Chapter 0291

Luca’s gym is…loud.

My eyes go wide as Conner and I step inside, as I take in the dozens of people all working out. There three boxing rings spread out across the long room, and then at least fifteen large punching bags hang from the ceiling in the area to my left. Weaving in between them are a group of teenage boys, each concentrating hard as they punch the bag in front of them, being cheerfully yelled at by the man who is clearly their coach. Loud, heavy music pulses through the air, and no one turns to me as I come in.

Despite the fact that each of the rings is occupied with boxers sparring with each other or working with their coaches, my eyes go immediately to the middle one. Because I know Luca’s form when I see it, and he’s there, working alone with an older bald man who barks out orders as Luca punches the pads on his hands.

A smile breaks out on my face and I glance up at Conner, who’s looking down at me. He gives me another wink and then raises his chin towards Luca, clearly suggesting that I move boldly forward. So I do, remembering my dad’s words that I’m a Princess and a Sinclair, and that I was invited here today. Even if I do find this place intimidating as hell, there’s nothing here I can’t handle.

Luca concentrates hard in the ring as Conner and I walk over to it, coming to stand quietly ringside and watch him finish his exercise. Neither he nor his coach give any indication that they realize that I’m here, the coach continuing to shout commands and suggestions for Luca. At each one Luca changes something slightly, standing straighter, or hitting harder, or ducking more quickly.

I’m amazed, again, at how fast he is. I mean, I know that Luca is the national champion for a reason, but god he’s impressive. Luca’s hands move so fast that they’re nearly a blur to my vision and I can tell by the way that his coach’s hands snap back that each of his punches land with one hell of an impact.

I smile as my eyes move over my mate, taking in his tanned, sweaty skin, the lines of his torso as they disappear in to his cute boxing shorts. I raise my eyes to admire the line of his jaw, clenched in his determination, and the way the muscles shift in his powerful shoulders as he delivers punch after punch.

God, but he’s hot.

And mine, the fact of which is its own personal thrill.

My smile deepens, and Luca flinches, a little bit, glancing to the side where I’m standing.

When he does, his coach reaches out and cuffs him, hard, over the head.

I gasp, but Luca just laughs as he stumbles to the side. “Okay, okay,” he says, rubbing at his head and grinning at his coach. “You got me there – I was distracted.”

“Better not get distracted tomorrow night,” the coach mutters, gruff, clearly not happy about the fact that Luca lost his concentration. Then he flicks his eyes to me. “She’ll be there, you know. I won’t have her ringside.”

“She’s not gonna be ringside, she’ll be in the box,” Luca mutters, waving a hand dismissively at his coach before turning fully to me, a wide grin taking over his face as he comes to lean on the ropes of the boxing ring. “Hey!” he says, his eyes crinkling in delight as he sees me. “I’m so glad you’re here! Just let me finish this workout and I’ll –“

“You’re done, you’re done,” the coach sighs, pulling the pads off his hands as he shakes his head. “You’re tired, and you’re not going to get any work done with her here anyway.”

Luca grins at the coach before passively holding out his glove, palm up. The coach comes forward, reaching for Luca’s boxing glove and helping him with the laces on his wrist. “Ariel, this is my uncle,

Bruce Grant,” he says, nodding to me and then to the burly man who I can now see has a passing resemblance to Luca, though far gruffer.

Chapter 0292

My eyebrows go up, because Luca’s told me about his uncle – the man who raised him, kept him out of trouble, turned him into the champion he is today.

“Uncle,” Luca says, grinning at the older man and slipping his hand out of the first glove, starting on the second himself now that the first is gone. “This is Ariel Sin-“

“I know who she is,” Bruce says, gruff. Then he lifts his eyes to me, giving an awkward little bow. “Your highness,” he murmurs, clearly not happy about saying my honorific but doing it anyway. “It’s a pleasure to meet you. You’re welcome here, and to our family. We’re honored to have you, and glad Luca finally met a mate so he’ll stop being such a damn ass with women.”

My eyebrows go up because…well, I wasn’t expecting such a warm welcome from this gruff man. I clench my teeth to keep from laughing, giving a solemn nod to Bruce as Luca bursts into laughter.

“I’m not an ass with women,” he sighs, shaking the sweat from his hair and handing the second boxing glove to his uncle. “I’m just –“

“A damn ass,” his uncle says, cuffing Luca over the head again, softer this time, with a tiny smile on his lips. “Now go get a shower, so you can be presentable for your mother and your grandmother. Miss Ariel,” he says, shifting his eyes back to me and giving me a nod, “I’ll look forward to seeing you again at home.”

Bruce walks to the other side of the ring as Luca climbs out from between the ropes, hopping down to the floor. My mate reaches for me as he nods his hello to Conner, wanting to give me a sweaty hug, but I squeak and swat at him. “You’re all sweaty!” I protest. “And I have to meet your mom!”

Luca just laughs again and I beam at him, completely swept away by this very attractive, very sweaty Alpha as he runs a hand through his wet hair, slicking it back. “Fine, fine,” he sighs, shaking his head a little and spraying me with sweat in a way that makes me shriek again but which…well,

which I don’t hate. I mean, I like my mate all sweaty after a workout, I guess. Especially when he looks like that, all shirtless and muscular, smelling deliciously of boy and apricots and sunshine.

“Come on,” Luca says, nodding towards the locker room and clearly inviting me to go with him. “I’ll be fast. Mom and Gran are waiting, after all.”

Conner nods to me, murmuring that he wants to look over the gym, and I follow Luca towards the locker room. He leads me inside and I’m surprised to see that it’s tiny – just one shower, and some towels, and a little set of lockers.

“This is just mine,” Luca says, shooting me a grin as he quickly pulls off his shoes and socks before stepping into the little shower stall, pulling the curtain shut. “Being the champ has its perks.”

“I guess so,” I say, a little impressed as I sit on the little wooden bench in front of the lockers and listen as Luca turns the water on. As steam starts to rise above the curtain bar, Luca’s hand reaches out from behind the curtain, dropping his sweaty shorts on the ground outside.

He starts talking, then, telling me about his day and how his mom and uncle reacted when he revealed to them that he has a mate, and that his mate is the princess. But if I’m being honest, I barely hear him.

Because I am suddenly very aware that my super-hot mate is naked on the other side of a flimsy curtain, water running all over his sore, muscled body.

And that we are…absolutely all alone in this private locker room.

And I’ve got no big brother and cousin out there protecting my chastity for once.

I mean…what is a girl to do?

Chapter 0293

Luca, true to his word, showers quickly, continuing to tell me about his morning and how his uncle kicked the crap out of him, not impressed at all by anything that he learned at the Academy and taking the day to drill back into him all of his old techniques.

“I mean,” Luca says, turning off the shower. “He’s not wrong – I’ve got to remember the basics that I’ve had drilled into me for years, or else I’ll get sloppy. But I did learn some stuff at the Academy, and I’m a little frustrated that he won’t even let me think of incorporating it into any of my strategy.”

“Uh-huh,” I say, completely distracted, sitting prim and straight on the little bench before Luca’s small set of lockers, my hands on my knees, staring at the flimsy curtain, thinking hard about what’s behind it.

I remember, suddenly, the first time that I saw Luca naked – in the locker room, while I was waiting to take my own shower, and I had gone completely still, just…staring at him. Watching the water slip down his skin, over his muscles. Watched him tilt his head back and fill his mouth with it, and then let it spill out over his lips…

God, god.

Suddenly all I want to do is leap forward and rip the curtain back, and grab him –

But Luca beats me to it.

I jump as he rips the curtain back, and my eyes go wide because…

God damn it – crap – crap but he’s gorgeous.

Luca – he’s a celebrity heartthrob for a reason, and as I stare at him, a white towel slung low over his hips, running a hand through his hair that’s darker now that it’s all wet…I know precisely why he’s almost always included in the top 10 of any “Most Eligible” list.

He’s just…beautiful.

My eyes drift down his body, flicking over his wide, muscled shoulders, toned from years of determination and training, of hours and hours in the gym, working towards his singular goal of being the best at his art. Over his pecs and his insane abs that ripple like a damn washboard, all the way down to the sharp V of his hips, to where it disappears into his towel.

When my eyes move back up to Luca’s face – his perfect, too-handsome, even pretty face – I see him smirking at me, clearly intuiting my admiration and enjoying the hell out of my shell-shocked expression, probably feeling every inch of my insane desire down our bond.

“Oh whatever,” I huff, crossing my arms as I blush, a little embarrassed to be caught out in my lust while he’s apparently perfectly composed. “You’re into me too!”

“Damn right I am,” he murmurs, taking a step forward towards me that makes something burn low in my stomach, makes me go loose and tense all at once. But to my shock, Luca just continues smirking at me for a moment before he shifts his attention to the lockers behind me, reaching for one and apparently completely ignoring me.

I can’t help the indignant squeak that slips from my lips as Luca opens the locker and starts to rifle inside, pulling out some clothes and stacking them on the bench next to me. I just stare, open- mouthed, at my mate – who is apparently very, very willing to ignore my desire for him right now.

Suddenly very miffed, I snap my mouth shut and glare at him, tightening my arms across my chest and sending every single one of my emotions down the bond so that he knows precisely how offended, and frustrated, and – well, yes, a little hurt – I am, so that there’s no chance he can ignore it anymore.

To my shock, Luca just laughs lightly, a dark and ironic sound, pressing his eyes shut as he turns away from me and pulls on his underwear beneath the towel, and then lets that drop to the ground,

and then starts on his pants. I have to admit, I’m a little distracted by the sight, but not enough to overlook the fact that my mate is very able to just ignore me now, when we’re alone in our non- dream bodies for like, the first time ever.

Chapter 0294

“Ariel,” Luca sighs, shaking his head and smiling as he turns back to me, buttoning his pants. “It’s not going to happen like this.”

“What’s not going to happen!?” I ask, tossing out a hand.

“It’s…” Luca says, his emphasis on the word, and his raised eyebrow making it very clear what he means, “not going to happen like this.”

I jump to my feet in protest, my hands fisted at my side. “Luca!” I hiss, angry. “I mean, you don’t get to decide that for both of us! There are two of us here!”

He sighs a little through his nose, frustrated, and then lightning-fast he reaches for me, grabbing me by the waist and pulling me tight against him, running his fingers through my hair and wrapping them lightly around the back of my neck before I have time to even think, to process what’s going on.

“Do you seriously want to lose your virginity in a locker room, Ariel?” he murmurs, smirking down at me, shaking his head and staring into my eyes with his pretty brown ones. “With my uncle, and your bodyguard, and a passel of teenage boys on the other side of that wall?” He nods slightly to his left, towards the door.

“Um,” I say, my eyes shifting to the side, because I didn’t think about it that way. But even as I know that’s not what I want, my hands move to his waist. And then I watch Luca shudder, and press his eyes shut as I flatten my palms against his ribs and run my hands up over his back, pulling him tighter against me even as I rest my weight against him.

And that’s how I know that Luca isn’t nearly as resistant to me as he was pretending to be just a minute ago. And I smile.

“Come on, Luca,” I whisper, soft and teasing. “Just…kiss me. Just a little kiss.”

He groans, and his hands tighten – just incrementally – before suddenly he twists and spins me, and presses me back against the lockers. I gasp when my shoulders clang against the metal, but it’s not that it hurts – not at all, Luca’s very careful with me – but the sound of it, and the surprise –

I stare up at my mate, wide-eyed.

“Is this what you want, Ariel?” he murmurs, moving the hand curved around the back of my neck up so that he cradles my head, using his half-naked body to press me back against the cold metal of the lockers.

At the same time, he slides his other hand down the length of my body until it rests against my thigh. And then he slowly starts to bunch the fabric of my dress there, so that it raises up my leg, inch by inch.

“Do you want me to take you right here, right now?” He lowers his face a little and my breath hitches as I stare up at him, my heart starting to pound. “Because if that’s what you want…god knows I don’t have enough willpower to resist if you ask me – really ask me.”

I stare up at him, my breath coming in fast little pants now, completely at a loss for what to say.

“Tell me what you want, Ariel,” Luca whispers, his face serious, before he presses a lingering kiss to my lips.

And in that moment I realize that…I have absolutely no idea what I really want.

Chapter 0295

My wolf absolutely howls inside of me, telling me to do ridiculous things as she always does. Kiss him! Jump on top of him, wrap your legs around his waist, he likes that! See if you can get his pants off – he just put them on –

But I shake my head, willfully trying to ignore her, because the sensible part of me knows that Luca is right – that this is not how I want this to happen.

“See?” he says, smirking at me, a little smug as he pulls himself away a little bit, pausing his hand’s work to get my dress up over my hip. “I didn’t think so.”

“Hey!” I snarl, offended – because, I mean, I didn’t make my decision yet!

Yes! My wolf shouts, encouraging me forward. Grab him! Make him kiss us again! Take the stupid dress off! Why did we let Daphne pick such a complicated dress – we should have worn something with snaps –

“What?” Luca says, pausing and coming just an inch closer, teasing me now. “Come on, Ariel –let’s wait until after the match – then I can actually take you to bed, a real bed –“

“Why do you always think you get to tell me what I want?” I ask, frowning up at him, starting to get a little pissed now if I’m being honest. Because I mean, he actually is right. The first time I do this I do want to be in a bed, and relaxed, and not worrying if someone is going to come through the door.

But damn it, why did he know that first?

“Because,” Luca murmurs, stepping close to me again and pressing a kiss to my cheek and then to my neck – a soft, lingering one that makes my eyelids flutter. “You’re my mate – and because I know you Ariel.”

God, the way his mouth moves over my skin – it’s torture, and he knows it. My hands tighten against the skin of his back, my nails digging just slightly into him, and his skin shivers all over.

“I know what you want,” he whispers, raising his head and looking into my eyes again before pressing a soft kiss to my mouth. “And…well, I know what you can handle.” He hesitates here, just for a second. “I’m…more experienced in this than you.”

My mouth drops open now, a little appalled. “Luca!” I gasp, whipping my hand around and smacking him in the chest – not hard, but with a satisfying smack that lets him know that I’m mad. “Are you seriously saying that I – that I can’t handle you!?”

His face breaks into a smile and a little growl rumbles in his chest. “I know you can’t handle me, Ariel,” he murmurs, his voice dipping lower in a way that – god, that makes the heat in me grow more steadily. “Not yet, at least. We need to get your body used to this a little more before we start doing adventurous things like a quickie in a locker room. You’re trying to run before you can walk.”

I huff now, genuinely angry, and shove harder against his chest, fully pissed now. “That is so rude, Luca,” I snarl, lifting my chin up to glare at him. “Just because you’re so slutty that you’ve had more experience than me –“

Luca laughs, genuinely pleased, his eyes crinkling. But he doesn’t step back – steps closer, even, bunching my dress up more, slipping his hand beneath the hem of it and sliding his palm steadily upwards until his hand cups my ass, his palm moving over the lacy edge of my panties.

I gasp again, my eyes going wide, any protests falling dead on my tongue.

“So, this is really what you want? What you can handle?” he murmurs, his eyes shining, tightening his hand a little, squeezing my ass in a way that makes my head fall back, just a little, a puff of desperate breath slipping between my lips. “You won’t let me show you the ropes slowly? Want to just…jump into the deep end?”

“You’re mixing your metaphors,” I growl, my brain fuzzing, talking nonsense because I’m having trouble concentrating with the way his fingers are moving over my underwear, trending inwards, towards…

“It’s too easy,” he murmurs, shaking his head, taunting me. “Honestly, Ariel, you should let me take it slow. You won’t be able to handle it.”

“Wha…what?” I murmur, my eyes half shut as he presses himself closer to me, as I feel his chest press hard against my breasts.

“If you let me touch you, Ariel,” he whispers, “when you’re all worked up like this? I’m going to make you come in about…thirty seconds.”

My eyes fly open, appalled at his arrogance, his gall.

He smiles, greedy, dipping his head closer and taking a sniff of me, like he can smell my anger, like he likes it. “Seriously, gorgeous,” he says with a sigh, even though he doesn’t move his body away, keeps his hand right where it is on my ass, his other still cradling my neck. “We can take our time later, make it right.”