A fire is in her eyes as she snaps them back to mine. “I didn’t betray you. You’re the one with feelings for another woman.”
“I told you: I never loved Gianna.”
“And yet, you’re obsessed with revenge because of her.”
“But it was never love. Just tell me. Did you ask your brother to kill me tonight? He said it was your idea.”
She shakes her head. “I went to Cormac after I found out about Gianna and Will. Yes, I did. But I never asked him to kill you. I cried and he hugged me and told me he’d handle it. But I didn’t ask him to kill you. I just…”
“Didn’t stop him,” I finish for her.
A sigh escapes her. So different from the moans I’ve heard from her when I’ve shown her pleasure. “Yes,” she admits. “I didn’t stop him. I knew he would come for you sometime. I was so angry, Marco. You made me believe we could have hope and then you smashed that hope into the ground. I was upset. I shouldn’t have gone to my brother, I’ll admit. But you have got to stop painting me like I’m the bad guy. You have to learn to trust me if we’re going to make this work.”
“Kind of hard when you run to your brother every time you’re upset and he will try to kill me every goddam time.”
She flinches. “I know. Cormac is a problem. But you hurt me.”
“And you hurt me,” I snap. “My own wife wants me dead.”
“Maybe you should think about why.”
I huff, shaking my head. “I know I’m not a good man. I never pretended to be.”
“That’s not what I’m saying.”
“I don’t love her, Ciara!” I shout, making her step back. “I don’t love Gianna. I never have. I used her in my games to hurt her brother. I wanted to make her mine, yes. But it was to hurt Enzo. Not because I loved her. I hired Will Taylor myself to kidnap Gianna for me and then he ended up falling in love with her. They ran away together, leaving me for dead. I was pissed. I held onto my anger for the past year because it was the only thing that kept me going. But it was never love for Gianna. It was pure hate for Will. For shooting me. For stealing what I considered mine. But Gianna was never mine. I know that. She was never mine like you are.”
Ciara stares down at the floor for a long moment. I would give anything to know what’s on her mind. “I didn’t realize that.”
“Now you know,” I say in a quieter voice. “I should have told you from the start. I… I’m sorry.”
She sucks in a breath as her eyes meet mine. “You don’t say sorry that often, do you?”
“Never. There’s something else. I went after Will tonight.”
“After I told you not to?”
“Yes. I had a chance to kill him but then… I couldn’t. Your words were in my head. I don’t know why they were but they were. And I didn’t kill him. I couldn’t because for some strange reason, I don’t want you to hate me. I don’t want you to just be a pawn in my game for revenge. I want you to be… more.”
“Really?” She sounds so vulnerable and young as she wraps her arms around her waist.
“Yes. Really. I didn’t kill him, Ciara. Everything in me wanted him dead but I couldn’t because of you. Because I don’t want to lose you before we’ve even had a chance to begin. I can’t promise that my hate is gone forever. I can’t promise that I’ll never try to kill Will. But for tonight… I didn’t do it.”
“You chose our marriage instead.”
“Yes. But then your brother found me before I could tell you this and almost killed me.”
She winces. “I am sorry for that. I never should have gone to him when I was upset. I know how much he wants you dead.”
“He’ll keep coming for me, Ciara. You know it.”
“I know. So what do we do?”
“Right now, I just want to know that I can trust my wife. I want to know that I made the right decision in choosing you over Will tonight. But if you still want me dead…”
“No,” she says with a shake of her head as she reaches out to me. Her hands find my chest. “I don’t want you dead, Marco. I am sorry for going to Cormac. I was upset that you had feelings for another woman. Or, at least, I thought you did at the time. I saved you from my brother when we were in Italy for a reason. Our marriage is one neither one of us wanted. But for some reason… I want it now. I want you to choose me. And I want to choose you too.”
Our eyes lock in a heated gaze for a long, tense moment before I lower my lips to hers. The kiss starts off tender but that only lasts a second before it deepens into a passionate, intense one.
