The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(57)

I just came, and I already need more of her. Three years won’t be nearly enough.





Chapter Thirty-Six





Valentina

Luca carries me to his bedroom, leaving our clothes strewn all over the living room. He’s holding me so tenderly that I can’t help but feel vulnerable. I always knew being with him would be amazing, but that felt like more than just sex. It felt like he truly wanted me. All of me. It felt like an apology for the past and a promise of all that is to come, all at once.

He smiles as he lays me down on his bed before joining me underneath the blankets. Luca pulls me into him wordlessly and caresses my back with one arm while the other pulls my leg up and over his hip. I thought he’d want distance after the way he just took my body, and the intimacy between us surprises me. It makes my heart race and adds to the vulnerability he makes me feel.

I place my hand on his chest and snuggle into him, breathing him in. When was the last time I felt so perfectly satisfied? I don’t think I ever have.

“How do you feel?” he asks, his voice low.

I glance up at him, admiring his strong jaw and that twinkling look in his eyes. “Sore,” I admit. “But in a good way.”

He chuckles and presses a kiss to my forehead, surprising me. I never knew Luca could be so sweet. Is he like this with every woman he takes to bed, or did this feel as special to him as it did for me? I shouldn’t want to be his exception, but I do.

“Your pussy is a fucking delight,” he murmurs. “I’m not sure how I’m ever supposed to get any work done again. How will I ever be able to look at you again, without thinking about the way you feel wrapped around my cock?”

I bury my face in his neck, embarrassed, but that just earns me another chuckle from him. Luca tightens his grip on me and hugs me tightly, eliciting feelings in me I should never experience around him. This is, after all, temporary. If this is what he does to me after one single time, what kind of state will I be in, in three years? I don’t want to get hurt again.

I push away from him a little, but his hold on me doesn’t loosen in the least. “Stay,” he growls. “Stay right here in my arms, where you belong.”

Part of me wants to rebel against him and keep him at a distance, just like I do with everyone else, but he’s always been different. Luca has always been the only one I couldn’t say no to.

My nose brushes over his neck, and I press a soft kiss to his throat, my actions impulsive. It doesn’t feel like he’s mine, yet the man holding me in his arms is undoubtedly my husband. Would it be okay if I stole some moments with him that shouldn’t belong to me? Will I come to regret it when I do? I’m oddly scared, because the kind of happiness I’m feeling right now is always followed by despair that outweighs it. I’m terrified that my mother is right.

Luca buries a hand into my hair and grips tightly, his breathing uneven. Being in his embrace is something I never thought I’d experience, and it scares me how good it feels. If this is how things are between us in private, it won’t be so hard to convince everyone we’re in love, because he’s fooling even me. Perhaps we should’ve done this before we went to my grandmother’s house. Maybe then, my mother wouldn’t have responded the way she did.

“Luca,” I murmur, my lips moving against his skin. “I’m sorry for how rude my mom was to you today. I have no excuse, and I’m honestly a little embarrassed about it.”

He strokes my hair leisurely, the movement soothing. I let my eyes flutter closed as I revel in his touch, allowing myself a moment of the peace he brings me.

“Don’t apologize to me, Valentina. You’re my wife, and we’re in this together, aren’t we?”

His words startle me. I’m so used to being on my own and not having anyone to rely on that truly having him on my side feels foreign. Even as we worked together throughout the years, the atmosphere between us was antagonistic, filled with a hint of mistrust and disdain on both our parts. I was always scared I’d do something that would truly cost me my job, and Luca always felt like he couldn’t blindly trust me because it was his grandmother that employed me. This, right here, is new territory to us.

“You said you value communication, and while it isn’t my forte either, I do agree with you. I want to try harder at it too,” I murmur. “If we’re going to get through the next three years together, then I think it’s important that you understand why my mother is this way. I don’t want you to dislike her or blame her for her frequent harshness. She means well, but she’s just been hurt and disappointed over and over again throughout her life.”

Luca nods, his stubble brushing against my temple. He continues to stroke my hair as I muster up the courage to tell him about my childhood. I’m scared this might change his image of me, but I can’t hide it from him either.

He kisses my forehead and shakes his head. “You don’t have to tell me if you don’t want to. The last thing I want to do is pressure you into telling me something before you’re ready. Right here, right now, you aren’t my secretary, Valentina. You’re my wife. You owe me your future, but not your past.”

I reach for him and trace over the contours of his face with my fingertips. “I think you deserve to know. Maybe… maybe it would help you understand.”