“You would never hurt me. You did what you had to in order to survive, and I amglad,” I told him fiercely. “I am glad for everything you did if it brought you back to me. Now sit down,caro marito, and let me wash your hair, or I am going to become a very cranky wife, and trust me, neither of us wants that right now.”
He drew one shuddering breath and sank back down, stayed still as I drained the tub and refilled it with clean water, tipping his head back so he was comfortable. “Tell me everything that happened when you asked Giovanni about my disappearance,” I prompted, dripping handfuls of water through his filthy hair.
“Your uncle is a fucktwat.” He cracked his eye open whenI snorted at his new favorite word, reaching over him for the shampoo. “He fed me the expected line of bullshit. Your brother was really worried, though. I felt bad about leaving Luca like that, wondering what happened to you. But then I walked out the doors and our house exploded. I got there as fast as I could, but when I found your blood, I… if anything happened to you, Emberline, I would never forgive myself.”
“Nico got me out in time,” I started massaging his scalp, willing this stubborn male to justrelax.
“I thought I’d failed you,tesoro.” I didn’t think my heart was beating as he opened his eyes and stared up into mine. “The whole time I was in the Fossa, I never knew for sure…”
I nodded wordlessly because I’d lived with those same unknowns.
“All I kept thinking was how I’d caged you to keep you safe, but that cage had become your tomb. And that’s when I knew the truth.” He ran his fingers down my cheek as I held my breath for whatever he was about to say next.
“I realized that keeping you safe is a privilege, not a duty, and I swore then… swore on my mother’s grave that if I got another chance, if I could,”—his fingertips paused on my cheek—“touch you again, I would do everything differently. So… no more cages. No more protections. You and me, Emberline, against the world. Side by side. Will you join me?”
“Gods, yes,” I breathed. “I will join you, Dante.”
29
DANTE
Istared doubtfully at the tiny bed, the rickety frame that looked ready to give way.
On the other side of the bathroom door, water splashed as Emberline washed off dirt and blood, and I despised the fact that so much as a speck of the Fossa’s filth had touched her perfect skin.
I hoisted the tiny towel higher around my waist, filled by a stark, desperate fear I couldn’t do anything to quench. The demon inside me was wily and cruel, and I couldn’t bear having him this close to Emberline.
A normal husband would already be in there with his wife, and fuck knew I wanted to be, but I’d come out here to get my shit together because I didn’t know what to do with all of this…rageright now.
My wife—Gabriel and Nico—thought I’d cracked under the strain of the Fossa, when the opposite was true. I’d never been more in control of myself than I was right now. But I had tostayin control.
I had to protect Emberline, no matter the cost.
There were some monsters I could keep her safe from, and some I couldn’t.
The truth was, I didn’t know how much longer I could keep the demon contained. It was one thing to lose control in a penal colony made of stone, quite another to be surrounded by wood and the people you loved.
I looked at the door, wondering how much of a shit husband I would be if I just slipped into the night and disappeared without a trace.
I sighed. Chances were high she’d find me, drag me back, and chain me to the bed.
A rush of heat flooded through me, my balls tingling.
Yeah. My cock liked that idea, already rock hard from that bath, the friction of her hands rubbing over my body, the brush of those soft breasts across my skin, every time she reached for shampoo or the cloth or… Fuck, I was dying to pin her down and lick every delicious inch of her.
Dying to drive my cock deep inside her pussy and make her scream my name.
My entire body was on fire, flushed full of pure, male need, yet all I thought about was running.
Putting as much distance between us as I could.
The door opened, steam poured out in a white cloud, and from that billowing mist stepped my wife, like a godsdamned angel.
Naked. Beads of water shivering on her pale skin. Long, wet hair cascading down around her shoulders, hard, pink nipples peeking out between the dark strands. And that scent. Like summertime and lemons.
I’d never felt so godsdamned alive, and I knew I wasn’t running anywhere.
“Fuck.” I licked my lips, my cock thick and throbbing between my legs. “I dreamed about you every night. Kept reminding myself of how sweet you tasted, those little sounds you made when you came, but…” I stared down at her, looking my fill, trying to decide where to start.
