Page 96 of At The End Of The Day

A second time, I broke away to stare down at him, panting faster. Tenderly petting his temple and forehead, my chest was swelling around my heart. Because I was meant to be his. It was all aligned, from the day we met until our time in Georgia, every single detail leading up to this moment.

“Dario,” he whispered, cupping my nape.

I shrugged him off when he tried to pull me down a second time, not done memorizing his expression right now. He loved me. A man who had been devoted to one person his entire life, not faltering in that commitment no matter what, loved me. He finally let Billy Wagner go and gave his heart to me.

That was a huge responsibility. It was a gift, one I would cherish forever. I could only hope I never failed or disappointed him. Janelle would blab about what she saw the other day, if she hadn’t already. Eventually, we would have to return to Serpent world, and everyone would know. Would I be strong enough to stand up against the backlash we were about to face? Was I brave enough?

His brows furrowing, a hint of uncertainty flickered in his irises and it made my stomach cringe knowing I was making him feel doubt. This time, I let him pull me back for the kiss, but we kept our eyes open, watching one another.

I loved this man, I loved him like I never loved any woman. I had no choice but to take a stand, even if it put my life at risk.

Snorting on a sudden inhale, I broke away yet again, gawking down at him. I would die for this man. I always would have, I proved that in those mountains, but things were different. It wasn’t about loyalty and brotherhood anymore. I would die for him because without him, I was incomplete. This man was a part of my very soul.

Groaning, I crushed my lips to his again and began rocking, rebuilding the arousal. He moaned and cupped my ass cheeks, pulling me closer. I absolutely loved this man.

Chapter 40

Vincent da Silva

We were both lying on our stomachs on the bed, facing one another in the dark. The house quiet, I could hear our breaths as we stared at one another in silence. My pulse quickening, my insides were jittery with anxiety as I whispered, “Is this weird?”

“What?”

“Me, you, here, together.”

One side of his mouth briefly tugged in a smile. “You’d think it would be, right? I don’t think so, though. I dunno, it was all too easy.”

“You know.” A small chuckle pushed through my nose. “Every time something happened to stop us from being together, I kept thinking that was a sign.”

“Of what?”

“That we weren’t supposed to be together.”

The smile fell, his sight moving around my face. “I don’t believe in signs.”

We fell quiet again for a few moments.

“Tonight was so…”

“Awesome,” he said with a smile.

I chuckled again. “Yeah, awesome. Fixing dinner, sitting down with Piera, talking about her schoolwork. She actually likes it here, Dash.”

“Of course, she does. She’s always liked it here.”

“Visiting. This is totally different, man. This is her home now. She ain’t never known any home but yours.”

A long sigh pushed across the pillows to tickle the side of my wrist. “Yeah, well, there ain’t no gooey, handless ghost roaming around here.”

A second time, we laid there, just staring at one another with slight grins. Everything prickling, my pinky stretched out to graze the side of his hand. His smile widened, his poking out to reach mine. My focus shifting to our hands and arms, my brows furrowed and my insides turned over.

“Holy shit.”

“What?”

“Look.”

I lifted to my elbow and scooted closer so our forearms were lined together. In this position, our serpent tattoos matched perfectly, as if the two were purposely designed to look like the body coiled around both arms.