Page 81 of At The End Of The Day

The anguish in his stare was shredding me apart inside. Refusing to let him suffer alone, I straightened my spine and closed the distance between us.

“I said stay away!” he shouted, spit flying from his mouth.

I held his stare and went right up to the blade, letting it prick my chest. A tiny trail of blood trickled down, but I didn’t even flinch. “If you go, take me with you.”

A sharp inhale hitched the back of his throat, his mouth and eyes wide. “What?”

“Ride or die, Vin. You ain’t going through this alone. So, if you gotta go, I’m going with you.”

His features scrunched and he shook his head. “What? No, that…that ain’t right. What about Piera?”

“Tiny will raise her, but I ain’t staying here without you. You ain’t leaving me, baby, so go ahead. It’s okay. I’m ready to go wherever you go.”

He shook with a suppressed sob, his brows arched high. “You’ll…go with me?”

“Anywhere. You ready?”

His eyes moved about to look all over my face, his nostrils flaring in and out with heavy breaths. His resolve weakening, I took his wrist, pulled it away, and pried the knife from his fingers, tossing it to the sink. I cupped the back of his neck and pulled him to me right as he broke down, sobbing. His face in the crook of my neck, one arm folded around to his back as I petted his hair.

“Shh, it’s okay, baby. I got you. I’ll always have your back.” I craned my neck to place a lingering kiss to his ear, cringing when his hands balled to fists at my back. Holding a grown man that was weeping hysterical was something I never thought I’d be doing, but there wasn’t a single thing or person that would make me be anywhere but here.

I pulled him closer and closed my eyelids, swaying us side to side. This was where I needed to be and, if Vincent really did go through with killing himself, I would keep my promise and go with him.

Chapter 34

Vincent da Silva

Sorrow pulled me from my slumber, ripping me out of a wonderful dream where Dash and I were still in that house in Georgia, but there was no danger, no blood, no death, just me and him, loving, kissing, touching. Tears springing to my eyes while they were still closed, I started to give in to the grief, but froze when I felt firm, warm lips on mine. Snorting, I jostled and snatched my eyes wide, gawking at him hovering above, a hand on the side of my face.

What the hell? Why was he kissing me? Why was I not kissing him back?

Shoving Billy to the recesses of my mind, I groaned and swirled my tongue against his. Continuing to stare at him, I hesitantly touched his side, exhilarated to find nothing but smooth flesh. Timidly traveling lower, my stomach flipped over when my fingers curled around his beautiful cock.

He broke away but didn’t put distance between us, his hot pants tickling my face. “God, yes, don’t you dare fucking stop this, Vin. I swear to god, you better not stop this.”

Breaking out in goosebumps, I nipped his bottom lip and squeezed a little harder, pulling his cock down. Feeling flesh against flesh, my head snatched off the pillow to see I was fully naked. We both were. Lust rippling through my system, adrenaline shot to my brain and I groaned, dropping my head back onto the pillow.

His lashes lifting, he stared into my eyes and stretched his arm, patting around the nightstand. Pushing up on his other fist, a trace of fear flickered through his smoldering stare, his throat constricting.

“What? What’s wrong?” I muttered, afraid he was having second thoughts.

He moved away a bit, his cock withdrawing from my hold. My brows shot upward, the excitement sinking. His features twisted in pain, and he laid on his back, holding up a bottle of lube. “I need it,” he whispered, though his tone shook.

An invisible fist slammed into my gut, knocking the wind from my lungs. Slowly raking my sight along him, I examined his wounds, wondering if he could handle this right now. All I had was a deep but superficial injury and broken ribs, and I was struggling against the hurt.

“We’ll take it slow, okay? If it hurts, if anything hurts, you say something and we stop—”

“We ain’t stopping this time, Vin. Promise me. We ain’t stopping.”

“Where’s Piera?”

“I sent her to spend the night with Janelle. I cut off both our phones and locked all the doors in my house. No interruptions.”

My pulse racing, I stiffly nodded and sat up, my upper lip twitching when a rib pinched. For some reason, we were both speaking quietly and changing that seemed intrusive, so I kept the low tone when saying, “Roll over, baby.”

He shook his head, his expression hard with determination. “Fuck, no.”

“Dash, the first time, it’s easier—”