Devoted: A Dark Mafia Romance (Beneath The Mask Series Book 3)
Devoted: Chapter 49

After drying my hair and taming my curls, I put on a knitted black cardigan over my black cami and leggings. Now I have to tidy the house before Luca arrives; I can’t have him seeing the state this place is in.

I start going around the house, picking up all Dante’s empty beer bottles and shoving them in the trash bag. I don’t even want to look in his room.

Sliding on my sneakers, I leave the apartment door on the latch and head down the stairs with the heavy bag of garbage. The glass bottles smash against each other with each step.

Wiping the sweat from my forehead, I open the garbage cans outside the main entrance to the building and toss the heavy bags into the empty bins.

“Jesus, I’m unfit,” I mutter to myself.

“You’re the fittest girl I’ve ever seen.” A deep familiar voice makes me jump.

I gasp and turn towards the voice, the one that makes my stomach erupt into butterflies and melts my panties off.

“Luca,” I whisper.

He’s leaning against the door, one leg crossed over the other, biting his lip as his eyes scan my body.

“What are you doing here?” I bite back my smile.

Pushing himself off the wall, he takes two steps towards me.

“I’m here to take my girl on a date.”

“A date? With me? Looking like this?” I point down at my plain clothes and shoes. Not a scrap of makeup on and half damp hair.

“You look beautiful to me, tesoro.”

My breath hitches as he crowds into my space while looking down at me. Wrapping a strand of my hair around his finger, he rubs the lock as he fixes me in his gaze.

“You are the most gorgeous woman I have ever laid my eyes on, Rosa. You don’t need to hide your natural beauty. My cock gets hard at the sight of you, whatever you wear.”

“We can’t let people see us together.” I cast my eyes down.

He shakes his head with a sly grin. “For what I have planned, it isn’t an issue.” He tips my chin up, his green eyes flashing with desire.

“Where are we going? For a quickie in the car?”

Not that I’d mind. I’d take anything from Luca. My body craves his touch, no matter how fleeting.

He chuckles and strokes my cheek. “You really think a quickie would be enough? Have I not proven to you yet that I have to worship you–every single part of you? I want you coming apart on my tongue, my fingers, and my cock. Tonight, I want to show you what life will be like for us one day.”

I go up on my tiptoes and kiss him. My hands skim through his soft hair, and he lifts me into his strong arms, making my back crash against the brick wall.

“Baby, if we don’t stop this, I will fuck you right here, right now,” he rasps between kisses.

I lick my lips and look around, it’s pretty dark out already, the stupid streetlights barely light up anything. I see the corner of his mouth twitch, his gaze burning into me.

“I don’t need dates, flowers, anything like that. I just want my Luca,” I whisper.

His lips brush against my jaw, and I tip my head back, squeezing my legs around his waist, pushing his hard dick against my seam.

“Rosa, I want to show you love. True, unconditional love. All the dates, the extravagant gifts.” He pauses, bringing my left hand to his cheek, pulling off my engagement ring with his teeth. “A real diamond, the wedding of our dreams, the family. Every. Single. Damn. Thing. That will bring a smile to those beautiful lips. I want to give you that. No, I will give you that. It’s the only thing keeping me going, tesoro.”

I choke on a sob as he presses his lips to my forehead. In his arms, I am safe. I am loved, cherished, and everything in between. He is mine and I am his.

He is my forever.

True love, I’ve never had, but I would bet my life that it’s this. It has to be.

“I want all of it, Luca. I want this, forever. La mia vita. My life.”

“You will forever be my always, Rosa,” he whispers.

There is a sadness that creeps into his tone, and I cup his face.

“You are happy, aren’t you?”

He casts his gaze down and shakes his head. “No, but I will be.”

“I want you to be happy.”

Guilt fills me. In all of this, I’ve been so stuck in my own head, my own worries and problems. I forgot about him. I know, despite his hard exterior, that mafia boss brutality, he carries his emotions. He hides behind that funny, cheeky guy.

In all of this, he is struggling, too.

“When I wake up with you in my arms every day, that’s when my life will truly begin.”

I crash my lips over his.

He slips the ring inside his suit jacket. I hide the panic, I need that back, I don’t want to poke Dante the bear when he’s home. I need to pick my fights carefully. I don’t want Luca pressing the subject.

He pulls back and pushes a stray lock of hair behind my ear. “We have all night, and trust me, we will make use of every single second. But I’d like to take you on a date. Is that okay?”

I squeeze my legs together to try to relieve the building pressure. This is the sweetest thing; he just wants to spend time with me.

“I’d love that, Luca. Thank you.”

With a gentle hand behind my waist, he leads me to his car where he tucks me into the passenger seat before sliding behind the wheel.

“So, where are we going?”

He shoots me a grin with a twinkle in his eye as we pull up outside the movie theater.

“A movie night?” I beam.

“Just like we used to.” He winks, making my heart flutter.