The morning light in Luca's penthouse was soft, golden, and quiet.
Sienna woke first, her body aching in the most satisfying way—skin marked with kisses, fingertips, rope. Her muscles tender. Her thighs still wet with memory.
He lay beside her on his back, one arm thrown over his eyes. Even in sleep, he looked powerful. Tense. Like some part of him refused to rest fully, even after everything he'd given.
Sienna studied his face, the sharp lines of his jaw, the way his lips parted slightly with each breath. And a question bloomed inside her.
Who are you when you're not in control?
She slipped out of bed, wrapped in one of his black robes, and padded barefoot to the kitchen. The quiet made her feel like an intruder—this was Luca's world, and even after all they'd done, she wasn't sure if she was a guest… or a temptation he'd forget by next week.
He joined her ten minutes later. Clean. Shirtless. Coffee already poured.
She turned. "You keep almond milk, French roast, and raw honey stocked. That's either coincidence… or you've had women here before."
He smiled, slow. "It's not coincidence."
She sipped. "How many?"
He shrugged. "Enough to know none of them ever asked the real questions."
"And if I did?"
He leaned against the counter, dark eyes on hers. "Then you'd get more than you bargained for."
Sienna stepped closer. "Try me."
Silence stretched between them. Luca's jaw worked. He looked… unsettled.
"You think just because I tie you up and make you come until you scream, I'm easy to figure out?"
She didn't flinch. "No. I think because you do those things so perfectly, you've learned how to hide behind them."
A flash of something crossed his face—pain? Anger? Vulnerability?
He walked past her to the floor-to-ceiling windows, looking out at the skyline.
"I give control," he said finally, "because I don't trust it in anyone else's hands."
Her chest tightened.
"Someone hurt you," she said softly.
He didn't answer.
She approached slowly, placed her hand on his bare back. His muscles tightened beneath her touch, then relaxed.
"I won't break you, Luca."
He turned, eyes shadowed. "No. You'll make me want things I swore I'd never need."
Sienna pressed a kiss to his chest, just over his heart. His breath caught. He wrapped his arms around her like a man starving for something he didn't know how to name.
And for a long moment, they stood there—silent, skin to skin, nothing between them but the thundering rhythm of what they were becoming.
Not just bodies.
Not just heat.
But something that scared them both more than surrender ever could.