44. Kylie

Chapter forty-four

Kylie

I try to calm my breathing, but the minute he said he wanted to break the contract, my chest grew tight. The last thing I want to do is break down in tears.

He brings our faces close together. "Angel, I want more with you."

When his words register, the tightness eases, and I blow out a breath of relief. "More?"

"Yes. More. I don't want a contract between us anymore. I want a relationship. A real one. With you." His brows dip and he growls out, "Why are you crying? Is it the money? You'll still get—"

Before he pisses me off, I slap a hand over his mouth and take a deep breath. "I'm crying because I've wanted that since the moment I saw you."

He growls again. Rips my hand off his mouth, and slams his on to mine to do what he does best.

Devour me.

Every thought leaves my head as Luca flips us on the couch and pulls off my yoga pants along with my panties and tosses them aside.

"Wait. The guys?" I protest, swinging my gaze around the room.

"They left ten minutes ago."

"Oh. Okay. You may proceed. "

He chuckles and doesn't waste time pushing my shirt along with my bra up to bare my breasts. When he sits back to sweep his hungry gaze over my bare skin, the intensity in his eyes leaves trails of goosebumps in its wake. I no longer have to fight the urge to cover myself when he bares me to him. I've grown comfortable with Luca and now get a thrill over his need to see me.

After a thorough sweep of my body, he meets my gaze again and reaches for the button of his pants.

"This will be quick."

He pushes his pants down, puts on a condom, and falls onto me like a starving man. Even in his haste, he's gentle. Well, except with his cock. After lining us up, he shoves in, giving me the delicious kind of pain only he can give me. I moan at the sensations of him filling me. The need he can instantly ignite inside me has me squirming for more. So I demand it.

Luca lets go of his restraint. He fists my hair with one hand while his other wraps around my hip, holding me still as he pounds into me. He takes my mouth as his hips move faster and harder. I'm so lost in him a nuclear bomb could go off, incinerating us both and I would die believing our passion was the reason.

Luca releases my mouth long enough to growl, "I need you to come. Now." And the need in his words reverberates through me, getting exactly what he commands of me.

I hold him tight as I revel in the aftermath of my orgasm. The minute I tighten my arms, he rips his mouth away and shoves his face into my neck, going still inside of me.

His breaths caresses my skin, sending tingles in their wake as I run my hand up his back and bury it in his hair.

I don't think I'll ever be tired of having him inside of me. This hold he has on me is terrifying, but less so now that he wants a true relationship.

Or maybe I'm more scared now. I want to believe this is truly what he wants, but as I come down from my orgasm, the doubts invade my mind.

I've held a piece of myself back because of the contract, and by no choice of my own. Will he want the real me? If we started dating from the beginning, I would already know everything I could about him. I would have asked when his birthday was. What school he went to. The story of how Rafael and Gio became such an integral part of his life.

And he has yet learned of all my faults. He doesn't know how persistent I can be when I want something. He has no idea how much our contract binds me from truly being myself. Yes, parts of me have leaked out. It's hard to hold all of myself back, but I have held back.

Can he love me if he sees all of me?

Luca leans his head back and smiles down at me. "I can tell your mind is going a mile a minute." He taps my forehead. "Relax, Angel. Everything will work out."

I'm forced to let him go when he lifts and pulls me with him off the couch.

"Let's shower and then we can talk while I make dinner."

"Okay." I grab the hem of my shirt, but Luca moves my hands out of the way and yanks it over my head, leaving me naked while he's fully clothed. I don't protest when he takes my hand and pulls me to the elevator.

***

"Can I help with anything?"

The enticing aroma coming from the stove has my stomach rumbling despite the large quantity of popcorn I ate earlier with Gio. I place a hand over it as I eye the pizza sauce simmering on one burner and then the sausage Luca's stirring on the other.

"Can you cut these while I finish cooking this?" He waves to the cutting board that has an onion and green pepper sitting on top.

"Sure." I settle onto the barstool and start chopping.

Luca insisted I stay in the shower after he cleaned himself. He wanted to get the pizza started. I was speechless when he told me he was making it from scratch. A lot of men cook. I'm just used to growing up in a household where my mother did it all.

Dad can't cook to save his life .

Mom taught me over the years and while I'm not as good as her, I can make a decent meal. I would've shown Luca that already if he hadn't been avoiding coming home the weeks prior to my kidnapping. That's something I want to discuss with him. Was he avoiding me? Or was he just that busy at work? If only seeing him at night will be the norm? I'm afraid I won't be okay with that in the long term. I know myself—I'll be lonely in this relationship if that's how it'll be. Needing to steer my thoughts away from this, I start talking.

"My mom will be thrilled to know you can cook homemade pizza. She works with an Italian woman at the school. An English teacher. Anyway, she's been teaching my mom how to make homemade pasta. Apparently, it's an old recipe from her grandma, who lives in Italy." I glance up from the pepper to find Luca gazing at me over his shoulder, his lips tipped with a hint of a smile. My heart warms as I realize he's been smiling more.

I clear my throat and lower my eyes before continuing, "She'll want you to teach her how to make the dough for sure." I wave the knife toward the dough resting on the counter. "And probably the sauce."

"She's welcome to come here anytime and I'll teach her." Luca shuts off the burner to the sausage, then takes the pan to the sink to drain the fat into a bowl.

I wait until he brings the dough to the island to stretch it out before asking what I really want.

"Do you mean it?" Finished with the green pepper, I start on the onion.

When I only get silence, I look up, and our gazes connect.

"I do." He arranges the dough on the pan and grabs the second one. "Although, if I'm smart, I'd wait until we are back in bed before having this conversation, so you can't run from me."

Surprised, I jerk my head back and frown. "Why would you think I'd run?"

"Finish cutting that onion, will ya? I want that knife away from your hands before we get too deep into this conversation."

My brows pinch tighter, but I do as he says. "That suggests there's something you've kept from me." I glance up, raising my eyebrow.

He nods. "There is, but I hope you'll understand some decisions I've made. "

"Okay … I'm listening."

Luca starts on the third dough as he works through what he wants to say. Giving him time, I move to the sink to wash my hands.

Luca waits until I sit back down before he begins.

"Before I get into everything, tell me again, you want to give us a go? No contract, just us dating? I'd be breaking the contract, so you will receive the full payment."

"Yes, I want that, but not the money. I don't need it now."

"Angel, it's in the contract. I want to do this right. You'll be getting the money either way, but I want everything moving forward to be the real us as a couple."

"I honestly don't need the money anymore. My parents' situation has changed." I tilt my head. "You've never asked me why I became a sugar baby."

"You know I had you looked into. I know you did it to keep your parents from losing their home." He brings the sauce to the island to assemble the pizzas. "It made you more attractive to me. To do something so selfless told me how much you love your parents and what a good person you are." He looks me in the eye. "I could never judge you for that. It would be hypocritical of me if I did. More than you know."

"I know you don't. I just really needed you to know what my motivations were, so that you didn't think I was saying I wanted more with you because of your wealth. It's important to me that you believe that. And you need to explain that last part." I frown.

Luca leans in to give me a gentle kiss. "I'll explain in a minute. First, you need to know that if I really thought you were only after my money, I wouldn't have suggested breaking the contract. Also, I understand you never would've become a sugar baby if you felt you had any other options." Kissing my forehead, he releases me to resume making the pizzas.

"I don't regret meeting you and if we really had met at the club without," I wave my hand between us, "all this, and you asked me out. I would have said yes."

Luca gives me a heated look. "Even if you said no, I would've pursued you. "

I shake my head and playfully roll my eyes. "Good. Then you agree, no more payments?"

Luca sighs. "Fine, but only because I know the hospital charity paid your parents' medical bills. And I'll be paying for everything in this relationship, anyway."

"How do you know that? Did you pull another background check?" Hurt by why he thought he needed it again, I look down, trying to hold in my emotions.

"First confession of the night … I'm on the hospital board."

I jerk my gaze to his and widen my eyes.

He nods. "Yes, I called the members of the charity and suggested looking into your parents. With their jobs, they were the perfect candidate." He shrugs. "It was a no brainer."

"Oh. Mom said that's what the guy told them." I pause, tapping the counter. "So you only suggested or …"

"Just suggested. I knew they would pick them with no urging on my part."

"Wow. I don't know what to say to that. Well, besides, thank you. You've lifted a huge burden off their shoulders."

He shrugs before placing two of the pizzas in the oven. "Don't thank me. I really didn't have to do anything more than bring it to the committee's attention."

"Alright, back to you paying for everything—"

"Angel. No more money talk. It's best you know now that it won't stop the gifts and I will always pay for whatever it is you need." Luca holds his hand up to stop any protest I'm about to give. "This is who I am. Even though I've never been in a relationship, this is who I would be with anyone in my life I care about. You can ask Gio and Rafael. I bought the brownstones on either side of me so that they'd be within reach. If I would do that for my brothers, wouldn't I do more for the woman who's captured my heart?"

Tears well in happiness from his declaration. I know Luca well enough at this point. He would never toss out words of love so carelessly. "You have captured my heart as well. You know that, right?"

"I do, baby. I'm sorry if this isn't what you want to hear, but I am glad you signed with Sweet Connections. Had you not done that, I don't know that I would have given you a chance. I would've pursued you to get you in my bed—that's a fact, but I just don't think I would've been open to more. I've never allowed the idea of more in a long time." He comes around the island and positions himself between my legs."I would have missed out on these luscious lips of yours."

Smiling, I hang onto his wrists as he dips his head to nibble on my bottom lip. I'm ready to take it further when the timer for the pizza goes off, breaking the spell.

Luca pulls back with a growl. "Let me deliver Gio and Rafael's pizza while ours cook, and then we'll get back to this."

"They aren't eating with us tonight?" One of the things I love most about Luca is his need to take care of his loved ones. The guys have dined with us every night since we came home from the hospital and I don't think it's only because of what happened. It feels more like their normal routine.

"Not tonight. I want you all to myself." He gives me a hungry look that has nothing to do with the pizza before he heads out.

Beaming, I move to set the dining room table.