His warm brown eyes are bleak as he looks down at me. "No. My father would never agree to the match. But... you never know, right?"
"Exactly!" I nod firmly, "Nothing's set in stone."
He looks down at me with an expression I can't identify, and his arms wrap around me in a crushing hug. Touched, I squeeze him back. "Guess I shouldn't have done that," he says with a grin, "he really looks pissed off."
"Who?" I turn to look over my shoulder and see Lucca standing by the bar, glaring right at us. "What's he upset about?"
Aleks squeezes me again. "Tell me you're really not that blind, Tati. I'm going to go get a drink before Lucca stabs me."
Watching him walk away from me, I wonder what it's going to take to prove to my friends that Lucca Toscano feels nothing for me.
Hands wrap around my hips in a tight grip and I wince as fingers dig into my skin, yanking me backward. Before I can pull away, someone licks my neck and I yelp, clumsily shoving them away.
"I'm going to let you apologize for all your disrespect with a blowjob," Mateo makes a sleazy flicking gesture with his tongue.
"You're disgusting," I hiss, wiping furiously at the spit with my sleeve. "Don't touch me again, you pig!"
Mateo's unhinged entitlement is extremely creepy. A lot of the guys here probably are like that, but at least they hide it better. His friends are crowding closer, trying to herd me away from the others and it's seamless enough to make me think they've done this before. The music's so loud that I'm not sure anyone will hear me if I start yelling.
A new set of hands pulls me away from Mateo's little circle of predators and against a hard chest. "Give it the fuck up, Costa. She's with me."
It's Lucca, and I sag with relief.
"This is the second time you've come between me and my meat, asshole," Mateo's fists are clenched, though I can tell he's hesitating to come closer, even with his buddies behind him.
"Meat?" I snarl, "Who the hell-"
Lucca moves me behind him so smoothly that I don't realize it until I'm staring at his broad back. "She's not meat, and she's not yours, motherfucker," he said viciously, "if you touch her again, I will beat you into a pulp of broken bones and blood. Are we clear?"
"You're making a big mistake, Toscano." Mateo's grinning, and it's unnatural, showing all his teeth, his skin is stretched tight over his features.
Like a skull, I thought, shuddering.
Dragging me along like I'm luggage, Lucca stalks out of the lighthouse.
Chapter Nine
In which Mariya and Konstantin fight. Tatiana and Lucca do not. Fight, anyway…
Tatiana…
"Wait- Lucca, just-" He's hauling me along the exterior stone wall of the school grounds and I'm tripping over tree branches and rocks. Stubbing my toe, I yelp and dig in my heels. "Stop! What the hell was that?" I almost pitch backward when he abruptly lets go of my wrist.
"Goddamnit! How many times do I have to rescue you?" He's shouting in my face and I really want to punch him in the dick again.
"I didn't ask you to rescue me," I scoffed, "I don't need you-"
"Apparently, you do." Lucca cuts me off, amber eyes blazing, "because every time I turn around, fucking Mateo is all over you! Do you want to get hurt? Is that it?"
"He keeps popping up like a fungus everywhere I go!" I protested, "Believe me, I don't want anything to do with him." Remembering his disgusting tongue on my neck, I shudder and wipe at the spot again.
"He's been following you?"
"If I'm walking alone, he always seems to show up with his little douchebag entourage," I admit, "I try to stay with a group between classes. He's just a creep. He'll get tired of his game and go harass some other poor soul soon."
This just seems to make him angrier. "Has that fucker hurt you? Is that where you got that black eye?"
Laughing, I shake my head. "No, that's from a rifle scope, I wasn't prepared for the recoil, that's all. He hasn't touched me." I try not to shudder again but I do, remembering his slimy mouth. "Not until tonight."
"Mateo is a psychotic asshole from the nastiest family in the Cosa Nostra," he says, rubbing the back of his neck. "No one wants to do business with the Costa Mafia because they're backstabbing pieces of shit, and their main source of income is the Red Trade. He despises women, especially the ones who reject him."
The Red Trade. Human trafficking, women, and children. Specifically for sex work. Even in the world of organized crime, any mafia, bratva, or cartel who traffic these poor souls are the lowest of the low.
"Well, just in case I needed another reason to hate him, that would do it," I said. The autumn wind picks up, rushing around us and sending another scatter of leaves flying from the last few clinging to the trees. Shivering, I pull my sweater down to cover my hands.
"Here," Lucca says crossly, pulling off his leather jacket, "put this on."
“I'm fine.” He ignores me, sliding it over my shoulders. I love this jacket, made from battered brown leather, the best kind that only looks better as it ages. He helps me slide my arms into the sleeves.
"Do you want to go back in?"
Honestly? No. I want to keep walking with Lucca. I want him to talk to me about something other than combat techniques. I miss the night I broke down in front of him because at least for that moment, he was open. When he was emotionally raw, like I was, and he shared part of himself with me.
Lucca absently straightens the collar on the jacket, pulling me closer in the process. “You look good in my jacket,” he says.
“You just said something nice to me,” I grin, “is your head going to explode now?”
“I’ve said nice things to you before!” He looks so offended.
“The phrase, ‘yeah, that move wasn’t pathetic, try again,’ is not exactly sweet talk, Toscano,” I laugh.
His amber eyes narrow and in the moonlight, he looks decisively wolf-like. “What would you like me to say? That you’re much stronger than I thought? That you’re brave, even after they threw you in the deep end? You keep dog-paddling your way out of trouble, and-”
“Did you just compare me to a dog?” I said incredulously.
“No, I-” For the first time, Lucca Toscano looks flustered. “I admire your strength and your courage. It’s safer to focus on those qualities of yours, instead of your eyes. They’re green, like pine trees with golden flecks. Or your gorgeous, pouty mouth.”
“Those are pretty good compliments,” I croak.
His hand slips behind my neck. “I keep vacillating between wanting to spank you, I mean, turn that ass red, or kissing you.”
Why did I just feel like he plugged me into a light socket by mentioning spanking me? Everything below my waist is suddenly tingling and my face is as red as the shade he wanted to slap onto my ass. “Maybe… uh, maybe we could just start with the kissing?” I ask awkwardly.
Lucca Toscano, the man I’ve been sure despises me suddenly smiles, and it’s beautiful. He’s beautiful, with his sharp, high cheekbones and gorgeous mouth. When he leans down to kiss me, I let out an embarrassing little moan but bozhe moy, my god, his lips are so warm.
“Beautiful,” he murmurs, pulling back long enough to cup my cheeks, running his thumbs over my skin before kissing me again. His tongue traces the seam of my lips before slipping inside, and his hand moves into my hair and gripping a handful, pulling my head back and kissing me thoroughly.
Just then we hear the furious bickering from two voices we instantly recognize.
Slipping past a bush and a bit closer, I see Konstantin holding Mariya's arm, pulling her along. "What was that mudak, that fucker doing rubbing up on what is mine?" he shouted at her, "Is this the first time?"