chapter 3

Aurora

I’m hot all over and my cheeks are flushed, but I can’t stop staring into Luca’s dark brown eyes. There’s just something so magnetic about them, or maybe I’m seeing things that aren’t there because I’ve never really danced with a guy like this before.

He’s the kind of guy I could only ever dream about meeting—tall, lean, with strong shoulders and muscular, tattooed arms. His short dark brown hair is effortlessly messy, and his smile oozes confidence and a tiny little bit of danger.

He’s probably one of those guys I should run from. A guy who’s used to getting whatever the hell he wants and then leaves you heartbroken in the end. The devil with the face of an angel. But I’m not here to fall in love anyway. I’m here to have fun.

He spins me around and tugs me into his warm embrace, leaving me breathless. His hands lower to my hips, and I can barely focus to make sure I don’t step on his foot.

But Luca doesn’t care about my awkward dance moves. He twirls me around and presses himself against my back. A shot of electricity zaps me as he shifts his hips, rubbing himself against me. Warmth pools between my legs, and I’m glad the music is loud so no one can hear my soft moan.

I don’t know what’s happening to me. Whenever Julia talked about having butterflies in her stomach after meeting a guy, I didn’t believe her. It all sounded so fake and impossible. I thought it was only her way of saying that the guy was really, really good-looking.

But the jittery feeling low inside me is something completely different from what I’ve ever experienced. My need grows every time my body brushes against Luca’s. His hands trail down my body, and a moment later, I find myself face-to-face with him. His full lips are slightly tilted up, his gaze trained on mine.

I could stare into his eyes forever. He tips his head, his mouth only a breath away from mine. My pulse speeds up as my lips part.

He’s going to kiss me. I’ve never kissed anyone before.

Will he notice? Will I be terrible at it? Will it feel good?

A million thoughts fly through my head in what seems like a nanosecond. I take a deep breath and slowly release it.

But Luca pulls away, a smile curving his lips. My cheeks burn as I look away from him. Is it super obvious that I have no clue what I’m doing?

Luca leans in, his mouth grazing my ear. “Would you like to go somewhere more private?”

My breath gets caught in my chest. What does that mean? I wish Julia were right here next to me so I could ask her for clarification.

But I think I know what Luca wants.

Sex.

What else would a guy like him want from a girl? I bite down on my lip. What doIwant? I’m obviously not looking for love or for a relationship. With my family situation, dating is impossible.

It looks like Luca and I are on the same page here.

One night.

One hookup, and that’s it.

We’ll never see each other again.

I want to explore the feelings brewing inside me. I want to know what it feels like to give in to your desires. Who knows if and when I’m ever going to get a chance to do it again? Maybe Luca is the universe’s gift to me, and I don’t want to waste it.

The setup is just perfect. Luca doesn’t know who I am, and we’ll never see each other again. I’ll probably never come to this city or this club ever again. There’s no risk or fear of my family finding out, or at least it’s minimal.

But there’s still one thing that makes me hesitate. I’ve never had sex with anyone, and I don’t want to tell Luca about it either.

Guys like him want experienced girls, not someone like me who’s never seen a naked guy in real life. I absolutely can’t tell him. It would be too embarrassing.

“Okay.” I give him a nod because I don’t want him to leave and move on to someone else either.

I really like him, and I want to feel like a normal human being and live a little for once, no matter what happens next.

I glance in Julia’s direction. She’s dancing with her friends. As if she can feel me watching her, she meets my gaze and gives me a thumbs-up and a wide smile.

I guess I don’t even have to ask her anything. It’s clear what she would do in my situation: go with Luca and have the best time of her life.

Luca takes my hand, and I let him lead me through the dancing crowd. Instead of going for the exit, we head to the back of the club.

A stairway leads up, and there’s a guard in front of it. Luca just waves at him, and the guard lets us through. I was right about Luca. He’s a player and probably operates in this club every night or whenever he wants, so everyone knows him here. He must’ve approached me because I’m new.

We reach a long hallway with plenty of red doors. There’s a number on each door, as if it’s a hotel or something. Luca takes me to the door at the end of the hallway with the number seven on it.

He pulls out a key from the pocket of his jeans. A private room just for him? Yeah, this guy has a reputation, but I don’t care. At least we’re still in the club, and I don’t have to worry something will happen to me.

Luca pushes the door wide open for me. I enter the spacious room. It’s nice and clean. The bed is huge, with black silk covers.

But now that I’m here, my stomach squeezes into an anxious ball and my whole body goes rigid. What am I doing? What if I’m making a mistake?

“If you changed your mind, we can go back to the dance floor.” Luca’s dark eyes study me carefully.

I don’t know him or anything about him, but somehow I can feel that he won’t hurt me. His offer to go back is tempting, despite the fire raging inside me, because there’s a part of me that isn’t brave at all and that worries about everything.

But I can’t let it win. I came here to enjoy myself and live my life, and that’s what I’m going to do. And hopefully, I won’t have to repeat those thoughts in my head a billion times until they become true.

“No, I don’t want to go back. It’s just...” I look around the room, taking a deep breath.

“Do you want something to drink?”

“Um, yeah.” Now that I think about it, my throat is dry.

“Take a seat.” Luca strides to a cabinet and opens it, revealing a minibar. “What would you like?”

I take off my jacket and sit down on the edge of the bed. “Do you have a soda or something?”

“Sure.” He grabs a can of soda and pours some into a glass that’s on the counter.

“Thanks,” I say as he offers me the glass with a small smile on his face.

It’s impossible not to smile back. It’s a shame I’m not just a regular girl who could date and fall in love. Would I always feel jitters of excitement in my stomach whenever Luca looked at me with his intense eyes if he were my boyfriend?

I take a sip of my soda. I’m being delusional again and dreaming about things that can never happen. Luca seems nice, but he’s probably not boyfriend material anyway. Not that it matters to me.

Why the hell can’t I just relax and stop getting stuck in the same train of thought? Maybe it’s because my family always keeps me on edge. I always have to worry about what I’ll say, what I’ll do, how I’ll do it...

It’s exhausting. I just want to be me, even if I’m not sure what exactly that means.

“You’re tense,” Luca says as he takes a seat on the bed next to me, leaving just enough space between us, so he doesn’t touch me.

“No, I’m just... It’s been a long day.”

“Want to talk about it?” He tilts his head, curiosity sparkling in his eyes.

“No.” Even if I want to, I can’t.

“How about a massage then? To get those kinks out of your shoulders?”

I want to ask him if he’s doing all this just to have sex with me, but the answer is probablyyes. Now that he has set his eyes on me and has me in here, he’ll do whatever he can to get what he wants. If he’s annoyed that we’re not already naked, he’s not showing it.

Or maybe he reallyisjust a nice guy and I’m full of prejudice based on movies and what Julia told me about the hot guys she hooked up with.

“Okay.” I take a gulp of my soda.

Luca gets to his feet and I hand him the glass, which he places back on the cabinet. “Turn your back to me.”

I shift on the bed and he sits down behind me. A jolt of electricity surges through me as he lowers his hands to my shoulders. He caresses and kneads the tightness out of my muscles, and I lean into his touch with a sigh.

He shifts closer, his hands still massaging my shoulders as his lips brush my earlobe. I let out a soft groan of pleasure as his mouth closes around my earlobe. He gently sucks and nips as his hands lower down my body, and shivers of delight spread through me.

“You’re beautiful. You know that, right?” he whispers into my ear.

I turn around in his embrace, my cheeks again heating up because no one has ever said that to me before. Well, except for Julia. But a guy has never done it. Not that I’ve seen or met many guys.

Luca stares deep into my eyes and places his hand on my cheek. I let him kiss me. His mouth presses against mine, gently at first, but then he deepens the kiss.

His tongue searches for mine, his hand burying into my hair. His mouth is demanding and rough against mine, but I like it.

No. Iloveit.

For the first time ever, I no longer worry about anything. I don’t think about everything that could go wrong. I just let go.

Luca keeps kissing me, his hands roaming my body and sliding under my top, which only ignites more fire inside me. I close my eyes as he cups my breast and his mouth moves down my neck, leaving a path of hot kisses.

My insides tingle with a need so strong that I can barely think, and I kick off my shoes. Luca pulls my top over my head and lays me down on the bed. I open my eyes to look at him as he gets on top of me. He yanks his shirt over his head, exposing his perfect abs.

I place my hand on his strong chest, trailing my fingers over his tattoos. He has so many of them, and they’re beautiful. My fingers run over a rugged scar hidden beneath one of the tattoos, and Luca catches my hand, pinning it above my head.

I spot more scars under his tattoos and catch a glimpse of more on his wrist, but I don’t have time to think about how he might have gotten them. He captures my mouth with his as he tugs at my skirt.

I moan as his hand lowers to my thigh. How is it possible to feel like this with a complete stranger? My panties are already wet, and I just want him to keep touching me. To keep kissing me.

He catches my bra and twists it, exposing my breasts. In any other circumstances, I’d feel embarrassed. A guy has never seen me naked before. But now I just don’t care.

Luca lowers his lips to my breast, closing his mouth around my nipple. My breath leaves me in little gasps as he sucks on my hard bud, his tongue and teeth grazing and teasing my sensitive flesh.

He pinches my other nipple with his fingers, and I’m lost in all the new sensations coursing through my body. Luca keeps toying with my breasts as his hand travels up my thigh, pushing my skirt up.

I spread my legs wider and buck my hips as he rubs me through my panties. He lowers himself down my body and his fingers hook into the waistband of my panties.

My gaze meets Luca’s, and a wicked smile crosses his lips as he tugs so hard on my panties that the soft material rips. A gasp escapes my throat as Luca’s fingers dig into my thighs, shoving my legs wide open.

I’m completely exposed to him, and I’m so turned on it takes all my willpower not to beg him to just take me already and relieve the pressure pooling inside me.

Luca buries his head between my legs, his tongue spreading my folds. I let out a loud moan as I throw my head back, my hips arching toward Luca’s hungry mouth.

I’ve never thought it possible to feel this much pleasure and desire, but now it’s all I know. My body hums with energy as Luca’s tongue plays with my clit. I writhe as his tongue swirls and flicks in just the right place.

I’m so close to the edge that all I need is one tiny push, but Luca pulls away from me. A strangled groan of disappointment squeezes past my lips.

Luca quickly gets up and yanks his jeans and underwear down. My eyes widen at the sight of his thick length. He’s so big. I don’t know if I’ll be able to take him, but my arousal only grows stronger.

He grabs a condom from the drawer of the nightstand and quickly rolls it on. “Missing me already?” He flashes me a big smile.

“Yeah,” I say softly as he climbs back on the bed.

He presses his lips against mine and positions himself between my legs. I’m relaxed and insanely aroused, but when the tip of him pushes against my opening, I tense.

Luca’s gaze is on mine as he slowly slips inside me. I groan as he stretches me, and there’s a twinge of pain as he fills me.

He freezes, his brow furrowing. “Are you okay?”

“Yeah. It’s just... It’s been a while since I...” I lie. “I’m fine.”

Something flashes through his eyes, but I’m not sure what it is. Can he tell that he’s my first? Does he know I’m lying?

He moves slowly, giving me plenty of time to adjust to the feeling of having him inside me. His gaze doesn’t leave mine as if he’s watching my every reaction.

He rocks his hips, and a moan steals its way out of my throat. It feels good. Different from what I expected. Better.

Luca’s thrusts gain speed, and the bubble of pleasure inside me fills and fills until I can’t take it anymore. My release rolls through me like a wave, and my whole body tingles and throbs with it. I’m as light as a feather, with no worries or anxieties.

Luca groans, pushing in and out of me one more time. I reach out for him, and he lets me pull him closer. My lips find his. We’ll never see each other again, and I want to treasure this one last kiss forever.

He gives me a smile and pushes himself up. I glance at the alarm clock on the nightstand and my heart leaps into my throat.

Oh no! It’s getting really late, and I haven’t even noticed how much time has passed. I quickly hop to my feet, a little unsteady and sore as I slip on my shoes. Luca watches me as I collect my things.

I’m still too happy and content to care about anything, so I’m not embarrassed as I fix my bra, pull on my top, and tug my skirt down. My panties are ruined, and there’s nothing I can do about that. I’m just glad my skirt isn’t as short as Julia made it to be because I don’t know how I’d dare to go anywhere otherwise.

It’s weird not to wear any underwear. I need to find a bathroom quickly and make sure I don’t look like a complete mess.

As I’m about to head to the door, I glance at Luca, who is still studying me with amusement dancing in his eyes. Girls don’t run from him often, do they? But I’m not a regular girl, even if he made me feel like one for a bit.

“Um, thanks,” I blurt out. “Bye!”

I dash for the door before he can see my reddening face.

Thanks?

Really?

Ugh!

“Where’s the rush? Is your carriage going to turn into a pumpkin?” Luca teases.

Something like that, but he can’t know about it.

A smile spreads across my lips as I race out into the hallway. I almost run into a young couple on my way downstairs.

“There you are!” Julia catches my hand, her worried face turning into a smirk as she looks me up and down. “Oh, my god! Did you—?”

My only answer is a huge grin.

For a little while longer, I can keep pretending I’m a regular girl.