I was seconds away from lifting her onto the railing and burying myself inside her right there under the moonlight when she finally broke the kiss, gasping for air.
When we finally broke apart, both of us were breathing harder. I rested my forehead against hers and closed my eyes briefly. Theurge to pull her closer was almost overwhelming. The urge to never let her leave was worse.
Her lashes lifted. I studied her face for a long moment. "You were terrified of me a minute ago."
The honesty that crossed her expression hurt more than I expected. "I still am."
I nodded slowly. Then asked the question that was tormenting me. "Then why kiss me?"
Aurora looked away toward the ocean. The wind caught her hair again. For several seconds, she didn't answer. When she finally spoke, her voice was soft. "Because I needed to know something. The night we met."
The club.
The bets.
The watch.
The beginning of this entire disaster.
She looked back at me. "I needed to know if I felt the same as I did that night."
Every muscle in my body went still. I held her gaze. Refused to look away. Then I asked the only question that mattered."Do you?"
Aurora stared at me for several seconds. Then she smiled. Not sweetly. Not shyly. A knowing smile. One that made me suspicious. Because it looked exactly like the expression she wore whenever she was about to drive me insane.
She took a step backward. Then another. Out of reach.
"Don’t run from me." There was a warning in my voice. She ignored it completely. The little troublemaker actually looked pleased with herself. "You're not answering."
"Not tonight." The smile widened. Moonlight caught the mischief dancing in her eyes. For the first time since she'd seen me downstairs, she looked completely fearless. And somehowthat terrified me more than her fear ever had. "Goodnight, Santino."
Then she turned and walked back toward the mansion.
I watched her disappear into the darkness, feeling strangely off-balance.
For four years after Angelo died, I hadn't wanted anything strongly enough to fear losing it.
Now I stood alone on a cliff overlooking the ocean and realized that Aurora Ventura had become the most dangerous thing in my life.
Chapter Twelve: AURORA
Themansionwasenormous.Which should have made avoiding one man easy. It didn't. Not when that man owned the mansion. Not when every hallway seemed to lead back to him somehow. Not when I couldn't stop thinking about him no matter how hard I tried.
I skipped breakfast. Skipped lunch. Skipped dinner. By sunset I was starving, angry, and beginning to suspect Santino had somehow infected my brain.
The execution kept replaying. The gunshot. The body falling. The mask. The Devil. Then, somehow, my stupid brain would remember the rooftop. The birthday cake. The whiskey. The way he'd smiled talking about Angelo. Nothing fit together. Nothing made sense. I hated it. Most of all, I hated that I missed him.
The realization alone nearly made me throw myself off the balcony. So instead of doing something dramatic, I wandered.
The mansion was quiet at night. Almost beautiful. Soft golden lights glowed along hallways lined with dark wood and expensive artwork. Moonlight spilled through enormouswindows overlooking the city. Everybody seemed to have disappeared. Good. That was exactly what I wanted.
Eventually I found myself standing outside a pair of double doors. I frowned. I'd never noticed them before. Curiosity would ruin my life. Again.
I pushed them open. And froze. A ballroom. An actual ballroom. My mouth fell open. The room stretched endlessly beneath crystal chandeliers. Marble floors reflected golden light. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlooked Manhattan, turning the entire city into a glittering sea of diamonds.
The place looked untouched. Forgotten. Beautiful. I stepped inside slowly. The door clicked shut behind me. Silence. Perfect silence. For the first time all day, my chest loosened.
No memories. No execution. No Devil. Just me.
