Free #Boss (The Empire Series Book 3) by Nicole Hite Page A

for what June had done, and it made me sick to know I was potentially ruining someone's career for what, money? We come from very similar backgrounds, Vivienne. I suppose that's why I was so drawn to doing the assignment in the first place."
        "How could you possibly relate, Luca?" She looked at him, aggravated, as he continued to approach her.
        "My father abused me for over ten years. He would come home after a drinking binge and beat the shit out of me for no plausible reason at all. See, that's also how June found me throughout the years. Not to mention due to the foster care system. I have a record - assault and battery."
        "How do you have a wrap sheet?" she looked confused.
        "One night I just...snapped. I was sixteen years old when my father came home one night, looking to start a fight. I took a Louisville slugger and just went to town. I nearly killed him, Vivienne." He tried to close the gap between the two of them.
        Taking a step back, Luca could see the terror in her eyes.
        "Vivienne, you have to know I would never hurt you. That was the one and only time I lost control. I spent years in therapy after that day. I was shipped to a foster home where I met your sister. We were damaged kids just needing a friend. It kills me to know that everything she told me was a skewed version of the truth."
    "This is completely fucked up, you know that right?" She cringed as she looked at Luca, longing to touch him. All she truly wanted to do was curl into his arms and cry.
    "I understand how crazy all this sounds. What we felt last night was real, though. Can you really deny that?"
    "You practically got me fired, Luca. It's good I have an amazing staff, incredible friends and a lethal work ethic."
    "No shit. Those saved me from making the biggest mistake of my life."
    "Have you talked to June? Does she know you couldn't go through with her little plan?"
    "I was about to when I was so rudely interrupted." He tried to give her a smile.
    "Maybe we should call her together?" Vivienne asked hesitantly.
    "If that's truly what you want, I'm okay with that. I need to do one thing first," he exhaled.
    Stepping into her circle of trust, he delicately placed two hands on her flushed cheeks and pulled her towards him. Guiding her to his lips, he sucked in her bottom lip before taking her lips completely. He had never kissed her like this before - soft, sweet and sensual.
    Moaning into his lips, she backed her ass into the door, locking it instantly.
    Stopping her for a second, "I never spent any of the money."
    "What?" She fluttered her eyes open to make his stare.
    "I never spent a single cent. When you came in, I was transferring the money back into her account."
    "Are we making a huge mistake? Am I crazy for trusting you?"
    "I swear on my life. I had no idea. If I had, I never would have taken the job," he affirmed, as the shame and agony scorched his face. It was the most human she had seen him. She hadn’t known Luca long, but she knew people, and she knew pain when she saw it. She couldn't deny it any more; she cared deeply for this man.
    "I'm not going to say this doesn't sting. I'm not going to say I'm not hurt... Alternatively, I'm not going to say I don't feel something for you, Luca. I'm angry at myself for accepting this so easily, but I can feel you're in pain. I've felt that exact pain before, and no one should feel that way."
    "I'm willing to work on this with you, if you are?" he whispered into her patiently waiting lips.
    "I'd really like that. Just promise me something." She stroked his cheek with her thumb.
    "Anything," he pleaded.
    "Promise me you won't break my heart," she requested, looking deep into his hypnotizing eyes.
    "Never," he responded, as he leaned in to kiss her vehemently.
    His hands roamed her body, grabbing at anything and everything. The sense that he wanted to touch, and remember, every inch of her body regardless of where they were was evident in every action he