Acquisition (11 page)

Haley frowned. “What do you mean, no? He’s giving you permission to leave. Take it. Let’s get out of here.”

Abby squared her shoulders and looked up at her sister, who was looming over her in an intimidating fashion. “No, thank you. I love you, Haley, but you need to butt out of this. It’s my decision, and I’ve already made it. I’m not going anywhere.”

Her sister’s eyes widened with shock. “What? I don’t understand you. You were freaked out enough to run away from him and stay hidden for a year without contacting your family or telling us you were having a baby, but now that you have a chance to get away, you’re not taking it? Is that what you’re telling me?”

With a shrug, she nodded. “I guess that’s what I’m telling you, Haley. I’ll call you soon, and I’ll call Mom later today or tomorrow as well and try to explain the best I can.” That was bound to go well, since she couldn’t explain it herself, let alone someone else. “Thank you for being concerned about me and coming here. I know this isn’t what you want for me, but I have to make my own decisions. It’s too important to let someone else decide for me.”

Haley threw her hands up in the air. “Fine, whatever. It seems like you’re letting him make the choice for you, but you’re clearly not going to listen to reason. When you’re finally ready to do the right thing call me, and I’ll help you get away.”

“I’ll see you soon, Haley.” She ignored the offer to help her escape. “I really am glad to see you again.”

Haley still looked angry, but she let out a long sigh as she walked over and bent down to the chair to kiss Abby’s cheek before running a finger down Lucas’s face. “I love you too, sis. He’s beautiful. I want to spend some time with him soon, if that’s okay?”

Considering Haley usually issued demands rather than asked permission, it was a nice change of pace to see her sister treating her like an adult with her own opinions and authority. She nodded her head. “Maybe we can have lunch together in a few days—just you, me, Mom, and Lucas.” She wasn’t going to invite Luka to that tête-à-tête just yet, not until everyone had a chance to calm down and reflect on their emotions in the situation.

With a regretful-sounding sigh, Haley stood up again and walked toward the door. She paused briefly in front of Luka to glare up at him, though there were only a few inches’ difference in their height. Her sister was extremely tall for a woman. “I don’t care who or what you are, Mr. Mob Man. If you hurt my sister again, I’ll kill you.”

If Luka found the threat amusing, he didn’t show it. He simply dipped his head once and said, “I’m glad she has someone else willing to protect her. I’ll do the same for her.”

With another sigh, Haley turned and left the room, not looking back or sharing a word of parting. She was clearly still annoyed by the whole thing, and it would take her a while to get over her temper and hurt feelings. She just needed a little space.

As soon as her sister was gone, the silence lengthened as she stared at Luka, who seemed to be hovering on the edge of bewilderment. The air was fraught with tension, and as she switched Lucas to the other breast, she couldn’t look away from Luka’s brown eyes. They were warm, complete with the glow in his eyes that appeared every time he’d looked at her before she had left. She bit her lower lip again as she waited for him to speak.

“Why?”

It was a simple one-syllable question, but she knew exactly what he meant. “I couldn’t leave.”

He walked closer. Only a couple of steps, but it was enough to make her heart rate increase. “Why not?”

Her voice emerged as a husky rasp, her throat suddenly tight and swollen as she tried to find the words. “I’m not entirely sure. I just knew I couldn’t leave you when the idea came to me. The thought of walking away again, turning my back on you, didn’t feel right. I couldn’t do it.”

He glanced down at Lucas, who was finishing up his feeding, his expression soft, but also wary. “Are you staying because of the baby?”

She nodded. “But not entirely because of Lucas. He needs his father, but I think I need his father too.”

Luka didn’t speak when she pulled Lucas from her breast as his mouth opened, and a dribble of milk rolled out. He had nursed himself back to sleep, and she moved carefully from the armchair to the crib to lay him down inside it. He let out a small sigh of contentment, and his eyes never flickered open as he settled back to slumber.

When she stood up, there wasn’t any excuse not to look at Luka or face the conversation head-on. She squared her shoulders and turned to face him, startled when she realized he’d closed the distance between them on silent feet. Nothing had betrayed how close he was to her, and now she was pressed against him, with only a couple of inches between them.

“How do you need me, Abby?”

She touched her tongue to her dry lips, eliciting a moan from him. “I don’t know how to feel or what to think, but I don’t want to walk away from you again, Luka. I don’t know how to reconcile what you do with how I feel, but—”

She didn’t get the chance to finish the statement before Luka’s fingers grasped her hair, tugging her head backward to expose her mouth to his. His lips molded to hers, and his tongue plunged inside her mouth as he tasted her with intense need. She held back for just a moment, remembering the humiliation of the other night, but couldn’t resist her own need for long. Soon enough, she melted into his arms, wrapping hers around his neck as she deepened the kiss.

Their mouths devoured each other for several moments as their hands explored. Lucas soon stripped off the button-down shirt and loose lounge pants she wore, until she was in just her nursing bra and panties.

Her fingers hadn’t been idle either, and she’d stripped off his tie and jacket before going to work on the small buttons of his Oxford shirt. Her hands trembled a little, but eventually she managed to remove it as well, leaving him bare from the waist up.

They paused to stare at each other for a moment, gazes locked, breath mingling though their lips weren’t quite touching. “I’ve missed you so much, Abby.”

She nodded her head. “I’ve missed you too, Luka. I used to lie awake longing for you, even though I knew I shouldn’t. What you do is impossible to overlook.”

“You’ll find a way,” he said confidently before his mouth slanted over hers again. She surrendered to the kiss as her fingers worked at the button and zipper of his pants, helping him shed his trousers, at least to pool around his feet.

She gasped softly when he removed her nursing bra, revealing her larger breasts. Since the baby had just eaten, she didn’t feel uncomfortably full, but her flesh was tender and sensitive even under his visual exploration.

When he bent his head to lick her nipple, swiping away a tiny drop of milk that had escaped in the process, she acted from instinct and pressed him closer by placing a hand on the back of his head. He responded to the unspoken request by increasing the pace of his mouth, his tongue swiping and swirling around her swollen nipple as she moaned and arched her back.

After a moment, he turned his attention to the other breast, perhaps realizing if he lingered too long, he might trigger letdown. That would have been awkward for both of them. Still, it was difficult to feel his mouth lightly grazing her breast when she wanted to feel deep suction and his talented tongue twirling the taut bud.

His mouth went lower. Her stomach twitched with anticipation as his tongue slid down it, pausing to circle around her bellybutton before moving south.

She experienced a moment of anxiety when she remembered she now had a tummy and wider hips. She had lost most of the baby weight, but her shape had changed. She was fairly positive she’d always have a little bit of a pooch now, and while she liked it and the new generosity of her curves, she wasn’t certain Luka would like the changes, despite his comments when she had worn the black dress the other night to his parents’.

If her changed shape bothered him, he gave no indication as his mouth moved over the softer flesh that used to be so firm before going farther south, his tongue delicately tracing down her slit before squirming in between the lips he parted with his thumbs. She relaxed her stance, allowing her legs to open as wide as she could while standing, and moaned as he began to stroke her pussy with his tongue.

Luka had always been good at this, easily the most talented lover she’d ever had in every department, but especially when it came to pleasing her orally. That hadn’t changed, and fierce pleasure hurtled through her, making her rock her hips and rub against his face as he devoured her heated folds.

She was slick with need, certain she had painted it all over his face even before the first orgasm rocked her again, making her buck her hips and cry out his name as she almost fell to the floor in the throes of release. Only his hands on her hips kept her standing, and she surrendered to the bliss, knowing he would hold her and not let her fall.

A moment later, he was on his feet and lifted her into his arms. She clung tightly to him as he carried her to the bed and laid her down, pausing to retrieve a condom from the nightstand before he lay on the bed with her. He was clearly desperate to feel her wrapped around his cock, because his fingers shook a little when he tried to open the package.

She was more languorous from her recent climax, so she reached up and took the condom from him, tearing it carefully before removing the latex barrier. She smoothed it slowly down his thick shaft, enjoying reacquainting herself with each ridge and vein. Later, she would indulge her craving by taking it in her mouth, but for now, she wanted him buried into the heart of her, his cock deep in her core as they thrust against each other and chased release.

“Fuck me, Luka.”

He shook his head even as he shifted into position and settled between her thighs, spreading them wide to allow him plenty of access as he lined up his cock with her slick opening. “I don’t want to fuck you today. I just want to make love.”

He’d never called it that in all the time they’ve been together before, and while it wasn’t a declaration of love, it was a promising start.

He surged slowly inside her, and she was surprised to find it moderately painful. She shouldn’t be, since she hadn’t had sex for almost a year, and she’d given birth in that time, but it was definitely uncomfortable for just a second. After he was fully seated inside her, the discomfort waned, followed by intense pleasure as he began to rock his hips and thrust gently in and out of her. He was going slowly and shallowly, but that wasn’t what she wanted or needed.

Abby cupped his buttocks, digging her nails lightly into the taut flesh as she pulled his pelvis tighter to hers while increasing the rate of her thrusts. He quickly realized what she wanted and began to thrust more forcefully and rapidly inside her.

Luka slipped a hand between their bodies so his fingers could dance with masterful precision over her clit as his cock filled her to the extreme before nearly withdrawing and surging inside all over again. She lost herself in the rhythm of his hips and fingers, surrendering to the pleasure building as she strove to meet each thrust. She screamed, uncertain if she called out his name or just a wordless cry of satisfaction as she sailed over the edge into another climax.

Her convulsing sheath must have been enough to trigger his own release, because Luka twitched inside her, coming with a small grunt as he buried himself to the hilt inside her still spasming channel. They lay joined together for several long moments as the bliss intensified before fading away, leaving them sated, but exhausted.

When he pulled away from her, Luka rolled onto his side and pulled her nearer him. He pressed his lips over her forehead before trailing them down her cheek. He didn’t quite touch his mouth to hers.

She watched with fascination as his eyelids blinked before closing, amused that she had reduced him to an afternoon nap. Which reminded her—she would need to ask why he was home this afternoon anyway when he usually wasn’t, but it didn’t matter right then. Nothing mattered except being wrapped in his arms as she started to drift off to sleep.

She was just on the cusp of falling over into slumber when Luka’s sleepy voice reached her ears, making her eyes snap open with shock.

“I love you, Abby. Always have. Always will.” He ended the statement with a yawn, and it wasn’t even a minute later that he started to snore softly.

She worried her top teeth over her bottom lip as she speculated that he had revealed his thoughts when he was too vulnerable to keep them inside. Would he remember? Or take them back? The thought sent a pang through her, and she tightened her fingers without thought around the parts of his body that she was holding onto. He winced, but didn’t awaken, and she lay there beside him, watching her lover sleep as her mind churned with the possibilities, outcomes, and consequences of Luka’s words.

“Do you remember what you said?” It had taken most of the evening for Abby to gather the courage to ask him that, and it was over a shared pint of Ben & Jerry’s that she managed to push the words through her lips. Lucas was on a blanket on the floor, doing his best to sit up, though he was likely still too young. He was pushing up on his hands, and she was certain he’d be crawling far sooner than she was ready.

Just like this conversation was happening sooner than she wanted it to, but she couldn’t live with the uncertainty anymore.

He arched a brow as he dipped his spoon into the pint of ice cream, taking a large bite before he responded verbally. “Do I remember what?”

“What you said right before you fell asleep. Do you remember?”

He cocked his head to the side, looking as though he was considering the matter. “I think I might’ve mentioned that I have a meeting tomorrow at four, or perhaps I told you Amber called and wants to have lunch with us all next week, except my parents.” He frowned as he said those words.

Her heart plummeted in her chest, and she realized her worst fears had come true. He didn’t remember what he’d said, and she couldn’t bring herself to remind him. She just nodded and scooped up another spoonful of ice cream to temporarily blunt the misery.

Luka suddenly laughed. “I’m sorry. I shouldn’t have screwed around with you, but it was just too easy. I remember exactly what I said, Abby, and I meant every word. I love you. I have from practically the first day we met. Every other woman ceased to exist from then on—including while you were gone.”

She bit her lip, looking at him hesitantly. She searched his expression, but found no reason to doubt his sincerity. “I sometimes thought you were on the edge of telling me that, but you always pulled back. Why, if you knew right from the start?”

He let out a soft sigh. “The main reason I didn’t tell you was because if I admitted I loved you, it meant I had to tell you everything about what I do. I was sure you wouldn’t stick around once I told you the truth, so I kept putting it off and thinking that the longer you were with me, the harder it would be for you to leave when I eventually had to tell you the truth.”

She took a bite of ice cream she didn’t really want as a delaying tactic while she organized her thoughts. “I see. Why did you plan to tell me at all? You probably could’ve kept me in the dark.”

He flinched. “Um, maybe, but I doubt it. Either way, I promised my mother a long time ago—we all did—that we’d tell the women we loved what we did before we married them or had a permanent relationship. She said we owed them that, and we all agreed. So even if I felt okay with lying to you about something so huge for the rest of our lives, I don’t think I could have. I certainly can’t break a promise to my mother.” His eyes twinkled as he said the words, but there was definitely an undertone of seriousness to them.

She smiled. “Of course not. I’m sure your mother is scary if you break a promise. I’m just glad she likes me now.”

He scooped up more ice cream in a bite big enough to give her an instant headache that he seemed to swallow with no problem. “She’s always liked you. She was just hesitant when I wouldn’t tell you the truth, and she wanted me to decide whether I was willing to commit to you and tell you everything or let you go. She didn’t like that I was keeping you in the dark, so any disapproval you felt was directed at me and just happened to spill over to you. It wasn’t personal.”

Abby nodded. “Yeah, I figured that out for myself after my conversation with Avriella the other night. She said a lot of smart things. At the time, I wasn’t really ready to hear them, but they make sense now. I’m not entirely sure how to completely incorporate her advice, but I think I see a point where I can.”

Luka looked slightly puzzled. “I’m not entirely sure what you’re talking about, but it sounds like a good thing.”

Giving him a reassuring smile, she took another bite of ice cream. “Yes, it’s a very good thing. I just need to figure out a few more things.”

He looked satisfied as he continued devouring ice cream. It was only later, after he had gotten up to put their spoons in the sink and toss away the empty container, that she realized she hadn’t reciprocated the words. They were on the tip of her tongue when he came back to join her, but she couldn’t quite make herself utter them just yet.

It wasn’t that she doubted her love for Luka. She’d loved him for a long time, even when she shouldn’t have after learning about his ties to the mafia. She just had to figure out exactly how to accept that part first. Even more daunting was accepting that he could kill when necessary. She wasn’t a pacifist, but she had a deep respect for all life, and it was disquieting to know Luka could be the instrument to take that away from someone else and still sleep soundly at night.

When she’d told Haley she wasn’t leaving with her, she had made the decision to stay. She just had to figure out how to reconcile everything to make it work. In the meantime, she was content to drift in the current state of limbo, and to not tax herself to find a solution. He was in the mafia, but it was just part of who he was. She could accept it. She just had to find the right way to do so.

In an attempt to change the subject, she asked, “I never got a chance to find out why you came home early today.”

He arched a brow. “Did you plan to sneak Haley in and out?”

She fidgeted uncomfortably. “Not entirely. I just thought it’d be easier to have my first meeting with her, and introduce her to Lucas, without you here.”

He frowned. “Are you implying your sister doesn’t like me?”

Her eyes widened at his hurt expression, and she struggled to find a diplomatic answer that wasn’t an outright lie. “Um, well…”

Luka started laughing. “It’s okay. I know she doesn’t like me or approve of me.” His expression grew serious. “I take it she knows about my side business?”

Abby nodded, eyes widening. “Is it just a side business?”

He nodded firmly as he dropped onto the floor beside Lucas, offering him a small toy. “Yes. My mother always knew I was more…squeamish than my brothers when it came to family business, so she directed my talents and energy toward learning how to run the foundation. I’m not hands-off, but I’m not as actively immersed as Roman and Dominic.”

A wave of relief swept through her at the words, though she hesitated to fully embrace his explanation. After all, she’d witnessed him shoot someone. “What about Armstrong? That wasn’t foundation business.”

His eyes darkened with a shadow of rage. “No, that was personal, and pleasurable.”

She flinched at the words, shaking her head. “I don’t understand how you can be so comfortable about taking a life, Luka.”

He lifted his shoulder. “Some people just need to die. Armstrong was planning to hurt you to get to us, and I couldn’t let that happen. I dealt with him once and for all, thinking it was over. I don’t regret shooting him, but I’m sorry you saw it. I wish I’d told you the truth before now, and maybe we wouldn’t have lost the last year.”

She licked her lips, not quite ready to respond to that. Abby couldn’t be certain she wouldn’t have run away even if he told her in a different fashion, one that didn’t require her witnessing someone being shot in the head. Instead, she focused on another part of his statement. “You said you thought it was over, but it isn’t?”

His mouth tightened. “Not yet. Armstrong’s father is as crooked and dirty as he was, and he’s going after us for a piece of the pie now. He also wants revenge for his son’s death probably. Or maybe he just wants the money and power. It’s hard to tell what he’s thinking, or what he really wants, since he’s a politician. That’s pretty much synonymous with consummate liar.”

“It’s that senator, isn’t it? Randall Adams? I saw him pontificating on television the other day about bringing down organized crime in the city.”

Luka nodded sharply. “That’s him, and his motives aren’t wholesome. He doesn’t care about the people of the city, or reining in crime. He just wants to take over the Rinaldi empire and see us in prison, both to pad his pockets and because of Armstrong.”

Her brow furrowed. “He’s Adams, and the agent was Armstrong? Are you sure they’re related?”

“I’m sure. Dominic had it investigated, and it didn’t take our people long to discover that back when he still ran an oil company, Adams’ wandering dick happened to land in a young secretary thirty-two years ago. He paid her off to disappear, and she was supposed to have an abortion as part of the package deal. She didn’t, and Armstrong came looking for his father a few years ago. They discreetly bonded, though of course Adams hasn’t publicly acknowledged him. To the world, he’s a faithful man who’s been married to the same woman for more than forty years. He can’t risk his image. You know how politicians are.” He rolled his eyes.

She nodded her head. “I’d like to think there are a few honest ones, but I’m not terribly optimistic.”

He let out a laugh. “Who are you kidding? You’re the most optimistic person I know. You can always find the good in a situation and in a person I would have written off as terrible long ago.”

She shook her head. “I’m not quite as naïve and trusting as I used to be.”

He looked sad. “If that’s true, I’m sure I’m the one who took that away from you. I’m sorry. I never wanted to hurt you, and I should have just walked away after dropping you off at the hospital that day I hit you with my car.”

She bit her lower lip. “Why didn’t you?”

He made an ambiguous sound. “I wanted to, but I couldn’t. I physically couldn’t make myself leave your side. Like I said earlier, I had it bad for you right from the start, and I think I might’ve started to fall in love with you the moment I picked you up in my arms and carried you to my car. Whenever it happened, I was already a goner then, but I didn’t know it yet.”

“What happens now, Luka?”

“We start over and try to rebuild what we had.” He spoke without a hint of uncertainty or doubt that it was possible. She supposed after their lovemaking, and the way she had refused to leave with Haley, she felt the same way. It
was
possible, and she just had to find a way to reconcile the bad and the good.