The contact was fragile, almost reverent.
His skin was fever-warm, damp with sweat from the effort of standing.
“I don’t know how the hell to define love,” he rasped, breath brushing my lips like a confession.
“They raised me to see it as poison.”
He swallowed, jaw tight, the movement tugging at the fresh bandages soaked with his blood.
“But you...” His voice turned rougher, deeper, laced with raw regret.
“What I feel for you has always been stronger than every lesson they beat into me. Stronger than fear. Stronger than the hatred I carried. Stronger than the heartless son of a bitch I was raised to be.”
His large hand cupped the side of my face with surprising tenderness, thumb stroking my skin as if I were fragile glass he was terrified of shattering again.
“I fought it for years. I hurt you because I was too fucking scared to admit how much power you had over me.”
His eyes darkened with painful honesty. “I was wrong. You are my weakness, Elena — the only one I will ever kneel for. The only one I would bleed out for without hesitation.”
He leaned in closer, voice dropping to a low, commanding growl softened by surrender.
“I love you. Not the polished lie I told myself. Not the controlled version I tried to force. I love you raw. Completely. Madly. With every broken piece of me.”
“I’m yours — body, soul, and whatever future I have left. And I will spend the rest of my life on my knees if that’s what it takes to prove I’m worthy of you.”
I closed my eyes.
Just for a moment.
Let the words settle. Let them sink in.
When I opened my eyes again, I looked at him differently.
Not with forgiveness.
Not yet.
But with something softer.
Something... open.
Then he pressed the softest kiss to my forehead.
Not demanding. Not possessive.
Just... there.
Lingering. Reverent.
Like I wasn’t something he owned—
But something he was afraid to lose.
A voice cut through the fragile moment from behind the door, instantly shattering the intimacy.
“Boss... there’s someone waiting for you in the garage.”
Renzo said from behind the door.
