Chapter One
Rebecca woke to Luca’s hand resting against her waist.
Not gripping.
Not trapping.
Just there.
Warm. Heavy. Protective.
For a few quiet seconds, she stayed still beneath the black sheets, listening to the soft sound of rain brushing against the penthouse windows.
Dublin looked grey and silver beyond the glass, the city slowly waking beneath a sky heavy with clouds.
But inside Luca Reyes’ bedroom, everything felt still.
Safe.
That word still surprised her sometimes.
Safe.
Not because danger had vanished.
It hadn’t.
Moretti was still out there somewhere.
Luca’s world was still violent.
Men still whispered his name like a warning.
But here, wrapped in Luca’s arms, Rebecca felt something she once thought she would never feel again.
Peace.
Luca shifted behind her slightly, his arm tightening around her waist the second she moved.
Rebecca smiled softly.
“You’re awake,” she whispered.
His voice came low and rough against her hair.
“I was awake before you.”
Of course he was.
Luca barely slept properly anymore.
Not since Daniel.
Not since the warehouse.
Not since Moretti disappeared into the shadows and left a war waiting behind him.
Rebecca turned slowly in his arms until she faced him.
Even half-dressed in sleep and shadows, Luca looked dangerous.
Dark hair messy.
Sharp jaw covered in faint stubble.
Black tattoos trailing across his chest and arms.
But his eyes softened the second they met hers.
Only for her.
Always for her.
“You were watching me sleep again,” she murmured.
Luca’s mouth curved slightly.
“You say that like it’s a crime.”
“It’s creepy.”
“It’s protective.”
Rebecca laughed quietly, and the sound made something warm flicker in Luca’s expression.
He still reacted to her happiness like it was something rare.
Something precious.
His fingers brushed gently along her cheek.
“How did you sleep?”
Rebecca leaned into his touch without thinking.
“Better.”
Luca’s eyes searched her face carefully.
He did that a lot now.
Looked for things she didn’t say.
Fear.
Pain.
Nightmares.
Memories.
Rebecca used to hate being watched.
Daniel had watched her to control her.
Luca watched her to understand her.
That difference changed everything.
“I’m okay,” she said softly before he could ask again.
Luca didn’t look convinced.
“You had a nightmare around four.”
Rebecca stilled.
“I did?”
“You said my name.”
Her chest tightened quietly.
Luca’s hand slid slowly into her hair.
“I woke you before it got worse.”
Rebecca swallowed hard.
She didn’t remember that.
But she remembered waking briefly to Luca’s voice in the dark.
Calm. Firm. Grounding.
Breathe for me.
You’re safe.
I’ve got you.
Her throat tightened with emotion.
“You always know what to do.”
Something unreadable flickered across Luca’s face.
“No,” he said quietly. “I just know you.”
The words settled deep inside her chest.
Rebecca moved closer, pressing her forehead softly against his.
For a while neither of them spoke.
They didn’t need to.
Luca’s fingers moved slowly along her spine beneath the oversized shirt she had stolen from him the night before.
His shirt.
His bed.
His arms.
His world.
And now, somehow, her home.
That thought still scared her.
Not because she doubted him.
Because wanting something this much meant it could hurt if it was ever taken away.
Luca must have felt the change in her breathing because his hand tightened slightly against her back.
“Where did you go?”
Rebecca blinked.
“What?”
“In your head.” His voice lowered. “You disappeared for a second.”
She looked up at him.
The old Rebecca would have lied.
Said she was fine.
Apologized.
Made herself small.
But Luca had spent too long teaching her she didn’t have to hide pain from him.
“I was thinking about how different everything is now,” she admitted softly.
Luca watched her carefully.
“Different bad?”
Rebecca shook her head.
“Different scary.”
His jaw tightened slightly.
Rebecca touched his face before he could turn the blame inward.
“Not because of you.”
Luca stayed quiet.
She smiled sadly.
“Because I’m happy.”
Something in his expression shifted.
Softened.
A dangerous man completely undone by three simple words.
Rebecca’s voice dropped quieter.
“I’m happy, Luca. And that scares me because I spent so long not being happy that I don’t fully know what to do with it.”
Luca pulled her closer instantly.
Not rough.
Not desperate.
Just certain.
“You don’t have to do anything with it,” he murmured against her hair. “Just let yourself have it.”
The words nearly broke her.
Rebecca closed her eyes and breathed him in.
Rain. Smoke. Expensive cologne.
Luca.
Her safe place in the dark.
A knock sounded at the bedroom door.
Luca went still instantly.
The softness vanished.
Rebecca felt the shift before she saw it.
The man beneath her hands became the man the city feared.
“Boss,” Marco called from the other side. “Meeting in twenty.”
Luca’s jaw flexed.
“Ten minutes.”
A pause.
Then Marco muttered, “You said that ten minutes ago.”
Rebecca bit back a laugh.
Luca glared at the door.
“I heard that.”
“Good,” Marco replied dryly.
Rebecca actually laughed then.
Luca looked down at her, and the irritation in his face faded immediately.
Worth it.
He kissed her forehead once before sitting up.
The sheet slipped lower around his waist as he reached for his phone.
Rebecca tried very hard not to stare.
Failed.
Luca glanced at her.
A slow, knowing look crossed his face.
“Careful.”
Heat rose into Rebecca’s cheeks.
“I wasn’t doing anything.”
“You were looking.”
“I’m allowed to look.”
His eyes darkened slightly.
“Yes,” he said quietly. “You are.”
The tension shifted instantly.
Soft morning warmth became something heavier.
More intimate.
Rebecca’s breath caught as Luca leaned over her, one hand braced beside her head.
He didn’t kiss her immediately.
He just looked at her.
Like she belonged there.
Like she was his peace and his weakness and his undoing all at once.
His thumb brushed gently across her lower lip.
“Stay in bed today.”
Rebecca raised an eyebrow.
“That sounded suspiciously like an order.”
“It was.”
Her pulse fluttered.
There it was again.
That quiet authority.
That calm certainty in his voice that should have reminded her of fear, but somehow didn’t.
With Daniel, being told what to do had felt like being erased.
With Luca, it felt different.
Protected.
Held.
Guided.
And that difference unsettled her almost as much as it comforted her.
Luca noticed the shift in her expression immediately.
His gaze sharpened.
“What?”
Rebecca swallowed softly.
“Nothing.”
“Rebecca.”
One word.
Low. Firm.
Her body reacted before her mind did.
She looked at him.
Luca’s eyes darkened slightly at the obedience.
Not with triumph.
With awareness.
Like he felt the change between them too.
Rebecca’s voice came quieter.
“I don’t mind when you say things like that.”
Silence settled between them.
Heavy.
Charged.
Luca’s expression became unreadable.
“When I tell you what to do?”
Rebecca’s cheeks warmed, but she didn’t look away.
“When it’s you.”
The admission hung in the air.
Fragile. Honest. Dangerous.
Luca’s hand stilled against her cheek.
For a moment, he looked almost afraid to move.
“Rebecca,” he said quietly. “That is something we talk about properly. Not something I take from you because you trust me.”
Her chest tightened.
God.
That was Luca.
Dangerous to everyone else.
Careful with her.
Always careful with her.
“I know,” she whispered.
His thumb brushed beneath her jaw.
“If you ever give me control, it will be because you choose it. Every part of it.”
Warmth bloomed deep inside her chest.
Not fear.
Trust.
Rebecca nodded softly.
“I know.”
Luca leaned down and kissed her.
Slow.
Deep.
Controlled.
A promise more than a kiss.
When he pulled back, his forehead rested against hers.
“Good girl,” he murmured.
The words sent heat and comfort through her all at once.
Luca felt her reaction.
Of course he did.
His eyes darkened, but he pulled away before the moment could become more.
Restraint.
Always restraint.
He stood and reached for his black shirt.
Rebecca watched him dress in silence, heart still beating unevenly.
Something had shifted.
Not fully.
Not yet.
But the door had opened.
And neither of them could pretend they hadn’t seen what waited on the other side.
Later that morning, Rebecca stepped out of Luca’s bedroom wearing his hoodie and soft leggings, her hair still loose around her shoulders.
The penthouse was already alive.
Men moved quietly through the living room.
Security monitors glowed near the office.
Marco stood by the kitchen counter with a coffee in one hand and a tablet in the other.
Ava sat on the sofa wrapped in a blanket, looking much better than she had after the warehouse.
Still tired.
Still healing.
But alive.
Rebecca’s heart softened at the sight of her.
Ava looked up and smiled.
“You look suspiciously well-rested.”
Rebecca blushed instantly.
Marco choked slightly on his coffee.
Luca, who had just entered behind Rebecca, gave Ava a flat look.
“Careful.”
Ava lifted both hands innocently.
“I didn’t say anything.”
“You thought it loudly,” Marco muttered.
Ava turned toward him with a grin.
“Oh, so now you know my thoughts?”
Marco looked immediately regretful.
Rebecca smiled to herself.
There was something there.
Not obvious.
Not yet.
But something quiet and warm beneath all the trauma.
A beginning, maybe.
Luca’s hand settled against Rebecca’s lower back.
Instantly, she relaxed.
Marco noticed.
Ava noticed.
Everyone probably noticed.
Rebecca didn’t care anymore.
Let them.
She had spent too many years hiding.
Luca leaned close to her ear.
“You need breakfast.”
Rebecca glanced up.
“Another order?”
His mouth curved slightly.
“A reminder.”
“Mm-hmm.”
His fingers pressed lightly against her back.
“Eat.”
The single word should not have sent warmth through her.
But it did.
Rebecca sat at the kitchen island without arguing.
Ava watched with a knowing look.
Rebecca ignored her completely.
For the next hour, the penthouse almost felt normal.
Coffee.
Quiet teasing.
Marco pretending not to care when Ava stole one of his pastries.
Luca standing behind Rebecca’s chair with one hand resting absently on her shoulder while speaking to his men.
Almost peaceful.
Then Luca’s phone rang.
The room changed instantly.
Every conversation stopped.
Rebecca felt it before she heard anything.
Luca answered.
Silence.
His face hardened.
Darkness returned.
“What do you want, Moretti?”
Rebecca’s stomach tightened.
Ava went still on the sofa.
Marco straightened immediately.
Luca listened without speaking.
The longer the silence stretched, the colder his expression became.
Finally, he said quietly:
“She isn’t part of this.”
Another pause.
Then Luca’s eyes flicked briefly toward Rebecca.
Something protective and lethal moved behind them.
“No,” he said. “She’s not my weakness.”
His hand tightened gently on Rebecca’s shoulder.
“She’s my reason.”
The call ended.
Silence filled the penthouse.
Rebecca looked up at him.
“What did he say?”
Luca didn’t answer immediately.
That frightened her more than anything.
Marco stepped closer.
“Boss?”
Luca slowly set the phone down on the counter.
Then his eyes locked onto Rebecca’s.
“He wants to meet.”
Rebecca’s pulse began to pound.
“When?”
Luca’s jaw tightened.
“Tonight.”
The room went cold.
Outside, rain began tapping softly against the windows again.
And Rebecca understood then that Book One had ended with her choosing Luca’s darkness.
But Book Two would begin with that darkness choosing her back.
