Chapter 23
CHAPTER 23
VALENTINA
E miliano had some of his men set up a vanity table in his room for me, the dark wood contrasting with the lightness of the space. I’m facing the mirror, but my eyes are on the man I left my family for. His back is to me, and I can clearly make out the various tattoos from where I’m sitting. The two vipers’ tails wrapping around his arms and their tails reaching all the way up to his broad shoulders.
“Stop staring at me, or we won’t make it to dinner,” he warns. I bite back a smile when he turns around. He’s fixing the cufflinks that I got him, on the cuffs of his black shirt.
“Is that a threat or a promise?” I ask, dusting some blush on my cheeks. He looks up, a playful glint in his eyes.
“Was it a threat or a promise when I fucked you with the handle of my dagger last night? You tell me,” he counters, and my eyes widen, eyebrows rising to the middle of my forehead. Eli’s dimples make an appearance when he laughs at my expression.
“Do you have to be so vulgar?” I push my dangling gold earrings through my earlobe, muttering my disapproval. Emiliano comes to a stop behind me, his eyes on mine.
“Are we going to talk about what happened?” he asks. My throat tightens, and I can feel my nose tingling as my eyes sting with the threat of tears.
“I don’t think I’m ready for that… It feels like I’ve betrayed my sisters, my brother, and my mom,” I admit to him. His hand cups my chin, turning it toward him.
“Val, I know that you feel guilty for leaving them behind, and nothing I say will make that feeling go away, but I want you to know that I support you and will support you through whatever decision you make. No matter what…” Emiliano’s voice is hushed, as if he speaks too loud, the walls might hear.
“I’ll always come second, Eli, no matter what you want to believe,” I say. He shakes his head, his eyebrows furrowed, as if he can’t comprehend placing anything above me. Turning my head back toward the mirror, I brush my ponytail back. “The Camorra.”
Emiliano grips both my shoulders, the fabric of my pearly dress scrunching up under his large hands. He leans down, his breath fanning the shell of my ear.
“You will always be first. I risked everything to get you back, and I will risk everything to keep you by my side. You put me over your family, and I’ll put you over my oath to the Camorra.” His voice is convincing, and my eyes search his, my lips stretching in a soft smile when I find sincerity and love shining back at me.