“You finished Alessio off because you were there, weren’t you? I didn’t dream that?”
“Just finished putting it all together?” He chuckles. “Da. Minutes after Vitale dragged you away, when I couldn’t physically handle not knowing any longer, I left the reception and Dimitri and Ana followed. From the tracker, I realized you weren’t in the hotel, so we took Zeno’s SUV and traced you to the wreck. Got you out, killed him, drove you here, called your brother.”
Herebeing the hospital with the single window to my left, the blinds drawn to block the outside, various signs about healthy habits plastered all over the walls. The machines to my right aren’t hooked up, and there’s an IV in the back of my left hand.
“I was never going to let you go. Breaking my promise by you walking down the aisle was enough. When you introduced a new emotion in me—when you made mecapableof feeling…there was no way I was letting that—you—get away. You became mine as much as I became yours.”
“What emotion is that?”
His thumb traces over my lip, cracked and dry from the lack of water. “Love, if it’s possible. Since the moment we met, you were so different than everyone else. Like I told you our first night together, you quieted my mind like nothing else. The more time we spent together, the more my obsession grew. You made it so I was living a regular life. Feelings and thoughts that were always out of reach were suddenly there. You’ve made meunderstand.”
My heart races.
“Love…it’s unnatural for me, beyond my family, but that’s because of who they are. Someone else? An outsider should never have that kind of power and control over me, but you, Fina, since the moment we met, you didn’t only control me—you’ve owned me.”
My heart takes off.
“No matter how much I told myself it was fleeting, it wasn’t. Not for me. I love you,printessa…Serafina, more than I knew was physically possible. I love you with everything I am and everything I still don’t know how to be, but with you, I’ll learn.”
My heartflies.
“Kiss me.”
His mouth descends on mine, and it’s not the longest kiss we’ve shared, or even the most heart-racing, blood pounding, but it’s the most meaningful one. The one that counts the most. The one that kisses my very soul.
No—he doesn’t kiss it. He delves into it, rips it from its place, and claims it for himself. There’s no one I’d rather give my heart, body, and soul.
He pulls back after a moment to gently kiss my forehead before he releases me to reclaim his chair. “You have a mild concussion, so we shouldn’t get you too worked up. Your brother asked I call him when you’re awake, so if you’re ready for others…”
“Please don’t. I can’t deal with any of them right now, even Zeno.” Especially not Zeno, not after Lev told me he loves me. Right now, this moment is ours, and bringing family in will also return us to reality—and the fact I’m really fighting to not think about. No matter what, I’m technically a Vitale now, through marriage, which means the future remains unknown.
After this, Zeno will have learned about my relationship with Lev, but I’ll make sure his protective big brother act is tossed outthe window, because Lev won’t be going anywhere. Until then, I’d prefer to forget the world beyond these four walls.
Then, Lev announces the last thing I expect. “He’s aware. Of us, I mean. He claimed to have read it on my expression during the ceremony.”
The very expression that nearly brought me to my knees. I suspected the burning hatred I’d find in Lev’s eyes; seeing it would make speaking the vows an entire Cosa Nostra was expecting me to recite impossible. It wasn’t until Alessio’s words, whispered after our forced kiss, that I looked at him.“Petrov doesn’t like sharing. Guess he should have thought about what it’d mean to touch what was mine in the first place.”
It’s unsurprising my brother picked up on that.
Grimacing pulls at the cut on my forehead, which I rub before giving up and pinning my own hands beneath my thighs. “I’m sorry. Was it bad?”
“No. He’s okay with it if you are. Said it’s your choice.”
“Zeno?”I sit upright, the shock of Lev’s words a bump in my energy. “Zeno.Z. My neurotic brother isokaywith us being together?”
“Did you not just hear me? He said it’s your choice.”
Sometimes, Lev isn’t great at catching sarcasm.
“Huh.” I fall back against the pillows that curve with my body. “At least the hard part’s over.”
He hums and gets up again to fix the blanket around my body and adjust my pillow. “Your entire job is to heal. Worrying about everything else can come later.” He pushes hair from my face, still slightly curled from my wedding style, and I catch his hand before he moves away.
“Please don’t go.”
“Wasn’t planning on it.”
As his thumb strokes the back of my hand, I slip my finger onto his and tap his pattern, earning a low chuckle. “This helped a lot. Thank you.”
