After Clara disconnected the call, we all sat in silence for a few moments, letting her information settle in.
"I'll go ahead and connect with Ben so we can get the remainder of the infrared cameras set up along the gates," Lincoln said.
"I'll order more motion sensors," Blaine added. "We can get those up and running in by tomorrow evening, at the latest. I've got a guy in town who can get them to me by morning."
Luca nodded before turning to Bates.
"Call an Elders meeting for tomorrow morning at five," he said. "We're going to figure out a way to get everyone within the gates. Let them know we're going to start daily temperature checks and to be brainstorming ideas to acquire and log the information."
Bates nodded.
"Keep everyone on high alert for the next twenty-four hours," Luca continued, speaking to all three of them. "We'll convene again tomorrow before the elders meeting."
They all nodded, pulling out their phones to contact the necessary people.
Luca stood up, turning to me.
"Let's go."
I wordlessly followed him down the staircase and outside to his truck. I, again, opened my door for myself as Luca climbed into the driver's side of the cab.
We drove home in silence, the awkward tension between us suffocating.
I knew he was likely thinking about the meetings and responsibilities he would be attending to the next morning, so I remained silent.
As Luca pulled into the garage, I got out of the truck and began to walk towards the door to go inside.
I stopped as I realized he wasn't following me.
Turning to him, my eyebrows furrowed.
"Are you okay?" I asked.
My words pulled him from deep thought and he looked over to me from where he stood on the other side of his truck.
"I'm fine."
I began to take a step forward.
"Are you sure?"
Luca nodded curtly.
"I'm going up to my office to get a few things done," he said, walking towards the door to go upstairs.
He opened the door and slammed it behind him quickly, leaving me to stand in the garage and wonder what his problem was.
I tried to think back.
Was he upset about what Clara had said? Has it made him nervous?
I shook my head at the thought.
No, he was upset before we got there.
Then I remembered what happened at the gate: He had started acting cold as soon as he'd smelled Alpha Reid's scent on me.
I lifted my t-shirt to my nose, sniffing.
I couldn't still smell Alpha Reid's scent, but I wouldn't deny that Luca's sense of smell was likely much more keen than mine. He was an Alpha, after all.
Taking a deep breath, I went into the house and showered. I made sure to wash my hair and body thoroughly before getting out. After towel drying my hair, I wrapped myself in a robe and gathered my dirty clothes from the floor.
Although my laundry had just been done, I took what clothes I had—including those I had worn that day—and threw them into the washing machine. I could only hope that would be enough to wash the scent out.
I wandered around the house for a few moments, looking to see if Luca had come inside from his office yet. When I couldn't find him, I made my way over to the garage.
The door leading up the staircase creaked as I opened it slowly.
Might as well announce yourself now, I thought.
I walked upstairs into the lamp-lit room. Looking around, I saw the bedroom suite on one side and the living area in the center of the room, exactly the way it was the last time I'd been up there. He sat at his desk, the farthest point from me in the room.
Luca looked up at me from over his laptop before his gaze returned to the screen.
"I thought you'd be in bed by now," he said.
"I expected the same from you," I admitted. "It's nearly midnight."
Luca sighed, eyes still glued to the screen.
"Just have a lot to get done," he explained shortly.
"A lot to get done? Or a lot to distract yourself from?" I asked.
Luca looked at me briefly, his eyebrows furrowing.
"I don't know what you're talking about."
He began to type something on the laptop keyboard as his attention returned to the device again.
I reached out and closed the laptop, taking a seat in front of him on his desk.
"What's wrong?" I asked.
Luca drew in a deep breath, realizing I wasn't giving up.
"I assume you know already since you showered," he said.
I tilted my head to one side, taking a guess.
"You're upset about me hugging Alpha Reid?"
He thought about it for a moment, as if he were contemplating over whether what he was thinking was worth saying.
"I don't know why I'm fucking pissed," he said quickly. "I'm just–"
He stopped himself and took a deep breath, his eyes on the wall next to us, not on me.
"You're just what?" I persisted.
I saw his jaw tighten before he turned to me.
"I don't know how to say it."
"Angry?" I guessed.
Luca was quiet for a few moments. With clenched hands that rested on the arms of his chair, he bounced his knee anxiously.
"I don't know how to say it without sounding like an obsessive prick," he admitted through clenched teeth.
"Well, since I know you're not an obsessive prick, why don't you say it and I'll try to take it the way you mean it and not the way it sounds?"
A few moments of silence passed.
"Luca..." I prompted slowly.
He stood from the desk chair abruptly, kicking it backwards to land on the floor. I flinched away, hearing the loud noise cut through the silence.
"You fucking call me to tell me that bastard's in Missoula and I'm a whole fucking hour away from you and I can't do shit about it and I can't get to you in time if anything happens. But then you come back and he's all I can smell all over you and my wolf goes fucking nuts because you're my mate and my scent is the only one you should be carrying and it makes me feel crazy. And then we get to that goddamn water tower and fucking Clara has all this shit to say and all I can focus on is you sitting next to me smelling like another fucking Alpha!"
Luca stopped his rapid pacing and turned away from me, running a frustrated hand through his hair. I watched the rise and fall of his shoulders as he struggled to calm himself down.
I couldn't help but be shocked by the outburst, having never heard Luca raise his voice in anger before.
My expression morphed from one of shock to concern as I reached out to put a hand on his back, seeing his hands shaking by his side.
I pulled him backwards by his t-shirt, wrapping my arms around his torso and resting my head against his back as he got closer to me.
"I'm sorry I scared you," I said. "I called you so you would know, I didn't mean for it to make you feel helpless."
"You did the right thing," he said, shaking his head.
We stayed like that for a few moments as I felt Luca's heart racing against my palm that was pressed to his chest.
"I wouldn't have hugged him if I'd known it would make you feel like this," I whispered finally.
Luca drew in a deep breath.
"In my head, I know he's a father figure to you, it's just... I feel something different. It's like something primitive in me just snapped. I haven't been this blinded by my emotion since I found your scent in Vegas."
I let his admittance sink in for a moment before I spoke.
"But you know it didn't mean anything?" I asked.
He nodded slowly.
"I know it... I just wish I could feel it."
I turned him around and placed a hand on either side of his face.
"I'm sorry you've had to deal with this all night," I said. "But this could have been resolved if you had told me sooner."
"And what? Cause a scene in front of my sisters or Lincoln, Bates, and Blaine?"
"We had plenty of time to talk about it in the car after we dropped Norah off," I pointed out.
"What were you going to do about it? You couldn't shower yet, you didn't have a change of clothes..." he countered.
I stopped for a moment to think about it.
"I know I'm new to this whole Alpha's-mate-scent-thing," I admitted. "But if he just hugged me and his scent was all over me, wouldn't you fucking me in the backseat of your truck have covered it up?"
He gave me a stern look at the turn of conversation.
I held up my hands in surrender.
"I mean, I would've gladly done that even if you hadn't offered an explanation. I've been wanting to since you drove me here from Oregon," I continued.
He rolled his eyes but I could tell he was trying not to smile. I felt my heart swell a bit, knowing I had successfully lightened the conversation and made him feel a bit better.
I reached up and placed a hand around the back of his neck.
"While I don't understand the possessiveness that comes with the scent thing like you do, I do love you," I told him. "And I want you to know that you can talk to me about it so we can help each other understand. Okay?"
He nodded as he reached up and took my hand from his neck, placing my palm against his lips.
"I love you," he mumbled against my skin.
"You make it obvious," I assured him.
He smiled as he let go of my hand and reached behind him to pick up his desk chair from the floor, sighing as he slumped into it.
"And while we're talking about things that make us upset..." I started.
I hooked my foot around the arm of his chair and pulled it closer to the desk, where I sat.
"I loosened the top part of this robe before I walked upstairs because I knew it would accentuate my cleavage and you haven't looked once," I said.
"We were having a serious conversation," he defended.
"And now that the serious conversation is over..." I teased, poking my leg through the slit of the robe and placing my foot in his lap.
"Nope," he said firmly, "I don't have condoms up here."
I pulled one from the pocket of the robe, watching him roll his eyes as he saw it.
"Baby, I've got shit to do," he said.
"Like me?"
I moved the foot that was in his lap further up the inside of his thigh, feeling his boner under the jeans he wore.
I bit down on my lip, smiling because I knew I'd got him.
He smacked my foot away, standing from the chair to lean in my face.
"Go get your ass on that bed," he said, taking the condom from my hands.
"The bed?" I asked, poking out my bottom lip. "I kind of like idea of the desk."
He raised an eyebrow.
"Have it your way then."
I squealed at his quick movements as he pulled me off the desk with one arm, clearing off the top of it with his other hand while I fumbled with the tie of the robe.
As soon as I'd shrugged it from my shoulders and it fell to the floor, Luca had me bent over his desk to lay on my stomach.
Luca took both of my hands in his and put them out in front me to grab the edge of the desk, one hand encasing both wrists.
His mouth pressed against my neck and shoulder just over his mark, leaving a trail of kisses across my skin.
I moaned as he bit gently into my upper back, taking the skin between his teeth.
His hand released my wrists as he sat back into his chair, letting his hand trail down my back as his mouth did.
I took in a quick inhale as two of his fingers slid between my wet folds, pushing inside of me. Luca curled his fingers back towards him as he pulled them out, causing a wave of pleasure to roll through me.
Luca did this repeatedly, his other hand massaging my butt with a firm grip. I gasped as I felt him bite down into my ass cheek, immediately knowing it would leave a bruise.
Just as I was about to finish, Luca pulled his fingers out of me and I heard the chair roll back as he stood up.
I was panting as I listened to him unbuckle his belt, hearing his jeans hit the floor before I heard the sound of the condom wrapper being ripped open.
Luca took my damp hair in his hand and twisted it, pushing it over my shoulder.
Goosebumps erupted over my skin as his fingers lightly traced down my naked back.
I bit down on my lip and let out moan as he pushed inside of me.
His thrusts were quick, but powerful. He filled me with his entire length before pulling out to push in again.
I could feel the pain in my upper thighs as they rammed against the edge of the desk every time his hips moved forward into mine. While mildly uncomfortable, I reminded myself that I had asked for sex against a wooden desk instead of a cushiony mattress.
The sound of his skin slapping against mine echoing throughout the room, Luca reached under me and grabbed my breasts with each hand, squeezing them.
I moaned loudly against the desk, my grip on its edge tightening as I felt myself nearing my climax.
Groaning, Luca finished inside of me and he dropped his hands from my breasts to rest on the desk beneath me to keep himself steady.
I clenched around Luca's length as I came, earning another groan from him. I nearly screamed as the orgasm washed over me, my jaw dropping and entire body going rigid.
I laid there for a moment, my forehead pressed to the desk as I tried to catch my breath. I could hear Luca panting behind me as he slid an arm around my waist and lifted me off of the desk.
I rested my head against his shoulder as he carried me over to the bed, laying me down gently with arms that were still shaking.
Pulling him down with me, Luca didn't protest as I positioned him between my legs, his head resting on my stomach.
We laid there silently for a few moments, my fingers running lightly through his hair.
It wasn't until I heard his heavy breathing that I looked down to see his eyes closed and mouth parted slightly.
I smiled as I pulled the cover over Luca, rolling out from under him to lay next to his sleeping body.
"Goodnight," I whispered, laying my head against his bicep.
When I opened my eyes the next morning, I was met by the bright sunshine that was pouring in from the window.
I sat up slightly to see that Luca was gone, remembering then he had an early meeting with his Elders.
I saw his laptop sitting on the nightstand and leaned in to see the shattered screen with a neon green sticky note attached, reading:
'Look what you made me do'
I couldn't help but laugh.
I'd have to remember to remind him to clear the desk more gently next time we had sex on it.
Because there would certainly be a next time.
- - -
I'd be pissed if I cracked my MacBook just to get some... not worth it to me, lol
Tomorrow's update will come at our regular time of 8:30am EST (New York time).
See you then!
MaybeManhattan .x