The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(11)

He smiles as I struggle to hold on and shakes his head. “Come for me, baby. I’m right here to catch you. Just let it happen.”

I can’t remember the last time a man was able to bring me such pleasure. It requires too much trust, and I don’t have a lot of it left to give. “Please,” I whisper.

His touch becomes rougher, and my moans turn more wanton. He makes me unable to recognize myself as he pushes me over the edge. “Luca,” I moan as my muscles tighten around his fingers, pleasure rushing through my body in a way it never has before.

He smirks, and then he leans in to kiss me, his touch gentler now. He kisses me so sweetly and leisurely that my heart can’t help but skip a beat. My hands run over his chest and up, until I’ve got my arms wrapped around his neck, the tips of my fingers at his nape. I pull him closer, desperate for more, but he pulls away, the smile melting off his face.

“The next time you want this, you come to me,” he tells me, his expression hardening. “Stay away from Joshua. He’s not for you.”

I blink in confusion as he lowers me to the floor and cages me in, his forearms on either side of my head. I look into his eyes, my racing heart beating in a different rhythm than before. “What are you… what are you talking about, Luca?”

He smiles humorlessly and brushes my hair out of my face, his gaze cold. “If you want to become some rich guy’s mistress, then do it in your own time. Do not use my network for personal gain, especially not at an event like this. It’s fucking embarrassing to see you flirt with him so blatantly, when you’re here representing me. Do I really need to remind you of the contract you signed? If I ever catch you behaving this way again, I’ll fire you. Not even my grandmother will be able to save you.”

My heart sinks, and I look away to hide the sudden pain his words inflict. It’s rare for Luca to render me speechless, yet that’s exactly what he’s done. Everything that happened between us just now… what was that? Did he touch me just because of Joshua?

Luca glares at me and closes the distance between us, his eyes on mine. “Tell me, Valentina. Are you tired of working? You’re just like all the women around me, huh? The very same ones you were supposed to shield me from today.”

I look up at him, my pain slowly morphing into anger. “Are you seriously calling me a gold digger? Because I danced with someone? You truly have lost your mind, haven’t you?”

“You call that dancing?” he snaps. “His hands were all over your body, and you seemed to be enjoying every second of it. He’s one of our biggest competitors, and you know it. Do you really think he approached you for a simple dance? Or did you know that’s not all he wanted? How far were you going to take it? How much would you have given him? Had it been Joshua that led you out here, would you have kissed him the way you kissed me?”

I stare at him, my heart sinking. I truly am nothing but a possession to him, a toy he doesn’t want to share. He has no real interest in me, other than wanting to prevent me from falling into anyone else’s hands.

“Is that why you touched me the way you did?” I ask, my voice soft. “Because you thought I’d walk out of the reception venue with Joshua instead? Because you thought he’d be able to seduce me, and I’d leak corporate secrets?”

We’ve worked together for years, and I’ve had countless opportunities to betray him, most of them lucrative to a point I’d never have to work another day in my life. Throughout it all, I remained loyal and stayed by his side, because even if he didn’t seem to like me, he seemed to respect my work and treated me fairly. I thought we’d developed a mutual level of understanding of each other, but I couldn’t have been more wrong.

Luca looks away, and his silence speaks volumes. He still truly doesn’t trust me. I run a hand through my hair and take a calming breath before pasting a smile onto my face.

“It looks like you misunderstood, Luca. I’m not sure what I could do or say to make you believe otherwise, but quite frankly, I’m tired of having to prove myself to you. I genuinely thought you knew me better than this.”

I push against his chest, and he takes a step away from me, his expression unreadable. “But you don’t, do you? Eight years, and you still don’t know me at all.”

I turn and walk away, my eyes filling with tears that I refuse to spill. How could I have thought that Luca Windsor wanted me, for even a single second? I should’ve known better.





Chapter Eight





Luca

Valentina isn’t at her desk when I walk into the office, and I check my pocket watch, my head throbbing. It’s nine in the morning, so she’s likely in a meeting by now.

I run a hand through my hair, the weekend’s events running through my mind. I fucked up. I never should’ve said any of that shit to her, and I certainly shouldn’t have touched her. I’m neither impulsive nor emotional yet seeing her with Joshua pissed me off beyond reason. I wasn’t thinking clearly at all. All I could think about was making her mine before he ever even had a chance with her. It was irrational and so unlike me that even I can’t figure out why I acted that way.

True remorse fucking guts me when I see the pink sticky note on my desk, two tablets on top of it and a glass of water beside it. For your inevitable hangover, it reads. How did she know? I haven’t spoken to her since the wedding, so how did she know that Lex, Dion, Zane and I were out drinking all weekend? I suppose she knew that’s what we would’ve done, since Dion isn’t in town often. She knows me better than anyone else, and it fucking kills me.