Chapter 34: Endure

After their moment was interrupted, it felt tense for the rest of the evening.

Luca excused himself when it started to get late and Sophia was occupied on the couch with Ethan as she caught up with him and they talked about an ongoing nightmare client he had been training who was a celebrity. Sophia seemed entranced by the story as Luca headed up the stairs.

It was good to hear from a dear friend but she felt bad that it was yet another time when it felt like she couldn't give Luca her undivided attention. There was always an interruption or it was simply that she had her own walls built around herself that would never let him get as close as he wanted.

Despite not wanting to make him think she was asking for anything further, Sophia finished getting into her pajamas, washing her face, and brushing her teeth then went to Luca's door.

She stood there staring at it for a moment, wondering if it was smart to bother him considering what happened the night before.

Against her better judgment, she knocked on his door. When it came to him, it hardly felt like her actions were her own half the time. She was much more timid than the way she had been behaving to take a stranger into her home in the first place.

To her surprise, there was hardly a moment before Luca opened the door.

Sophia was met with his imposing figure though he was shirtless.

It was like looking up to the top of a mountain. Her eyes traveled from his well-carved abs to his built chest, then she finally met his cold blue eyes. They pierced her heart the moment they were set on her.

His words of being patient didn't match his expression half the time. At least his actions made up for it.

"Do you need something?" he asked, the question delivered gently.

A blush spread across her cheeks and she was ashamed that she just wanted to see him one last time.

"I-I just wanted to say goodnight."

Even though his eyes pinned her to the floor, his actions were much more gentle and a small smile even appeared on his face.

"Then goodnight, Sophia," he said.

Although that wasn't all. One of his hands went to her waist and he leaned down, kissing her. His hair had fallen into his face and he pushed it out of the way as he stood up to his full height again.

"Goodnight," she practically whispered, petrified at how calm he was being compared to before when he put his all into the kiss.

Sophia shut the door, knowing that was all she could give him.

She didn't see him fall to his knees and wrap his arms around his torso as he tried to get a grip on himself. It hurt so badly to resist her. This was something he had no knowledge nor any understanding of. He wanted someone he couldn't have and it was affecting him physically.

His touches seemed to soothe her pain yet hers hurt him.

Yet he knew that he could handle whatever it was he was going through.

What a selfish bastard he must have been to want to take advantage of her trust in him so badly. She didn't even lock the doors between their rooms or the one in her hallway. It would be so easy. It would be too easy.

He hardly slept that night as he resisted this awful possessiveness oozing out of his every pore. He was beginning to understand that he was naturally someone with a great deal of self-loathing.

The next day they spent most of it doing various chores and errands that Sophia normally would have done whether or not Luca was in tow. She told him he didn't have to join her since they were mundane but he couldn't imagine trusting her to the city or the thought of men looking at her at all.

After all, her normally light groceries were piled a little bit higher than usual because of him, the least he could do was carry them from one place to another for her. He was the one who wanted to be put to work so badly.

It seemed that whatever pain he was experiencing disappeared after he got some rest so he was able to do whatever she needed of him in the mornings. The evenings were what was becoming difficult.

However, as he watched Sophia go through each day, he had no desire to force her to do something she wasn't ready for. She lived her life unaware of her surroundings and unaware of her beauty. The thought of leaving her by herself frightened him.

Something in his head had snapped and he realized he was going to protect her gentleness at his expense.

Just like that, their two days off were over, and it was time to head back to the bakery. Luckily that meant Sophia was willing to turn in early for the night so Luca was able to get a grip on himself until the following morning.

A day full of stolen kisses from Sophia and affectionate moments that tore him apart from the inside out was eating him up. However, the way they were making his heart race was enough to justify the pain he was going through.

By the time they returned to the bakery, it was early enough in the morning that he felt normal. On days he didn't have her all to himself and had to share her with customers, he felt himself remain stable for longer. It was a double-edged sword of his selfishness over this woman who had embedded herself into his life and needed a momentary break from the pain that returned each night.

Yet as he watched her prepare the morning sweets after he had taken down the chairs from the tables, his desire to choose her over his pain returned in full force.