“I’m sorry, Amara, it was the best choice when all the choices were bad.” He kept his voice as gentle as possible when he had never explained himself or been a gentle man. For her, especially to get that desolate look off her face, he would do anything he could. Give her anything he could.
Her long lashes fluttered. “Your death isn’t the best choice for me or your family. Not for your brothers, or cousins, or the people in your territory depending on you. You have to know that, Geno.”
“You aren’t looking at this the right way, baby,” hepointed out softly. “I can see you have your mind geared in the wrong direction.”
She frowned. That little frown twisted at his heart. For a man like him, one who felt little emotion, he found he was suddenly drowning in feelings.
“I don’t understand. What other way is there to look at what happened?”
“I should be your hero, Amara.” He made it a statement. Firm. “Just pointing it out.”
Her expression registered shock. “Hero?”
“Yeah, babe. Your hero. Haven’t you ever watched Superman? Or Batman? Or any of the Marvel movies?”
Amaranthe looked more confused than ever. Very slowly she shook her head. “Comics? What in the world do comics have to do with you almost dying?”
His eyebrow shot up. “It’s no wonder you can’t see the real picture, Danzatrice Ombra.” He kept his tone soft and compelling. Loving. Tender even. “You don’t know what a real-life hero is, not even when he’s sitting in front of you. We’re going to watch all the superhero movies and then you’ll see this in an entirely different light.” He poured confidence into his voice.
“I will?”
“Yes.”
“By watching movies?”
“Exactly. You need a true perspective.”
“Through movies.” She sounded faint, but for the first time, there was a hint of amusement in her mind.
She would need her sense of humor with him. It was one of the first things about her he’d been attracted to. She laughed easily. He didn’t know how when her life had been bleak. “I feel you’ve missed out on some very important lessons you’ll need in dealing with your future husband. We can easily remedy that though. I have all the movies. We’ll spend the next couple of days watching them back-to-back until you realize how you should see me as your hero.”
“How many movies are we talking here?”
“I have an entire library of Marvel, Batman, and Superman movies. Have no worries. I haveThe Green HornetandThe Crow.The Punisher. All the Iron Man movies.”
“This is a side of you I didn’t know existed, Geno. Is it possible these movies influenced your behavior? When did you start watching the movies?”
“I read the comics first, before I began watching the movies. I’m a reader first. So first comics and then graphic novels and then the movies. I collect them.”
“How old were you?”
He shrugged, happy he’d managed to distract her from her obsession with his near-death experience. “I started reading comics very early and collecting around ten. Seriously collecting at twelve. I’ve been at it ever since.”
“You read and then watch the movies as well?”
“For fun.”
“Do you go to the movie theater?”
He frowned. “No. Why would I do that? I have a perfectly good system right here.”
“Do you go to Comic-Con?”
He narrowed his eyes, studying her innocent expression. His woman. She could be a mystery. “How do you know about Comic-Con if you don’t know anything about the movies or comics?” He deliberately poured suspicion into his voice.
“Everyone knows about Comic-Con.”
“I’m beginning to think you’re playing me. You have watched the movies. You most likely watchedWonder Woman. OrBlack Widow. No,Elektra. That was the one you watched.”
