Merciless Union by Faith Summers

13

Aria

It’s night again.

I seem to be making up for lost sleep.

I’ve been asleep for the whole day. Not intentionally. I must have needed to rest.

I guess it must have been a repercussion of the time I spent at Pasha’s house.

I keep forgetting that I still can’t just push my brain to the limits the way a normal person would. Anything like fighting sleep will have double the effect on me that it would have on a person who doesn’t have brain damage.

I glance at the clock on the wall and see it’s just gone one in the morning. I’m surprised Lucca isn’t in here, but then again, this isn’t the first time he’s been up at this hour.

I think I might know where he is.

Quickly, I reach for a wrap and throw it around my shoulders.

I then slip on some flat shoes and make my way outside, where I can already see guards stationed at the corners of the house and the entrance to the courtyard.

They’re all Aiden’s men. Everyone who’s here belongs to Aiden, even the new maid. It was weird seeing a new face and not Marylin’s.

It was weirder watching the new maid do many of the things Marylin used to do. I hope I can see Marylin soon. And, I hope I can see her before it’s too late.

The guards don’t stop me as I walk through the courtyard. They just look and take note that it’s me, then they stand there like sentinels.

The only place I can think that Lucca would be is in the previously restricted section of the house.

I haven’t been back there since the first time I went and discovered truths from my past that lay behind the wall.

As I walk through the little door and step onto the path, I look over at the plot of graves in the distance.

Now that I know who was responsible for their deaths, I feel worse.

I feel like I shouldn’t be here.

Then again, I always felt like that. I just thought the feeling came for a different reason. But maybe the ghosts don’t want me to be here because my father was responsible for sending them to the other side.

I push aside the unwelcomed emotion and continue through the woodland area and on to the converted barn where Lucca keeps the falcons.

I walk in, and the birds that are awake look at me.

I doubt they’d be the same birds from fifteen years ago, but seeing them again reminds me of my dreams.

All the memories I’ve had of these birds have come from my dreams. I haven’t had a memory yet. I suppose, though, it’s the same thing.

I’d just like to remember the feelings I would have had on seeing them. Or better yet, I would like to remember everything.

Hearing footsteps and a bird screeching outside, I make my way down the passageway leading to the door, passing the paintings on the wall of Lucca’s family. I only now realize there are none of his father.

The only painting I’ve seen of his father is at the beach house we went to after we got married.

I stopped at the painting of Lucca when he was a boy— when he was the boy I named Peter.

Feeling the weight of eyes on me, I look toward the door and see him outside, standing there with a falcon on his wrist, watching me.

Just like that night when I saw him here, he’s shirtless with his tattoos on show, but there’s a bruise and a bandage where he was shot.

That shooting was the second time he’s been shot since I’ve been in his world. In six short weeks, this man turned my world all over the place, but he set the effect in motion from years before.

I walk toward him, and he does the same to me. He holds out his hand, and the falcon flies through the window and into the cage.

I smile at the sight and return my focus to Lucca, not sure what I’m going to do now that I’m here.

I came seeking him. I pushed aside the conflict in my soul to listen to the temptation in my heart that lured me to my husband.

He stops before me, and the look he gives me is so scandalous it makes my entire body blush.

My lips part to say something, but no words come. Then I realize it’s best we don’t talk. It’s best I don’t talk.

It’s best we pretend the way we used to and go to that place where nothing matters.

When he reaches out to touch my cheek, I lean into his hand and rest against the gentle caress.

The wild sexual energy that usually explodes and consumes us ignites when he lowers to kiss me, and I taste him. That taste of raw need comes to claim me well before I lose my mind.

As my body reacts to his touch, I no longer ask myself what I plan to do now that I’m here. I already knew what I wanted him to do to me.

We kiss like we want to consume each other, but when he pushes me against the wall and pulls the wrap from my shoulders, my awareness returns.

“The guards,” I mutter.

“Nobody can see us. There is nobody here but us.” He tugs on the hem of my top and pulls it over my head. The cold night air kisses my skin, but the heat from his gaze radiates over me.

One quick snap of the butterfly clasp holding the cups of my bra together frees my breasts, and he presses his hand to the flat plane of my stomach so he can lower to suck my already painfully tight nipples.

He sucks hard until I’m so aroused I know my panties must be soaked. When he slips his hand beneath the lace of my panties, he confirms what I suspected.

I am wet.

He fingers me and pumps into my pussy, stroking my clit as he pumps in and out.

I moan, arching my back as he speeds up and increases his suckle on my breasts.

The stab of his erection pressing into my belly arouses me even more.

As I moan, he plants fiery kisses all along the swells of my breasts, then crouches down so he can pull off my pants and panties at the same time.

Moments later, I’m completely naked and at his mercy.

He lifts my leg and buries his face between my thighs to taste my pussy. His tongue thrashes over my clit and forces up into my passage, tasting my juices as they continue to flow into his mouth.

Just before I fall over the edge of pleasure, he stops and turns me to face the wall.

I plant my hands on the stony surface then look back at him as he takes out his perfectly erect cock to fuck me.

When he grabs my hips, I turn back to face the wall, and the next thing I feel is the fat head of his cock piercing into my pussy as he plunges deep into me.

Pleasure bursts all over my body, setting every cell inside me on fire. A fire that burns with unquenchable flames consuming all that I am.

He starts to fuck me hard, and my breasts bounce painfully against my chest, creating a juxtapose of pain and pleasure writing through my body.

“Lucca,” I cry out his name.

“That’s right, Printsessa, say my name, scream it,” he growls and speeds up, tunneling deeper, harder, faster.

And faster.

I come, and now I don’t know what I’m saying. Words fall from my lips, but I can’t hear them, and the same thing happens to him too.

He speeds up even more and fucks me so hard I see stars. At that moment, he comes too, and his cum floods my passage with a red-hot wave that sends me spinning into the arms of ecstasy.

We’re both breathing so hard after I don’t know if I’ll ever be able to catch my breath.

I straighten up, but he holds me against him and lowers his head to mine to kiss the side of my face.

“I want you. More of you, Aria. I want to fuck you all night,” he breathes. “Tell me you want me too. I want to hear you say it.”

He’s never said that to me before, and I realize it’s because of what’s changed between us and what we still haven’t talked about—us.

“I want you; I want you too, Lucca,” I tell him, and that’s the truth no matter what.

I turn into him, and we kiss the way lovers do.

Because we are.

* * *

Morning comes, and we’re still in the throes of passion.

We made it back to the bedroom, and that’s where we stayed all night.

Neither of us are tired, and as Lucca takes me once more, I feel deep inside that this will be it—the last time.

I collapse onto the bed when we climax and as he pulls his cock out of me, I roll onto my back and watch him walk into the bathroom to get cleaned off.

When he returns with a wad of tissue to clean me off, too, our eyes lock, and we stare at each other.

“What?” I ask when we continue to stare.

“We need to talk, Aria. We need to talk about us.”

“I know,” I agree, and my stomach clenches.

He gets up and disposes of the tissue in the bathroom. When he comes back, he pulls on a pair of pants, and I drag on my dressing gown.

I sit up and stare at him while he grabs the wooden chair behind the desk and sits in front of me.

“Where should we start?” I ask.

“I think we should start with Pasha. For two reasons.”

Just hearing that name makes me sick. I don’t really want to talk about him, but I should.

“Let me begin with the reason why Aiden’s men are protecting the house,” he adds.

“I thought it was because of what happened.” I narrow my eyes.

“No, it’s because of something I did. I have a target on my back, Aria, because there was a woman I couldn’t kill. Her daughter was abused by Pasha, and I let her go. Pasha found out and had her killed.”

“Oh my God.” My hands fly up to my mouth.

“I know. Disobeying an order like that means death to my family and me. Meaning me and you. I never thought they’d find out so soon, or at all, but I guess I can thank Jon for that. Aiden is protecting me because he’s the last friend I have left.”

“What will we do?”

“Let me worry about that. We’re safe here. The house is more secured with probably better men than I had, and your father won’t be able to get to you here.”

“Is there anything more? I don’t want to be kept in the dark.”

“I won’t keep you there. I don’t want you to keep me in the dark either. Aria, I know what Pasha did to you.”

I look away, and he guides my face back to him. “Don’t look away from me, Printsessa.”

I shake my head. “I’m so embarrassed.”

“There is nothing to be embarrassed about. Why didn’t you tell me about him?”

“I didn’t think you would believe me,” I confess. “But I also knew it would be dangerous.”

“Danger wouldn’t have mattered to me, and of course, I would have believed you. I’m sorry Pasha hurt you in such a horrible way. You never said anything to me either when we were kids.”

The air in my lungs turns icy and a chill rushes over me. “In the memories I have, I remember him threatening to kill my parents if I ever told anyone. That’s why I would have kept it quiet. He confirmed he’d been abusing me since I was five.”

Lucca squeezes my hand. “I’m really sorry Aria. I wish it never happened and I wish I could have stopped him from hurting you.”

“It was my father’s fault. He knew, Lucca. All that time I suffered and he knew exactly what was going on. Pasha paid him.” Saying those words ache my heart even more.

“There are no words for that.” He sighs and rage brims within the depths of his silver stare. “The same thing happened to this woman I tried to save. It was her husband who was dealing with Pasha. Although I never knew for sure, Pasha said something that tipped me off and I figured out that’s what Raphael must have done to you.”

My heart squeezes at the fact that another little girl had to go through the same thing as me. Her father betrayed her too. “My God. He really is a monster.”

He clenches his jaw. “Did he hurt you again?”

“No, not like that. But being locked in a cage and chained up so he can shoot his load all over me after he jerks off is not something I’m going to forget anytime soon.”

“Jesus Christ, what the fuck?” he grates out, and it’s now he looks enraged.

“It’s okay, I’m trying to push it out of my mind.”

His hands tighten into fists so stiff his knuckles crack. “I promise you, Pasha will pay with his life. Can you trust me with that?”

I nod, and while I’m still shaken from the whole ordeal, it feels good to have someone who’s willing to fight my battles for me.

“I’m going to organize with Dr. Belmont to continue your treatment. I’ll check to see if he can come by on Thursday. At the moment, it’s safer for him to see you here.”

“Thank you. He’s helped me a lot.”

“I think so. Now I guess we should get on to the parts of the truth I owe you an explanation for. Like how we got here and why I saw you three years ago.”

He straightens up, but he doesn’t look away from me.

Talking about Pasha was bad, but this might be worse.

“You were supposed to kill me, weren’t you?” I come straight out and say it.

“Yes.”