Chapter 39

VEDA

I walked back to Luca's room with him. Not that I had a choice.

Shortly after he tried to—I gingerly touched my neck—fucking strangle me in the workout room, he breathed a deep sigh and helped me to my feet, his hands gentle, yet still trembling with anger as he guided me from the room.

My throat ached and tears dampened my cheeks and my head felt like it was in a fog. I've never had anyone hurt me like that, and I wasn't sure how to process it. As we walked through the house, my eyes darted back and forth, looking for the other guy who'd brought me here, but luckily, he was nowhere to be found. I didn't want anyone to see me like this.

Luca shut the door behind us when we reached his room. "I need a shower," he told me. "And you're getting one, too."

"I don't need a shower." It hurt to talk. My voice sounded like only half of my vocal cords were working, and I wondered if he'd permanently damaged them.

"I don't remember asking you," he said.

For once, I managed to keep my mouth shut. A shower wouldn't be the worst thing in the world. What bothered me about it was that I had to share it with him.

Grabbing some stuff out of the large dresser near the bathroom door, Luca took my hand and pulled me along with him to the bathroom, my hopes for having any semblance of privacy shattered.

Surrounded by three walls of clear glass, there was a walk-in entrance on one end of the shower. It took up most of one wall and was long enough to fit six people inside. Two shower heads and two sets of temperature control levers came out of the wall. A stone bench big enough for two sat below them. Across from the shower was a large white bathtub. An actual fucking chandelier hung above it, and the entire wall behind it was one large window that looked out over the lake. The toilet was in its own room near a dressing table. Thank god for small favors. The marble floors were warm beneath my bare feet.

"Get undressed," he ordered.

"No." The word left my mouth before I could stop it. A jolt of fear shot through me as I waited for his reaction.

But he only clenched his jaw as he stared at me. Stepping into me, he ran his fingers through a few strands of my hair where it fell over my left shoulder. He was so close I could smell the sweat on his hard body and could feel the heat radiating from him. I swayed toward him, inexplicably drawn to that heat. And it was only then I realized how cold I was.

"The water will feel good, Veda."

"Are you going to rape me?" I wouldn't be able to stop him. But somehow, I thought that if I knew what he was about to do I could deal with it. I just needed to know what to expect, was all.

He became very still, and I could feel his gaze, heavy on my face as he searched for something in my expression. "No," he finally said, and I sensed he was somehow affronted. "No. I wouldn't do that."

"So, you only...assault women...with your hands...and not...with your dick." Shut up, Veda! For fuck's sake. He's going to kill you.

But to my surprise, his fingers moved from my hair to my face. Gently, he lifted my chin with one finger. And when I got up the nerve to look at him, there was a twinge of regret darkening his blue eyes. "I reacted before I thought about what I was doing. But if you're waiting for an apology, amore, you'll be waiting a long time. You need to understand who you're dealing with here. I'm not some green boy-child who you can control with a bat of your long eyelashes. I am a grown man. I've lived a hard life. And I'm still alive because I don't let anyone get away with shit like what you just pulled. And you will only stay that way if you learn to control that bitch of a temper of yours."

His hand slid down to the front of my throat and I bit back a wince as he probed the sensitive skin. But honestly, it frightened me more than it hurt.

"Now get undressed," he repeated when he was satisfied with whatever he was doing, his tone cold and hard. Walking around me, he dropped his shorts and boxer briefs to the floor and got into the shower. Turning on the water, he let it run over his hand until steam began to rise, then he adjusted the temperature. "Now, Veda."

I tore my eyes from the sleek lines of his body as he moved under the water and turned around to wet his hair, but not before the image was seared into my mind.

Luca was long and lean, but tall enough and muscular enough to make me feel tiny in comparison. And after seeing him go after that punching bag, I could see why. His back was broad, his ass was tight, and his legs and arms were powerful. There was nothing about this man that wasn't completely masculine.

It was really too bad he was such an asshole.

"Veda."

His tone told me I'd put this off as long as I would be allowed. My eyes shot to the bathroom door. I could make a run for it. I still didn't have my shoes, but it wouldn't be the first time I took my chances with fire ants and cactus. I just had to make it to the road. Or into the lake. I was an excellent swimmer. Then I could find the closest house and beg for help. He had to have neighbors. We weren't that far out of the city.

Attuned to his every movement, I noticed right away when he stopped washing himself. Glancing over my shoulder, I found him watching me, both palms against the glass, steam rising around him, caressing his skin like a lover. "If you think I won't chase you because I'm naked and wet, you're wrong. However, if you still want to run, do it."