Chapter 356

“Wait,” I whisper, beaming and taking a step closer to my mate even as I gesture my head backwards to Jesse and Daphne. “You know about them!?”

Mittens wriggles out of my hands and leaps elegantly to the floor, heading back towards the bed.

“Oh, come on,” Luca says, smirking at me as he steps into the room and puts a hand around my waist, tugging me close. “It’s been obvious since the first day we met her that Jesse’s been head over heals for Daphne. And then after the second Games, the way she ran to him?” He smirks and shakes his head. “You Sinclairs think you are sneakier than you actually are.”

“Hey,” I growl playfully, stepping close. “We are plenty sneaky.”

Luca’s smile deepens as he looks down at me, raising a hand to brush the back of his fingers down the length of my cheek. “It’s good to see you a little better, gorgeous,” he murmurs. “I was worried.”

I just smile up at him and lean closer to my handsome mate, who saved my life. “Not fully better,” I say quietly. “But…a little bit. The wine helps.”

“Well then let’s steal it,” he says, pulling me with him as he moves to Daphne’s mantlepiece and snatches one of her bottles. “I’m requisitioning this,” he says, holding it up so she can see. “Desperate times, desperate measures, all that.”

“Oh whatever, I’ve got plenty,” Daphne says, leaning back against the wall and very casually avoiding any contact with Jesse as he sits next to her. “But where are you taking it?”

“My room,” Luca says, pulling me close to his side. “I’d like a minute with my mate so I can ensure for myself that she’s all in one piece after the attempt on her life.”

A little guilt forms in me at this, because he’s right – even though Luca saved me, Jackson has been at my side for hours straight now. I really did turn to Jacks to accept that comfort after Tony died. It’s not that I meant to leave Luca out I just…wanted Jacks.

And Luca has been very, very gracious about it all, letting me take the comfort that I need and showing not an ounce of jealousy.

Maybe he really is growing. Maybe this all really can work. My wolf gives a happy howl in my soul and Luca’s wolf howls back, making me smile.

“Wait, you’re taking her…away?” Jesse asks, sitting up straight, frowning as his eyes dart between us.

“Just to my room,” Luca says with a shrug.

“But she…it’s dangerous.” His frown deepens.

“You think I can’t protect her?” Luca asks, raising an eyebrow at Jesse, kind of obliging him to remember the events of the past few days. “Or that I won’t?”

I look at Jesse too, curious.

He sighs, slumping back against the pillows. “I didn’t mean it like that, Luca,” he says. “I just – I’m feeling a little over-protective of our little Shrimp. She was given over to my care alone today and Jacks and Rafe weren’t even happy about that.”

“Well, you can pass her to me,” Luca says, smiling down at me. “I’ve got her covered.” I grin back at my mate, believing him utterly.

“Luca,” Jesse says, drawing both of our eyes back to him as he hurriedly pushes himself off the bed and crosses the room, his hand extended. “I don’t think anyone really gave you the recognition you deserved for what you did two days ago –“

“Please,” Luca says, frowning and waving the gratitude aside. “She’s my mate, and any of us would have –“

“No, I’m serious,” Jesse says, interrupting and making Luca listen, looking him very intently in the face. “You saved our girl.” He looks down at me now as my expression falls, a little devastated at how serious Jesse is about this, how much he loves me. “We can never repay you, Luca. You saved her life – you and Tony both - and we’ll never, ever forget it.”

Jesse holds his hand out further and Luca sighs and shakes it, just once, quite solid.

Then Luca passes a hand over my cap, looking down into my face. “Let’s not talk about it anymore right now, all right? You look like you’ve been crying. A lot.”

I nod to him, my mouth tight because I am indeed again holding back tears.

Jesse sighs and looks back at Daphne, who shrugs.

“Come on, Shrimpy,” Luca says, quite cheerful for my sake as he puts his arm around my shoulders and gives me a tug towards the door. “Let’s go drink this.” He holds up the bottle of wine still in his other hand and gives it a little shake.

I grin up at him. “You don’t even have glasses.”

“You can lap it out of my hand,” Luca murmurs, pulling me towards the door. “Or use the cup in my bathroom.”

“The one I’m sure you haven’t cleaned all year –“

“Fine. I’ll wash it, just for you.”

I laugh and wave over my shoulder to Daphne and Jesse, who call their goodbyes. But as we slip out the door and I begin to pull it shut behind me, I don’t miss that they go silent. My final glance back into the room gives me a glimpse of her hand fisted in his shirt, pulling him hard towards her.

Grinning, I shut the door and slip my arm around my mate’s waist, following him down the hall towards the staircase.

No one bothers us on the walk to Luca’s room, though I admit that I’m jumpier than I used to be in the halls. I mean, Gibson being the one who attacked me has really thrown off my feeling of safety. For weeks now I’ve felt utterly fine walking in the halls of this Castle, even getting frustrated with Rafe when he suggested I needed a chaperone.

But now that I know that at least one Cadet was placed here by the Atalaxians? And that my fire did not work as well as I thought it would when put to the test like that? God, anything could –

“Stop,” Luca murmurs, frowning down at me and tightening his hand around my shoulder. “You don’t need to go there, Ariel. You’re perfectly safe with me.”

I sigh, leaning against him. “I know. I just…”

“Got a little spooked?” He twists his mouth a little as he looks down at me, sympathetic, and I nod.

But as we approach Luca’s door, I smirk a bit too. “Remember why I was in here the first and only time that I’ve been inside your room?”

He laughs, pushing the door open. “Yes. Because I was sick of giving you the silent treatment and wanted to kiss the hell out of you.”

“And because you’d just punched the crap out of Wright.”

I laugh as he tugs me into the room and kicks he door shut, lifting me up against his chest with one arm firm beneath my ass.

“Come on,” he says, laughing up into my face as I smile down at him. “Let’s get you drunk so that you can forget your worries for half a second.”

“Okay,” I whisper. And then I dip my head and kiss my mate, loving him very dearly and feeling quite safe in his arms.

About an hour and a half later, Luca’s prophecy is correct.

We finished the bottle of wine and have moved on to some whiskey, which tastes terrible but definitely has me feeling all tingly. And my worries all feel quite, quite far away in the happy buzz of my mind.

“Why do you boys drink this stuff,” I ask, sticking out my tongue and holding up the bottle to peer at it. “Is it just because it makes you look tough?”

“Probly,” Luca murmurs, closing one eye to peer up at me as he lays out long on his bed and I sit next to him. “We could put sugar in it to make it taste better. If I had any sugar. Which I don’t.”

“You need a better candy game, Grant,” I sigh, putting the bottle on his bedside table. When I look back at him, letting my eyes drift all the way down his long form, I can’t help the smile that turns up the corner of my mouth.

“What?” he asks, smirking now.

I shrug. “You’re just…appealing. Visually.”

He laughs, his dimples jumping onto his cheeks, his eyes crinkling in that charming way that makes my stomach twist.

“Seriously,” I murmur, taking advantage of the situation and swinging a leg over his body so that I straddle his hips, putting my hands on his hard stomach and peering down at him. “Do you like, try? Is there any effort that goes into this, or were you just born this gorgeous?”

My mate smirks up at me, fire and hunger alight in his eyes.