EPILOGUE - LENA
TWO MONTHS LATER
Ismooth down the navy silk skirt one more time, making sure the fabric sits just right. Give the white sweater one more tug. They are more gifts from my husband.
“You’re perfect, bella.”
I meet Rem’s eyes in the mirror. “I’m nervous.”
“That’s totally normal, but you have no reason to be.
” Strong arms wrap around me from behind.
I lean against his hard chest, dragging the smell of him deep into my lungs.
It calms me as much as it excites me. His lips brush the shell of my ear.
“You’ve been practicing for weeks. The piece is flawless. You’re going to ace the audition.”
True to his word, Rem persuaded the higher-ups at the symphony to give me an audition.
He was so determined that I have enough time to practice that he took over all the planning for Aunt Mabel’s memorial service, mastering to-do lists and following up on the tiniest details, making sure everything came together flawlessly.
We held it at the little church in my aunt’s town.
Rem held my hand as neighbors and friends shared their memories of Mabel, never leaving my side as they filled me in on what an imperfectly wonderful woman she was.
Bianca fed everyone the most comforting food and the memorial was nothing less than a joyous, bittersweet celebration of my aunt’s life.
The only thing that would’ve made it better is if she’d been there to join in.
Aldo even made a brief appearance. Our relationship is…
a work in progress. The second DNA tests have come back conclusive: I am his biological daughter.
It’s something I haven’t wrapped my head around but, in a move that I’m sure is entirely un-Aldo, he’s agreed to take everything at my speed.
We’re getting to know each other slowly, with his adopted nephew by my side.
Speaking of—Rem traces his hand down my left arm until he finds my fingers, lifting them to his mouth, a mischievous smile curling his lips as he nips my calloused skin. “You’ve practically worn these to the bone.”
“Hardly,” I protest with a laugh. I relax deeper into his embrace, relishing the liquid lave of his tongue across the deep grooves the strings have worn into my fingertips. It doesn’t matter how exquisite the instrument, practicing multiple hours a day is going to leave marks.
“You’re red here, too.” Rem drops his attention to the underside of my neck, the patch of skin rubbed raw from the violin’s chin rest. His lips are a tease, barely there, yet I can’t muffle the moan his touch provokes.
I tighten my grip on the arm he’s anchored around my waist and wonder if there’ll ever come a time when being touched by Rem doesn’t make my pulse skitter and my body go soft and needy.
I can feel him grin when my voice comes out raspier than usual. “Life leaves marks. Some are just more visible than others.”
Reflexively, Rem’s hand wanders to my side, his fingers tracing over the fully healed bullet wound hidden beneath my clothes.
I study his face in the mirror’s reflection.
His eyebrows are pinched, gaze a million miles away.
He’s taken to touching me there more and more often, that tiny patch of puckered skin drawing him like a lodestone.
Most of the time I don’t think he knows he’s doing it.
A skim of his palm when he walks by. A press of his fingers as we lay twined together in bed, sleep a heartbeat away.
The wound is completely healed. Has been for weeks. I don’t feel any pain. It really was a simple graze, my initial reaction exacerbated by the shock of everything else that was happening. But the more often Rem seeks it out, the more disturbed his expression gets.
“Hey.” I jostle him with my hip. He looks up, eyes finding mine in the reflection. “I’m okay, you know. No permanent damage done. Not from the gunshot wound or the knock to the head. I feel good, Rem. You don’t need to keep worrying about me.”
I expect him to dismiss my reassurances with a grunt.
To pretend he doesn’t know what I’m talking about.
Butterflies somersault in my stomach when his expression intensifies.
Behind me, his shoulders stretch past mine for what looks like miles, his characteristically black-clad form exceeding the limits of the mirror’s frame.
That predatory air of his is fixed firmly in place; I don’t think he could soften it if he tried.
But there’s a wariness to him that I’ve never seen before, and it makes me instantly alert.
“Rem? What is it?”
“I’m just wondering—”
I try to pivot in his arms so we can talk face-to-face but he just holds me tighter, his chest an iron wall against my back.
“Wondering what?”
“Do you regret it—meeting me?”
My eyebrows jump to my hairline. I look at him with total astonishment. “Do I regret meeting you? Are you seriously asking me that?”
He wants to look away, to shield himself from whatever answer he’s worried I’m going to give but, despite his unusually flushed cheeks, he keeps his gaze locked on mine.
“I just have to wonder if you’d have been better off far, far away from this world, this life, from me.
Living a life that’s more normal, safer. ”
“I’ve lived normal. It’s really fucking overrated.”
Rem grimaces. “I’m serious, Lena.”
“So am I.” I twist against Rem’s grip until he gives in, loosening his arm so I can turn to him. Palms against his chest, I look up at him. “If I hadn’t met you, I’d be dead. We both know it. You saved me, again and again. So, no. I don’t regret meeting you. Not for one second.”
“But that’s just it—you didn’t have a choice. I never gave you a choice. Not about any of it. This marriage, this life, us.”
Rem’s eyes are so dark, storm-tossed and fathomless. Even now I want to dive headfirst into them, to get lost in him forever.
I don’t respond right away. Not with words. Instead, I undo the top buttons of his shirt, methodically exposing the skin I’m meticulously mapping to memory.
There’s a one-inch scar below the hollow of his throat. I kiss him there.
The tantalizing whirl of black ink that curls up from his chest. I lick it.
The tendon that tightens at the base of his neck. I bite.
Rem groans, part arousal, part pain. I nuzzle into him, relishing how solid he is.
When I look up, I let the love I feel for this man flood my features. The intensity of it is overwhelming, near blinding, and I swear Rem blinks. “You really want to know what I think?”
He nods.
“I think fate was never going to give us a choice. One way or another, we were going to find each other. My mother, your uncle—our lives were intertwined before they even began, always destined to cross.” I give him a small smile.
“Sure, I could’ve done without some of the drama, betrayal, and bloodshed, but I believe you were always going to find me.
That we were always going to find each other.
And given the near-death experiences of our first few weeks together, I’m so grateful we survived long enough to get here. Together, in love.”
Rem’s been holding his breath. One second, two, then he lets it out on a rush of feeling. “In love.”
I kiss his chest again, lips lingering as I wrap my arms around his neck. “Head over heels. Irrevocably. Absolutely no choice in the matter.”
His grip on my hips tightens, but his expression is still shuttered. “But mia amata, I want you to have a choice. And to do that, I need to ask you another question.”
I’m about to protest when he steps back. I wobble on my too-tall heels when he drops down to one knee.
“What are you—” My voice dies on a very unsexy squeak when Rem flashes me a beautifully shy smile as he pulls something from his pocket.
“Shhh, cuore mio. It’s still my turn.”
I watch wide-eyed as he opens a velvet box, revealing a delicate platinum band with a subtle pattern woven into the surface. He slides it from the cushion and holds out his free hand, the line of his jaw only softening when I rest my left hand in his outstretched one.
“Lena, piccolina, amore mio, for my entire life I’ve been taught—trained—to be one thing: a weapon.
A man whose purpose is to protect his family, The Family, as efficiently as possible.
I’ve been brutal, ruthless, cold-hearted, but all in the name of my life’s purpose.
Until you. I can’t begin to explain or understand what happened when I saw you for the first time. I was with…”
Rem pauses, swallowing several times before he forces out the words, “my brother, in his office. He was laying out the evidence he claimed Aldo had gathered against you and I was looking at photo after photo of you and my world just…tilted. I didn’t know what it meant or how to explain it, but suddenly everything about my life, my job, the rules that I’ve lived by, everything that had been so black and white, so clear for so long, became muddled.
Somehow, I knew that nothing about you was what it seemed.
Just as I knew, deep down, that I had no choice but to find you, to unravel everything I didn’t understand about you. To protect you.”
Rem presses my palm against his hot lips, sparks ricocheting between us.
“You took my life’s purpose and turned it on its head, little one, and when I finally found my footing again, I realized that I’ve only become more determined to do what I do best: to defend you, our love, our life together.
I love you, Lena. Voglio passare il resto della mia vita con te—I want to spend the rest of my life with you. ”
Tears well in my eyes as Rem closes his.
His broad chest expands on an inhale, his hand warm and steady around mine even as I watch the depth of his feelings wrack his strong frame.
Emotions that blaze to life when his gaze hits mine.
“If you choose me, I will love you forever. I will stand beside you for as long as I live. I will protect you and our family and the life we build together with everything I possess. If you choose me, Lena, I will be yours to command, faithfully, unfailingly, for as long as I draw breath.”
Yes.
I can’t stop myself from dropping to my knees, from capturing his beloved face and kissing him.
Yes.
He kisses me back, no hesitation. Deep, drugging kisses. Soul-stealing, life-affirming. We’re both out of breath when I pull back. Rem is watching me intently. Waiting.
“Yes.” I think my smile is going to split my face.
“I choose you. I choose us. Again. Always. I love you, Rem Cosenza. Your fierceness, your protectiveness. Your determination. Your vulnerability that makes you even stronger than I think you realize. Fate might not have given me a choice, but you did—to live, to love, to have a real place in a world that’s always made me feel a little lost. If it weren’t for you, I wouldn’t have any of that. So, yes. Yes. A huge fucking yes.”
Rem curses, slamming his mouth into mine for a kiss that’s over too quickly. I’m dazed when he slides the ring onto my finger, fitting it snuggly against the two already in place. I study the design woven into the metal, another wave of emotion hitting me when I recognize it.
“It’s the same design as your necklace,” Rem confirms, looking adorably pleased with himself. “I had it made for you in Italy. Aldo recommended someone familiar with the original. I wanted it to be special.”
“It’s beautiful. Perfect.”
“Just like you, mia amata.” Rem’s expression turns carnal, his hands at work on my skirt. He’s bunching the fabric to expose my knees, my thighs, the valley between.
My core flutters even as I push against his shoulders, laughing. “Stop, stop. We don’t have time. I can’t be late for the audition.”
“Shhhh, amore. There’s no chance I’m not making you come right now.” Rem’s clever fingers find the edge of my thong, seeking the heat and lush welcome he knows he’ll find beneath. One stroke against my flesh and I shiver. Rem’s smile becomes predatory and, God help me, it makes me even wetter.
“That’s it, piccolina. I’m going to worship you just like you deserve.” Rem touches me adoringly, reverently, nibbling up my gasps as he strokes his fingers deep. “Let me love you.”
And I do. For all the time fate gives us.
la fine
Thank you so much for reading Lena & Rems’s story! I hope you’ve become as obsessed with them as I am.