Chapter 147

I moan again, hard, as Luca touches me, his hand moving slowly lower, sliding his fingers against the slick skin he finds there. Subtly, moving without even thinking about it, I shift my feet further apart, wanting him to touch me deeper, wanting more.

“Good girl,” Luca murmurs, his voice a purr in my ear. I shift my eyes upwards towards him, my vision hazy, not understanding because – because what’s good – what did I –

But Luca just shakes his head and kisses me again, passing words down our bond. Don’t think, he instructs, his voice a tender purr. Just feel.

And so I do as he says – I give myself over to the sensations as Luca gently strokes me, his fingers nimble as he expertly finds just the precise spot where I want him to press. And then, slowly, he begins to stroke and tease me there, his movements a steady rhythm that builds something in me – a heat, and a need, and a desperate flame that seeks to burn – to destroy everything in its path and wipe everything out with it.

I tear my mouth to the side, unable to handle the intensity of it, his name a breath on my lips. He shifts again then, moving his hand away from that spot, and the building intensity inside of me wanes in a way that makes me gasp in protest, my eyes opening, seeking his, wanting to know why –

Luca just smiles at me, and shakes his head, and shifts his hand lower so that his fingers press at my entrance. His thumb takes their place higher up, turning in slow circles that make me shiver.

But now that I feel him there, at my entrance, his fingers teasing, just barely pressing in – it’s all I want. My hips buck forward on their own, urging him onward, wanting him to feel him fill me. But Luca just pulls back, denying me what I want. I groan, and shiver, and stare up at him, not understanding, my mind absolutely blank with anything but want for him.

My entire body now is tense with wanting it, my knees shaking, because I’m close – I’m so close – and he’s deliberately holding back now. I shake my head at him, not understanding, my panting moans coming with almost every breath.

Luca smiles at me, delicious and wicked, and he drops the hand that’s pinning my wrist to the lockers above me. He wraps that hand in the hair that grows at the base of my neck instead, pulling gently, just enough to make me moan so loud at the intensity of it that I’m not sure the entire gym outside doesn’t hear.

Not that I care. Not that I care about anything right now, except –

“Beg me,” he breathes into my ear, before his tongue licks me, just once, across my earlobe and then down the length of my neck. “Beg me for it, Ariel.”

I resist for just a moment, but then god – fuck – I give in.

“Please,” I groan, eager to obey, eager to give him anything he wants, if he’ll just… “Please, Luca,” I say again, shaking my head, hardly able to bear it.

My mate instantly obeys, turning my head back to his and capturing my mouth with his lips as his hand shifts lower, as two of his fingers press inside of me, as his thumb flicks harder against that point at the crest of me that makes me shiver and gasp. Luca’s fingers pulse once, twice, and then they curl deliciously forward –

The moan that tumbles from my mouth is intense as I spill over, as whatever dam within me breaks and the sensation races through my body. Luca holds me tight, kissing me through it as his fingers continue to curl in that way that shatters me, that sends sparks through my blood, that feels like a living flame consuming me from the inside out. I groan, and shudder, shaking against him as little sobs break from my lips. I barely notice, can barely describe it, but somehow it feels like wind rushes through the room – raising the hair off my sweaty neck, carrying sparks with it.

And then it subsides, and I’m panting, and Luca’s got one arm tight around my back, the other withdrawing from me and slipping around to the back of my leg as I gasp against him, my knees going weak, completely unable to hold myself up anymore.

But Luca’s there, shushing softly to me, holding me tight. He quickly steps back to sit down on the bench and takes me with him, gathering me up into his lap as I go to puddy in his arms, resting my head against him as the feeling echoes through me, pounding and then fading, less and less, until I can breathe again, until I can come back to myself.

And when I do, Luca’s right there, holding me tight.

I tilt my head up, looking into his eyes, and he cups my cheek in his hand, looking seriously down into my face.

“You win,” I murmur, and he bursts into laughter as I tuck my head under his chin, and press my flushed cheek against his chest, and try to catch my breath.

Luca gives me a moment, rocking me back and forth, until I think he can feel me come back to myself more completely. He kisses me softly on the side of the head. “You okay?” he murmurs, curious and a little concerned.

I raise my head to glare at him a little, and then pass all of my emotions down our bond to him so I don’t have to bother putting it all into words. He grins as he feels them – figures out that it felt amazing, and overpowering, and delicious, and wonderful, and scary. All at once.

I just sigh and murmur that I’m fine, shaking my head at the understatement.

Luca tightens his arms around me and, and I can feel his own joy pulsing through him. “Wait till you see what I can do with my tongue,” he murmurs.

My head whips up, my eyes a little wide, because if that wasn’t the full extent of it…

Luca just laughs, and traces the shape of my bottom lip with his thumb, and shakes his head, staring at me like he could never look at me long enough. “You’re so beautiful,” he whispers, making me smile. “And very sexy.”

This just makes me blush, and laugh, and look away from him a little bit, down at the floor, because that I find hard to believe.

“What?” he says, brushing his hand along my jaw and turning my head to look back up at him. “You don’t think so?”

“Luca,” I groan, tucking myself closer to him and looking away, blushing a bit. Because, I mean, I’ve gotten used to the idea that I’m pretty, but sexy!? No, Daphne’s sexy, with her curves and her smirks. But me? I’m just cute at best.

“What?” he protests, laughing again.

But I shake my head, sighing and looking up at him. “I just went to pieces in front of you in under two minutes, and made the most ridiculous assortment of obscene sounds, and you want me to believe I was sexy!?”

“Really sexy obscene sounds,” he murmurs, nudging me playfully with his nose, and I groan and cover my face with his hands. “I’m serious, Ariel!” he says, laughing more and tightening his arms around me, making me listen to him. “I could very happily spend a few happy days laid up in bed with you, making you make those noises.”

“Oh my god,” I moan, laughing a little against his chest, but…not hating the idea. Not at all.

“I am not at all kidding,” he murmurs, but I’m immediately more at ease. Luca, he really does know me – knows what I like, knows what will make me laugh, knows what I need emotionally and, clearly, physically.

I sigh happily, dropping my hands and looking into his eyes, believing him just a little bit. Because, I mean, the emotions that are coming down the bond to me match what he’s saying – he was very turned on by it all. Luca simply nods, smiling at me, and I wind my arms around his neck. “And when do I get a chance to wring some embarrassing sounds out of you?”

“Oh, five to six years,” he murmurs, grinning and giving me a quick kiss, “after I’ve had a chance to lick every inch of you over and over again.” He quickly dips his head then, demonstrating his meaning by giving me a long, languid lick up the length of my neck, making me shudder all over. I laugh, unable to help it, every nerve in my body still tender from what he just did to me. I swat him away, and he complies.

Luca’s face drops into more serious lines as he contemplates me. “I’m sorry,” he says, looking into my eyes. “If that was…too much, with the bet and…pressing you up against the lockers. You’re just very sexy when you’re all worked up, and I have trouble not…stoking the fire.”

“No,” I whisper, tightening my arms around him and pulling him a little closer. “I liked it too. I kind of…” I hesitate, biting my lip.

“What?” he prods, smiling his pleasure.