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I growl and turn to my father as I push Grace protectively behind me. “You're not going to touch a hair on her head,” I growl at him.
He raises his eyebrows at me. “I’m your superior first and your father second,” he warns me in a low voice.
I don't say anything. I just stare at him stoically. My message is clear though, because he firms his jawline, his eyes flicking back and forth between Grace and me.
“I wish there was another way, son. I really do, but you're going to have to relinquish her to me now.”
“Over my dead body,” I growl. I'm not sure if my father cares enough about me to not kill me for my insubordination, but I mean what I say. I'll die before I let him take Grace away from me.
I watch with dread as my father reaches into his breast pocket and pulls out his pistol. He lifts it in the air and aims it for me, and the only thought in my head is what's going to happen to Grace if he kills me.
“No!” Grace screams and pushes back from behind me, flinging herself in front of me. I snatch her as soon as she does and push her back behind me. “Grace! What the fuck is wrong with you?” I snarl at her angrily, expecting the bullet to come zipping through my chest at any moment, but it never does.
I turn back to my father and see him staring at us, slack-jawed. If I didn't know any better, I would say there were tears glinting in his eyes as he lowers his gun slowly. “She would give her life for you,” he says with a touch of wonder in his voice, and I already know what he's thinking. He’s thinking of how my mother died taking the bullet that was meant for him. That's the kind of love they had. My heart starts to hammer in my chest at the magnitude of what Grace’s actions mean. She was willing to take a bullet that was meant for me. While I'm pissed as hell that she put herself in harm's way like that, there's only one reason a woman does that.
I spin around to face her and grab her shoulders, looking intently into her eyes, searching for the truth. “Why did you do that, Grace?”
Her pretty little cheeks flush, and she looks down, but I'm having none of that. I tilt her chin up, forcing her to meet my gaze.
“Is it because you love me, too?” She bites her lip and then nods, and my heart swells so big in my chest it feels like it's going to explode.
“Is it Grace?” I prompt her. “I need the words.”
“I love you,” she finally tells me breathlessly, with tears glinting in her eyes.
I forget all about my father being there as I pull her into my arms and kiss her deeply with all the love and passion and obsession I feel in my heart for her.
When we finally break apart, I remember my father is still there. His gun is nowhere in sight, so he must have sheathed it. I wrap a protective arm around Grace’s shoulder and pull her against my side. “Grace is my woman, and you won't take her from me. To hell with your vendetta. This woman is going to be my queen.”
At Grace's little gasp, I squeeze her hand reassuringly. True, I didn't ask for her hand in marriage, but it's the next logical step. Shewillmarry me. That's non-negotiable.
My father stares at us for a long moment before his mouth pulls into a wide grin and then breaks out into a full smile. He starts laughing and claps his hands together before he congratulates us. He slaps me on the shoulder, and says, “So be it, son. So be it. We'll find another way to get Doyle. Welcome to the family,princesa,” he tells Grace before he starts walking toward the door.
“Call me later, Massimo,” he orders me, “after you two have sorted everything out.”
I couldn’t be more shocked if the man shot me, but once the door shuts behind my father, I pull Grace back in my arms. She's still looking up at me with wide doe eyes. “Queen?” she questions.
“Marry me,tesoro.”
“But—" she begins, but I rush to cut her off before she can over-analyze it and talk herself out of how she feels.
“Do you love me?”
She nods her head. “Yes.”
“And I love you,” I remind her, dropping a kiss on her puffy pink lips. “Let me continue to take care of you. Let me keep you.” I coax her.
“Do I have a choice?” she counters back, a bit of that fire flashing through.
I frown down at her. “Would you leave me if I gave you the option?”
She stares up at me for a long moment, and I feel my heart begin to crack. Her eyes finally soften and her shoulders slump as she shakes her head. “No, I want to stay with you, Massimo.”
God, I’ll never tire of hearing my name on her lips. I tighten my arms around her and go in for the kill. “Then be mine in every way. Take my name.” I place my hand over her stomach. “We may already have the beginning of our new family in here,” I remind her that we didn't use protection.
Her face flames at the reminder of how many times she let me come in her last night without ever once mentioning protection. I don't know if it just slipped her mind or if she subconsciously wants the same thing that I do. “Be mine,tesoro,” I prompt her again, more sternly this time.
Grace looks into my eyes for a long moment before she finally relents. “Okay, Massimo.”
