Page 57 of Blood Vows

Her eyes narrowed. “I thought your house was secure.”

“It is,” he breathed.

“Then why do we need to go somewhere else?” she asked. He wanted to tell her that he needed a place to think, because his control was fraying. He needed to figure out how eighty million dollars had just been attached to Elena’s name. Or why somebody had been planning this since the day she was born. But most of all, he needed to figure out what to do about the kiss that they shared, but that last part had no place in his reasoning. Nonetheless, it was there anyway.

“We’ll go back to my house,” he said. Elena studied him, and then nodded.

They barely spoke on the drive back. Dante preferred it that way because silence gave him room to think. Unfortunately, all he thought about was her. Elena sat beside him, staring out the window. He knew that she was thinking about the eighty million dollars that sat in the trust for her. Her dead father had hidden secrets in a missing ledger. All that was enough to drive anyone over the edge. Dante could practically feel her mind spinning. He wanted to fix it for her, and that was the problem, because Dante didn't fix people—he eliminated problems. Elena made him want to do both.

When they reached his house, she went inside first. Dante secured the property and checked every room, every window, and every lock. By the time he returned to the kitchen, Elena was standing by the island.

“I’ve been waiting,” she said.

“For what?” he asked.

She stared at him. “For you.” That was a bad answer—a very fucking bad answer.

“Elena,” he growled in warning.

“You've been avoiding me since we kissed,” she assessed.

“I've been busy keeping you alive,” he said.

“I’m sure that you can do both, Dante,” she insisted.

His jaw tightened. “Both what?”

“Protect me and admit that the kiss happened,” she said.

“I know it happened,” he said.

“Do you regret it?” she asked. There it was—the question he'd been avoiding.

“No.” Her expression shifted, and Dante continued before he lost his nerve. “I regret the timing.”

“That's not the same thing,” she insisted.

“No, it’s not,” he agreed.

“Then why did you tell me it shouldn't have happened?” she asked.

“Because you're under my protection.”

“So, what does that have to do with anything?” she asked.

“So I'm responsible for you,” he said.

Her eyes flashed. “I'm not a child.”

“I fucking know that,” he growled. The words came out harder than he intended, and her breath caught. Dante dragged his hand over his face.

“You're scared. Your life has been ripped apart in less than twenty-four hours. I'm supposed to protect you, not take advantage of you.”

Elena stared at him. “Do I look like I don't know what I want?”

“No,” he said.

“Then stop deciding things for me,” she insisted.