Chapter 18

CHAPTEREIGHTEEN

WHAT IN THE holy hell was going on?

As the door shut behind Chef, Luca got to his feet, his eyes wide and roaming over a disheveled Dom. He looked like he’d been in a bar fight with the way he had his bloody knuckles shoved inside an ice bucket, but the splatter of red up his forearms and on his face told a different story.

“What happened to you?” Luca said.

Dom took a long swig of scotch. Then another.

“I thought you weren’t allowed to leave.”

Dom finally looked at Luca. “The premises.”

“Did you…” Luca couldn’t even say the words. They were too horrible to think about.

“Spit it out, Luca. Did I what?”

Dom dropped the bucket of ice back on the bar cart and strode toward him, the bottle of scotch dangling from his good hand. He looked every bit the dangerous villain Luca had first seen him as. Luca tried to get his feet to move, but he felt glued to the floor.

This man is a monster. Whatever he did just now, he’ll do the same to you.

Dom leaned in by Luca’s ear, the heat of his breath making him shiver. “Did I kill a man? Is that what you’re too afraid to ask?”

Luca swallowed hard. “Did you?”

Dom moved back, no hint of regret or guilt in his dark eyes. “Not tonight.”

The implication that this was nothing new for Dom had Luca reeling. It was one thing to hear it, but it was another to see someone else’s blood on Dom’s hands.

And his forearms. And his face.

Another shiver racked Luca’s body, and Dom noticed.

“Let’s go.” He didn’t wait for a response before heading toward the stairs. “Now.”

Shit. Oh shit, shit. Am I next? He didn’t finish off the other guy and now he wants to send me back to my family in pieces?

Luca would rather stay down here and take his chances. The kitchen was nearby…with knives. Other utensils that could be used as weapons.

Or used against him.

Fuck. He forced himself to follow Dom up the stairs, his legs shaking beneath him.

No…he won’t do anything here. That’s why he left. He was probably in the place he kept me, so if he was going to hurt me, we’d be going downstairs, not up. Right?Maybe he’ll just lock me in my room.

But when Dom kept walking to the room at the end of the hall, Luca felt another wave of panic.

“Wh-where are we going?” Luca cursed at the way his voice sounded so high and reedy, but who knew what Dom kept in there? It was locked for a reason.

Dom opened the door. “Get in.”

Luca glanced inside, but when he didn’t immediately obey, a strong hand clamped around his upper arm. He gasped, jerking his arm, but the fingers surrounding his bicep tightened, reminding him that Dom was more than capable of physical harm.

“Was I not clear?” Dom shoved him forward, inside the door. “I said get in.”

Luca stumbled inside the room, his eyes on his feet as he tried to stay upright, and when the door clicked shut and locked behind him, he sent up a quick prayer.

Please, God, whatever happens next, make it fast.

Luca noted the plush white rug under his feet and couldn’t help but think that even someone like Dom wouldn’t want to mess up something as pristine as that… Right?

But that thought quickly vanished as Dom brushed by him and said, “Follow me.”

Luca didn’t dare to argue this time. Hell, he didn’t even bother looking at where he was. He was too focused on remembering how to breathe and do as he was told, all in the hopes that he’d somehow come out of this alive.

He tracked Dom’s footsteps across the room, careful not to make a sound. Dom pushed open a second door, and Luca dared to look up.

Oh hell no.His feet came to a grinding halt as his eyes latched on to the white marble floors of an en suite that had a drain in the center, and all Luca could think of was that cold, dank, dungeon-like place where he’d first been held. Then his mind started to spin.

Why did a person need a drain in the middle of their bathroom floor? In the shower? Yes. But the middle of the floor? That couldn’t mean anything good. But then again, any kind of drain could mean possible disposal.

Fuck. Don’t go there.

Dom strode inside the enormous en suite without a backward glance, then stopped in front of the mirror lining one entire wall of the room and eyed his reflection. Whatever he saw there clearly didn’t please him, because his scowl was as dark as his eyes.

“Second shirt today,” Luca thought he heard as Dom reached for the waist of his shirt and began to tug it free of his pants. “Shut the door, Luca.”

Luca opened his mouth, about to ask why, but the expression on Dom’s face told him not to argue. He turned, quietly shut the door, and, with his eyes on the glossy paint, counted back from ten.

“There’s a seat over in the corner there. Use it.”

Luca spotted the chair over by a tub the size of a small swimming pool, and he moved to take a seat. There was a double sink and oversized vanity where Dom still stood, and a shower that could easily fit a football team. It was exactly what you’d expect of a penthouse of this caliber, and yet the last place on earth you’d expect to find a man covered in someone else’s blood.

Luca did a quick sweep of the space, wondering if there was any way to escape other than the door.

“You could try, but I wouldn’t recommend it. I’m not really in the mood to chase you.”

Luca’s eyes flew back to Dom, who was unbuttoning his shirt, and before he thought twice he blurted, “And what are you in the mood for? More blood?”

Dom looked up, a sadistic smirk curling his lip. “Is that what you’re worried about? I thought you were going to be a surgeon. Surely a little blood doesn’t make you squeamish.”

Luca was about to respond when Dom shrugged out of his shirt, revealing a broad, sinewy back, rippling abs, and bloodied gauze wrapped around his crimson-stained arm.

Holy shit.Luca quickly averted his eyes.

“No, blood doesn’t bother me. But whose and how you got it does.” Luca found himself looking to the busted stitches on Dom’s arm. “You know you totally ruined your stitches.”

Dom balled his shirt up and threw it in the sink to his right. “Was worth it.”

“Really? So you don’t mind having a scar?”

“Can you not see my back?”

Luca’s eyes fell to the tight, tanned skin stretched across Dom’s muscles, and sure enough there were several scars marring the otherwise smooth surface. Some looked years old, while others were a little pinker and more recent.

Jesus, what kind of life had this guy known?

“So, no,” Dom said, reaching inside the shower to turn on the water. “I don’t mind.”

Luca’s brow furrowed. Wait, is he going to take a shower right now? With me in the room?

Without turning around, Dom kicked off his shoes, slid his phone out of his pocket and onto the counter, and then began to unfasten his belt buckle. As he shoved his pants down his hips, Luca cursed and looked up at the ceiling.

Oh God, he’s getting naked. Why did he bring me in here?

He cleared his throat awkwardly and stood up. “I can step out while you—”

“I don’t fuckin’ think so. You can sit where I told you to.”

“But—”

“Is there a problem, Luca?” The fact that Dom was saying this while pulling his pants off and giving a prime view of his brief-clad ass wasn’t lost on Luca. And it wouldn’t normally be a problem, but—

Dom turned around, pinning Luca with a penetrating stare. Luca felt his face flame.

Busted. So busted.

But if Dom noticed his perusal, he didn’t seem to care.

“I don’t need you getting too friendly with a kitchen knife while I shower. Sit or strip and get in here with me—your choice.”

Luca’s ass was back in the seat in a matter of seconds. If it hadn’t been Dom demanding he join in, Luca would’ve definitely thought twice.

Although now he had to watch. He didn’t know which was more torturous.

You don’t have to watch. You’re choosing to watch.

Oh good God.

After testing the water, Dom shoved out of his briefs, and as his full naked front came into view, Luca found his mouth parting. Dom’s body was perfection. It wasn’t fair that a man so immoral could look the way he did, but damn if Luca couldn’t help but stare at the ridged abs that led into the strong V of Dom’s hips and then into a long, thick, luscious cock that made Luca’s mouth water.

This is so wrong. So fucked up.

Then why couldn’t he stop watching?