Chapter 36

Luke's POV

November 7th, 2016.

I opened my eyes to sunlight filtering in through the fluttering curtains, my senses awakened to the sweet smell of Jasmine. I brought my left wrist to my face, I saw it was a few minutes past 7am. It was only when I was with her that I was able to catch some semblance of sleep.

I reached down to stroke the hair of the sleeping beauty cuddled in my arms, enjoying its silky feel.

I loved our current position, we were tangled up in each other but it wasn't enough for me, holding her was never enough for me. I wanted to run my hands over the body I’d missed so much, the fact that she was barely wearing clothes put a wicked grin on my face.

I turned and gently lowered her to the bed, she sighed softly. This was one of her weaknesses, Ophelia tended to oversleep and neglect her surroundings whenever she felt safe with someone.

I raised myself on one arm, using my elbow as support, then I gently ran my fingers over her luscious skin, lightly her tracing features. It still wasn't enough though, I lowered my face, sniffing and running my nose over her skin. I knew I had to stop when my lips had somehow come in contact with her skin, wanting to have a taste.

Self control.

I raised my head from the crook of her neck and stopped when I noticed how red the skin was. I frowned, then leaned down to inspect and that's when I saw it.... Three small cuts a small distance from each other. To think they were caused by a razor would be absurd, she didn't shave her face and I knew enough of wounds to know that they weren't self inflicted.

I sat up properly and scanned her body, looking for something, anything. My eyes landed on her bruised wrists, I picked one arm up and examined it, the skin was coloured faint purple, making it very evident she had been restrained.

Wheels turned in my head.... Restrained hands, plus slashes on the neck equaled?

Fuck no!

I gripped her thighs, ready to pry them open and examine them when I remembered that one time had kicked the living daylights out of me. when I had mistakenly pried her legs apart during training. I held my face, suddenly remembering the hot flash and the concussion that followed, I did not want a repeat of that, no thank you.

I would ask her about it later, even though I had already drawn my own conclusion. My stomach growled, instantly reminding me that I hadn't eaten in the last 12 hours. Cool air drifted in through the windows, I got out of bed, picked my discarded shirt up from the floor and draped it over her naked form. I stretched my arms above my head as I moved out of the room, closing the door behind me. I walked down the stairs, to the kitchen barefoot .

A few girls were in the kitchen, I got a few gasps and heard muffled whispers as I searched the cupboards for Ophelia's cereal.

I found it, poured it into a bowl I retrieved from the dishwasher and started eating after pouring in some sweetened milk I got from the fridge. Halfway through the meal, a familiar redhead walked into the kitchen from the lounge. I knew the face, I just couldn't remember her name.

Her face lit up when she saw me, she backtracked, walked up to the table and leaned on her elbows, pushing her chest in my face.

"Hey, Luke." She batted her long lashes.

"That’s Valentino to you." I corrected.

She narrowed her features for a moment, feigning hurt, then she pouted her lips and ran her finger across my bare chest. "But you hate it when I call you that." Her voice dropped to a husky tone.

Now I remembered who she was, my one-time summer fling but she looked different now. It was the hair; it had to be the hair. I didn't date red heads.

She was talking but I wasn't paying attention, momentarily distracted with the buxom bosom that heaved up and down with her breathing.

She caught the direction of my eyes and smirked, before proceeding to loosen the ties that held her peignoir. "I know she's not living up to your expectations, I can give you all that and more. You know I can."

A well stacked, black, lacy bra had my attention.

I smelt the Jasmine before I felt her arms around my neck and her head on my back. I let her walk into my arms, expecting her to draw conclusions from the displayed goods and be pissed with me.

She wasn't pissed, that was evident from her smile, what I didn't expect was for her to grab my face, lean down and press a lingering kiss to the corner of my mouth. A shiver ran down my spine, as I looked up at Ophelia with shock plastered across, then confusion, wondering what kind of game she was trying to play. I looked from the red head whose name I was sure started with a ‘C’ then back to her before realization set in.

She was marking her territory.

I smiled at her, before setting her down on my lap, securing her with my arms around her waist. She was wearing my shirt with barely anything underneath, passing a universal message across. She picked up the spoon and ate from my bowl while I nuzzled her neck from behind.

"Sleep well, babe?" I asked, loud enough for those close to us to hear.

She gave me a nod, then leaned her head to the side, giving me access, acting the part.

Carlotta, her name came to me now, had obviously heard and had enough. Getting the message, she gave Ophelia the most disdainful look I'd ever seen before stomping off angrily.

"Is she gone?" Ophelia asked after a while.

"I think so." I turned around to look.

We burst into laughter when I confirmed it. drawing the attention of the others in the room.

"The girl really is stupid, she couldn't even tell I didn't kiss you despite standing so close." She shook her head.

"Well, your wild hair didn't let her see anything, princess."

I wondered what her reaction would be if I kissed her for real this time, if I bent her head back and...I stopped my train of though before I did something stupid. So, I wrapped my arms tighter around her waist, keeping her in place, continued running my nose up and down the length of her neck while she ate breakfast. I'd learnt to take advantage of the little things I could get away with.

Someone walked down the stairs humming, it was the purple haired girl. If memory served me well, her name was Arabella, at least that was what Ophelia called her. She was the one that told Ophelia 'not to forget to wear the lingerie'.

She stopped humming when she caught sight of us at the table and gave a low whistle instead, chuckling to herself. She got food from the cupboard, kept it on the breakfast bar, sat down facing us and cleared her throat. Ophelia blushed and hid her face behind her hair.

I was starting to observe she behaved strangely whenever Arabella was around. Arabella continued the throat clearing for a long time, the poor girl had a terrible cold or a bad cough.

"You should take a glass of water, it'll help your throat." I said.

She turned her attention to me, her dark eyes shining with excitement or was it mischief? I couldn't quite tell.

"I'll do just that." She got water from the fridge poured herself a glass of water whilst looking at both of us.

Ophelia had shrunk into me.

"Is everything alright, princess?" I asked, whispering into her ear.

"Can we go upstairs?" She asked when Arabella’s throat clearing didn't stop.

"Sure." I let her lead me away.

As we left the kitchen, we heard Arabella chuckle. "You can run but you can't hide."

"What's that about?" I asked when we got to the room.

She waved the question away "Its nothing."

I sat on the bed and watched her pick up things from the floor: my bag that I had dropped after I'd picked her locks and gained access to her room, my shoes that I had kicked off next and my jacket I had flung across the room because of the heat.

I looked around the small room that had boredom written on it's walls and felt pity for Ophelia, I couldn't stay in this room and not lose my mind, I made a mental note of some additions I would make, starting with a television.

"Since I'm going to be here throughout today, what can we do for fun?"

She squealed when she heard I wouldn't be leaving today.

"We can go out." She said as she sat on the bed and faced me.

"Out where?" I asked.

"There's an ice cream shop down the street I want you to try, we can also take a walk in the park, it's not far from there."

Ice cream would satisfy my craving for sugar and a stroll in the park would be nice to catch up on the lost time we'd spent away from each other.

"Sounds nice princess, get dressed." I said as I tucked her wild hair behind her ear. I stared at the marks on her neck.

The walk in the park would also be a great time to talk about them.

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She hurled clothes out of her tiny wardrobe, looking for the perfect outfit for the day.

"I don't have what to wear, Luke." She said as she stomped her feet, utterly frustrated.

"Anything simple princess, something casual." I suggested. I pitied her, she wasn't used to picking out clothes from a limited wardrobe.

She picked out a pair of blue jeans and I groaned.

"No, no, no! don't wear trousers Ophelia, wear a skirt." I didn't want to miss any opportunity to stare at her long legs, or run my hands along them.

I stood up from the bed and made my way to the wardrobe.

I searched through and found a short, black leather skirt and a sleeveless light blue tank top.

"No, not that." She took the top and tucked it away, exchanging it for a white long-sleeved turtle neck made out of cashmere. No doubt to cover the marks on her neck and wrist.

"Oookay." I bent down to where she neatly arranged her shoes and picked a white sandal with a four-inch heel, dropping it on the pile in her arms. "Perfect."

She took her clothes into the bathroom to shower and change while I sorted out the things I would wear.

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When we were done with our routine it was past 9am, Ophelia stared out the window.

"Where'd you park the car, Luke?"

Since the Piacere house didn't have a garage, I'd have to park my car on the street and my range of latest sports cars always managed to draw a small crowd of onlookers. Except this time, I came with a different means of transport.

"I didn't come with a car, Ophelia."

"Then what did you come with?" She stood in front of me as I donned my black fingerless leather gloves that matched my leather jacket.

"The latest version of a vyrus motorbike."

"Motorbike?" She did a double take. "When did you get a motorbike? Do you even know how to ride one, Luke? What if we crash?" She went on and on, making me roll my eyes.

I cupped her cheeks, silencing her momentarily. "I got the bike a month ago and I learnt how to ride it immediately I got it. Don't worry about crashing, I've only crashed once."

Her eyes widened and she opened her mouth to argue. I tuned her out, picked her purse, my wallet, keys and dragged her out into the hallway, locking the door behind us.

She stopped talking when she realized I wasn't listening.

In the lounge, we ran into Arabella and a group of girls who hushed their conversation when they spotted us.

"Are you guys going out?" Arabella asked.

"Yes." I answered since Ophelia didn't, she was quite adamant in getting me out the door as fast as possible.

"Look at who is anxious to leave, taking her to a somewhere where we won't hear her scream?" Arabella asked, making the girls she was with giggle.

Ophelia stopped mid step and I couldn't help but laugh at how red her face was. I put an arm around her shoulder and pulled her close, placing a kiss on her cheek.

"Yes, I'm taking her to somewhere where we won't be disturbed."

She turned to stare daggers at me.

"What?" I asked. "It's true." I whispered, as I pulled her outside.

"Have fun!" Arabella called out before we were out of hearing distance.

I climbed on my bike and put my helmet on, opening the tinted visor. "Hop on." I implored her.

"I'm not getting on that death machine." She stood arms crossed, stubborn as ever.

I turned the keys, bringing the bike to life. "Suit yourself. I just want you to know that I can ride back to the Mansion without my bag."

She whimpered as walked to me with a frown on her face. I leaned down so she could climb on.

When I saw she was comfortable, I zoomed off without warning, causing her to scream, she squeezed her thighs around me and grip my mid reef tightly.

Her long hair whipped about in the wind, it would be a mess by the time she disembarked but I didn't care, I pushed the bike forward, performing stunts as I went around the block, enjoying the way she hanged on for dear life. My face had a smile wider than The Joker's.

We arrived the ice cream shop and I turned the bike off but Ophelia wouldn't let go.

I held her arms across my mid reef. "Princess?" I shook her a little so she would wake up from her self induced shock.

She recovered and got off the bike, she walked off without waiting for me.

I took off my helmet and walked up to her, smothering her messed up hair as I got close. When I tried to touch her, she smacked me with her purse.

If I didn't know Ophelia I would have missed the tiny smile that tugged at her lips.

I turned her chin to face me. "Come on, stop trying to hide it." I laughed as I placed my forehead on hers.

She let the smile take over, letting me know that she had actually enjoyed the ride. Then she whacked my arm painfully again with her purse and walked passed me, flipping her messed up long hair.

She walked past some guys who wolf whistled as they stared at her tiny skirt. Her delectable figure moving this way and that.

I walked up to her, placed my around her waist, sending them a universal message.

She was ALREADY TAKEN, even if she wasn't mine.

I held the door open for her and we chose a booth at a corner. I surveyed the shop. It was empty aside from coffee drinkers. We sat down and a young baby faced brunette came to take orders.

"What can I get for you." She asked. but when she looked at me, recognition shone in her eyes. She stared at me like she had knew me. I knew I was quite popular in the business world, both legal and illegal but still, I was sure I'd never seen her before.

"Hello, Anabelle." Ophelia called out to her.

"Ophelia!" She beamed. "What can I get you?"

She pointed to me, telling me to make the orders.

"Biggest tub of your best vanilla ice cream. Princess?" I asked Ophelia.

"Just a spoon, he can't finish everything." She turned to Anabelle.

"Really? You wanna bet?"

She rolled her eyes. "Remember when you tried it back at the Mansion? Your brain freeze almost gave your mother a heart attack."

When the tub came, I neglected my ladies first motto and dug into sweet oblivion, savoring the taste of the cold slice of heaven in my mouth.

She watched me eat, shaking her head at me. She dipped her finger into the tub and smeared the ice cream on my face: from my forehead down to my chin.

Then she had the audacity to laugh at my stunned expression.

Oh, game on!

I picked the tub to dump the contents over her head but stopped when I looked around.

We were too old for this shit, especially in public. We would have a rematch in private, not here. So I conceded defeat for the meantime, laughed, picked a napkin and wiped my face.

She smirked when she saw I wasn't going to do anything.

"Ice cream lover. I'm sure you'll sell your kids for a cup of vanilla ice cream."

"Don't forget cookie monster, I'll sell you for cookies." I picked her hands and kissed them.

For a minute we stared at one another, the world didn't exist for me as I stared into her beautiful brown eyes.

She blinked and looked down.

"You said they treated you like a traitor...."

I groaned even before she finished her sentence. "I don't want to talk about it."

"But I want to know..." She pleaded with her eyes. "Please."

And this was one of my weaknesses; the fact that I could never deny her anything.

So I told her the full story, leaving nothing out.