The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(63)

My eyes trail back toward my wife, my heart overflowing with an emotion I can’t quite decipher. It feels like heartache and regret, mixed with a tinge of jealousy. I wish I could’ve made her laugh like that.

I never wondered how much she must’ve missed out on by working for me. I never gave her a chance to have a social life, because she was always on call. She spent her twenties working long hours with me, never once taking a real break. Even her holidays were spent with her family.

I suppose that’s why she quit her job so suddenly. Somehow, I didn’t truly understand it then, but I see it now. It’s in the way she laughs, the way she twirls on the dance floor and leans into my sister. She finally gathered the courage to choose herself, and I clipped her wings the first chance I got.

A chill runs down my spine when I see a man approach my wife. He speaks to the security guard near them, and much to my fucking annoyance, he’s let through. The second his hand wraps around Valentina’s waist, I’m out the door, my blood boiling.

It only took a split-second for me to realize that she knows this guy, and that look in her eyes told me everything I need to know. She may have spent nearly every second with me at work, but she clearly made time for whoever the fuck that dude is. They have history, and I’m going to make sure he stays in the past.

He’s got his hand wrapped around my wife’s wrist as I walk up to them, and I nearly see fucking red. “How about you take your fucking hands off her before you lose them altogether?” I snap, yanking his hand away.

My arm wraps around Valentina’s waist, and I pull her into me. Seconds later, security catches on and escorts the guy she was with away. Valentina’s arms might be wrapped around my neck, but her eyes are on that man’s back as he walks away.

“Valentina,” I growl. “Who the fuck was that?”

She looks back at me, clearly flustered and no doubt a little drunk. “No one,” she says, before forcing one of those dreadful smiles onto her face. Why is it that I always get these fake smiles, but Sierra and Raven get genuine laughter?

“It didn’t look like nothing.”

She looks up at me with such vulnerability in her eyes as she tightens her grip on me, her body pressed flush against mine. “Luca, it’s fine. It’s nothing,” she reassures me.

“We’re going home,” I tell her before reaching for her and lifting her into my arms.

She gasps and looks around. “What about Sierra and Raven?”

“Ares will take them home,” I tell her as I carry her straight to the car.

Valentina is quiet as the divider between our driver and us rises, giving us some privacy. She glances at me with an expression that makes my jealousy boil over. She looks haunted and heartbroken, and I have no doubt the fucker she was just with is the cause of it. Is he the reason she told me she didn’t want love? Is he the reason she insists on ending our marriage in three years, no matter what?

“Who is he?” I ask, my voice soft. I’ve never seen her look at a man that way. She’s never looked at me that way.

“Luca,” she murmurs as she turns toward me. In one swift move, I pull her onto my lap, her short dress riding up all the way to her hips. She looks at me like I’m all she can see, as though the man that had her looking so heartbroken ceases to exist when I’ve got my arms wrapped around her. I want nothing more than for that to be true, but I know it can’t be.

My hands wrap around her waist, and she inhales shakily as the tips of her fingers trail up my chest. Her fingers glide over the back of my neck as she pulls me in for a kiss, and my resolve wavers. I should pull away and continue questioning her, but she makes me so fucking weak. She’s doing this on purpose, no doubt. It’s a trap, but I’m willing prey.

I groan when I feel her soft tongue brush against mine, her touch slow yet urgent. She tugs at my jacket, and I shrug out of it before sliding my hands up her thighs and underneath her dress.

“Valentina,” I groan. “Answer the fucking question.”

She leans back a little to look at me, the lust in her eyes making way for despondency. She lifts her hand and brushes her fingers over my cheek, a weak smile on her lips. “He’s the reason you’ll never have to worry about me falling in love with you.”

My stomach drops as I tear my gaze away from her, longing and heartache warring for dominance. It never even occurred to me that the heart I pretended not to want was always out of my reach anyway. “Why are you doing this to me?” I whisper. “Why do you drive me fucking crazy at every turn? Do you enjoy seeing me suffer? Is this payback?”

She cups my face, her thumb brushing over my lips for a moment before she leans in and kisses me hungrily, as though she’s trying to erase the words I should’ve left unspoken. It’s so easy to lose myself in her, but if I do, I’ll never recover the parts of me that she’s taking.

I pull her closer and kiss her deeply, taking my time to tease her until I’ve got her writhing in my lap, her hips betraying her desire. “Luca,” she moans against my lips. I’ll never tire of hearing her moan my name. It’s such a fucking rush. Nothing comes close to it.

I can’t be the only one who feels this way. I can’t be the only one falling. “Valentina,” I whisper, needing more of her than she’s willing to give me. “Look at me.”