He had his back to me, but he paused before turning to face me.
I gasped and stared in horror at him. He was covered in so much blood.
“What happened?” I choked out. “Is Evan OK? Is Cole? Ryder? Ethan?”
“Everyone is fine,” he said, his voice low. “This isn’t our family’s blood.”
“Then whose is it?”
He said nothing, his expression cold. I went to him and reached out, but he pushed my hands away.
“Don’t,” he said, moving away from me.
I stood, my heart in my throat, as he went into the bathroom. I pulled it together and followed him.
“Don’t you dare walk away from me?—”
Enzo grabbed me roughly by the waist and put me against the bathroom door, his lips nearly touching mine. The smell of his rich cologne and the iron tang of blood reached my nostrils.
His hand moved to my throat, and he wrapped his bloody fingers around it. He squeezed gently, his dark eyes trained on mine.
I said nothing as I stared up at him, my heart in my throat.
“Do you know what kind of monster I am, Rosalie?” he whispered against my lips.
“Yes,” I answered, my voice trembling.
“I killed eight men tonight. I cut their bodies up and sent them to Roberto Virelli in pieces with a warning that I’ll kill every motherfucker in my path until I get to him.”
I swallowed hard at his words.
“I am Lorenzo De Luca, the mafia don, not the sweet boy you knew in high school. I’m a killer. I tear worlds apart to grow mine. I stab women to death who wrong me. I burn their bodies. I kill their fathers and take over companies. I cut up men and send them back to their families in pieces. Do you know why?”
“Why?” I choked out.
“Because it’s what monsters do.” He released my throat and cradled my face with his bloody hand. “Can you love what I’ve become? Can you love this monster, Sunshine? Or do I need to set you free once and for all?”
He stared me down. My pulse roared in my ears.
“I would die to love you. I would die to protect you. I am not weak. I’m fucking not,” he said fiercely. “I’m not.”
“I know you’re not,” I said, my voice soft and shaky. “I’ve never thought you were weak.”
He gripped my face tightly and gave it a shake. “Then tell me. Can you love me this way?”
“Enzo, I already do. I always have. I always will?—”
I got no warning. His lips crashed against mine, his kiss tangy from the blood. His hand moved to my hair, where he tugged it, making me gasp against his lips.
He kissed down my neck, nipping and sucking against the flesh.
“After you have the babies, I’m going to put another one in you,” he husked out into my ear. “You’re going to give me my heir, Sunshine. My son will be better than I ever was. I’ll marry you just like the rest did. I will make you mine, and you will never fucking escape me.”
I closed my eyes at his words, them hurting my heart because he thought he wasn’t good.
Damn Dante and his hurtful words. He must have told Enzo he was weak before he left.
He didn’t know Enzo like I did. He didn’t know what he’d endured. How fiercely he loved and how easily he’d sacrifice his own happiness to give me mine, even if it hurt at first.
