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A sweet smile spreads across his face, making my heart flutter. “Definitely not my preference. I know what I’d rather do. But lately I’m more attracted to men,” Tiero jokes.
I punch his arm ever so gently. “Well, this is perfect,” I whisper, emotions threatening to take over once more.
“You know, I haven’t looked at another woman since the day we met. And even if I hadn’t been shot, I don’t think I could have been with another woman again.”
Heat rushes through me at his words. I can’t imagine him being celibate; angry fucks and letting out his frustrations on the many willing women he encounters… that I can picture.
As if reading my mind, he adds, “After having you in my arms, I can’t stomach the thought of touching another woman, let alone sliding my cock into her.”
“But you’ve always been so sexual. You were a playboy when we met.” To hear him say he’d go without sex seems almost impossible to believe. I wouldn’t have wanted him to pine for me for the rest of his life.
“I was, but you were the game changer. There is no one else for me. In some way, I’m content to die. I don’t want to be with anybody else. And this way I was always faithful to you, my one true love. It makes me happy.”
Could this man be any more swoony? Even on his deathbed?
I’m sure all of me melts, and I nuzzle my face into his neck, eliciting a low, contented groan.
God, if we both weren’t invalid, there’d be no way in hell we’d be placidly lying next to one another. So perhaps I should be grateful I’m not tempted to cheat on Aiden.
“Do you have any regrets?” I ask.
“Not marrying you on the island and getting you pregnant.” He winks at me.
“Well, you almost succeeded with the latter,” I reply, remembering how shocked I was thinking he knocked me up. “You would have wanted to get married on the island?”
“Yes. It’s special. The moment I set foot on it, it was like my soul could breathe. It’s been my haven.” He pauses, smiling. “I’m gifting it to you.”
My eyes go wide. “What? You’re gifting to me?” I repeat, a little dumbfounded.
His smile grows. “Yes. It’s my most precious possession. Will you please look after it for me? Love it as much as I do?”
Wow. How could I refuse? It’s the one place where we were happy. It’s an easy yes. “You blow me away with your generosity. Thank you. Our time on that island meant the world to me. It’s a piece of paradise.” And I get to go there again… if I survive the surgery.
“Will you visit it for me every year? On the days that we were there?”
Tears prick my eyes when I think about returning to Tiero’s island without him… well, he’ll be there with me, inside of me, but that’s really not the same. Still, I nod.
“Will you and Aiden get married there? Please?” He looks so vulnerable asking, and I swallow the lump forming in my throat. “Just you and Aiden, and Father Joseph with me watching over you?”
Again, I nod; I’m not capable of speaking. I couldn’t refuse him anything right now.
“Thank you, angel,” he whispers, lifting his hand to wipe away the stray tear that escaped. “Aiden is a good man. I like him. He’s going to look after you well.”
I want to roll my eyes at him. The notion that I need someone to look after me rubs me the wrong way. But then I remember that in Tiero’s circle, the men do look after their women and they are expected to be obedient. It was one of the many points on which we clashed. So I don’t say anything, staring at the ceiling instead, until all annoyance has disappeared. He’s motivated by love, wanting my best; I’m not going to waste time arguing.
Suddenly, I remember something. “Oh my god, Tiero. I never asked you what happened to Alonso. Please tell me he made it.” How could I ever forget about my bodyguard who went down defending me? Why didn’t I ask him sooner? Some friend I am.
“Don’t beat yourself up for not asking earlier. You had plenty on your mind,” Tiero interrupts my self-loathing. How did he know? Did my face give me away? “Alonso is alive, but still recovering. The bullet injured his spinal cord. It’s his vision that’s most affected. He hasn’t lost it completely, but he can only make out colorless shapes.”
I’m so relieved to learn Alonso isn’t dead. He saved my life more than once, even became an unlikely friend and ally. “I’d like to see him.”
“Then I’ll have Mateo arrange it for after the operation.”
The operation… it’s not something I wanted to be reminded of.
“Are you afraid?” I ask, whispering. “Are you afraid of dying?” I stroke his eyebrows with my fingers, and he closes his eyes, relishing my touch.
“No. I made peace with my mortality a long time ago. In this business, you never know how long you’ve got. I’m living proof that a bullet might find you at any moment.”
