The Temporary Wife: Luca and Valentina's Story(73)

“Like this?” he asks, holding me at a slight angle.

I gasp and suppress a moan. “L-Luca,” I whisper. He knows exactly what he’s doing to me when he takes me at that angle, and the way he smirks tells me he’s loving every second of watching me unravel. “I can’t,” I groan. “It’s too much.” It feels too deep, and the way he’s moving inside me is driving me insane. With every thrust, he’s pushing up against me the way I like it, and he knows it.

“You can,” he promises me. “You can take it, baby.”

He tightens his grip on me and bites down on his lip as he increases the pace. I can’t handle it when he looks at me that way. “I’m… I can’t…”

“Then come for me, wife. Treat me to my favorite sight, Valentina.” He turns us around and pushes me against the wall harshly, his cock slamming all the way into me right as my muscles contract around him. His hand wraps around my lips, drowning out my moans as he takes me over the edge.

“Fuck,” he groans, his forehead dropping to mine, his breathing ragged. “I’ll never get enough of you. I’ll still want you this way when we’re gray and old.”

My eyes widen, and he chuckles as he replaces his hand with his lips, kissing me slowly. “I can’t get enough of you either,” I admit, my heart racing. Could he… could he really be thinking of a future with me outside of our contract? I haven’t even allowed myself to consider it.

“Val?” The sound of my mother’s voice near my door has me pushing against Luca roughly, my eyes wide with panic. He lowers me to the floor instantly and my hands run down my body in a rush, making sure everything is covered and neat. Luca’s movements are equally quick, and it only takes him a second to pull up his jeans and take several steps away from me, an innocent expression on his face by the time my mother walks in.

She frowns and glances between us, her brows raised. I’m standing further away from Luca than is natural, and I have no doubt my cheeks are crimson. There’s no doubt that we look suspicious, and all of a sudden, I feel like a naughty teenager.

“Come downstairs,” she says, her voice clipped. “Abuela is awake now. She wants to see you.”

I nod, and she walks out, clearly displeased with us. “You don’t think she realized, right?” I ask, thoroughly embarrassed. I needed this moment with him, but it couldn’t have come at a worse time.

Luca laughs and shakes his head, his eyes twinkling. He walks toward me with a look in his eyes that has my heart racing all over again, and I take a step back.

“Oh, she knows,” he says, his arm wrapping around my waist. “But we’re married, baby. It’s fine. Let’s go greet your grandma before I truly get thrown out of this house.” He kisses me, his touch lingering for a moment before he pulls back, his forehead pressed against mine. I want us to be like this all the time. I’m not sure what caused the recent distance between us, but I’ll do anything to erase it.





Chapter Forty-Five





Valentina

I sneak a look at Luca as Abuela tells him how naughty I was as a child, the feeling bittersweet.

“Look at this,” she says, showing him an old photo album. “She loved that doll so much that she’d cry if you tried to take it from her. I think she loved that doll more than she loved me.”

Abuela seems to be doing well, and I owe it all to him. He ensured that she has round the clock care, and he even had a team come in to assess whether anything in the house could be dangerous to her. It looks like they cleared out a lot and created a lot more space, without taking away anything Abuela loves. They ensured that her home remained comfortable and recognizable for her, and I couldn’t be more grateful for it.

“Val,” my mother murmurs as she sits down next to me on the sofa, her eyes on Luca. He’s lost in conversation with Abuela, treating her with endless patience and kindness. I wasn’t sure what to expect, but I shouldn’t have worried. He’s treating my family the way he treats his own, and he doesn’t look uncomfortable at all. “Tell me,” Mom says, her voice soft. “Are you happy?”

I tear my eyes off Luca to look at her, surprised she’d ask me that. I don’t recall the last time she was even remotely concerned about my happiness. Perhaps this is the kind of question a daughter should expect from her mother, but that isn’t the case for me. I glance back at Luca for a moment, the edges of my lips turning up. “Yeah,” I whisper. “I’m very happy.”

She follows my gaze and sighs. “I hope I was wrong,” she says, her voice so soft I nearly miss it.

I instinctively tense, worried she’ll start talking about my dad and the way he wronged her. I don’t want Luca to hear, especially now that he knows who my father is. Maybe it’s silly, but I want to maintain the fa?ade I crafted. It isn’t often that we’re having a pleasant evening together like this, and for just tonight, I want to delude myself into believing that I’m just a girl, happily married and surrounded by her loving family.

“Just be careful,” she adds. “End of the day, all men are the same. They only want one thing. Things might be good and fun now, but the shine will wear off. Your father was the same. I’m very worried about you, Val. I never wanted you to marry him. Marriage should be between two equals, after all. I don’t want you to get hurt.”