“Dante, Dante, Dante,” I yelled as I raced down the steps to the dock, then I was in his arms, gripping him so tightly, as if I was afraid he might disappear if I didn’t hold on hard enough.
“You’re here,” I breathed against his hair, my voice shaking. “You’re actually here.”
“I’m here,” he said, a little breathless from the force of the hug but laughing softly. “I told you I’d come.” I pulled back enough to look at him, my hands framing his face, checking—searching—for any sign of fire in his eyes. There wasn’t any.
“Hello, sister.” Luca was laughing, too, despite the smear of blood across his cheek, and… was that a broken nose?
“Luca,” I scolded. “What happened to you?”
“Your husband is a fucking force of nature, that’s what happened. Uncle didn’t know what hit him.”
“After we talked to Bruno, I went straight to the DiRavello palazzo,” Dante said simply. “Two of his personal guards were wrestling your brother to the ground. I… dissuaded them from continuing.”
I blanched. “Youwhat?”
“They weren’t expecting me,” he continued with the same casual indifference. “So, Ididhave the element of surprise. Suffice it to say, the living quarters will need some repairs after tonight. I am sorry about the antiques; they were quite nice.”
“He showed up naked and set the whole godsdamnedpalazzo on fire,” Luca said with a grin. “Uncle was shouting about saving everything in the office, and we got the fuck out of there.”
“You could have been killed,” I scolded, even though I couldn’t stop grinning. “Tell me how pissed Uncle was.”
“Oh, he was pissed.” Luca nodded to my husband. “I don’t know what he was planning to do with me, but whatever it was, his entire night was ruined. Now he’ll spend tomorrow cleaning up.”
I brushed a stray strand of hair from my brother’s forehead, then looked back at Dante.
“Thank you for saving him.”
We both knew the horrors Luca had escaped tonight, and hopefully, my sweet brother never found out what a close call he’d had.
“I knew he was the most important person in the world to you,tesoro.”
Something in my chest twisted painfully with his words, at the knowledge that he didn’t include himself in that sentence.
I reached out and linked my fingers with his. “Oneof the most important, you mean. We’re all family now, and I love myentirefamily. All of them.Equally.”
Understanding flickered in his eyes, a slow smile creasing his lips, as if he was afraid to believe what he’d just heard.
“I love you, Dante Dominico.” I went up on my toes and pressed my lips to his. “You’re mine, and I’m yours, and don’t you dare ever think otherwise.”
“I love you more,tesoro.” His smile softened as he looked up at the house. “Let’s get your brother sorted out, and then… I have a proposition for you.”
59
EMBERLINE
“He’s fine,” Dante reassured me as we looked at Luca, passed out face-first in one of the spare bedrooms, still in his bloody clothes. “Won’t hurt him one bit. In fact, it’ll be good for him.”
I gave him the side eye. “Good to sleep in clothes soaked in the blood of his enemies?”
“Exactly.” My husband sounded proud. “Luca fought well tonight, Emberline. Handled himself like a soldier, didn’t panic, followed directions to the letter without complaint.” He paused. “Unlike his sister.”
“Well, I’m just glad he’s home in one piece.” I sniffed, ignoring his barb.
“And what about me?” Dante’s voice turned suggestive as he herded me out into the hall. “Are you glad I’m home?”
“You know I am.” I pressed my palm to the center of his chest as he backed me into the wall, his skin still so warm. “Very, very glad. I did try to lure you into bed before I was kidnapped, remember? But you refused.”
“A mistake I will not repeat.” He leaned down and kissed me, barely a brush of his lips across mine. Then I was flung over his shoulder, and all I saw was his perfectly sculpted ass as he carried me toward the bedroom.
