“Can I get you anything?” I ask, cringing at how hoarse I sound.
She shakes her head, not looking at me, and I walk into the bathroom, undressing and taking a cold shower. Resting my head on the tile, I berate myself for my stupidity.What was I thinking proposing to her so soon?It’s only been a week, and her husband just died. He was an abusive prick she was forced into marrying. It’s a lot. She’s still processing everything that’s happened in a short period of time, and I knew she was already overloaded.
It was selfish to propose tonight, but I want her. I want her to be my wife. I want to protect her and love her in a way she’s never known.Why wait when I already know she’s my future?She’s worried about Cesco coming to claim her, and her marrying me is added protection. Not that it’s the reason I proposed. It didn’t even cross my mind. I asked her because I love her and she’s the only woman who will ever be my wife. If she says no, then that’s it. I won’t ever marry. I’ll continue alone.
I turn off the shower when my frozen limbs start trembling, dry myself in the bathroom, and pad naked into the bedroom. Her eyes are closed now, but she’s not asleep. After heading into the closet, I pull on a pair of clean boxers and make my way to the bed. Awkward tension filters into the air as I slide under the covers. She tenses.Goddamn it, Fiero.What have you done?Needing to make this right, I scoot over and pull her into my arms, her back pressed to my chest. “I’m sorry, honey. I didn’t mean to upset you.”
“I know,” she whispers, reaching out to switch off the bedside lamp, plunging us into darkness.
“I just love you so much.”
“I know that too. Just let me sleep on it.”
Fickle hope mushrooms in my chest. “So, it’s not a no?”
“Fiero, don’t push it.”
“Okay.” I hold her closer, nuzzling into her neck, grateful she doesn’t push me away and that she’s considering my proposal.
I stay up for hours, holding her as she sleeps fitfully in my arms. Eventually, I drift off, and when I wake, she’s sitting cross-legged in the bed staring at me.
“I want to make a deal,” she says, and I’m wide-awake now. I sit up, dropping my head back against the headrest.
“I thought you didn’t like deals.”
“I normally don’t, but this situation calls for it. Do you want to hear this or not?”
“I’m listening, baby.”
“This is a lot, Fiero.”
I nod.
“And it’s insanely, ridiculously crazy.”
I nod again because she’s speaking the truth.
“All I’ve wanted since the second I was forced to marry Dom is my independence. My freedom. I told you I was planning my escape, but I didn’t tell you I was actively making that happen this past year. If you’re serious about marrying me, you at least deserve this truth.”
My brows knit together as I study her pretty face. “Go on.”
“I was poisoning Dom and Cesco.”
“Say what?”
“It was arsenic. You can administer it in small doses in food and drink, and it’s undetected. Over time, it would have killed them. It may still kill Cesco, but he’s younger and fitter than his father. I suspect that’s why Dom had a heart attack on Thursday. The stress and trauma must have brought it on, but he was predisposed to it because of the arsenic.”
“Kitten.” I lift her into my lap. “This only adds to my reasons to want to marry you.”
She barks out a laugh. “You’re not worried I might poison you?”
I shake my head. “I won’t ever give you a reason to.”
“I was planning to escape. To use your boat to run away.”
“I know that too, baby.” I thread my fingers in her hair. “You made it pretty obvious with all the questions you were asking.”
“I didn’t have much time to plan. I thought I only had a week to run away.”
