“Aria, you and I are done.” My lie comes out cold and sharp, like the scrape of a blade unsheathing. Another sip, my hand clenches around the bottle.
“Cyan, how can you say that after everything we’ve shared?” Her voice wavers a little, wounded. “You can’t just walk away from our love.”
I nearly break and pull her into me and tell her I love her. Mark her again and again until she forgets the pain. Seeing the scar on her hand reminds me why I shouldn’t. I made a promise. One that keeps her safe. She deserves a life untouched by this world. A life without ambushes, without bloodshed. Without waking up nailed to a fucking table. Every violent memory claw at me, every moment she suffered because of me. I have to stay distant. My face, a mask of indifference. My words are calculated to hurt.
“You don’t belong in my world, Aria. It’s like Elana said, you were a distraction, one I was stupid enough to indulge. Go playhouse in Crescent Bay and find some poor bastard to give you the quiet life you deserve. I’m done.” I let a cruel smirk curl on my lips. “You think this was love? Nah, sweetheart. You were just something to pass the time.” I take another long drink. “I don’t want your love.”
I glance away and stare out the window, though the view of Boston Harbor means nothing with her standing there. I can feel her gaze burning into me. Then she steps forward, her fingers cradling my face, turning it upward to hers. Her eyes are unflinching, sharp with truth. She slaps me hard. A dark, humorless laugh slips from her lips.
“Wow.” Her arms cross her chest and draw my attention to that glorious cleavage. “That’s the best you’ve got. I expected something more original from you, Cyan.” She steps closer and drops to her knees. Now we’re eye to eye. Her voice lowers, coated with venom and heat.
“I was a distraction. Funny, because last I checked, you don’t drink yourself stupid over distractions. You don’t risk your life for them, and you sure as hell don’t look at distractions like you’re doing right now, like every word out of your mouth is killing you.”
My jaw locks, but she’s not done. “I don’t scare easily anymore, Cyan, and I’m not running. So, if you really want me gone, you’re gonna have to try a hell of a lot harder than that.” Then like the savage she is, she snatches the bottle from my hand, marches into the kitchen, and pours every last drop down the drain.
I sit there, choking on my own damn lies. She wasn’t supposed to call my bluff. She wasn’t supposed to see through the cracks. “Suit yourself, Aria. Stay… go… do whatever the hell you want.” I exhale and drag a hand down my face. “Doesn’t make a difference to me.”
She tilts her head. Her voice practically purrs with mockery. “So let me get this straight. You don’t want me, but you’re cool with me walking out that door, calling up an old fuck buddy, and riding him into next week?”
Her words hit like a shotgun blast to the chest. My head jerks toward her. My vision tunnels. She plants a hand on her hip, daring me. Every twisted part of me burns at the thought of someone else touching her. Jealousy rises like a beast with blood in its eyes. “If that’s what you want,” I manage to grit out.She’s bluffing. She has to be.
Aria nods, pulls out her phone, and starts scrolling. Then dials. “Hey, Raymond?”She did not just call someone in front of me.“It’s Aria. Want to meet up later? I’ve got an itch that needs scratching.”
What the fuck?What the fuck? I stand up. That’s it. I’m a mobster, not a saint. From the living area, I walk to the kitchen island where she stands. “I’ll castrate any man who touches you,” I snarl, lunging forward. I grab the phone from her hand. “Listen, fucker–” But the voice on the other end isn’t a man’s.
“Serves you right, I would’ve taken Trevor to your balls if you dumped me like that.”
“Tasha?”
“Damn right, it’s me, and if you don’t do right by my girl, I will pay you a visit with Trevor in tow.” I hang up, lower the phone slowly, and turn to face Aria. She’s standing there with a wicked smile, smug as hell. Like she just checkmated a mob king.
“For fuck’s sake, Aria. That wasn’t funny.”
“Neither was the shit you said.” Her eyes blaze. “Because let me tell you something, you fucking idiot, I don’t want anyone else. I love you, you jackass.” She yanks me into her, and our mouths crash together. The kiss is fierce. Desperate. Like we’re both trying to undo every second we lost. She fits perfectly in my arms, like coming home. Collin was right; doing the wrong thing never felt so damn good. Our lips move in a rhythm born of fire and thirst, making up for every stupid mistake I made when I first claimed her, every scar, and every lie.
“You’re my everything, Dove,” I growl between kisses, voice hoarse with need. “And there’s no going back. I won’t give you up. Not even if you change your mind.”
“Likewise, Cyan. You’re mine.” She gasps, our foreheads pressing together, breaths ragged and uneven. Her palm cups my cheek. “I’ve killed to keep you, as you know.” Her fingers thread into my hair, and we fall into each other, no hesitation, no fear. There’s no slow burn, no buildup. I rip her dress open, baring her breasts, and take a nipple into my mouth. She sighs in delight, tugging at my T-shirt, pulling me deeper into her orbit.
“I want you, Cyan. I need you. It’s been too long.”
I lift her onto the island, barely shoving my pants down before she guides me into her. Her moan tears through the kitchen, searing me from the inside out. Being inside her again. There are no words. Just this overwhelming, soul-deep rightness. What the fuck was I thinking, trying to give her up?My heart claimed her the first night I heard her laugh.
We make love on the island. On the couch. In the shower. Then finally, she fulfills one of my darkest fantasies–my Dove, on her knees, wearing her “fuck me” glasses, draining me with her mouth until I see stars.
Next, I tongue her pussy until she’s screaming my name loud enough to wake the dead. We’re two broken souls, fusing the pieces back together, and we don’t stop until the city fades and it’s just us–breathless, wrecked, and tangled together like we were always meant to be. We’ve found our way back, not just as lovers, but as soulmates. Two halves of a whole, ready to face whatever comes next.
“Aria,” I murmur, brushing a curl from her cheek, “you know life with me won’t ever be normal, right?”
She smiles. “It’ll be better. Because I found my second half. But Mr. MacBrady.” She arches a brow. “This time, we’re equal. I refuse to be an unknowing pawn in your world again.”
My chest tightens with pride and guilt. “Oi. I hear you, lass. I’ll do everything in my power to keep you safe. But I can’t promise it won’t happen again.”
She shrugs. “I sent in my resignation to J&G Accounting. Living in two worlds is something I can’t do anymore. I’m taking the job as Troy’s assistant, and you,” she pokes me hard in the chest, “are going to train me to defend myself. Got it? Next person who tries to grab me, I’ll blow their fucking head off.”
“Aye, Dove. I’ll teach you. And by the way, Troy handles the books. Legally and illegally.”
“Perfect.” She grins. “Put me to work, Don.” I kiss her forehead, still stunned by the force that is my woman.
