CHAPTER 4

Kiara’s shouting made Luca run to the room. “What’s wrong? Are you okay?” He worriedly glanced at her, before redirecting it to his bag.”Why the hell is my bag on the floor, Kiara? My laptop is in there!” He spat, rushing to pick it up.

Kiara could barely speak, “N-no, you tell me what the fuck this is right now!” She shouted again, waving the mask in the air. Luca’s eyes finally landed on the masquerade mask in her hand. Her hand was trembling, she didn’t want to believe it. No, not yet.

“Did you attend the Charity Gala, Luca?” She asked, a bit calmer now. She steadied herself by taking three deep breaths in, anticipating his answer. “Yes…I did.” He confirmed as he stood back up, towering over Kiara.

“Oh my God, I can’t believe this,” she said, waving the mask in her hand, “I can’t believe I kissed you! You!” She threw it onto the bed, running her hand through her hair.

So, he was the cause of her sleepless nights and wet dreams? She groaned, wanting to smash her head into the wall. She didn’t want it to be true, but there was no turning back the wheel of time, it was.

“But, your eyes were green, they matched your mask.” She stated, remembering how brightly those eyes shone the other night. “Yes Kiara, they were contacts. Besides, a masquerade party is just a tushed-up way of disguising yourself.”

He stepped closer to her, smirking. “So, tell me, princess, didn’t you enjoy it?” Kiara looked him up and down, shaking her head. She couldn’t give him an answer. She knew her lips would betray her, and it took all the willpower in her to just keep her mouth shut.

“Tell me you didn’t enjoy it, and I’ll back off,” he whispered. He seemed very calm about the whole situation, almost as if it was planned . He spoke with a sense of normalcy, but Kiara seemed to think it was the hottest thing ever. 

“I-” She rolled her eyes, unsure of what to even say. “Come on, speak up princess.” He encouraged her, closing off the distance between them. She could smell him again, and it just made her want to bury her face into his chest and kiss him.

Kiara pushed him back, standing her ground, “What on earth do you think you’re doing? You think you can have your cake and eat it too?” She sneered, the level of emotions in her rising. Her voice wavered a bit, “Don’t come near me.”

“I just wanted to remind you of our kiss. It seems you’ve forgotten how good it was, hm?” He teased, sliding his tongue over his lip. That’s the thing though, she definitely hadn’t forgotten how amazing it was. Yes, Luca was handsome, but she had never, in all her years in life of knowing him, thought of him this way. This was all uncharted territory for her, so she was like a lost pirate without a map. 

She hated to admit it to herself, but she practically touched herself the other night, thinking of the kiss. Moaning into her pillow and gripping her sheets, he was the man she was thinking of.

“Tell me you don’t like the way I taste or the way I grab your ass, princess.” He teased again, regaining control over the situation. The urgency in Kiara’s core grew as she became moist down there. His voice, his dirty little thoughts were doing things to her. 

Things that she couldn’t stop. Things that she didn’t want to stop. It felt so good, but was this the right thing to do? Was hooking up or getting in a relationship with her father’s best friend the right way to go?

Kiara frowned, putting up a facade, “What if I told you I don’t want to remember? Just stay away from me, and we’ll be cool.” She shrugged.

“What do you mean?”He questioned, his eyes dancing between her eyes and her lips, before finally settling on her eyes.

“Yeah, just go your way and I’ll go mine. Nothing too deep,” she said casually, “It was a one-time thing. A mistake that no one has to know about.”

“Woah, calm down. I never said anyone had to know about it darling,” he lowered his voice to a hush, “And it definitely wasn’t a mistake to me. It was purely intentional. God, you’re beautiful.” He chastised her, trying to put a stray hair away from her face. 

“I’m not your darling,” she shook her head, laughing a bit, “Don’t you get it? We should stop.” She looked at him, eye to eye as her facial expression turned to a cold, emotionless one.

 She was trying so hard to keep herself together, to not give in. But, to be honest, it was hard, really hard. Knowing within herself that she craved more, made it even worse.

“Stop trying so hard, Kiara,” Luca chuckled, shaking his head consciously, “I’m not buying it, and you can hardly believe yourself.” He moved closer to her once again, his warm breath tickling her neck.

“Three words, Kiara, just three words, he kissed her jawline. “I.” Kiss. “Want.” Kiss. “You.” Kiss.

“You say it back, and I’m all yours. You keep shying away, that’s fine too. I’ll leave you alone and this will never happen again. I won’t bother you again, and that’s a promise. I just need you to confirm it.” He begged with his eyes, waiting for a response.

“What do you want me to do in this kind of situation, Luca?” Kiara groaned, rubbing her temples with her hand. She was so confused, torn apart even. Would she make the right decision?

“I-” She began to speak, then paused, “Why do you even want me? What is so special about me?” 

“Oh, darling, can’t you see?” 

He chuckled, moving closer to Kiara, “I love you.”