Chapter 16 - The Confession
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The cold air of the abandoned warehouse bit at Nora’s exposed skin, but the heat radiating from Luca’s body anchored her. She looked at him in the dim beam of the flashlight, seeing the raw vulnerability etched into his sharp features.
“You didn't fail me, Luca,” Nora whispered, her voice steadying. She reached out, her hand resting gently over his heart. “You got me out of that car. You threw yourself over me. You saved my life.”
Luca closed his eyes, leaning his head back against the brick wall. A heavy, ragged sigh escaped his lips.
“I brought you into a world of violence,” Luca murmured, his voice thick with emotion. “When I asked you to sign that contract, I told myself it was just business. A shield against the Commission. A mother for Leo. But I was lying to myself, Nora.”
Nora’s breath hitched. “Lying?”
Luca turned his head to look at her, his dark eyes intense and unshielded.
“I didn't want a business arrangement,” he confessed, his voice dropping to a rough, desperate whisper. “The first day I saw you with Leo, sitting under that table… you looked at me and you didn't see a monster. You just saw a man. I knew then I wanted you to be my wife in every sense of the word. But I knew if I told you the truth, you would run. You had just escaped a monster; why would you want to marry another one?”
Tears sprang to Nora’s eyes. Gregory had spent seven years convincing her she was unlovable. And here, in a freezing warehouse surrounded by danger, a man who possessed limitless power was terrified of losing her.
“You are not a monster, Luca,” Nora said fiercely. “You are the first man who has ever truly seen me. You made me feel strong. You made me feel beautiful.”
She didn't hesitate anymore. She leaned forward, closing the small distance between them, and pressed her lips against his.
The kiss was not hesitant. It was a collision of adrenaline, fear, and weeks of suppressed, burning desire. Luca groaned, a deep, primal sound, wrapping his arms around her waist and pulling her flush against his chest. He kissed her back with devastating, consuming passion, his hands tangling in her ruined hair, holding her as if she were his only lifeline.
When they finally broke apart, both breathing heavily, the deafening silence of the warehouse was interrupted by a loud, heavy pounding on the reinforced steel door.
“Boss!” Marco’s voice muffled through the metal. “It’s clear! Backup is here. The assassins are dead.”
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Luca rested his forehead against Nora’s, a victorious, dark smile touching his lips.
“The danger is over,” Luca promised. “Now, we find out who ordered the hit.”
