Instead of running to hide in my room, I slide down the wall, letting my relief and exhaustion guide me until my butt hits thefloor. The tears fall a little faster because of how comfortable I feel. Enough to sit out for the three of them to see, but we’re past the point of hiding. Acceptance feels like home.
The dogs come from two different directions to make sure I’m fine, and I really am. Sure, I’m overwhelmed and exhausted, but there’s a lot more light in my thoughts and heart than darkness. Bella sits with her back to me, but she’s so close that I can rest my forehead on her back while my tears track. Edward lies so he can look up at me, and I roll my eyes at him being as protective as my pack.
“Il mio tutto, get your ass off the floor,” Dante says as he walks toward me.
I watch him closely because the man is sin on legs. I worry for a moment if I should have run to my room, but he reaches down for me, and my arms shoot up as if they have a mind of their own. It’s instinctual, and I know that this man is also a forever person.
He pretends to stumble before he makes my tears fall faster. “Falling for you. Seriously, that's all I do these days.”
“Stop!” I laugh while wiping my face on his shirt.
“Never going to stop falling for you, baby. Now, excuse me, was I right?” he asks as he takes off toward the hallway but slows down when we pass the kitchen so Valentine can see us passing.
“About?” I ask belatedly, getting distracted by the way Valentine has shed his jacket. Honestly, seeing him in a button-down with the neck open, sleeves rolled up, while he’s got a million pots and pans on the stove with ingredients spread everywhere and he’s talking on the phone is straight up like watching porn.
Dante moves his thumb over my waist, wanting my full attention before he answers. “I told you we weren’t going to lose you.”
I laugh, but it turns into an ugly reminder of how my ring was taken. I know it was from their nonna, and the twins' love for her is evident. I feel guilty I no longer have it.
“What?” he growls, the noise coming from his chest.
I hold up my hand.
“Layne, a ring is a ring. We’ve got a whole drawer full to give you.”
“But it was your nonna’s.”
“And she’d probably whack you with her favorite wooden spoon. Then she’d whack me, Val, and Matty because you were taken.”
“It wasn’t your fault.”
“It’s not really about fault, you know that, right? It’s about me not wanting you to ever think you’re alone. And you were. You can’t argue with that.”
“I can argue with that. Because…”
“Nah, baby, not tonight. Tonight, you need reminding that you’re ours. Honestly, the rest of the world can fuck off until you know it with all your heart.”
“I do know it,” I confess, reaching down to open the door when he stops at Valentine’s room.
“We all need reminding.”
Valentine’s room and his bathroom are opposingly different to Dante’s, although they’ve both adopted the dark and broody aesthetic, nailing it, really. But where Dante’s bathroom is a symphony of clean lines and honed marble, Valentine’s is a master class in mixing rich timbers, dark tiles, and raw stone, making it look more like an expensive Japanese bathhouse.
I close my eyes, so overwhelmed by what I see and how incredible it smells. Valentine’s scent is ingrained in here, but Dante also has laid on the edge of the bath clothing from both him and Matteo so their scents are in here too. I feel parts of myself instantly calming.
Dante guides my feet to the floor, and of course it’s heated. The sensation makes me shiver and makes him chuckle darkly. Without talking, he takes his time in disarming me of my weapons and removing his own. It shouldn’t be a turn-on, but I’m coming to accept nearly everything associated with Dante hits me like that.
When he’s finished lining them up on the vanity, they look out of place among the candles someone has set up. It’s a poignant visual of the many facets that make up Pack De Luca—they are born for a life of crime and violence, but past the cutthroat and cold veneer most people see are the sweetest, most beautifully considerate people I have met.
My tears drip from my chin.
“You’re spoiling me,” I mumble when he unzips the back of my jumpsuit.
The pretty garment falls to the ground, and before he answers, Dante scoops it up and tosses it into the trash.
“I’ll buy you another one, but that one has too many memories associated with it.” He dips low and kisses his way up my neck as he speaks. “I didn’t like that you were taken today. At fucking all. I didn’t like a lot about today, actually. Seeing you on the tarmac nearly snapped my control like a twig, but I’m finding I’ve got this ability to see past that and see only you. You are fucking amazing. I am so proud to call you mine.”
I lean into Dante with everything I am while his hands trail a path over my skin, binding me to him. The feeling he unlocks is very similar to the way I needed my fill of Matteo.
