Chapter 76 HER SISTER’S PLACE.
~~~LUCIANO MORETTI.
I sat at the dining table, staring at the untouched plate in front of me, but my mind was miles away, tangled up in the morning that had changed everything.
Making love to Raina… fuck, it wasn't just sex. It was raw, intense, and it was like nothing I had ever known. Her body under mine, and the way she gasped and clenched around my cock, pulling me deeper with every thrust.
I'd fucked plenty of women before, taken what I wanted without a second thought, but none left me this sated, and this obsessed. It was perfect, words failing to capture how she made my blood roar, and how her moans echoed in my head even now. After we had collapsed, spent and slick with sweat, I had passed out beside her, both of us naked on the sheets. I woke about an hour before she did, my body heavy but alive in a way I hadn't felt in years.
I hated admitting it, even to myself, but I lay there for minutes, just watching her sleep. Her face was soft, her lips were parted, and her chest kept rising and falling steadily. She looked peaceful, and mine in that moment, and it stirred something dark and possessive in me.
As a man of my person who has control over everything, my men, my empire, my enemies, but this? This pull toward her was a crack in my armor, and it was tight, unyielding, and demanding that I claim her fully.
I had checked on her every ten minutes after slipping out of bed, hovering like some fool, until I finally walked in and found her awake, clutching that duvet like it could shield her from me.
Her words hit hard, 'Don't act like we're close. We only had sex.’
I should've shut that down right then, told her it was more, that she was under my skin. But my ego, that damn pride, took over and I threw it back at her, colder, and meaner. ‘It is nothing serious. Who gets hung up on something as flimsy as sex?’
Tch, what an asshole I was. Just sex? That morning was a masterpiece, her pussy gripping me like sin, and her cries begging for more. I craved her body every minute since, and I wanted to pin her down again, fuck her until she admitted it too.
This obsession gnawed at me. I'd been with Irina for ten years, a loveless relationship of convenience, and I'd only ever fucked her for my own release, nothing deeper. But Raina? She unraveled me, and I hated how much I needed it.
The sound of footsteps pulled me from my thoughts. After what felt like an eternity, Raina finally appeared in the doorway, her hair damp from the shower, wearing a simple robe that hugged her curves. I swallowed the lump in my throat, my gaze flicking over her before I could stop it. She didn't meet my eyes, just moved to the far end of the table, pulling out a chair and settling in like I wasn't even there. She dragged the plate of pasta towards herself and started eating, her fork scraping against the dishes.
I stole glances, unable to help it. Her neck caught my eye first, the red mark blooming there from my teeth, a brand I'd left in the heat. Then her cheek, flushed still, and her wrist, faint bruises from where I'd held her down. Pride swelled in my chest, dark and satisfying. Those were my marks, proof she'd been mine, and her body yielding to every one of my demands. But she ignored me, chewing steadily, the silence thick between us.
I couldn't take it anymore. “You misunderstood what you saw with Irina and me,” I said, clearing my throat, voice rougher than I intended.
“I don’t give a fuck about that.” Her response was flat, and her eyes were on her plate, but I caught the edge in her tone.
“Yet, you drank yourself to a stupor,” I shot back, smacking the table lightly with my palm. The hangover had led to this morning, to her walls crumbling under me, but now they were back up, higher than before.
She didn't say a word but just kept eating, and I breathed out, frustration coiling tight in my gut. “I know you don’t believe it, but I’d say this anyway. There is nothing between Irina and me. You know I’d never lie to you.”
She raised her head then, mid-bite, and snorted, a sharp, disbelieving sound that cut deep. Then she went back to her food, like my words were dust.
“Why should that worry me? It’s not like our marriage is exactly a love one. In fact, if you’d like to bring her to our room, on our matrimonial bed, all you have to do is say. I’ll give you the space.”
What an uptight woman. I smacked my lips internally, grabbing a glass of water to steady myself, the cool liquid doing nothing to the heat rising in me. Her words were sharp, pushing me away, but they only made me want to pull her closer, dominate this distance she'd built. Still, my mouth moved before my brain could stop it, cold despite the regret already twisting inside. “Fine. Keep pretending it doesn't matter. But don't come crying to me when you realize how wrong you are about everything.”
I stood abruptly, my chair scraping back, and walked out of the room without another glance. My steps echoed down the hall, but even as I left, regret hit like a gut punch. I'd pushed her further away, when all I wanted was to drag her back to bed, show her with my body what words couldn't.
This pull toward her… It was a weakness I couldn't afford, yet I couldn't shake it. Not with her.
But, I should have.
Not after who her father was.
Not after what he had cost my family.
And certainly not after the role she might be playing by stepping into her sister’s place.