“Our family?” she breathed.
He traced the line of her parted lips. “We’ll figure this out. You’re my family. Nothing will change that, no matter whose ring you wear or what some legal document says.”
I knew what he wasn’t telling her: that this was yet another way he was making his amends to me. He would allow me to be her husband in public as yet another sacrifice in an attempt to atone.
I studied the man who’d once been my worst enemy. He was still a sadist capable of monstrous things. That would never change.
But he might just have his own twisted code of honor, even if on the surface he seemed to be a volatile madman.
He wasn’t my friend, but he was a man I could respect.
“You make me so happy,” Nora declared, eyes shining with the depth of her joy, “Both of you. I love you so much.”
“I love you, Nora.” It was the first time Dante had said it aloud, although I’d seen it in the intent way that he’d watched her and in the way he’d so jealously guarded her from me.
But as Nora leaned down to brush a gentle kiss over his lips, I didn’t experience so much as a flicker of jealousy. I was secure in the knowledge that she had enough love in her heart for both of us.
Chapter 17
Nora
Six Months Later
* * *
“I have something for you, darling.”
I tipped my head back and beamed up at my sadistic husband. “You spoil me too much. I don’t need any more gifts.”
His sharply delighted grin made my belly flip: a thrilling, primal warning at a predator’s approach.
“I’ll spoil you as much as I want,” he admonished me. “And this gift is just as much for me as it is for you. And for Luca.”
“Luca’s home?” I practically bounced with the force of my happiness.
Both of my men were back on the estate with me after a week of taking turns watching over me. They’d been dealing with some bloody business pertaining to the Bratva, and I hadn’t asked for details. I didn’t like to think about the Russians at all; it was enough to know that my husbands were avenging me whenever they saw an opportunity to eliminate some of the men responsible for my suffering.
Most days, I was in Luca’s arms more often than Dante’s, but that arrangement didn’t seem to upset him. He was perfectly content to share me with the man who was once his most hated enemy. He was reassured to know that Luca was protecting me when he couldn’t be at home with me.
My dark protector skewered me with that sharp, slightly maniacal smile, but his hand was gentle around mine as he led me through the house.
My feet stalled out when I realized our destination.
“Don’t be afraid, little bird,” he coaxed. “Luca’s waiting for us.”
“In there?” I squeaked.
We hadn’t returned to Dante’s kinky dungeon since the day he’d set Luca free. I’d avoided the space, worried it would be haunted by dark memories that were best left in the past. We were all in a relationship as equals now, and I didn’t like to reflect on those harrowing first days of our fraught time together.
“I won’t force you, Nora,” he swore. “But I think we need to face it.”
“But I forgive you,” I said quickly.
I’d fully forgiven Dante for his cruel actions a long time ago, but that didn’t mean I liked to linger over them.
As dark as those days were, I wouldn’t undo them if I could. I never would’ve found love with my dangerous, fiercely possessive men if we hadn’t endured those horrors together. We’d all been broken when we’d come together in a rush of pain and mutual suffering. We picked up each other’s broken pieces and put them back together as best we could. We supported each other: a true family, even if the men shared more of a respectful friendship than the intense love that I felt for both of them.
Dante brushed a kiss over my knuckles. “And I’ll always be grateful for your forgiveness, even if I can’t fully understand it.”
