I've seen and heard a lot of things.
Her words ricocheted around my head. Maybe I was going about this whole spying thing all wrong. But my thoughts were interrupted by Luca's return. He strode into the kitchen looking like he was ready to attend a party on a yacht in cocoa brown shorts with big pockets that came to his knees and a white, long-sleeved, pullover shirt made of some thin material you could practically see through. The sleeves were rolled up over his powerful forearms and it was split open from his neck to the tops of his hard abs. On his feet were slip-on sneakers, much like the ones I was wearing, only in brown. The muscles in his arms and back were visible through his shirt as he bent down and picked up the cooler from the floor. "Are you ready?" he asked me.
I had to swallow past my dry throat before I could respond. "Yeah, I'm ready." I hopped off my stool and gave Lisa an awkward wave, then picked up the bag that contained the plates, silverware, and sunblock.
"Be safe," she called after us as I followed Luca out of the room.
Enzo, dressed in light blue board shorts and a black T-shirt, was waiting for us outside, sunglasses firmly in place. As soon as he saw us, he strode forward and took the bag from my hands, taking it to the open back of the SUV. Luca hefted the cooler inside as I got into the backseat and pulled on my seatbelt. "I didn't know Enzo was coming," I told Luca when he got in beside me.
"It's not a good idea to go anywhere on your own when you're in the business I'm in," was the answer he gave me.
"Of course. I just wasn't thinking. I like Enzo." Giving him what I hoped was a carefree smile, I turned to look out the window as Enzo took us down the driveway. But I could feel his eyes on me all the same.
"What's wrong, Veda?"
I opened my mouth to tell him nothing was wrong, but remembering his reaction the last time I did that, I closed it again and shrugged. "I think I've just been in the house too long." As soon as the words were out of my mouth, I winced internally. I wasn't looking to start a fight with him. Not today.
But his response took me by surprise. "I'm sorry. I'll try to arrange it so you can get outside more. And if I don't, and you start feeling too trapped, just give me a reminder. Preferably with your words and not your temper."
My eyes flew to his face, only to find him staring back at me with a teasing smile. Holy Christ, he was a devastating man when he put his mind to it. I blinked a few times, completely forgetting what we'd just been talking about for a few seconds. "No," I said. "I didn't mean it like that."
"But," he paused to make sure he had my attention, "I will not do anything or go anywhere that will put you in danger. Is that understood?" Reaching across the backseat, he took my hand. His thumb gently stroked my knuckles, and I flashed back to the way he'd brushed my clit just like that while I was tied to a chair. My face grew heated, and my inner muscles squeezed tight. I couldn't take my eyes from him.
His blue eyes fell to my mouth, then fell to my breasts, watching them rise and fall with each quick breath as if he knew exactly what I was thinking about. His lips parted and his tongue darted out to wet his bottom lip. And the whole time, his thumb stroked my knuckles.
Enzo's phone buzzed on the seat beside him, reminding me we weren't alone, and I dragged my eyes from Luca as I cleared my throat and looked out the window, forcing those memories out of my head. "Where are we going?"
Luca's voice was low and husky when he answered. "There's a marina a mile from the house. The boat is there."
"But wouldn't that make it hard to escape by water if you needed to?"
Enzo chuckled, and Luca sent him a side-eyed look before answering me. "There are alternate ways to get here if needed."
"Oh." I imagined a narrow path cut into the side of the cliff behind his house where you'd have to hug the rocks, like in the movies, to avoid falling into the lake and possibly smashing your head open on the way.
A few minutes later, we pulled into the marina. Enzo parked the car and picked up his phone while we waited. I knew by now not to just hop out of the vehicle unless we were back at the house.
"All good," Enzo told us after a moment.
"Let's go," Luca said, pulling me by the hand to his side of the car. I slid along the seat and waited for him to get out and scan the area along with Enzo before I took his hand and let him help me out.
A wave of Texas heat hit me, followed by a nice breeze off the water. I put my hand up to shield my eyes from the sun as I looked around. "Wow," I said aloud. There were more boats here than I'd ever seen in one place. Some bigger than other, but every single one of them probably cost a year's worth of rent.
"We're over here."
Luca took my hand and led me down the dock to the left, stopping at something that could only be described as a small yacht. It had to be at least forty feet long and sat high in the water with a covered cockpit. That was about as much as I knew about boats, but it looked as luxurious as they come and I grinned with excitement when Luca jumped on board and held out his hand to me, helping me on before he took the cooler from Enzo. I stood to the side on the back platform as Enzo joined us.
However, my joy was cut short when I started to follow Luca down into the cabin. There, on the white leather benches on either side of a long wooden table, were five more of Luca's men, including Tristan and the one who'd threatened me at my apartment. I froze in the doorway as they all looked at me. "Um, I'm just gonna stay out here," I told Enzo. Quickly, before anyone could say anything, I went back outside and followed the walkway to the front of the boat, where I found more seating around a sunken, square table. Taking a seat, I tried to think of a way to get out of this. I could claim I'd totally forgotten I get seasick. Or I just could say I wasn't feeling good and maybe Enzo would drive me back to the house.
Why the hell did he need so many of his men here, anyway?
"You should put on some sunblock if you're going to be sitting out here in the sun." Luca sat down beside me and handed me a pair of sunglasses, which I took gratefully, hoping they'd hide the fear tearing through me. Then he opened the tube of sunblock, squeezing some in his hand before setting it on the table. "Take off your cover up and turn around," he ordered. "I'll get your back."
But I held up my hand to stop him. "Oh, that's okay. I'm not taking it off."
He was silent for a moment. "Then I'll get the back of your neck."
His tone brooked no argument, so I did as he asked and turned my back to him, pulling my braids out of his way as he began to slather me with sunblock. His strong hand massaged my neck, relieving the tension there. "What's wrong?" he asked. "And don't fucking tell me nothing."
"I just wasn't expecting so many people," I said. "Actually, I'm not feeling very well. I think I'd rather just go back to the house. I was thinking maybe Enzo could drive me?"
The engine rumbled behind us, and my head snapped up. I needed to get off this boat. I stood up with an, "I'm sorry," and turned to leave, hoping I could jump off before we went anywhere.
But Luca grabbed my hand and pulled me down onto his lap. His arms wrapped around me like two steel bands, holding me there.
"Luca, please. Let me up. I want to get off the boat." Panic surged through me. I couldn't stay here.
"Veda, stop," he barked when I continued to struggle.
The breeze changed direction, and I realized too late that we were already moving. My heart began to pound. "Luca, please. Let me get off." I tried again to get up and got nowhere. It was like trying to struggle my way off of a ride once the bars have locked into place to hold you in. Despite the fresh air, I couldn't breathe, and I stopped struggling as I concentrated on getting air into my lungs.
"Veda." Changing tactics, Luca cupped the right side of my face in his palm and forced me to look at him, his other arm still wrapped around my waist. "Amore, what's wrong?" he asked, his tone gentle and his brows lowered with concern. "You were so excited before we got here." When I didn't answer, because I couldn't, he sighed. "I'm meeting someone on the water. That's why I need my men here. It won't take long, but I can't risk my safety. Or yours."
"I thought it was just going to be us." God, I sounded like a whiny teenager. "I'm just not comfortable…god." I pulled my face away from his hand and covered my face. We were out past the buoys now and picking up speed. Maybe if I just stayed where I was, he would stay inside the cabin. The boat was large, but it wasn't that big. The chances of him cornering me by myself here were slim to none. Luca was here with me. And he would have to be there with him whenever they had their meeting.
"Veda, look at me."
Reluctantly, I met his eyes.
He took off his sunglasses, squinting in the sun, and then mine, waiting until my eyes had adjusted to the brightness. "I don't know what's going on with you right now, but I won't let anything happen to you. You have to trust me." He picked up one of my braids and ran it through his fingers. "I should've told you ahead of time that I was mixing business with pleasure, and I apologize. I promise it won't take more than fifteen minutes. Twenty tops. And then we can enjoy our dinner and watch the sunset. All right?"
"All right," I agreed, because really, what choice did I have? I tried to give him a smile, but I could tell he wasn't fooled.
However, after studying me for a moment longer. He wrapped his hand around the back of my neck and pulled me in for a kiss, his mouth gentle and demanding all at once. I let him in, letting his tongue sweep in to taste me as his free hand slid down to possessively cup my ass. When all I could think about was straddling his hips and taking him deep inside of me, he stopped, nipping at my bottom lip before he let me go completely. "How about some wine?" he asked.
"Okay," I whispered, then nodded when I realized he couldn't hear me over the wind.
"Okay," he repeated. With one more kiss, he slid me off his lap and onto the seat, then got up and went to go get our wine, walking more steadily on the water than I did on land.
After he'd left, I picked up my sunglasses where he'd left them on the seat and wiped my eyes before putting them on. I tried hard to get a grip on myself, to forget about Luca's men inside-probably armed to the teeth beneath their lake clothes-and enjoy the sense of freedom that came with speeding across the top of the lake.