I’m hoping for the best as I shut the door and walk away from the room.
It doesn’t surprise me to find Donovan standing a few feet away from the door. Just enough room to make me feel like I had some privacy in that room. And as I expect, Torrin is only a few feet down the hallway, pretending to chat up a nurse like he isn’t really paying attention to what’s going on around him. And by the way the nurse lights up, it’s easy to see, even a bloody mess, Torrin’s charm is powerful.
“Is everything okay?” Donovan asks as he moves in and wraps his arms around me like it’s the most natural thing in the world.
“It will be,” I say with all the confidence in the world. I hope I’m right. It feels like I’m right, so I just keep rolling with that.
I don’t fill him in about what just happened because I don’t feel like it’s my place. After the dust settles and I see what happens with Andre, I’ll talk to Fabien about everything. It’s ultimately his decision if he wants to tell people. While I don’t like keeping things from Donovan, I think this is one of those instances where it’s okay.
I turn my head and stiffen at the sight of two scary-looking guys heading this way. One’s dressed in a suit, nothing too fancy, and the other is wearing a faded black tee and ripped jeans that look like they’ve seen better days.
“They’re here to watch over Fabien and Andre,” Donovan tells me. It makes sense that these would be his people. I send them a smile, but only the… less put-together one smiles back. Donovan growls, and I roll my eyes. “We’re going home.”
I don’t say anything, but I really like the way he sayshome. Like it’sourplace. I hope he means it that way.
“Yes, Astra,” he says, his lips next to my ear. “No more insecurities.” Oh, am I giving off those kinda vibes? Oops. “You are mine, do you hear me? You will live in our house, sleep in our bed. And you never need to question or want for anything ever again.”
“Okay,” I squeak out.
And I decide I’m done. I’m done feeling insecure. Done wondering if he means it. A man like him doesn’t just say those kinds of things without it being the truth. I know how hard it is for him to accept his feelings for me, so I’m not going to make him keep doubting himself. I’m going to take his love and love him back.
“Let’s go home,” I say, smiling up at him.
THIRTY-FIVE
Donovan
We get home, and I take Astra upstairs right away.
It’s been a long few days. Hell, it’s been a long fucking week.
But we made it. We’re alive. We’re together.
As sappy as that sounds, I can’t hate it. I can’t hate the way Astra makes me feel.
“My brain is mush,” she says as she shuffles into the bedroom. She’s pulling at her clothing, dropping pieces as she heads for the bathroom. “I need a shower and a bed.”
I chuckle as I follow behind her, picking up the dirty, ruined clothing. I toss it in the hamper, but I need to remember to throw it out tomorrow. For now, I just want all the horrible memories of that night hidden away.
She’s completely naked when she steps into the shower and reaches to turn the water on. My eyes are glued to her ass, and I don’t even care to hide it. I strip out of my clothing, tossing it on top of hers before closing the lid of the hamper. My knife and phone get a place on the vanity next to the sink.
She turns around right as I enter the shower. Steam has already started to fog up the place, but it doesn’t hide the mark on her chest. My blood boils as I look at it.
“What?” she asks, but she must realize what I’m looking at. She gasps, then I feel her fingers on my chest, lightly touching the spot over my heart.
“Shit,” I mutter.
“No,” she says, and there’s a calm in her tone that has me relaxing. “I don’t think it means we’re still cursed.”
“Then what?” I wrap my arms around her, hoping this is a good thing rather than some kind of other shit we’ve got to go through.
“I think…” She traces the lines on my chest again. “I think it connects us.”
“But it’s still that fucking death symbol, or whatever Fabien called it.”
“Right,” she agrees, but there’s still a lightness in her tone. “It’s more like a… magical’til death do us partkind of thing.”
I snort, then sober when I realize she’s being serious.
