Their Thief: Redemption

Chapter 17 (Part 2)

"Kiara, please stay out of this," Luca said as he pushed his plate away and wiped his mouth with a napkin.

I watched in anticipation for her response, sure it would hold a hint of the ice princess that had left me with another unpleasant memory to add to the list. Instead of getting what I had expected, I watched her deflate and drop her eyes back to her plate.

She may have conceded at his words, but I wasn't going to let this go so easily. I needed to feel like I had some control, any. Even if it meant making an inconvenient trip a few hours away to a bookstore. Luca would learn I didn't go down without a fight.

"Why should she?" I questioned prompting her to raise her wide eyes to meet mine. "She's your fiancé. She has a right to be in your business."

The words burned in my throat as they made their way out, but I kept my voice steady, only needing to clear the discomfort they left from my throat when I had finished getting them out.

Luca's eyes turned to me, not looking too happy with what I had said.

"Y-yeah."

Kiara's stuttering voice once again drew our attention.

"What she said," she said, tilting her chin up defiantly as she leveled Luca with eyes that reminded me of the ones that had been set on killing me like I was a nuisance. Before a switch seemed to have been flipped on her personality. But it seemed that the ice princess was back now. Maybe it wasn't all an act. Meaning I would still need to stay cautious of her and her grabby hands.

Or was it the other way around given that envy reared its ugly head and wanted me to unleash violence every time Luca looked her way?

I had to get used to seeing him do more than just look at her soon. Even if I wasn't there to witness it, which I hoped I wouldn't be, I was sure the sources they wanted to hide me from would have no problem capturing their wedding kiss and plastering it all over for me and the world to see. It's what they wanted after all.

Me? I wanted to rip Kiara's tongue out at just the thought of it getting near Luca. It was nothing like when I had seen those women crawling over Jace. He hadn't given them a moment to spare, while Luca was marrying Kiara. Replacing me-

My teeth clenched at the thought. She wasn't replacing anyone. She was taking the place I hadn't even considered. That I refused to consider.

Only... Now that it was no longer an option, I found myself picturing what a life with Luca could have been like. A life that I now wouldn't be able to escape witnessing him create with Kiara. It wouldn't be as simple as trying to avoid news reporting on them like I had been for the last two years after learning how big of a deal they were in the world of money. Being so far apart and not having their scents crawling up my nose and down my throat had only made that possible, but even then it was impossible to go a day without my mind wandering off to them. More than once. For it to wander off and find him with another...

I took in a slow breath, trying not to draw either Luca or Kiara's attention as I tried to push down the uncomfortable knotting in my stomach at the thought of them together. It only grew worse when my mind tried to wander off to what would come after their wedding kiss. The honeymoon.

I stiffened. Would I feel the pain of his pleasure?

"It doesn't make it any safer," Luca said, pulling me back before more panic could set in. I had seen Max suffer when Vince was with another woman before. I wasn't looking forward to experiencing it. Hopefully, there was some dark magic workaround to that as well.