Chapter 59 Enzo
ENZO
I close my eyes, waiting for death to come. If this is what my little tigress decided, then I'm going to accept it.
I feel the knife digging into my skin, but it's only surface level.
"Done," she quips, prompting me to open my eyes. I frown at her, my hands going to my chest. There's some blood dripping down my skin, but as I feel around the wound, I note the edges.
"It's an A. Now you're mine forever." She raises her chin a notch, daring me to argue with her.
Chuckling, I can only agree with her.
"If I'm alive, I'm yours, and if I'm dead, I'm yours too. Either way, you win," I add jokingly, but her expression turns serious.
"How could I ever kill you if that would mean killing my own heart? I couldn't kill you when I thought you'd betrayed me, much less now, when I know the truth."
She drops the knife, moving on her knees until we're mere breaths apart.
Her hands reach out to caress my jaw, her eyes down-turned and melancholic.
"I've loved you for so long, Enzo," she starts, and those words squeeze at my heart like nothing else. Fuck if I haven't dreamed of hearing her say that to me so many times over the years.
"Even when I didn't understand what love was," she continues, the corner of her lips tugging upward, "you were so very special to me. You treated me like a queen and for the first time I thought that, maybe, I was worth something more."
To know that she doesn't recognize her own worth pains me more than anything, because it means I haven't done my job right.
"You are, my little tigress. To me you're worth everything."
And I vow that from this moment on, I'll make you see just how much of a treasure you are.
"But you also hurt me," she takes a deep breath, lowering her eyes, "so much and so many times…
I was ready to offer you my already battered heart and you threw it in my face.
I was ready to open my soul to you, and your first rejection hurt so much I don't think I ever let my guard down again—afraid you'd end me. "
"I'm so sorry! Fuck! Words can never express just how sorry I am for my abysmal behavior.
I just ask that you give me another chance.
Let me love you and prove to you that your heart is safe with me, just as mine is safe with you," I say, bringing my hand up, taking some blood from my chest and smearing it right over her heart.
She smiles, the first genuine smile I've seen in forever, and I feel like crying at the sight.
"Okay," she whispers, and I waste no time in tugging her to me, wrapping my hands around her rib cage and bringing her mouth to mine. I tease her lips open, slipping my tongue inside and devouring her like the starved man I am.
"Little tigress," I breathe her in, inhaling her essence, "remember when you accused me of bewitching you?" I ask, amused when she blushes at the memory. "It should be me accusing you of witchcraft because I don't think there's anything more potent than what I feel for you. It's simply… eros."
The love that surpasses everything.
Her eyes widen in understanding, her mouth opening in a small whimper.
"Me too. Even when I wanted to hate you, I loved you so, so much I thought my heart would burst," she shakes her head, her face full of emotion.
"You're the only one for me, Enzo. You've always been," she gives me a sly smile, her fingers caressing my jaw, "you do realize I've never looked at another man. "
"And that," I say, giving her a quick peck, "makes me the happiest man. Because trust me, if you had, they wouldn't be alive, anyway."
"Savage," she giggles, raising an eyebrow at me.
"But true," I state, unable to take my eyes off her.
A dream come true.
"One last question," she says, bashfully looking away. "Do you..."—her breath catches in her throat and she releases a small cough—"feel disgusted by me now that I've killed my own family?" She doesn't meet my gaze, so I use my fingers to turn her face toward me, coaxing her to look me in the eye.
"Don't be ashamed of anything, little tigress.
Not with me." I trace the contour of her cheeks, losing myself in the clarity of her eyes.
"How could I ever feel disgusted by you when I did the same to mine?
We're more alike than you know." I give her an encouraging smile.
"Two pieces broken from a whole that have finally merged again.
If there's such a thing as soul mates, you're mine. Never doubt that."
"You're such a silver-tongued devil," she mutters under her breath, but the corners of her mouth are pulling up—she's trying to fight a smile.
"And you are my bloody little tigress, and I have to admit, it was hot to watch you hacking your father to death."
"You were watching?" Her eyes grow wide, and she catches my hand with hers.
"Of course. I would never take any chances with your safety. That being said, I wanted you to take control of your own fate," I wink at her.
"Thank you," she sighs deeply. "I needed to do it. Needed to reclaim my independence and everything they stole from me. I know it's fucked up, but…"
"No buts, little tigress. Don't second-guess yourself." She purses her lips but nods slowly, her eyes on mine.
I continue touching her, the feel of her in my arms worth all the years of longing. My hands are everywhere on her body as I bring her flush against me, inhaling her scent and reveling in this one dream turned reality.
"Enzo," she suddenly calls my name, her expression rather thoughtful.
"Hmm?" I ask, my lips already tracing the column of her neck, hungry for her, restless for her.
"Make love to me, please," she whispers softly, a small dot of red marring her cheeks.
"You don't have to ask twice, little tigress."
I'm trying very hard to control myself and give her a slow and sensuous experience. After the failure of last time, I want her to feel all of my love.
I skim the underside of her breasts with my hand, taking up the sweater and tugging it off her. She's not wearing a bra, and the sight of her perky titties is making my mouth water.
"Fuck, just the sight of you like this…" I shake my head, words failing me.
But I aim to worship her body today so she'll have no doubt of my feelings.
Her fingers trace my wound, her brows drawn together.
"Does it hurt?" she asks, leaning in to kiss it. Her tongue sneaks out, and she traces the outline of the gash, lapping up the blood. I feel a tingly sensation at the site, but her mouth is like a panacea, taking away all the hurt and leaving only bliss behind.
She slowly moves up, licking her way up my neck until she reaches my jaw, a spark of mischief in her eyes.
"You're going to be a naughty tigress today?" I ask her, and she giggles, her arms winding around me, her lips seeking mine.
I kiss her like she's the shore and I'm the sea, the waves that swallow up the welcoming sand, forgetting where one ends and the other begins—forged in fire but tempered in water, the yin and yang of being.
Because only in her arms do I truly feel whole.