As I entered the lavatories, his eyes lit up as he saw me. Heat pounded throughout my body with nerves.
"I was starting to think you wouldn't come," he laughed nervously.
"W-" I trembled. "Who are you?"
"Do you trust me, Zara?" he asked.
My eyes widened, not knowing what to think of him already knowing my name. He took steps closer to me, closing the gap between us, before taking my hands into his.
When his hands touched mine, electricity shot through my body. My eyes brimmed with tears, as his eyes burned into mine.
I felt exposed…
Vulnerable.
Terrified of these raw feelings coming out on the surface.
And I knew he felt it, too.
"I know you don't know me…" he whispered. "But I want to help you. It breaks my heart watching that fucker walk all over you. Treating you like shit. I haven't been able to stop thinking about you since that night."
My heart thumped against my chest, knowing that this man was probably a mobster just like Marcello, since he managed to find out so much about me…
But this mobster didn't terrify me.
He made me feel safe.
After being introverted my whole life, after living a life of solitude…
He was the only man who had the ability to make me feel this way.
To make me want to spend more time around him.
And it terrified me that he had such an impact on me…
But at the same time, it excited me.
Not knowing where our journey could take us.
I swallowed down a lump in my throat, squeezing his hands tighter, never wanting to let go.
Wanting to stay with him forever.
My chest heaved upwards and downwards.
Needing some answers.
"H – How do you know my name?" I asked.
When in truth, I already knew the answer.
I just wanted to hear it from his own mouth…
For him to be open and honest with me.
To not feel the need to lie about me.
To be himself around me.
He let out a low sigh, before bringing his hand up to stroke my cheek.
"My name is Luca Costello. I'm part of the Cosa Nostra," he said softly. "I was born into it. I've done some things that I'm not proud of. I won't deny it." He trailed off his sentence. "When I saw you that night, I could see the discomfort on your face. I could see that you weren't happy with that man. And when he laid his hands on you… It made my blood boil. I just knew that I had to save you. I couldn't bear the thought of anything bad happening to you, of you being hurt. Of that bastard touching you against your will."
My eyes glistened with tears, as I allowed him to carry on speaking.
"Because I'm in the mafia, I have the power to find out things relatively quickly. And I found out that those bastards were part of The Camorra. They're our biggest rivals. I found out what they did to your father. How they killed him, and took over his business…"
He heaved his chest, and a single tear rolled down my cheek.
He brought his hand up to my face, drying my tears with his thumbs.
"I know how you feel, baby. I know you lost both your parents. I lost both of mine, too. Lost them to the mafia…" He shuddered. "Do I scare you? Does me being in the mafia scare you? Because I would completely understand if it did. I want to help you, but if you don't want anything to do with me afterwards… I won't blame you."
My heart was hammering so hardly against my chest, that it felt like it was going to explode.
"N – no…" I whispered. "You don't scare me. You do the opposite. You make me feel things I've never felt before, and it terrifies me. I've never felt like this about anyone before."
His eyes lit up as I said these words. He pressed his lips to my forehead, as if he was trying to permanently etch this scene into his memory forever. Engrave it into his damn heart.
I continued to tremble.
"You don't understand how grateful I am. I thought all hope was lost. I thought I was going to have to be forced to marry that bastard…" I quivered uncontrollably. "I've been so terrified that he's going to take my virginity…"
Luca's eyes widened as I said this. "Has that bastard laid his hands on you? Has he forced himself on you?"
"N – no…" I whispered, convulsing. "He told me he is going to wait until the wedding takes place for us to consummate our marriage. But he does things that scare me. He makes disgusting comments about me and my body, one time I tried to run away, and he almost raped me… I escaped through the skin of my teeth…"
I bit down on my lip, hard, doing my best not to break down into sobs.
Needing to keep myself together.
"Thank God the bastard hasn't touched you," Luca murmured. "But don't worry. He'll get what's coming to him. I'm not going to spare that motherfucker any mercy for what he's put you through."
My heart warmed, just listening to him being so protective of me, wanting to help me, wanting to care for me, wanting to save me.
"But he's a crazy bastard…" I trembled. "I don't want anything bad to happen to you. You don't know how many people he kills just for so much as looking at him the wrong way. You don't want to get on his bad side…"
"Don't worry about me," Luca reassured me, pulling me into his arms.
I hugged him tighter, feeling at home for the first time since my father's death.
Feeling hope.
Feeling like it wasn't the end of the road yet.
"I can look after myself," he whispered against my hair. "You have no idea what I'm capable of. How I deal with motherfuckers who pull stunts like this. I'm not just going to kill him. I'm going to take out his whole organization."
My eyes widened against his chest, just hoping that he would keep himself safe.
Just hoping that he knew what he was doing.
What he was getting himself into.
"But doesn't that mean…"
"Going to war? Yes. But it's worth it if you make it out free," he murmured. "I know you're a smart girl. I know you have big dreams. I don't want you to have to give up everything because of this bullshit. I'm going to end this nightmare for you, baby. I promise."
I withdrew myself from his body, staring up at his face.
"I'm the Grim fucking Reaper, baby. I'm not going to try and deny it." He let out a low chuckle. "If you ended up with me, it would just be like that damn fairytale. You being the Beauty… And me being the Beast."
I couldn't help but to let out a low giggle. Being around him made me happy. Filled my heart with a contentment that I couldn't explain.
In another world, I never would have bat an eyelid in the direction of a man like Luca Costello. I probably would have married an accountant or a banker, lived a boring life, had a boring family.
But with Luca…
Everything was different.
He excited me.
He wanted me to live my life on edge.
And I couldn't deny…
That I fucking loved this feeling.
"I like the sound of that," I giggled, and he let out a low chuckle, as he brought his face closer to mine.
He moved one of his hands down the side of my hip, while keeping one of his hands on my face. He traced circles on the sides of my body, causing my body to set on fire, and a gasp to escape my mouth.
"Fuck," he groaned. "You're so fucking beautiful. So fucking beautiful…"
The way he stared at me, touched me, as if I was a work of art. Woke up an animalistic side of me that I didn't even know existed.
I wanted him to slam me against the wall, to have his hands running down my body. For him to have his lips all over my neck, as I begged him not to stop.
I wanted him to kiss me.
"You don't realize how sexy you are. That's what's so fucking crazy to me," he growled. "If only you could see yourself the way I see you."
He moved his hand down the arch of my back, running his fingers down my exposed skin on my dress, causing me to let out a moan. Needing to feel his mouth on mine, needing to slide my tongue into his mouth.
Needing him to claim me.
Needing him to possess me.
Make me his.
Mark my damn body.
I put my hand around the nape of his neck, bringing his face down on mine, and he crashed down his mouth on to mine with such an urgency that I felt the wind knock out of my lungs. His hands moved down to my ass, slapping it, hard, as it bounced against his hands, before he picked me up, growling against my mouth, as I wrapped my legs tightly around him, not able to get close enough.
Needing more.
More. More. More.
I continued to kiss him, harder, faster, rougher, deeper.
Not caring where we were.
Not caring about the circumstances.
Not caring that I was ruining my make-up.
Not caring about the repercussions.
Needing to taste the forbidden fruit.
The sweetest fucking sin.
Knowing that now I'd got one taste of him…
I would keep going back for more and more.
I wouldn't be able to live without him…
To see any other man the way I saw him.
He kissed me harder, his rough stubble grazing against my skin. He moved his lips down my neck, causing me to throw my head back in pleasure, as he licked, nibbled and sucked on my sensitive spot.
My body responded to every single touch, like it was made for him.
Like he was the man I'd been waiting for my whole life.
His hands slid up the sides of my dress, squeezing my thighs, moving higher and higher, as he buried his face in between my breasts, and I whimpered and moaned uncontrollably against his touch.
"Fuck," he growled. "You're mine. All mine…"
"I'm yours," I panted, bringing his mouth back up to mine, trembling against him.
But then, from the corner of my eye, I saw something.
I saw something terrible.
My heart pounded against my chest, as I trembled from fear, sweating and convulsing profusely. Slowly moving my face anti-clockwise, as Luca put me down, folding his arms, with a murderous look in his eyes.
As we both came face-to-face with none other than…
Marcello.