Sex & Mayhem 04 No Matter What (35 page)

“Are you done
whining?” asked Tooth.

Ghost gave
Luca’s temple a soothing kiss, but it couldn’t possibly erase the
fact that Tooth didn’t even seem to care, and Ghost chose not to
confront the bastard. Their so-called friendship was a lie.

“You’ll wake up
everyone, so shut it,” grumbled Tooth before leaving, as if it had
all been just about Luca being silly.

Ghost gave a
deep exhale. “Luca, don’t stretch his patience.”

Luca shuddered,
slowly relaxing into his embrace. “He’s a bastard. Can’t you see
that?”

“People like
him live by different rules. It’s not all that black and
white.”

“Why are you
defending him? He doesn’t deserve it.” Luca chewed on his lip but
curled his fingers around Ghost’s hand.

“I wouldn’t
have you here if it wasn’t for his help.” Ghost gave him a chaste
kiss on the lips and a hug that chased away all the fears of last
night.

Luca nuzzled
his face. He couldn’t wholeheartedly agree with Ghost, but there
was no use arguing at this point. “I don’t think either of us wants
to see the other now.”

“I talked to my
mom yesterday, I told her about you and me. She’s okay with it.
Maybe we could move back to my parents’ house for a few days until
the atmosphere clears?”

Luca’s heart
leapt. He could endure Ghost’s father as long as he wouldn’t have
to see Tooth. “I’d love to talk to your mom. She seemed nice.”

“Let’s go and
pack our stuff then. Did you say you had something for Priest?”
Ghost ran his fingers through Luca’s hair.

Luca closed his
eyes. “I’ll give it to him tomorrow. He’s asleep, isn’t he?”

“Yeah, he’s
drunk. You’re a bit tipsy yourself Mr. Vodka-in-the-morning.”

Luca shook his
head and planted a firm kiss on Ghost’s temple. That white hair
smelled so good, a bit tangy and earthy. Safe. “Will you take me
home?” he whispered, brushing his thumbs over Ghost’s jaw.

Ghost smiled
softly. “Always.”

Zara:
My
childhood home wasn’t all that impressive. Two rooms in an old
apartment building, midtown. But it was really cozy, and there was
always someone around to play with. Good times.

Ghost:
I’d love
to visit that place :)

Zara:
It’s been
demolished since. How about you showing me your home?

Chapter 20

They didn’t
have that much stuff at Tooth’s, but there was still hardly any
place left for Nomad in the sidecar, and Luca ended up riding on
the back seat of Ghost’s bike. Molded tightly against his broad,
shapely back, Luca felt completely at peace and was sorry when he
needed to get off upon arrival. He squeezed Ghost’s shoulders and
gathered his bags before helping Nomad out of his harness. The dog
woofed in delight, clearly relieved to be out of the clutter of
clothes, shoes, and various other belongings.

Luca kneeled
down on the withering lawn, which was already covered with a
blanket of dried leaves, and looked into the bright windows of
Ghost’s childhood home. Tooth and Lucky’s house was newer, with
fewer cracks in the paint outside, but he couldn’t stand the
thought of staying there anymore. Here at least he and Ghost had an
ally in Ghost’s mother, Peg.

Nomad whined
and pulled on his leash, but Luca told him to sit, and waited for
his man to lead the way. Only now was the lack of sleep catching up
with him. Ghost entered the house on tiptoes, and told Luca to
quietly go upstairs.

“I’ll write a
note for Mom, so she knows we’re here. Don’t wanna wake her up,”
Ghost said.

Luca smiled and
pressed a gentle kiss to his jaw. He unbuckled Nomad and let him go
free. The dog had been taught not to go up the stairs, and so he
immediately ran to the kitchen where his bed was. Luca never
stopped being amazed by how energetic and agile the dog was despite
having only three legs.

Luca walked up
the stairs, and went straight into Ghost’s childhood room. The air
was a bit stale, so he opened the window and pulled off his
clothes, dropping them to the floor. The sweat of the day needed to
go. He smiled, petting the fresh bedding. It felt good to the
touch, but Ghost’s warm, pale and pink skin would feel even better.
He grabbed his cell phone and rushed to the adjoining bathroom. As
sleepy as he was, the hairs on his skin were standing up in
anticipation of touch. He needed Ghost to come back to him in a
nonplatonic way, too.

He started
energetically soaping himself up when his cell phone buzzed on the
sink. Luca gave it a quick glance and finished the swift shower,
feeling fresher already, especially since the water was still on
the cool side. He didn’t mind. Ghost was always hot enough to fill
him with all the warmth he needed. The phone buzzed again when Luca
was finishing brushing his teeth, and so he picked it up as soon as
he was done. It was strange to get a text at this hour, especially
since the message couldn’t have been from Ghost.

‘Enjoying your
time with the new dick?’ the message said. There was no caller ID,
but Luca had this number ingrained in his brain. Antonio.

He stumbled
against the wall, holding himself up by the sink, but even as his
whole body remained unstable, his hand became so stiff the muscles
hurt from the involuntary clenching around the phone. He couldn’t
breathe. He couldn’t think, but he opened the second message and
hardly suppressed a moan of anguish when he read it.

‘He’s the
number one target for the Rabid Hogs. The price for his head will
be rising every day.’

Luca gritted
his teeth so hard it hurt, but it wouldn’t stop the next incoming
message.

‘You know his
death would be your fault, right?’

Luca bit on his
thumb, staring at his reflection in the pristinely clean mirror.
Pale as death, with black, slightly damp hair plastered to his
cheeks, it was the picture of a man about to face the inevitable.
He knew Antonio. He knew what that bastard was capable of. With his
joints stiff as if he had been standing naked in freezing cold for
hours, he put the phone against his ear, listening to the
signal.

Only one ring
passed before Antonio picked up. “You miss my voice?” he asked in
that thick grumble that got Luca’s body into a full-on tremble that
eventually sent him down to the cold floor. His heart seemed to
expand, about to burst and send blood all over the white walls.

“Please,
don’t,” he whispered.

“It’s
Frederico’s orders. But you know I always had a soft spot for you
and your tight perky ass.”

Luca crawled
into the corner as the phantom pain spread all over his thighs,
genitals, stomach, reminding him of the horrid night Antonio had
raped him. “H-how can I stop this?” he asked, trembling. “Please,
don’t hurt him...”

“Well… since
you ask, I could suggest that you don’t care much about the guy
anymore. Frederico’s not after him. He’s after hurting you. You’d
need to show him you don’t care. You don’t want the guy dead for no
reason, right?”

Luca couldn’t
stop his teeth from rattling, but just having Antonio’s voice
tickling his ear awoke the memories carved in his skin by rough,
possessive hands. “Give me your word he’ll be spared.”

“I can do you a
favor if you promise to play nice.”

Luca stifled a
sob. “Give me your word,” he said, trying to sound strong yet
submissive at the same time.

“I give you my
word. But it would still be best if he left the club after that.
Frederico won’t pursue him. You have to promise you’ll be a good
boy though. Like you were for Frederico. I actually like you better
now, all grown up.”

Luca stared at
a spider slowly crawling up the wall beneath the sink. It was over.
“Okay,” he whispered, completely deflated. Today would be the first
day of the end of his life. “I’ll let you know in a few hours.”

“I’ll pick you
up, just call me. I’ll get Frederico to let go of this. It’s not
doing his business relationships any good.” Antonio sounded so
eager, so willing to please just so he could get his hands on Luca
again.

“I will be the
way you want me to,” muttered Luca, numb to what was about to
happen to him. He’d gotten to sample pure happiness only to have it
taken away from him, but that was okay. He was loved as his true
self, even if for just a few weeks. Now he only needed to wait for
long enough to not have his death in any way connected to Ghost,
and he could finally leave the Villanis for good. He wasn’t fine
with it, not exactly, but if that was the price for Ghost’s freedom
and safety, he was willing to pay it.

“You kept your
hair long. I like that,” it sounded almost as if Antonio was
expecting to hear something affectionate in return.

“You can touch
it later,” said Luca. Lying to Antonio would earn him less pain.
But then again, could a dead man be hurt?

He wondered
where Ghost was, because he couldn’t hear him in the bedroom. And
there it was. Just as he thought it, his prince charming was there,
knocking gently on the bathroom door.

“Are you all
right, sweetie?”

Oh God...

“I’ll be right
there,” he said as the black hole in his chest spread, spilling tar
all over his bloodstream.

“Make sure he
understands,” was all Antonio said before disconnecting and leaving
Luca numb, yet not dead enough not to feel the thick-fingered
phantom hands all over himself.

He closed his
eyes, making himself breathe deep and slow. He tried to focus on
the soft footsteps outside the bathroom, and it did help him
gradually calm down. It was his last few hours with Ghost, and he
needed to make them count. He pulled himself up and opened the
door, entering the room with a small smile. Years with Frederico
had taught him how to carve his face into a mask.

“I’ve unpacked
our things. And I took a quick shower in the other bathroom. I
wasn’t very fresh after a night at the bar.” Ghost smiled back at
him, looking as handsome as ever. Just imagining him dying in some
horrible way had Luca’s mask crack, so he looked away.

He reached out
his hands and slowly looked up as soon as he regained his
composure. “Come here. I want to see you naked,” he whispered,
wondering at the way the morning light set Ghost’s translucent hair
on fire.

Even though the
sun was only just rising properly, the big window in Ghost’s room
had the space illuminating quickly.

“Wow, that’s
what I wanted to hear.” Ghost smiled wider and took off his
prospect vest. It was almost like seeing a curse lifted off Ghost,
but then the T-shirt came off as well, and the view was better than
the sunrise outside.

Luca exhaled,
and his smile turned sincere. There was no way he’d lose their last
moments to a bastard like Antonio. He wanted to caress that pale
chest, mold his palms to Ghost’s pecs, and savor the smooth skin
until it turned pink with pleasure. He’d lap at the tiny white
hairs all over Ghost’s body. “More.” He could get lost in that
flush going up Ghost’s neck, to color his pale cheeks.

Ghost reached
to his jeans and unzipped them slowly, just for Luca’s eyes. For
the eyes of the only man Ghost had ever been with. For his first
man. Nothing had ever made Luca feel as good as knowing that Ghost
loved him. Even if Ghost moved on in a few months, by being his
first, Luca would surely stay in his heart forever.

Luca walked up
to him and dropped to his knees. “Your foot,” he said, looking up.
The open fly drew his attention, but he’d get to it soon
enough.

“Oh come on,
you’re embarrassing me, Coach” Ghost laughed and quickly crouched
down to Luca’s level. Typical. Always finding it hard to accept
gifts.

Luca chuckled,
pulling on Ghost’s jeans. “Can’t a man want to undress his
boyfriend?”

Ghost lost his
balance and fell on his ass. “
Fiancé
,” he corrected
Luca.

The smile died
on Luca’s lips, but he pulled the socks off Ghost’s feet. “I don’t
remember you dropping to one knee, you lazy bum.”

Ghost laughed
and right there, barefooted, with his pants unzipped, he kneeled
and cupped Luca’s face. “Will you marry me?” He whispered into
Luca’s lips and sealed the words with a kiss.

It was like a
stab in the chest, but the searing pain radiated warmth all over
Luca’s body. It was as if Ghost had pushed his hand inside Luca’s
rib cage and held the pulsing heart so gently, with so much care.
The question only reminded Luca that this would never happen. He
couldn’t hold back a sob and pushed himself into Ghost’s arms,
crawling his fingers into the warm, loving flesh. “I... would like
that so much.”

Ghost laughed
and held him close. Luca wished they could just stay like this
forever. Never leave this room, never age another day.

Luca turned his
face against Ghost’s warm neck and inhaled as much of his scent as
he could. He needed to ingrain it in his memory forever. “I’m so
happy, I could die right now.”

“You can’t go
and die on me before we’re married.” Ghost’s hands explored Luca’s
back and slid up his spine.

The purr that
left Luca’s lips was like no sound he ever uttered. He pulled on
Ghost’s shoulder, getting them to their feet. “No, no I can’t.”

Ghost pushed
down his jeans, along with his underwear, revealing fresh smelling
skin and the bright blond pubes. He leaned down and in one swift
move lifted Luca into his arms with a wide smile.

Luca gasped,
losing breath when he was completely swept off his feet, and while
he could feel the strain in Ghost’s muscles, the way the floor
pulled them down, he trusted Ghost not to drop him. His heart
fluttered, making Luca light-headed when his eyes locked on Ghost’s
bright blue irises.