I laughed sarcastically. This man was so full of shit. “He didn’t ‘snap me up.’ No one can.”
Antonio smiled. “Quite. No wonder he won’t let you out of his sight. I should imagine you frustrate the hell out of him. That would be quite something to witness.”
I smiled, thinking how right he was. He wasn’t trying to be smutty with his remark; I could tell. It seemed he must know Luca very well to so quickly come up with that conclusion.
“You have a beautiful smile, Clara.”
I nodded. “Thank you.”
“I heard about that awful business at the club.”
“Oh?” I knew this was where he was headed all along. He had an agenda, and I was eager for him to get to the point.
“It makes me laugh every time he pulls a stunt like that. He likes to play games with his girls, you see.” I was totally confused. What the hell was he on about? “Oh, I’m sorry. You never knew. Those two boys at the club work for Luca. They had you in their sights from the very beginning. You didn’t really think Luca was unaware of your presence there from the very start? He knows everything. He came in like the proverbial knight in shining armour he was posing and rescued you from the two bad men. Luca is someone who always gets what he wants, and he will go to great lengths to get it. You’ve not been the first, and you most certainly won’t be the last.”
I was livid. In fact, the pain in my stomach told me I was more than livid. I felt hurt and betrayed. I was beginning to let him in, and all the while, I was just a silly game to him—a challenge.
“I’m sorry this has hurt you. You seem like a lovely lady, and I don’t want to see him take advantage of that.”
I felt my fists ball and my breathing hitch through the hatred I felt for Luca. If I was angry before, that was nothing compared to how pissed I felt at that moment.
I stormed off. I eventually managed to find my feet and began marching towards the bar area.
Antonio grabbed my arm. “Do you think this is wise? You seem angry.”
I stopped and glared at him. “Let. Me. Go.” He immediately complied once he saw the fire in my eyes. I was not to be messed with. Not after that revelation.
With Luca now in sight, I was vaguely aware that Antonio was right behind me. Luca looked up, saw me, and then saw the person standing behind me. He looked super pissed.
That made two of us!
I thundered into the room, and the minute I had Luca in my sight, I stormed toward him and then slapped him across the face. One hard smack—God it felt good—right across the kisser.
Stunned, Luca looked at me with an expression of concern. “Don’t you fucking come near me again,” I growled.
Many onlookers were stunned, but others were smiling. The horny fuckers probably thought this was a prelude to sex. Luca could kiss my ass, though.
Not wasting any more time, I marched off.
“What have you said to her?” Luca screamed at Antonio. “What the fuck have you said to her?”
“Only what she needed to hear.”
“You fucking asshole!”
All hell broke loose behind me, but I was already pacing up the stairs to my tower. Luca was not getting into my room. I was going to make sure of that.
Slamming the door behind me, I immediately retrieved a key from my drawer. I always kept one just in case I needed it for added security, and I was going to need it the way the night was going.
Not wasting any more time, I put the key in the hole and locked it. If he wanted to get in, he was going to have to literally barge his way through the door.
Flopping down on the bed, I threw my mask on the floor and grumbled. I was angry, I was upset, but more than anything, I was hurt. I couldn’t believe Luca would do something like that to me. I was just a challenge and always had been. He knew me from the start, so he must have known my reputation. I was probably the biggest challenge he had ever faced, and it must have been turning him on to know I was crumbling to his will. It wasn’t happening anymore. It stopped right here—right now.
The expected banging came a little later than I had imagined, but it did come. Luca was screaming at me to let him in, but he had another thing coming if he thought I would.
“Clara, let me in. I can explain.”
“Fuck off!”
“Let me in, goddammit! I can’t talk to you through a door.”
“Then, don’t. Just piss off. I don’t want to hear it.” I folded my arms across my chest. The anger was rising again, and soon it would be consuming me. I didn’t want to get that way. I didn’t want to end up as a crying heap of a person on the bed, who spent the night pining away and longing for something I never even had in the first place. I wasn’t going to let him in enough to make me that way.