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“Think of something to keep me accountable,” I offer. “That will make you realize that this masked side of me will always have your side.”
She slightly peers over her shoulder.
“Always?”
I like the hint of hope there.
“As long as it doesn’t lead to Dom’s and Ares’ demise by my hands, then yes,” I vouch.It’s crazy that I’m gambling with her. Thrilling.“Always, Dolcezza.”
She thinks about it a bit more before she looks forward. She then moves away from me, but her hand finds my left hand, wrapping gently around my fingers.
I don’t remember when I’ve held a woman’s hand before.
Not to make it seem like I’ve never fucked and enjoyed the warm intimacy of a woman in my bed, but all the little actions that many females crave to show off to the world is something I’ve never delved into. Kiss in public. Handholding whiledoing common things like walking. Hugging or doing anything affectionate past kissing.
Heck, I haven’t fucked a woman in public.
Her touch ignites something in me, and I wonder if it’ll be the start of my downfall at the hands of Sweet Dynamite. The funny thing is, when I wrap my head around the possibilities, I don’t care. I could be so far gone in my fascination with our new toy, I don’t want to think logically.
“Domino almost paralyzed me once,” she confesses and tugs me lightly until we’re back in our spot on the grass.
She lets go of my hand—the absence of her warmth already leaving me tingling with yearning—as she lowers to sit on the grass and reach for her sandwich.
I force myself to sit back down, needing the closeness of being next to her to stop me from trying to reclaim her hand in my possession.
“Truthfully, I don’t think it was intentional. Peer pressure makes you do stupid things, but anyone with common sense, even as early adults, would know stabbing a needle in someone’s back isn’t going to end well.”
Fuck…
I’m thankful she can’t see my face, or she’d be frightened by the angered madness brewing in the lines of my expression.
Needles. Capsules. IVs. All the shit those in white jackets love to use to punish you with.
To envision Domino stabbing a needle into young Dolcezza’s back forces me to hide my hands, which are already shaking dangerously.
“The end result?”
“I managed to get homeschooled,” she announces as if that was the miracle she needed. “I never told my father, of course.” She shrugs just slightly. “You’re already aware that I’m adopted. Why burden him with my problems? He’s too busymaking business deals and contributing to his grand empire. I kept telling myself the bullying and torment would make me stronger, no matter the pain or how frightening it was.”
“But…” I mutter in disdain.There’s always a but.
“But…” She stares at the sandwich as if it’s the bringer of her dismay. “When you wake up and can’t move your legs, that’s the wake-up call you need to give yourself permission to run away.”
Shit.
“You were paralyzed?”
“Temporarily, if it makes sense,” she admits and tries to think about it. She gives up on her sandwich and ends up curling her legs against her, wrapping her arms around them as if they’ll run away from her.
I briefly notice the blotched bruise on her arm that makes me grit my teeth from the guard’s abusive treatment against her, but at least he’s fucking dead.
“I don’t remember if I was fifteen or sixteen. All I remember is that I’d been diagnosed with diabetes that year. My younger sister was obsessed with candy, to the point where everyone would have to eat what she recommended. My parents adore her and would never want to make her cry. She’s their princess, after all. The future heir must be treated like the royal she’s destined to become. Since I’m the outcast, there wasn’t much regard for my health until I passed out walking down the stairs.”
Ouch.
“Bodyguard?”
She looks at me for a moment, her expression proving she’s figured out what I’m asking.
