“Why would I let my son be around a man who thinks so little of his mother?”
This time when he looks at me, confusion has his brows pinching.
“What was it all for, Nico?” I toss my hands in the air.
“What was what for?”
“All the plotting and the scheming to get me. You hired a man to bump into me at a coffee shop, for Christ’s sake? You fed my ex’s gambling addiction and hired me for a job when you had no idea if I was any good at it. What the hell was it for if I’mso callous and heartless that I’d leave you because you were the victim of some sick fuck’s actions.”
His gaze widens and his mouth slacks. I squat down in front of him, his focus following my lowered state.
“The past few months, I have questioned if my love for you was real. I thought finding out all that stuff you did and set up for me was proof that what we had wasn’t real. But I’m here to tell you I love you. I love everything about you. I love how protective you are of me and your son, even though sometimes it’s a lot.”
He grins at me with that comment. I continue to tell this man how much he means to me.
“I love how you see me. Even from the very first encounter we had. I was drowning in that relationship. I needed a lifeline, and you took one look at me and saw what others around me couldn’t. You have not only supported my dreams, but you have also supported my growth as a woman, a mother, and a designer. Believe me when I tell you this, I’m right where I want to be, Niccolo Basille.”
He looks away from me; his eyes are red, but no tears fall.
“How can you look at me knowing what he….” He swallows and licks his lips. “What he did.”
I smile. “Because what happened to you does not define you. When I look at you all I see is the man I love. The man who has protected me, loved me, and healed me. The man I am proud to share a son with.”
I place my forehead against his. “You’re not tainted, defiled or anything that is running through your mind. You are brave and strong. Do you know why?” I ask the rhetorical question. “Because it takes someone brave and strong to continue on with their life after someone they trusted hurt them the way he did you. I am so fucking proud of you for surviving.”
Nico leans back, his gaze boring into mine. I wonder if he is looking for dishonesty in my words. Is that why he watches me so long and so closely? He won’t find any.
I meant everything I said. It's impossible to know how his experience affected his mental state. I won’t act as if I have any clue. However, what I know is that I love this man. I love him from his deranged and possessive head to his crazy feet.
“I fucking love you,” he finally says, pulling me into him. His mouth crashes into mine, his tongue slides across my lips. I open for him, enjoying and missing his flavor. Two days is too long to go without this man.
Nico kisses me as if he’s been deprived of my lips. As if my kiss is nourishment and he hasn’t eaten in years. My fingers run up the back of his head into the uncombed hair on his nape. I whimper when he sucks my bottom lip into his mouth.
“You two really going to do all that in front of these dead people?”
Nico pulls away at the sound of Salv’s voice.
I look past my husband to find his brothers and the bodyguards all standing there. Mason has his hands down in his front pockets. Salv has a big grin on his face. Kazimir looks neutral as always, and Julian looks relieved.
Nico stands up, bringing me up with him. He pulls me into his side. Placing a kiss on my temple.
“I—”
Mason holds up his hand to stop Nico’s next words.
“We don’t need an explanation. You’re our brother, nothing changes that. Ever. Do you understand?”
Once again, I think I’m privy to another one of those silent conversations. All five men stare at each other, not a word is said between them. Finally, Nico speaks.
“Yeah, I understand.”
Men were funny. They didn’t need a lot of flowery words to get their point across. They didn’t have to have long, dragged-out conversations, just a reminder of who and what they were to each other and that it would never change.
“We need to figure out who the fuck this Horseman is,” Mason says. “I don’t like the way he’s playing these games.”
Me either. He had no right to put Nico’s past out there the way he did. I didn’t even like the fact that he had this information.
“I talked to Rome, the deal is set for three days from now. Everything is ready to go.”
