When he took her bottom lip between his teeth and bit down, a noise escaped her throat. It wasn’t a sound of pain, but pleasure, scaring her to her core.
She moved her hand to his chest to try to put some distance between them, but when her palm landed over his heart, she could feel it beating fast and strong. The rhythm matched hers, as if their hearts beat as one.
Instead of pushing him away, she found herself moving her mouth with his, lightly kissing him back, wanting to satiate the part in him that clearly needed her; the darkest parts in him that had been starved. It ignited a small fire deep down inside of her that had been hidden.
The devil’s chains keeping her mind captive began to melt away by the small fire Lucca had ignited, and Chloe’s mind found freedom for the smallest fraction of time, before brand-new chains claimed her mind as his.
The boogieman had successfully claimed her body and mind. Now her soul was the only thing left to steal from the devil. Her soul, however, wasn’t going to be taken as easily.
Swiping his tongue over her lip, he suddenly pulled away. His heavy breathing was just as harsh as hers, revealing it had been hard for him to pull away, and his voice was strained when he told her, “If I don’t stop now, I’ll take you right here.”
She froze, knowing exactly what he meant, as his hardness that was pushed against her belly was now evident. “I-I c-can’t.”
He calmed himself, taking deep breaths. “I know, baby. That’s why I stopped.”
Trusting that he wouldn’t, she relaxed into him again.
She could feel the darkness seeping deeper and deeper, going back to its home inside Lucca. The darkness had been calmed for now.
Looking up into his intense blue-green eyes, she hoped what she had given up had been worth it. “Promise me you won’t hurt Amo, and that you will let him go.”
Lucca moved the hand that was in her hair to her throat, lightly gripping her fragile neck. “Say that you’re mine, darlin’. I want to hear you say the words and mean it.”
It wasn’t the dark voice that commanded her. He wanted her to say the words herself.
“I am yours,” Chloe whispered, giving herself fully over to him … forever.
He leaned down one final time, again taking her bottom lip between his teeth and biting down before pulling back and releasing it. “I hope you know what you just did,” he whispered sinfully before he released her, removing his hand from her throat.
The chains that now captured her mind tightened. I know.
Walking away from her, he had another request. “Pack up all your things.”
“W-Why?” she asked in confusion.
“You’ll see.” The way he said it made her think she didn’t want to find out, but she was more worried about someone else.
“S-So you won’t hurt him?”
He smiled. “Pack up your things, darlin’.”
When the door closed and he was gone, all she could do was hope he wouldn’t hurt Amo.
Alone, she touched her swollen lips. Lucca was right; what did I just do?
She couldn’t believe she had been the one to reach out and touch him, when she was only just learning to accept Lucca’s touch. There hadn’t even been a sting, no wrongness in it. Scariest of all … Chloe had just gotten her first kiss, with the promise it wouldn’t be her last.
She wasn’t the type of girl to dream about her first kiss. How could she when she only ever wanted to never be touched again in her life? Therefore, never had she thought she would get a first kiss, let alone have her first be with Lucca, the boogieman.
Everything that had just happened scared her shitless. She kept repeating the same words in her head, trying to keep her sanity. You had to. You had no choice. You did it to save Amo.
After a while of repeating the words, the lines began to blur. She didn’t know if that was what she truly believed, or if it was what she had led herself to believe.
You had to … You had no choice … You did it to save Amo …
Did she?
Thirty-Two
How Beautiful It Is. How Painful It Can Be.
Flicking his lighter open, Lucca lit the end of his cigarette while staring across his desk at Amo. Neither of them spoke, both simply silently killing the other in their minds as Lucca continued filling the room up with smoke.
“How’d you do it?” Amo was the one to speak first, unable to stand the silence any longer.
Understanding what he was asking, Lucca told him, “I grabbed her before she could get on the plane. Then Sal handled everything else, making it appear like she got on and has been in California.” Taking a long hit, he finished with a smile, “Then she woke up here, where she’s been well taken care of.”