I didn't have time to let anything sink in before Luca was pulling me away.

"That was the single weirdest thing I've ever done in my life," I said, following him down the moonlit path back to the truck. "That man is not marrying us."

Luca laughed.

I turned to look behind us, seeing Norah wave. I returned her wave, Bates waving back to me as well.

"What are we doing?" I asked.

"We're going away for a few days," Luca said.

"Back to the cabin?"

He shook his head, smiling.

"Where are we going then?" I asked.

Luca turned to me.

"Am I not allowed to be spontaneous?" He asked.

I leveled a hard stare.

"The last time you did something spontaneous at midnight, I ended up being scared half to death on the floor of my patio while a stranger pinned me to the ground," I said bluntly.

Luca rolled his eyes.

"I'm never living that down, am I?"

"Not anytime soon," I assured him, causing him to laugh.

When we got to the truck, Luca opened my door for me. As I sat down, he reached around me and pulled a small box from the glove compartment.

I watched as he opened it, pulling out a few gauze pads and a bandage.

Pulling my hand towards him, he covered the bleeding cut with a gauze pad.

"Keep pressure on it," he said. "We can wrap it once it's finished bleeding."

I nodded as I gripped the gauze firmly around my finger.

Luca put the box in my lap before closing my door and walking around the truck.

"When are we leaving?" I asked him.

"Right now."

I stared between him and the clock on the truck's dashboard.

"You've been awake since four this morning," I told him. "Why don't we go home? You can get some rest, and then we'll leave in the morning?"

Luca turned to me with a lifted eyebrow.

"Why are you so concerned with my sleeping schedule?" He asked. "It's weird."

I nearly answered him before I realized he was mocking me, using the same words I had spoken only a month earlier.

"You're annoying," I told him.

He smiled as he started the truck's engine.

"Can you at least tell me how long it will take to get there?" I asked.

"So many questions," he groaned.

"So little answers," I countered.

He rolled his eyes.

"We're driving to the airport now, it will take about twenty minutes to get there. The plane ride will be about six hours, including the stop we'll make in Denver to fill up."

I tried to think of all the places within a six-hour plane ride of Northern Montana but came up blank when I tried to guess where we would be going.

"Whatever, keep your secrets," I told him, waving my hand dismissively.

"I could be convinced to share them," he said suggestively, his voice dropping.

I turned to him with my eyebrows furrowed, letting out a laugh.

"I could convince you of almost anything," I said. "It's not hard."

"I am not easily manipulated," he retorted, seeming offended.

I scoffed.

"You only think with your dick. You're so easily manipulated."

"You only think with your dick," he mocked in a high pitch voice.

"You do," I repeated. "If I told you that I'm naked under this dress and I wanted to go back to the house for the night because I'm horny, you would turn this truck around so quick."

He turned to me.

"Is that true?"

I laughed.

"No, I have on underwear."

"What about the last part?"

"So many questions," I said, shaking my head.

We drove for a while longer before we pulled into a private airport where a jet was waiting on the brightly lit runway.

"You chartered a private plane?" I asked, eyes wide.

"No, I own it."

I turned to Luca, trying to figure out if he was lying.

We got out of the truck and Luca pulled both of our suitcases out of the backseat, handing them to a man who walked over to load them onto the plane. I assumed that Norah must have snuck my suitcase into his truck while I wasn't looking.

Luca kept a single duffle bag in his hand to carry towards the runway, taking my hand in his as he led me over to the plane.

As we walked along the tarmac, the pilot met us at the top of the stairs.

"Nice to see you again, Alpha Ronan," he said, extending a hand to shake Luca's. "I was surprised when you asked me to fly your bird. I've always heard you liked to do it yourself."

"Not tonight, Bradley," Luca said, laughing.

Bradley turned to me, introducing himself.

"I'm Carrie. It's nice to meet you," I said, smiling.

He held the hand that I shook his with, turning it over to see the diamond ring on my finger.

"Well done, Ronan," he complimented Luca.

Luca just laughed as he pushed Bradley out of the way to pull me inside the plane.

He opened the duffle bag and handed me a folded stack of clothes.

"You can change in the bathroom, if you'd like. Might as well get comfortable," he told me.

I bit my lip, smiling as I contemplated my next words.

"I think we should wait until after takeoff to go into the bathroom."

Luca froze as he was digging through the bag to get his own clothes out, turning his head to the side slowly to make sure no one had heard what I'd said.

I could have sworn he was blushing and it made me giggle. 

But as bashful as he was acting then, as soon as we were safely in the air, he was basically pushing me into the cramped bathroom.

And it didn't take long for the moment to turn heated.

Pulling his lips down to mine, I wasted no time in pushing my tongue between them, raking my bandaged fingers through his hair.

Luca's hands pulled the satin dress up to my waist and yanked down my panties before setting me onto the counter.

I unbuckled his pants and pulled down his boxers, letting them pool at his ankles.

As soon as he had wrapped my legs around him, Luca pulled away from me, cursing under his breath.

"I forgot fucking condoms," he muttered.

I laughed as I reached up around his neck and pulled his lips back to mine.

"I think now would be a good time to tell you I started birth control," I said, between kisses.

He pulled away, eyebrows furrowed.

"You're just now telling me this?"

"It's only been a week since Dr. Witt prescribed them," I said. "I just wanted to make sure they had enough time to get into my system. I had anticipated waiting until today to have sex so I timed it perfectly. We just got a little impatient."

He hummed.

"Fair enough."

Luca leaned down to kiss me again, one hand pressing against my back to pull me flush against him while the other guided his tip between my wet folds to push inside me.

My moan was muffled by his kiss. I pulled him closer with my legs, pushing him inside of me further.

Gripping the edge of the countertop with both hands, I tried to hold myself steady with each thrust he took.

Luca reached between my legs with his free hand and used the tip of his index finger to massage me, prompting me to finish quicker.

He came first, his warm release filling me; and I followed quickly behind with my own orgasm.

My legs were shaking as I unwrapped them from his waist.

We both struggled to control our labored breathing as we cleaned off to change into our clothes.

"You've had quite the day," Luca said, chuckling. "Inducted into the pack and the Mile High Club."

I smiled, blushing.

As soon as I had changed, I walked out of the bathroom to immediately make eye contact with the stewardess.

Oopsie daisy...

I awkwardly walked away and over to a couch that lined one side of the plane, covering myself with a blanket. I fought against the urge I felt to hide under it completely.

Luca followed me and took a seat across from where laid, laughing to himself.

How mortifying.

He glanced my way, throwing a wink. I immediately pulled the blanket over my head and didn't come out until a hand against my shoulder woke me up.

I sat up quickly, my eyes opening to look around the cabin of the plane, which was now brighter with daylight streaming in from each window.

Luca stood next to me.

"We're here," he told me, before turning to walk away.

I turned to look out the window and saw nothing but a small private airport. But, I did catch a glimpse of a row of palm trees behind a shack that sat on the side of the runway.

I followed Luca off the plane, immediately hit with a blast of hot air and sunshine.

"Can you tell me where we are now?" I asked, squinting.

Luca said nothing as he walked along the tarmac, towards a man who was approaching us.

"Welcome to Cancún, Mr. Ronan."

I felt my jaw go slack.

"I trust your flight went well?" He asked.

Luca nodded.

"We're here aren't we?" He replied sarcastically.

The man laughed.

"Always the smart ass," he said shaking his head.

"Jorge, this is Carrie," Luca said, introducing us.

I smiled and shook his hand.

"Nice to meet you," Jorge said, smiling. "Is this your first time in Cancún?"

I nodded.

"I'm honestly shocked," I said, feeling slightly overwhelmed. "Luca wouldn't tell me where we were going."

Jorge laughed.

"There's nothing wrong with a pleasant surprise. You're going to love it here," he assured me, before turning to Luca.

"I've got the Portofino waiting for you outside," he told him confidently, handing him two sets of keys. "And the house is all ready for you."

"I can't thank you enough," Luca said, reaching out to shake his hand.

Jorge laughed.

"Yes, my wife would agree."

"How is she?" Luca asked, seeming genuinely concerned.

Jorge just shrugged.

"Some days are better than others. But her doctors do seem hopeful. I don't get to see her as often as I should since I'm always working to take care of things, you know?"

I couldn't help but frown.

"Give me a call next week and we'll talk about that, okay?" Luca said, laying a hand on his shoulder. "You're a big help to me, I want to do the same."

Jorge just shook his head.

"You're an amazing man, Mr. Ronan," he said.

"Just trying to keep up with you," Luca smiled.

I smiled and waved to Jorge as Luca took my hand and pulled me away, towards the road where our luggage was being loaded into a cherry-red convertible sports car.

He opened the door for me, grinning like a Cheshire Cat.

"I'm going to buy me one of these," Luca told me, gesturing towards the car.

"What kind is it?" I asked, getting into the leather seat.

"Amore," Luca said incredulously, like it should have been obvious. "It's a Ferrari."

I hummed, looking around as I slipped on my sunglasses.

"I doubt it will be the best Italian thing I ride this week."

I couldn't bring myself to look at the expression that swept across his face as Luca heard me.

Instead I kept my eyes forward as he walked around the car and got into the driver's seat.

"You thought that was a cute thing to say, don't you?" He asked me.

I just smiled, knowing how much it tortured him.

"Jesus," he mumbled under his breath, pressing the ignition and causing the car to roar to life.

"I'm ready to get you alone," he admitted.

"Not sure why the car is still parked then."

Luca shook his head as he shifted into gear, pulling the Ferrari into the road to drive off.

- - -

I put my green dress back on for dinner that evening.

Luca drove us out to a posh, upscale restaurant that was perched right on the water. Tables were set out along a long pier, overlooking the fading sun that set over the ocean.

It wasn't until we were seated at our table that I realized it was the first real date Luca and I had been on.

When I pointed this out, he grimaced.

"Yeah, I could be better at that," he said.

"I wasn't saying it in a negative way," I said quickly. "I just meant that it's crazy how much we've been through and this is the first time we've gone out somewhere, just the two of us."

He chuckled.

"I guess it is a little weird when you think about it," he admitted. "It feels like we've been together a lot longer than a month."

I nodded in agreement.

A few moments later, a waiter came over to take our drink order. I bit the inside of my cheek as Luca ordered a three-hundred and fifty dollar bottle of wine.

He must have seen the look on my face when he turned back to me as the waiter walked away because he laughed.

"Good wine isn't cheap," he told me.

I just shook my head, trying to understand how he was willing to pay the same thing for a single bottle of glorified grape juice that I spent on groceries in two weeks.

"I've had Target wine that was exquisite and it cost me eleven whole dollars," I said.

"Then you haven't had good bottle of wine, you've only had a decent one."

"Well, I'm sorry my palate isn't as refined as yours, my dear Italian lover," I said sarcastically, making him laugh.

"We're going to work on that," he said, nodding.

The waiter returned to our table and poured our wine, placing the bottle on the table between us as he took our order for dinner.

My nose scrunched in disgust as Luca ordered octopus.

"I don't trust your palate anymore," I laughed as the waiter walked away.

Luca held up his glass and we both took our first sips.

"How is it?" He asked.

"It certainly tastes like it costs fifty dollars a glass," I said, impressed.

Luca placed his glass down, smiling, before he looked from his glass to me.

"I want to talk to you about something..." he said.

I nodded, taking another sip of wine to prepare myself for his inquiry.

"You're still looking to get a job," he said presumptively.

"Yes," I said, nodding again.

"To do what?" He asked.

I pursed my lips.

"I guess to make money," I said slowly.

"Apart from the utility of a job, what are you looking to do?" He asked. "I know you were an art teacher, but I didn't know if that was what you were looking to resume doing."

I was silent for a few moments as I thought about it.

A job had always been pragmatic to me. While I certainly loved being an art teacher, I took the job because selling my paintings as a side hustle wasn't panning out the way I had hoped it would when I finished college. I fell in love with the kids and sharing my passion with them, but I hated the administrative hoops that came with teaching for a school.

"I'm not sure," I admitted. "Why do you ask?"

He shrugged.

"I was thinking about it last night," he said. "With you being part of the pack now and taking on your role as Luna, I just wasn't sure what your plans were as far as how involved you wanted to be with that, if at all, or if you wanted to pursue something else in the same field you were working before."

I hummed.

"I certainly do want to step into being a Luna," I said. "I love the idea of being able to help and not just someone with a title."

"Well, I'm more than willing to give you as much responsibility as you'd like to have," Luca assured me. "But I wanted to make sure that you didn't feel like you were giving up on a dream just to do this. I don't want you to sacrifice your happiness to fill a role you didn't necessarily ask for."

Luca watched me carefully as I considered his words.

"You don't have to make up your mind now. Take some time to think about it," he said. "If you want to do it full time, that's completely fine. If you want to do it part time now while you help out Cristina, or if you want to open a studio or do private lessons... I want to support you in however you want to move forward."

I felt myself gulp through the knot that formed in the back of my throat.

"Thank you," I whispered. "I don't think anyone's ever said that to me before."

Luca smiled slightly, reaching across the table to take my hand in his, pulling it up to his lips to kiss the inside of my palm.

"I just don't want you to worry about the financial aspect of a job," he said. "You know that I'll take care of you. I want you to do what you want to."

I took a deep breath.

"I kind of like financial independence, though," I admitted.

"We'll work something out."

I stared at him straight-faced.

"I'm not looking for a sugar daddy," I reiterated for the thousandth time.

He rolled his eyes.

"That wasn't what I was referring to. I don't want to be your sugar daddy–"

"Just your daddy," I mocked in high-pitched voice, cutting him off with the words I knew he was planning on saying next.

He let out a bellowing laugh, earning the attention of those seated around us. I couldn't help but blush at their stares.

"It wasn't that funny," I mumbled, covering my burning cheeks with my hands.

Luca nodded, still laughing.

"It was because that's exactly what I was about to say," he said smiling.

I just shook my head, seeing our waiter approach with our first course.

"You're so annoying," I told Luca, laughing.

He smiled, giving me a wink as our plates were placed down in front of us.

Our conversation replayed in the back of my mind throughout dinner. Certainly not in a dooming way. But more in a way that I couldn't grasp how Luca's assurance made me somewhat excited for the future, looking forward with anticipation.

I hadn't felt like that in a long time.

- - -

Luca is goals, tbh. I be striving to find these men and then I remember I made them up, ugh...

See y'all tomorrow evening at 8:30pm EST (New York time) for the next chapter! Morning updates will resume on Monday.

Leave your comments on what you think will happen next! Also, don't forget to vote, please :)

Too-da-Loo, kangaroos!

MaybeManhattan .x