Page 92 of Ruined

He nodded slowly.

I took his hand. “It was good for me too, Luca.”

He snorted. “Yeah, I noticed.”

“I’m serious. Last night wasn’t just sex for me.”

Luca wasn’t some guy I could walk away from.

I’d spent weeks brushing it off as something casual. Something I could control. I’d told myself it was his body, the challenge of getting under his skin, the way he met me glare for glare. But every moment with him had chipped away at the lies I told myself.

I couldn’t remember the last time someonefelt like this. Necessary, like air, like I didn’t know how to function without him nearby. It was too late to pull back. No matter how much he fought me, I was going to fall for him. Hell, maybe I already had.

He stepped back, slipping from my grip. He turned away, grabbing his jacket off the chair. He pulled it on like he couldn’t leave fast enough.

“Leaving again?”

“Yeah,” he grunted. “Errands.”

“You’re putting me in a shit position, you know that, right?”

He froze. “What?”

I folded my arms. “You’re supposed to be recovering.”

He rolled his eyes. “I’m healed.”

“Don’t. You’re still not at a hundred percent. You’ve barely been sleeping, you’re sneaking out at all hours, and if Santino finds out I’m fucking you instead of putting you on house arrest, he’s going to lose his shit.”

Luca clenched his jaw and looked away.

“Do you think I want to deal with him breathing down my neck? I don’t need that headache.”

“Then leave,” Luca muttered.

My stomach dipped. “Is that what you want?”

He didn’t respond.

“Say it. If you don’t want me here, fucking say it.”

He shook his head quickly. “No.”

“Then say what you mean.”

His eyes darted to mine. “I don’t want you to leave.”

I huffed a laugh. “You’re tying yourself in knots trying to figure out how to push me away while pulling me back in.”

“I’m not?—”

“You are. I could be anywhere else, but I’m here. You know why? Because I fuckinglikeyou. You might’ve been the one obsessed with me in the beginning, but now I’m obsessed with you. I want to bewithyou. I want us to go out on dates.”

Luca stepped closer. His gaze dropped to my mouth, and then he grabbed my hair. His lips crashed against mine like he wanted to shut me up.

I grabbed his jacket, pulling him closer. His hands swept to my face as he kissed me like he couldn’t stand himself for needing me, but didn’t know how to stop.

Luca pulled back, breathing hard. “I have to go.”