“Dramatic much, Luca?” I said with a roll of my eyes. That earned me a glare, and I grinned up at him, trying to get him to calm down. “Nothing happened, and it won’t happen when we go back.”
“Fuck that shit. You’re not going anywhere unless I drive you.” He took hold of my hand and started walking toward the exit. “You are too damn reckless with your life. How am I supposed to concentrate on school and football when I’m constantly worried about you?”
He pushed through the door and marched into the student parking lot. I basically had to run to keep up with his long strides. “You’re overreacting,” I complained. “All I wanted was to come cheer you up.”
And he was starting to hurt my feelings with his sudden change of mood. It was almost like he didn’t even want me there.
As if he could hear my thoughts, he stopped and turned to face me. Taking a few deep breaths, he cupped my face. “Baby, you’re the most important person in my world. It kills me thinking something could have happened to you. Please, I need you to be more responsible from now on. I can’t do what I need to do for us and our future if you’re running around with Shaw, stealing cars and riding around with her behind the wheel when she doesn’t even have her goddamn license.”
“Shaw is very responsible when she’s driving. Trust me, Luca. I wouldn’t put myself in that kind of danger. I wouldn’t do that to you.” I turned my head, kissing his palm, and I felt his arm tremble. I stroked my fingers up his forearm and grinned wickedly up at him. “I know you’re working hard on securing our future, but that you of all people are lecturing me on being responsible is kind of hilarious.”
“When it comes to you, I take that shit seriously,” he grumbled, but I saw a hint of a smile teasing at his lips, and he couldn’t hide the way his eyes changed to that reddish russet brown, telling me he was amused. But all too quickly, it disappeared. Grunting, he pulled me against him and kissed the top of my head. “I love you so much, babe. It scares me thinking something might happen to you when I’m not around.”
“I’m sorry,” I whispered, contrite.
“Let’s go,” he grumbled, tugging me toward the vehicles and his SUV.
Shaw was still where I’d left her, leaning back against her brother’s car while Jagger stood in front of her. The two of them were laughing, obviously flirting with each other. But when they saw us and the look on Luca’s face, their amusement dried up quickly.
He pointed at my best friend. “Get your ass back to school before I call your mom,” he threatened. “Jagger, drive her.”
“Dude.” Jagger shook his head at him. “She’s a better driver than I am. She can get there just fine on her own.”
“Fine. You don’t care enough about her to make sure she gets there safe, who the fuck am I to say anything?” He kept walking, ignoring Jagger’s curse.
I glanced back at them and saw Jagger take Shaw’s keys. “Let’s go, Dimples.”
Shaw’s blue eyes met mine, and I mouthed “Dimples?” She shrugged, a huge grin on her face, and waved at me as Jagger opened the passenger door for her.
We reached Luca’s SUV, and he picked me up, placing me in the passenger seat before leaning in and securing my seat belt. As he did, his chest pressed me back into the seat. His eyes had changed to amber, and I knew he was holding on to his control by a thin thread.
All I had to do was lean forward, skim my lips over his, and we would have our first real kiss. His control would snap, and Luca would be at my mercy. But as much as I ached for that, I couldn’t put him in that position.
Instead, I leaned forward and skimmed my nose over his. “You’re going to get in trouble for skipping.”
“Coach arranged for me to have the afternoon off. Told me to get my head on straight so I was good for tonight’s game.” He lowered his head, pressing his face into my neck, and inhaled deeply. “I was going to come to Santa Monica as soon as I had lunch with Lyric.”
“Oh,” I muttered, suddenly feeling stupid for leaving school.
“Hey,” he said, his voice softer now as he pressed a kiss to my temple. “It was really sweet of you to come all this way when I need you so much. Just…don’t put your life in danger the next time you decide to surprise me. Please?”
“Fine,” I said with a huff, like he was asking way too much, and giving in would cost me.
He grinned, and I couldn’t help tracing his bottom lip again. I was fascinated by his mouth and spent more than a few hours every day thinking about how it would feel devouring mine. I imagined what he would taste like. How his tongue would feel brushing against mine, licking the roof of my mouth, owning me completely.
His groan sounded like he was being tortured. “Baby, I want everything I see in those pretty purple eyes just as much as you do. But I don’t trust myself to stop if I gave it to you.”
“I know. It’s just…”
He leaned back, his eyes skimming over my face. “Just what?”
“The world is selfish for not letting us be together, Luca.”
“It’s not the world standing in our way,” he reminded me. “It’s your dad, and I promised him I would wait for you to turn eighteen.” He kissed the tip of my nose, and I melted back into the seat with what he said next. “Because you are worth it.”
Chapter 3
Luca
Violet didn’t want to go back to school, so I took her home so she could grab my jersey. When I pulled into the driveway, I stayed in my vehicle because the temptation of being alone in her house—in her bedroom—was too much for me when I was already about to burst in my pants.
She wasn’t even gone five minutes before she came skipping back to me, and I jumped out, opening the door for her and lifting her into the passenger seat. She’d changed into a pair of jeans and a tank top, but I saw the strings of her bikini top sticking out of the neckline.
“Guess we’re going to the beach,” I said as she tossed her gym bag into the back seat.
“We can go wherever you want. I just wanted to be prepared for anything.” She pulled out her phone, frowning at the screen before typing something as I shut the door.
“What?” I asked as I got behind the wheel.
“Mom said the school called her, but she promised not to tell Dad. Shaw texted me to let me know Jagger is skipping his afternoon classes, so she is too since they also called her mom. Hopefully Aunt Dallas doesn’t find out we took the car. But we don’t have to worry about picking Shaw up on the way to the game tonight.” She dropped her phone into one of the cupholders and shifted so she was half facing me as I backed out of her driveway. “What would you like to do?”
“Doesn’t matter to me as long as I’m with you.” I reached for her hand. Lifting it to my lips, I kissed her palm then laid our joined hands on the console between us. “Tell me what you want, and I’ll make it happen.”
She was quiet for a moment, making me look at her. Seeing the way her violet eyes were full of heat and she was licking her bottom lip, I swallowed a groan and quickly amended what I’d just said before I did something that would likely get me killed or banned from seeing my girl for the rest of my natural life—which was worse than death, if you asked me. “Tell me what you want—that doesn’t include me between your legs—and I’ll make it happen.”