Chapter 38
DANTE
Ileaned on the doorframe, watching Emberline brush out her hair, savoring the way those heavy locks curled at the ends, so dark against her skin.
She kept her stiff back to me, so I couldn’t see her face. Probably for the best. I’d fucked up today, and seeing her disappointment at ending up married to a brutish caveman who reasoned with his fists and not his head would drive the final stake through my already shattered heart.
The sight of my wife already made me ache like I was raw, made the demon at my center hunger, as if he’d never hungered before.
But I couldn’t stop watching. Just the sight of Emberline stirred my soul until my chest ached, yet calmed every exposed nerve, even after today’s clusterfuck.
I should be putting some distance between us, yet here I was, hovering around her like a moth to a flame.
Gods, I was a pathetic fucker.
“I’m sorry,” I said again as she dragged the brush down through those gorgeous curls. “I lost my shit today. And not just because of Nico’s confession. But because some part of me already knew the truth.” I rubbed my thumb over the worn paint on the trim.
“He’s right, you know. Everyone falls in love with you.”
She stilled, then went back to brushing, the candles gilding her skin gold.
“Loving you was inevitable from the moment I saw you in that hideous white dress. As inevitable as breathing. As my heart beating. Since that moment, you have owned me completely, tesoro, and you always will. But it’s also inevitable you’ll leave me in pieces when this is over.”
I took a breath. “But that’s okay. Because every hour, every second, every minute with you is a gift I don’t deserve.”
“Well, that was some speech,” She spun around, eyes flashing. “But let me ask you, marita mio, who are you to suggest I’m shallow enough to walk away just because you lost your temper? Give me some fucking credit, will you?”
I pushed off the doorjamb, swallowing. “I was just trying to…”
“Apologize?” she snorted. “Well, as apologies go, that one was shit. I need you to listen to me, very carefully. I am not your father.” I opened my mouth to argue, and she held up her hand. Like Pavlov’s dog, I snapped my lips shut.
“I will never leave you. I will never betray you. I will never sell you out. I made you a promise—from first dark breath to last dying star, what is joined tonight may never part. Remember?”
“A promise made under duress,” I muttered and would have said more, but her glare shut me up for good.
“This does not work between us if you doubt me at every turn. If you doubt yourself. There has to be trust, and that trust has to hold us together, even through the darkest times. Especially through the darkest times. If you can’t trust that my loyalties lie with you, then no words will ever convince you of the truth.
You have to believe, in your heart, I will always choose you, Dante.
Just like I know you will always choose me. ”
I exhaled hard, a fierce, sudden pressure squeezing my heart until I was dizzy.
“I do understand, I really do.” Her eyes gleamed brightly.
“Everyone in your life has let you down, except for Gabriel and Nico. Everyone. Both of us are short on trust, but we can rely on each other.” She stretched out her hand.
“Let’s build a new family, Dante. Me and you, Gabriel and Nico.
My brother. And maybe it won’t look like everyone else’s family from the outside, but we can fill this house with love.
A safe place we all want to come home to at the end of the day. ”
Every part of me was shaking.
This was… impossible. She should be kicking me to the curb for how I behaved.
People like me didn’t get second chances.
In this world, people like me didn’t get chances at all, yet here I was, staring at my future. A wife I loved, offering to guide me out of this tangled black hole I was trapped inside.
It was far more than I deserved.
I blinked my burning eyes. “Sounds good to me,” I said gruffly as I slipped my hand into hers. “I fucked everything up today. And I’ll probably fuck up again.”
“Well, I snuck out and came back with my brother, who was supposed to think I was dead, so….” She shook her head, smiling. “Gods, we’re a pair, aren’t we?”
“We are,” I agreed, pulling her to her feet, pleased to see she wore only a pair of black panties and a bra. The bruises had almost faded; all she needed was to feed, and they’d be gone. A tremor of pure lust went through me at the thought of having her at my throat again.
“Have I told you how beautiful you are? Or how you take my breath away?”
“Not in the last twenty-four hours, but I am all ears, husband. Let the groveling commence.”
“You want groveling?” I tipped my head to the side, suddenly serious. “I’ve never groveled in my life. Ever.” I walked her backward a step, my fingers capturing her wrist. “Do I really look like the sort of male who would beg for anything, Emberline?”
“No,” she said quietly, an edge of something in her voice that made my heart clench even tighter.
“In all my days, through all my pain, I’ve never begged, Emberline,” I tightened my grip, her pulse thundering against my palm. “Begging goes against my nature, you see. Goes against every bit of my pride.” I leaned close enough, our lips touched.
“And I am, if nothing else… a proud male.”