Born in Blood Collection Volume 1 - Cora Reilly Page 0,55

coffee for us?” I snapped as I scraped the half-burnt eggs from the bottom of the pan.

When I thought the eggs were safe to eat, I spooned them onto two plates. They didn’t really look all that tasty. Luca’s brows rose when I put a plate down in front of him. He sank down on the barstool and I hopped onto the one beside him. I watched him as he picked up the fork and speared a piece of egg, then brought it to his lips. He swallowed, but it was obvious he wasn’t too impressed. I took a bite as well and almost spat it back out. The eggs were too dry and too salty. I dropped my fork and gulped down half of my coffee, not even caring that it was hot and black. “Oh my God, that’s disgusting.”

There was a hint of amusement in Luca’s face. The more relaxed expression made him look so much more approachable. “Maybe we should go out for breakfast.”

I glowered at my coffee. “How hard can it be to make an omelet?”

Luca let out what might have been a laugh. Then his eyes flitted back down to my bare legs, which were almost touching his. He put his hand down on my knee, and I froze with my cup against my lips. He didn’t do anything, just lightly traced his thumb back and forth over my skin. “What would you like to do today?”

I pondered that, even if his hand was very distracting. I was alternating between wanting to shove it off my knee and ask him to keep caressing me. “The morning after our wedding night, you asked me if I knew how to fight, so maybe you can teach me how to use a knife or a gun, and maybe some self-defense.”

Surprise crossed Luca’s face. “Thinking about using them against me?”

I huffed. “As if I could ever beat you in a fair fight.”

“I don’t fight fair.”

Of course he didn’t. “So will you teach me?”

“I want to teach you a lot of things.” His fingers tightened on my knee.

“Luca,” I said quietly. “I’m serious. I know I have Romero and you, but I want to be able to defend myself if something happens. You said it yourself, the Bratva won’t care that I’m a woman.”

That got him. He nodded. “Okay. We have a gym where we work out and do fight training. We could go there.”

I smiled, excited about getting out of the penthouse and doing something useful. “I’ll grab my workout clothes.” I hopped off the stool and ran upstairs. I snatched up my mobile from my nightstand and sent Gianna a short text to let her know I was okay. Knowing her and dreading the flood of questions she’d be firing at me, I didn’t take my phone with me as I headed back downstairs.

* * *

Thirty minutes later we parked in front of a shabby building after having grabbed muffins for breakfast. I was bursting with excitement, and I was glad to have something to distract myself from what had happened yesterday. Luca and I got out of the car, and he carried our bags as we headed through a rusty steel door. Security cameras were everywhere, and a middle-aged man sat in a nook that held a table and chair as well as a TV. Two guns were in his holster. He straightened when he saw Luca, then he spotted me and his eyes grew wide.

“My wife,” Luca said with a hint of warning, and the man’s gaze jerked away from me. Luca put a hand on the small of my back and guided me through another door that led into a huge hall. There was a boxing ring, all kinds of exercise machines, dummies for fight and knife training, and a corner with mats where a few men were sparring. I was the only woman.

Luca grimaced. “Our changing rooms are men only. We don’t usually have female visitors.”

“I know you’ll make sure nobody sees me naked.”

“You bet I will.”

I laughed, and a few faces turned our way, then more until everyone was staring. They quickly returned to what they’d been doing when Luca led me toward a door on the side, but they kept throwing badly disguised glances my way. A few of the older men called out a greeting to Luca. He opened the door, then stopped. “Let me check if someone’s in there.” I nodded, then leaned against the wall as Luca disappeared inside