Dreadnought (Nemesis #1)(53)
“T-They’re hideous, aren’t they?” she asked while confessing how she had felt about them ever since first looking at herself in the mirror.
Lucca grabbed her face, forcing her to look at him. “Don’t you ever speak those words again. Do you understand?”
She tried nodding her head in his grip. “Y-Yes.”
Loosening his hold, he moved a finger to her full lips, caressing over the scar he hadn’t yet touched that went an inch above and below her lips. “You and your scars are the most beautiful things I have ever seen.”
Her breathing hitched as he moved his face closer to hers while moving his finger from her lips to position her for the taking.
“Don’t you ever think they’re not,” he whispered, his breath teasing her lips.
She closed her eyes as he pressed his lips against hers.
This kiss was slower than the first and not as demanding. Just him leisurely tasting her bottom lip.
The last time, he had tasted of cool mint. This time, she could still taste the cool mint, but it had a smokiness to it from his cigarette. The two opposite flavors mixed, tasting of fire and ice and making her lips and body tingle.
Lucca biting her bottom lip caused a noise of pleasure to escape her throat, like it had the last time. He smiled against her lips before he smoothed his tongue over the pressure he had caused, soothing it just for a moment before he pulled away.
“I think you like being bit, darlin’.”
A flush appeared on her cheeks as she blushed at his words and her body’s betrayal.
“It’s not a bad thing.” He smiled before placing a light kiss on her lips.
Her belly became warm at the quick kiss. It was sweet, something she wasn’t very used to from the possessive man.
Unconsciously licking her lips, she noticed she still tasted of him—the mint with the hint of smoke. Tasting exactly how he smelled.
That made her ask, “Why did you put your cigarette out when I came in?” She realized then that she hadn’t smelled smoke on him much lately, which surprised her.
“Because I don’t like smoking around you if we’re not outside.”
“It doesn’t bother me,” she told him, not wanting him to not smoke on her account. The smell had strangely never bothered her.
“I know, darlin’, but I don’t want you inhaling it,” he told her, revealing that it had to do with her health and not with the fact she might not like it.
Thinking deeper about it, this was the only room in the house where she could smell smoke.
She clasped her hands together when his hand moved higher up the outside of her thigh. “I-Is this the only room you smoke in?”
His eyes didn’t waiver from her face as she looked down at her hands. “Now it is, yes. I have to be able to smoke while I’m working.”
“Now it is?” she questioned.
“I quit smoking everywhere else in the house once I knew you were coming here.”
“Oh.” Chloe didn’t really know what to think of that. It seemed like he had done a lot of things for her since he had first met her. I don’t think I’ll ever know everything he has done.
“What is it?” he asked, twirling a strand of her hair between his fingers.
“W-When did you start sleeping in Leo’s room?” She had a feeling she knew why, and she also thought she knew when.
He twirled and then un-twirled her strand of hair before he answered with sadness in his voice, “The first time you had your nightmare, it took me too long to get to you. I started sleeping in Leo’s room after that because, no matter how fast I ran, it still took too long to get to you.”
A little piece of Chloe’s heart broke at hearing him say those words. She could feel the pain behind them, like there was more to it than she knew or even could understand.
She wanted him to know something, something that had been hard for her to admit to herself at first.
“Y-You’ve helped ease the nightmares.”
He stopped the motion of twirling her hair as he focused on her eyes. “Is that so?”
“Y-Yes. I’ve noticed that, when you’re around, they seem to go away.”
“I’m happy to hear that, darlin’.” Beginning the motion of twirling her hair again, he asked, “Are you feeling better now?”
She nodded.
Even though a part of her still felt it strange to be held by him, her body and mind felt immensely better being around him. Something about Lucca called to her body. It needed it, craved it, which had only amplified after the horrible nightmare.
“Would you like me to take the day off? I could go make us something to eat, and then we could watch a movie if you wanted.” He paused for a moment. “Or I could call Maria and ask her to come over.”
Smiling up at him, she felt appreciation that he would do that for her, although he was still unhappy with his sister. “That depends. What would you fix me to eat?”
He smiled back, pleased that she was choosing to spend the day with him. “Whatever you want, darlin’.”
She didn’t even have to think about it. “Chocolate pancakes.”
“Then chocolate pancakes it is.”
Getting up from his lap, she saw something gold flash out of the corner of her eye. It had her looking at his desk to see what it was. And when she did, her smiling face slowly changed into a look of fear as she reached out, wanting to see if it was real or if she was imagining it.