Page 339 of Reign

“I was thinking. I told you I was thinking.”

“I heard you.”

“Apparently not, because you emptied the pool.”

“Yes, your thoughts were jumbled, and you needed the water to quiet them. I understand that.”

“Then why—”

“Because I came outside and found you motionless at the bottom.”

His voice doesn’t rise.

It doesn’t need to.

The image seems to move between us, stealing some of the force from my anger.

“I knew what I was doing. I’m an excellent swimmer.”

“I know.”

“I wasn’t going to fall asleep down there or suddenly forget how breathing works.”

“Elena.”

He crosses the remaining space and catches my face between his hands, tipping my head back until I have no choice but to look at him.

His expression isn’t angry.

That would be easier.

There’s something raw beneath the control in his eyes, the same fear I saw yesterday when he dragged me from the water with his clothes and shoes weighing him down.

“You told me I was a big thing,” he says.

My throat tightens.

“And I told you that you’re a very big thing for me too.”

His thumbs move beneath my cheeks.

“So listen carefully, because I’m only going to say this once.”

I stop fighting his hold.

“Anything with the power to take you away from me does not get to exist without me standing between you and it.”

A small gasp escapes me.

Luciano doesn’t look away.

“I trust you in the pool. I don’t trust accidents. I don’t trust one cramped muscle, one missed breath, or one moment when no one realizes you’ve been under too long.”

“Nothing was going to happen.”

“But something could have.”

His hands soften against my face.