Chapter 24

Luca

“T he perfect crime.” Congratulating myself on my deviousness, I snuck back into the beach bungalow I was sharing with Teddy and Asher. I kicked off my shoes, grabbed a banana from the fruit bowl on the kitchen counter and was about to retreat to my room when an over-exaggerated throat clearing stopped me. “Shit.” Shrinking into my shoulders, I turned towards the voice and found Teddy smiling back at me, his elbows propped on the table, his chin on his clenched fists.

“Luca D’Cruz. Have you been a bad little boy, sneaking out to pluck forbidden fruit?”

I scoffed, took a bite of the banana and then mumbled around it. “Umm. No. What do you mean? I didn’t do anything. Been here all night. I didn’t see Polly at all.” I took another mouthful. Hoping the phallic fruit consumption might throw him off.

It didn’t.

“Dear God, man. Let’s hope a life of crime is never your last resort, cause that shit was not perfect, and that fibby-fib-fib was even worse. You look guilty as sin and freshly fucked. One of my personal favourite combinations.” He gave me a wink then stood and shuffled closer. “Evie’s going to wipe the court with you when she finds out.”

Even at the best of times, NHL players could be described as cocky, arrogant S.O.B.s, and my response showcased just that. “Hey, I know what I’m doing, and Evie’s not going to—”

Teddy stepped closer and pinned my lips between his index finger and thumb. “You don’t. And she will.” He slapped my cheek and stole a bite of my banana. “Was she worth it, at least?” he asked between chews.

Polly’s ass shaking as I plundered inside her blurred my vision. Slumping into a bar stool, I sighed as my cheeks burned with blush. “A hundred times over. I really like her, Ted. And even though she threw me out and said she won’t see me again, I think she likes me, too.”

“Ooh. She sounds positively smitten.” He nodded, his eyes full of mischief. “Did she kick you in the arse as you walked out the door? That would have been the clincher.”

“Nope. She wasn’t there. She made me sneak out the back while she went to see Elias.”

“Right. And who, pray tell, is Elias?”

“Some long-lost, hot cousin-friend of the family. Her mom’s been obsessed with them meeting and apparently shipped him in from Greece.”

Teddy cocked his head side to side like an eager beagle. “Uhh. You don’t say. And Polly used the actual words, hot and shipped in?”

“Yep… well, kind of. Her sister Holly—”

“Hold on, Geri. Stop right now, thank you very much,” Ted interrupted, shoving his palm in my face. “Polly’s sister is named Holly?”

“Yep, and it was Holly who barged in when I was naked with a bear on my dick, and said Elias was hot.”

“So, Holly said he was hot. You had a bear on your dick , Polly said he was being shipped in … and he’s her cousin-friend?”

“Right. All except for the bear. He wasn’t on my dick but covering it. It was purple.”

“The dick or the bear?

“The bear.”

“Excellent.” Teddy clapped, then wiped a tear from his cheek. I wasn’t sure if he was laughing at me or crying for me. “This keeps getting better. Please, continue.”

“What?” I asked.

“What what?”

“What’s with the tone and the head wobbling and the questions?”

Pulling out the stool beside mine, Teddy sat and squeezed my thigh. “Did you know I have an incredible sex sensing ability, Luca? It’s kinda like GAYDAR, I guess, but it applies to straights as well as us queers.”

“Oh, like a sick sense.” I nodded.

“I think you mean sixth sense, but yes. That’s exactly what I mean. It’s quite uncanny and applies to not only the sex acts themselves, but to the actions that lead up to the sex. Now, whenever I hear someone described as ‘hot’ by a sister, with non-specific relationship statuses and the words ‘yours’ and ‘shipped in,’ my sensors go nuts.”

I nodded like I got it. Then admitted I didn’t. “I’m not following.”

“Right. Okay. Well, here’s the thing. To me, this whole scenario reeks of sex, Luca. And not the you and Polly kind of sex you enjoyed hopefully several times before the bear became involved. What I am referring to is the Polly and hot Elias, kind of sex.”

For several moments I sat and processed Ted’s theory. Dismissed it. Then did it all over again. Then I remembered Holly’s words as she burst into the room. If you don’t get out here soon, I might bang him. “No fucking way.”

“Yup. Polly and Elias may be fucking away by the end of the day if mummy dear has her say.” Ted went for the high five but was dismissed with a punch to the thigh. “Oww!”

“Fuck it, you’re right. I thought she meant I might bang him, but she meant I might bang him.”

“You do know you just said the exact same thing twice, don’t you?”

“Of course I do,” I scoffed, jumping to my feet and pacing. “But the inflection on the I changes the meaning. I might bang him. Like, he’s so cute I could bang him. Or he is so cute I might bang him … draw out the I and you have a foregone conclusion, I might bang him instead of you !”

Teddy’s head lolled from side to side then paused. “Holy shit, you’re right.”

After the disaster that was my wedding day, I swore I would never set foot inside a church again. So certain of that, I would happily have tattooed an oath to such on my forehead. But there I was, sneaking down the aisle of a Greek orthodox church in the middle of a song that never seemed to end. As inconspicuous as a guy my size could be, I shuffled past row after row of annoyed churchgoers until my eyes settled on a lemon chiffon dress and hair that shone like silk. My heart skipped a beat as I took in the prettiest girl in the room, then seized when I noticed the Mediterranean god sitting beside her with his hand on her knee.

On her knee.

In church.

It was disgusting. And soul destroying because I knew then Teddy was right. Elias was here for my princess.

As though she could sense me approaching, Polly looked over her shoulder, her pleasant but fake smile morphing into a frown as I neared. Man was she pissed. From a few feet away I could see her body tremble with rage. Had she been a cartoon character steam would have bellowed from her ears.

My sister shook like that whenever Clara was around. Or whenever I said I was dumb. Maybe this was a bad idea.

With a sharp twitch of her head she nodded toward the door, “Go, please.” before she turned away, eyes misting over, that plastic smile I fucking hated slipping back into place.

Upsetting her was never my intention. I’d rather take a blade to the heart than hurt Polly. A retreat was seconds away but then I noticed Elias’s hand slide further up her thigh, and how she stiffened. My fists clenched at my side. Perhaps she heard the grinding of my teeth as again, she turned, her eyes rolling to find me unmoved, her plump lips mouthing sit before turning back and leaning into Greek Boy. The way she whispered into his ear filled me with a jealous rage, and my molars not long for this world. Lucky we had a team dentist.

My presence began to garner attention, and I could see why. I couldn’t have looked more suspicious if I tried. Darting eyes. Sweat beading on my brow and soaking my armpits by the time I found an empty, partially hidden spot at the rear of church. From there I watched Polly excuse herself and float towards me, her expression as cool as ice despite the rage I knew bubbled below the surface.

“What the hell are you doing here?” Bitterness laced her words as demurely ran her hands over her round ass, smoothing her skirt, before sliding into the pew beside me.

“What the hell am I doing? What the hell are you doing?” I pointed to the blonde who smiled and waved politely. What a jerk. “Who is he, and why is he here?”

Tucking a stray ebony lock behind her ear, she glanced to her parents, then down to her feet. “He’s exactly who I said he was. He’s Elias. My cousin—”

“Cut the bullshit, Princess. I saw his hand. You’re letting another man touch you, and I want to know why.”

Her whole demeanor changed, the fire in her eyes dimming to a smolder. “Not that I owe you an explanation, but Elias is to become my fiancé.”

“Your fiancé?” I coughed and gagged on nothing but disbelief and the once pulsing organ lodged in my throat. “Your fiancé?”

“Yes, Luca.” she snapped, her chin jutting in defiance. “My fiancé. You know what that is, right? It’s a male version of the one that ditched you on your wedding day.”

No, she didn’t!

I grabbed her wrist and pulled her into my side. The scent and feel of her hair brushing against my face hardening my cock and causing a temporary amnesia. Why was I pissed? Elias turned and waved again. Oh, yeah. Him. “You’re sitting in a church with my come still dripping from your pussy, and you’re going to sass me?”

Stunned into silence, Polly sat solemnly, only blinking and breathing for a beat or two. I was almost disappointed. I wanted the fire back. To get under her skin like she was under mine.

I didn’t have to wait long.

“You’re right. It is. I’m soaking wet, Luca. Dripping. But like I told you, I got what I wanted, and we’re done.”

“Yeah, you did, but you also told me you’re a liar, and I think you not wanting me as much as I want you, is the biggest one you’ve ever told. I don’t think you want to marry that Elijah dude either.”

“It’s Elias, and you’re right. I don’t…” she paused, worried her teeth between her lips as to compose herself. “I don’t want to marry him. I have to marry him.”

With the hymn finally finished and the priest calling for prayer, faithful parishioners’ heads dropped, and the church fell silent. Polly’s gaze remained fixed on her parents and her fiancé . But as the silence lingered, she turned to face me, a single tear trickling over her rosy cheek halting the pounding of my foolish heart. The mischief that always shone in her eyes, that I loved, was gone. Replaced with tears of resignation. “Luca, I have caused my family nothing but pain and grief for years. I told Mum I would do this, and I can’t take it back. For once, I have to do what’s right for her.”

“And what about what’s right for you?” I whispered, grasping her wrist. “For me? And us?”

“I don’t deserve what may or may not be right for me, and even if I did, there is no us. You don’t live here, Luca. You’re going home, and I’m getting married, and that’s it.”

“No.”

“Yes,” she snapped, attempting to pull free. “I don’t want you.”

“Liar.” I gripped her tighter, slid her closer, placed our joined hands on her thigh, and slowly slid them over her creamy skin and beneath her dress.

“Luca,” she gasped, her breath hitching as our fingers brushed over the soaked lace of her panties.

“You want me so bad you can’t think, you can’t talk, you can’t breathe. All you can do is want .”

Releasing her hand, I pulled her panties to the side and ghosted my finger over her clit. “What are you doing, Luca? We’re in a fucking church. My parents are right there.”

“Well, you better be quiet then.” She shivered, head to toe and after a brief are you crazy glare, bit her lip to stifle her whimpers and slid further down into her seat, letting her thighs fall open and a breathless, yes , escape. I could have died happy then and there. Seeing her spread out, so desperate for my touch. “Such a good girl.”

Again and again, I circled and teased her, my cock almost exploding as her eyes drifted shut and her head fell into the crook of my neck. “I want to taste you right here,” I whispered, palming myself with my free hand. “ Not falling to my knees and burying my face between your legs is taking every ounce of strength within me.”

“Luca.”

Cheeks flushed. Brows pitched. Lips parted. She looked so stunning as she moaned my name. On looking up, I found Elias’s eyes on me. On her. Hidden behind the congregation dotted with old ladies and resentful youth, there was no way he could see what was happening. But still, in a room full of people praying to the Lord, I was where he foolishly believed he should be. It was me who could smell her arousal. My fingers being drenched. My filthy words bringing her undone. Fuck you, buddy. Polly is mine.

A hum borne of want, alone capable of sending us both directly to hell, shifted my attention back to where it should be. Polly was wrecked, melting into the polished timber her round ass was sliding back and forth over. I shifted my hand lower, slipped two fingers into the prettiest pussy in the world and pumped. “You’re doing so good. Be my good girl and come.” I choked, struggling to maintain my cool. “Right here. Right now.” I pushed deeper, crooked my fingers and hit that spot.

“Save me. Luca, please.” The cryptic moan slipped from her lips as she fell apart, her whole-body convulsing. A few heads to turn our way, but I didn’t care. The only person I cared about was begging for help, sighing my name as her tight, wet cunt squeezed and pulsed around my fingers.

“I’m here, Polly. I’ll always save you. You’re my girl.”

For what felt like an eternity, Polly sat limp beside me, panting with her eyes closed and me still inside her. With everything being spoken in Greek, I couldn’t understand a word of what was being said, but when people began shifting impatiently in their seats, I knew our time was up. Leaving her again was the last thing I wanted, especially with Elias sniffing around. But when he and her parents stood up, I had no choice.

Ducking down as low as I could, I withdrew my fingers, then licked them clean as she watched, sated and smirking. “Meet me tonight,”

“No.” she snapped, pulling her skirt back into place.

“Yes.” I placed a quick kiss on her knee, and then stood. “You can’t say that then then refuse to see me. For once in your life, don’t be a brat and just do what you’re told. Our beach. Tonight. Eight.”