“You don’t need to move, baby. I’ve got you. It’s going to be okay. I promise it’ll be okay. Just stay with me.”
There’s terror in his tone. Sheer, unadulterated terror. The terror you experience when you think you’re about to lose someone you love.
Footsteps sound as they race towards us, then stop suddenly. Presumably whoever’s arrived was in a hurry but is now too damn shocked to move. Or talk, if the silence is any indication of what they’re witnessing.
“You’re not getting rid of me that easily,” I mumble.
Enzo snorts and pulls me upright, and more pain bursts through me.
“You might take a bit more care of me.”
He laughs and nestles his head against mine. His hands soften as they realize that this isn’t a figment of his imagination. Enzo plants gentle kisses on me and the sound of hushed whispers echoes around us as we ignore anyone else.
“I’m going to take such good care of you, sweet girl,” he whispers.
“You’ve done a shit job so far,” I mumble. “Where is all that jewelry you promised me? And we’re moving. I hate that bloody loft. I want a house. A fucking big one.”
Sniggers sound out, and Enzo doesn’t react.
“Whatever you want, Adriana. As long as you behave.”
I nod and pain shoots down my back.
A different darkness washes over me. It’s warm and comforting. It’s protective and I’m secure. It’s a cloak of black that will protect me, and it belongs to Enzo.
The asshole is using his magic on me, and I’m too damn tired to fight it.
“You should sleep,” he whispers. “I’ve got you. I promise you’re quite safe.”
I smirk as I fall toward sleep. “I doubt it. You’re around.”
43
YOU'LL THANK ME FOR THIS
ADRIANA
Iwake in the most comfortable bed I’ve ever been in and I don’t want to move. The mattress and the duvet are divine and the temperature’s perfect. This is heaven and I don’t want to go anywhere.
“You’re awake,” Enzo says.
My eyes focus on his, finding him sitting at the end of the bed. In human form.
“Where are we?” I ask.
“Hell,” he replies.
I stretch and try to hide the smile that’s breaking out on my face. The man is a nightmare and I adore him for it. His smile matches mine and he’s so damn beautiful it almost hurts my eyes to look at him. His jet black hair falls over his bronzed face, and in his human form the man looks like an adonis and not the monster lurking underneath. The gleam in his eyes is still there and I stare, bewitched and in his thrall as he crawls up the bed.
“Are we going to talk about it?” I ask.
“Do you want to, Adi?”
I shake my head. “Not yet. I just want to know what an Altair is.”
Enzo nods and pulls me against him. “That’s not a simple question to answer. Mostly because I’ve spent my life hunting you down so I could purge you from this world.”
He swallows and strokes my hair.
