. I am here, and we have to get along. Normally, I don’t like to get so involved in a business venture. I wouldn’t unless something went wrong and I had to step in. When I saw you yesterday, though, this castle became a lot more appealing to me. That and who lives under its roof.” Luca motioned for me to eat, so I sighed and got tucking in. My God, it was good. “Do you like it?”

  I nodded. “It’s lovely, thank you.” His beautiful smile lit up his face, causing me to momentarily forget why I was here. “This doesn’t change things though. I don’t want someone coming in and ruining my business.”

  He looked serious. “That is not my intention.”

  “I have never once had The Castle empty of clients. Ever. This will cripple me.”

  Luca looked stern. “I’ll make sure that never happens.”

  I regarded him for a moment. “How can you say that?”

  “Truth be told, I wanted to get to know you more. I knew that would never happen with you running the place. I bet you’ve never taken a day off in your life, have you?”

  I sighed, thinking how much he seemed to know about me. It was true. I had been putting all of my efforts into this business from day one. I had always put my castle and my girls before myself. It was just who I was.

  “When I’m at work, I’m in control. I can make decisions and be the one responsible if it all goes tits-up.”

  Luca placed his fork down on his plate. “That’s quite right, but, like me, you have people who will take control of certain situations for you. Be there if you need to take a break from it all.”

  I sucked up a strand of spaghetti and noticed Luca’s eyes widening a little. “I’m just not that kind of person.”

  “You work hard, and people who work hard need to be rewarded.”

  I shook my head. “I don’t see how barging your way in here, taking over The Castle, cancelling al
l my appointments, and holding me hostage is helping me.”

  Then, it was Luca’s turn to shake his head. “Clara, Clara, Clara. Tranquillo. I am not your enemy here. Far from it. I just want to get to know you better.”

  With a huff, I carried on eating my Carbonara. Soon, the combination of the food, the wine, and Luca’s commanding presence was at the forefront of my mind. Everything in front of me was so delicious that it had all my senses screaming at me to gorge. Just gorge, woman!

  “Amore mio, you look at me like that one more time, and I may never finish my meal.”

  Placing my fork down in a challenge, I raised my eyebrow. “Why don’t you then?”

  Luca sighed. “Because you’re not ready yet.”

  I couldn’t believe him. “What?”

  “Your desire to get out of this room is much stronger than your desire for me. As soon as the balance is tipped in my favour, then I will give you what you want.”

  A sarcastic laugh left my lips. “I really can’t believe you. You’re like a force of nature.”

  “Thank you.” He raised his eyebrow and smiled. It made me giggle a little.

  “I didn’t mean it as a compliment.”

  Luca leaned back a little with a smug look on his face. “However you meant it, it was duly noted and appreciated.”

  “Even when you’re talking about bedding me, you say it like it’s a business transaction.”

  Luca studied me with those beautiful caramel-coloured eyes of his. “I take everything I do in life very seriously. But what I think and feel about you has nothing to do with business at all. You’re not a transaction or a game. I want you. Plain and simple.”

  I couldn’t believe the gall of this man. “You say this isn’t a game, but then you force me up into my tower and dictate that I stay here until I drop my knickers for you. Oh, and not only that, but I have to want to drop my knickers for you in order for you to take me. You really are—”

  “I know, I know,” he said, interrupting me. “A piece of work.”

  Grabbing my hand, he began stroking it seductively with his finger. It was only a small gesture, but it had the fires starting nonetheless. I was becoming putty in his hands and fast.