Page 21 of Tangled Deceit
He doesn't lean in for another kiss, disappointing me only slightly, but he doesn't pull away either. It's progress, and for now, that's enough.
“You are safe,” he assures me, his voice like a warm blanket on a cold day. “There’s a new security system in place around the compound, and if we’re ever attacked again, I won’t leave you alone. Nobody will take you from me again.”
That last bit makes my heart race. He wants to keep me. He didn’t know that my father is Titan. He hasn’t been using me this whole time.
The relief that I get from knowing those things are true is exactly what I need after the torture I’ve endured.
“Lay with me,” I say as I let go of his shirt.
He stands and glances toward the living room. “I need to get my phone. I’ll be here with you as long as you need me, but I need to keep the others informed of what you know. Tracking Titan is second only to making sure that you’re okay.”
A grin tugs at my lips, a realization dawning on me — my fierce, enigmatic mafia king actually cares about me.
“Is there something amusing about what I said?” he questions with a raised brow.
My smile grows bigger. “You like me. Likereallylike me.”
His gaze darkens as he looms over me. “And so what if I do?”
“You don’t frighten me.” I push feebly at his chest. “Just admit it and get your ass in this bed.”
He doesn't retreat. If anything, he leans closer. “Do you believe that gives you power over me, Little Raven? Do you think that just because I care for you that you don’t need to be afraid?”
Without backing down, I raise my chin and keep his heady stare. “I do. Very much so.”
There’s a stretch of silence between us. Neither of us gives an inch, and the longer our gazes stay connected, the more my heart races and skin tingles.
“Good,” he finally murmurs in a low tone, his voice thick with an edge. “But you're not entirely correct. Yes, you have power over me, but it's a power that makes me more dangerous. Do you know how many lives I took searching for you? How many more would have been struck down if you hadn't managed to escape?” His eyes search my face as he speaks with such certainty. “I won't change who I am, and I won't apologize for what I'm willing to do to protect you now that I have you.”
The admission resonates within me, his words igniting a fire in my chest. I'm both exhilarated and awed by the intensity of his emotions.
“Andthat’ssupposed to scare me?” I ask with genuine curiosity.
His forehead nearly touches mine as he replies, “It should, but maybe it wasn’t just innocence that drew me to you all those weeks ago. Maybe there’s just enough darkness in you for this to work.”
“Maybe so, which is good, because I have no intention to expect you to change or ask you to apologize for who you are,” I reply, since something tells me that’s important for him to know. “Now, go get your phone and get back in here.”
He shakes his head as he takes a step back, a hint of amusement dancing in his eyes. “I gave you an inch. That doesn’t mean you need to take a mile.”
I chuckle, feeling lighter than I have since that day in the garden. “Pretty sure you gave me much more than an inch and I took every thrust without complaint.”
Luca’s adorable groan follows him out of the bedroom, and I continue to grin. I was nearly dead last night…well, two or maybe three nights ago. I can’t remember how long they said I was unconscious, but the life beating inside me now, pushing all the darkness I endured down, is what I need.
I can deal with the trauma later. Right now, I just need some fucking happiness in my life, and I’m going to seize every moment I can while it’s right in front of me.
Fuck my father. Fuck the bruises that cover my body and the fractured rib. Fuck every ache that lingers.
The choice is mine to move forward, to tell Luca anything and everything I can remember, and hope like hell he finds Titan. Even more so, I hope he’ll let me be there when it’s time for the son of a bitch to die.
He was right before. I felt that thirst for blood when I saw the man who attacked me in the club tied to the chair in Luca’s dungeon of death…or basement. And I feel it now. Seeing Titan pay for not only what he’s done to me, but to my mother, would bring me insurmountable joy.
I only wish I could talk to her now and ask her if she knew who her husband really was. Had he been in touch over the years? Did he leave to keep us safe? That last one is a nice thought, and something tells me that’s what he may have told my mother to pacify her, but I don’t believe it. After what I’ve seen, he’s nothing more than a selfish bastard.
Luca returns with his phone in hand and heads into the closet. When I can’t see him any longer, I call out. “Whatcha doing?”
“Changing.”
His tone is clipped, so I don’t say anything else. Instead, I take a moment to appraise the damages to my body. I assume that when Justine cleaned me up, she also put the clothes on me. Though, the button-up, ultra-soft, green cotton shirt and matching shorts are nothing I previously owned.