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Bones grew tired of the silence. “Baby.” He could issue wordless orders and ask me questions with just that phrase. When we communicated with our minds, words weren’t necessary. Throughout our relationship, talking had never been one of our strongest points, not when we spoke to one another in other ways.
I came around his desk, watching him stare at me with his formidable eyes. I moved into his body, pushed my hands underneath his shirt and up his hard stomach, and then rose onto my tiptoes to give him a soft kiss on the lips. When I felt his mouth, the tears came loose. They rolled down my cheeks and landed on my lips so we both could taste the salt.
He didn’t circle his arms around my waist, and he kissed me with his eyes open, watching every reaction that I made.
I pulled back and looked at him, unable to think of the right words to express the way I felt. It was difficult to organize my thoughts when I could only think of my emotions. “Max told me everything.” I rested my forehead against his chin, my eyes looking at his powerful chest. “He told me about your crash…”
He inhaled a deep breath, the annoyance heavy in the sound of his breathing.
“And he told me there was never anyone else…” My thumbs moved along the deep grooves of his stomach, feeling the riverbeds between the valleys. “I was too afraid to ask because I didn’t want to hear the answer.”
Bones said nothing, his arms still by his sides.
“I’m so sorry that I hurt you…” I was sorry he had seen me with Antonio, seeing something that wasn’t really there. I was sorry my family had ripped us apart. I was sorry I didn’t try to harder to keep us together. “And after everything…even when you thought I was with someone else…you still took that bullet for my father.” I took a deep breath before I lifted my chin to meet his gaze.
He stared down at me, thick like a tree trunk and still like a statue. “You shouldn’t be surprised, baby. Don’t ever be surprised. I will guard you with my life. I will protect you as long as I live. I will chase away your nightmares every night. I’ll keep you warm in the dead of winter. I will be the monster that everyone fears—but I will be your monster.”
“You aren’t a monster…you’re a kind and wonderful man.”
He wiped away another tear with the pad of his thumb. “Let that be our secret.” His thumb moved to my bottom lip and swiped across it, rubbing the tear across my mouth.
“That night you saw me with Antonio—”
“I don’t care about him. He was just a distraction, a boy to make you forget about a man. Even if you did sleep with him, it wouldn’t make a difference to me. Because he is nothing compared to me. He is nothing to us. He never had a chance because he could never erase me. But I can erase him.” He snapped his fingers. “Just like that. I’m the man you love, and I will be the only man that you ever love. Your body, soul, and heart all belong to me. I won the battle, and I conquered the Barsettis. It’s not the revenge I wanted, but I got something so much better in the end—you. The daughter of my greatest enemy is now mine. Every broken bone, every drunken night, and every pain was worth it. It was all worth it to have you. So don’t speak of the past ever again. Don’t ever speak that boy’s name to me again. Don’t ever remind me how dark those three months were. All I want is the future—the quiet and simple future we’ve always talked about.”
Eleven
Conway
The double doors to the terrace were open, illuminating the bedroom with natural light. Birds sang from the trees surrounding the house, chirping quietly as they enjoyed the summer sun. There was a gentle breeze, fragrant with the smell of grapes and olives. This place had always been peaceful to me, surrounded by hillsides and vineyards. My parents used to sit outside together on the back porch and drink wine while my sister and I worked on homework in the sitting room. There was something about the place that made feel comfortable, that brought me a strong sense of peace.
I didn’t want to come here originally, not when I felt like a burden to everyone. But the truth was, I felt safe there. With my father watching the property and my uncle just down the road, it was the safest place Muse and I could be.
Since I was unable to take care of my wife, I didn’t feel like such an asshole when my mother could help her with what she needed. I was on bed rest because of my broken ribs, which would take a few weeks to heal. I could move around, but it always gave me a jolt of pain. Going down the stairs was the worst. So I spent most of my time lying down or sitting. My injury didn’t stop my wife from straddling my hips every night, so I still got the satisfaction I needed. Seeing her pregnant belly and swollen tits as she moved up and down was such an erotic sight.
