Merciless Vows by Faith Summers

38

Lucca

The only fucker who we found alive refused to talk to us.

When I emptied my gun in his legs, and he still wouldn’t talk, I knew I wasn’t going to get anything out of him, so I ended him with a bullet to the head like the rest of his friends.

Now I’m back home, and Dr. Ivanov is already here waiting to examine me and check out the damage. He’s my on-call field doctor I have at the ready.

When he sees me, he frowns, and I know then I look like shit.

The bullet got me in the side of my hip. It went straight through the skin. So, while it’s fucking bad, I know it could be worse. I could be either dead or in hospital.

What’s fucking bad is how Jon and I look coming through the door with blood all over us.

Jon just has some on his face and splashes on his neck. I, on the other hand, am covered. My white t-shirt is soaked through with blood, and since I feel weak from the loss, I know I’m pale.

I hate when shit like this happens to me. It reminds me I’m human and not as invincible as I thought.

The doctor ushers me into the living room, but I would have preferred to go to the office or one of the other rooms so as not to draw attention to myself. Aria has never seen me like this, and it’s been a while since Marylin has. I still try to be discreet because I know she worries.

“How long ago did this happen?” Dr. Ivanov asks, ushering me to sit.

“An hour tops, give or take,” Jon answers.

I hear footsteps and voices in the passage. It’s Marylin and Aria.

Shit.They’re going to see me.

Marylin is the first to lay eyes on my condition, and she comes rushing in.

“Lucca, what happened?” Marylin blurts.

Before I can even answer, Aria runs in, fueled with more panic.

“Lucca, my God!” She runs to my side and takes my hand.

“Ladies, please. I need to take care of him. He’s already lost too much blood,” Dr. Ivanov cuts in.

“What happened!” Aria gasps, looking back at me.

I gaze at her beautiful face, and as my vision blurs, images of her flash through my mind.

The first time I saw her, the first time we spoke, the first time we kissed, the first time I saved her, the first time I lied to her.

She shouldn’t know me. We would end if I died.

This would all end if I died.

But what would happen to her?

Who would save her from being caught in her father's web of sins and lies?

I'm not the only enemy he has.

“Marylin, take her away from me,” I order, then close my eyes at the sound of protests.

Their voices fade when I do, and there’s nothing left of my consciousness but silence.

* * *

When I open my eyes again, it’s dark.

And I’m in my bed.

My eyes instinctively dart to the clock on the wall, and I see it’s one in the morning.

The pain inside isn’t so bad, so that means Dr. Ivanov gave me the good stuff to get me back on my feet as quickly as possible. He knows the drill with me.

I draw in a deep breath, and the scent of roses fills me.

Calming and sweet.

Sweet roses like the ones in the courtyard.

The scent tickles my nose, and the soft body next to me gives me the answer of why I’m smelling roses.

I roll onto my side and find Aria asleep next to me.

She’s here.

Seeing her gives me some comfort I shouldn’t allow myself to indulge in.

Wasn’t that the problem from before too?

I was indulging in a girl I shouldn’t have.

Yesterday was a close call. Too close for comfort, and it’s clear I have more to worry about.

I wish I’d been able to identify who sent the bikers. Not knowing means I’m flying blind.

All I know is the bikers were Italian. That, however, doesn’t give me any real clues to differentiate between who I already suspect.

When I move to sit up, Aria stirs and turns to face me.

She sits up too when she sees I’m awake. “You’re awake. How are you feeling?”

I stare back at her, wondering how to answer that. “Like shit, Printsessa.”

She switches on the bedside lamp, then slides off the bed and walks over to the desk in the far corner. I see now there’s a jug of water and a big bottle of pills.

She reaches for a glass, pours some water in it, then makes her way back to me with it and the bottle of pills.

“The doctor said you should take this for the pain,” she says. “One every six hours until the pain stops.”

“Thanks.” I take both from her, pop a pill in my mouth and wash it down by drinking the whole glass of water.

The pills are morphine. They’re strong, and they work. The only thing I hate about them is they make me drowsy. Three will do the trick, no more than that. That means I might be out of action today.

If I take today as downtime, then I can get back out on the street. Alexei can handle the garage while Jon can accompany me in my hunt. Raphael will be my first stop. Then I’m continuing the search for Ivy. I need to step things up.

The wedding is in four days. I want things sorted out by then in every sense. I don’t want to worry about any of this when there’s bigger fish to fry with the bigger picture. I need to save my strength for that. Only fuck knows what will happen when Gibbs finds this cartel guy. That’s what I need to be ready for.

Aria watches me with worried eyes. Her gaze drops to the bandage going around my waist, and I try to imagine what happened after I passed out.

I guess it had to be Jon and Dr. Ivanov who brought me up here.

I hate that she saw me weak and this shift of power. And there’s that other thing between us that’s shifted too in just a matter of days.

Jon was right. I more than like her, and I’m starting to show myself.

“Do you need anything else?” she asks.

“No. I’m good. Are you okay?”

“Me? I’m fine.” She raises her shoulders and smirks. I know that face isn’t telling me everything, though. Only that she’s not physically hurt at the moment. I sense she’s keeping something from me. “The doctor said you should go to the hospital once you wake up.”

I laugh, and she narrows her eyes at me. “Aren’t you going to listen to him?”

“No, he’s always saying that.”

“But you were shot.” Her brows raise.

“Don’t worry your pretty little head, Printsessa. I’m used to it. You’re in my world, remember?”

“Being shot in anyone’s world is a bad thing.”

I give her one of my wild grins that I notice always throws her off. It has the desired effect.

“Be careful, Printsessa. You’re giving yourself away. I might make the mistake of thinking you care about me,” I taunt.

She pouts. It makes her look prettier. If she wanted me to take her seriously, she shouldn’t have added the sexy as fuck pout. Now all I can think of is those lips on my cock sucking me off before I fuck her from behind on her hands and knees.

It’s been more than a week since I had her. I want to fix that, and no injury on earth is going to deter me.

“Maybe I shouldn’t allow you to make such a mistake.” She takes one step to go, but I reach for her arm and pull her closer.

“Get back in bed with me.”

Her pupils dilate with the same dark desire I feel. “Lucca –”

I yank her forward and slip my hand behind her head to pull her down to my lips so I can kiss her properly.

She kisses me back, and I tug on her shirt, bunching the soft material into a knot, so it rides up her smooth skin.

“I want to fuck you,” I say against her lips.

“But you’re injured.”

“Fuck the injury. Take your clothes off and come here.” I have an idea of what we can do that won’t interfere with my injury and make up for lost time.

I love watching this part. The part where she yields to me against her better judgment or whatever sense of reason or logic tells her to be wary of me. She should be listening to that voice. I should too, the problem is neither of us wants to. We both want to give in to the temptation of what happens to us when we’re together.

I can feel that carnal desire working its way through her as she reaches for the hem of her nightshirt and pulls it over her head, revealing her perfect tits.

She takes off her panties next and looks nervous. To show her my injuries is nothing more than an afterthought to me right now. I secure my hands around her tiny waist and lift her up onto me.

When she rests her hands on my chest, our lips meet again for a hungry kiss.

It’s easy to get lost in kissing this woman. I never thought things like kisses were worth the fuss people make of them, but she made a believer out of me.

Her little tongue swirls over mine in the most delicious way, making me think of tasting her sweet pussy.

When her soft body presses against mine, I pull her closer, and the needy sensation overpowers me.

I want more. I always want more and more I will have.

I pull away from her lips and set her down so I can slip off the bed and take off my pants and boxers.

It’s only when I bend down to slide off my boxers that I feel a twinge of pain. It hurts, and I’m sure the average guy wouldn’t be able to deal with that, but the average guy is not me.

That’s why I get back on the bed like I feel nothing but the strain of my erection aching to be inside her, so I reach for her again. This time I set her on me backwards and run my fingers over to her left breast to play with her nipple.

“Let’s play for a while, raw and dirty. You taste me while I taste you.” Her eyes go wide, and her throat works. “Ready?”

She draws in a shallow breath. “Yes.”

I love that word on her lips. It’s everything.

What I love more is watching her make her way down to my cock and the sight of her ass and her pussy in my face as she settles on her hands and knees before me.

I eased down onto my back to give her better access, and as she takes my dick into her mouth, I grab her ass and sink my tongue into her pussy.

I plunge in, and she stills; the moan that hums from her lips goes right through my dick, and then we start the perfect feasting—me on her and her on me.

My balls draw up when she sucks me faster, and I know I’m going to have to fight hard to last. I want to fight tooth and nail for this. I need to, and right now, I don’t care if I’m succumbing to my weakness for her.

I don’t care if I’m giving in to a weakness I can’t defy. I don’t care that what I feel might run deeper than I’m willing to accept.

I just want her.

Her walls spasm around my tongue, and she stops sucking me off as she comes.

She moans out her pleasure as her release takes her, and I watch the sweet nectar flow out of her passage. I lick it all up and lick over her asshole, enjoying the shudders I send through her body and the loss of control I instill in her.

I’m nigh on coming too, so if I want to finish inside her, we need to switch up now.

As she comes, I pull her toward me, back to my lips when we kiss again, and I suck her breasts.

When she gasps, I place my finger back in her pussy then bring it to her mouth so she can taste herself.

“Lick it,” I order. “I want you to remember the taste of what I do to you.”

She looks momentarily thrown, but she obeys, licking off my finger as I hold it out to her.

When I’m done, her gaze drops to my straining cock, and I notice a flicker of apprehension wash over her face.

It was barely there, but like always, I see everything, and I know why she suddenly looked like that.

While we’ve had sex several times since she found out what happened to her, she’s been upset for the last few days. Upset in a way that could only be because of her painful memories.

I don’t want her thinking of anything that hurts her when she’s with me. I don’t want her thinking of anybody who hurt her in such a way or that I’ll do the same.

So, I cup her face and gaze into her eyes, allowing her to see what I want her to see—me opening up to her.

“Will you let me in, inside you?” I ask. I don’t ask anybody for anything. I take. But I want to make sure every time she’s choosing to give herself to me.

“Yes,” she whispers, holding my stare.

“You do it. Fuck me. Take control and ride me.”

She blinks several times, and it’s only when I smile that she moves.

I sit with my back against the headboard, and she straddles me, taking my cock, taking charge, and guiding me to her slick wet opening before she slides down onto my length.

As she starts to move, I realize I must be a fucking masochist because the pain in my side suddenly feels like a thousand knives stabbing into me all at once, but the sweet pleasure she gives me as she rides my cock balances the pain.

She’s riding my cock like she owns me

And that’s exactly what I allow her to do. Own me.

The same way I own her.