Total pages in book: 59
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 54092 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 270(@200wpm)___ 216(@250wpm)___ 180(@300wpm)
Amalia lands in my arms with a squeak, her momentum nearly dragging us both to the ground. I secure her against my chest, exhaling a ragged breath into her hair.
"Are you okay, tesoro?" I ask.
"You caught me."
"I'll always catch you."
She bursts into tears.
"Ah, tesoro," I sigh, holding her close to my heart. My heart. Since meeting her today, for the first time in a long time, I feel it beating. Pounding like a war drum against my rib cage. It might be my imagination, but I think it's beating her name.
My men step aside, allowing us through.
She cries quietly as I carry her inside. Instead of taking her back upstairs, I take her to the library. A neutral space. It was always my mother's favorite. When Nico and I were little boys, it was our favorite too. I stopped coming here after she died. Nico never did.
Perhaps that's why he retained so much of her light. It left me long ago, but it never left Nico. He’s always been more like her than any of us. He used to spend hours in here, looking through his telescope at the stars, searching for heaven.
I've always wondered if he ever found it. I've never had the courage to ask. Even if it's real, I'm not headed there. Why torment myself with hope of a place I'll never see? If one of us gets to spend eternity with our mother, it won't be me.
I carry Amalia to the sofa and sit with her in my lap. She's not crying now, but she's stiff in my arms. Winning her trust is going to take a miracle, but I try anyway.
"I won't hurt you, tesoro," I say softly, rubbing my hand down her back. "Regardless of what Diego told you, I'm not the kind of man who abuses innocent women."
"You want to sl-sleep with me."
"I do," I say, not lying to her. I won't do that. "But I'm not going to take you against your will, Amalia. When you give yourself to me, it'll be because you want me too. It won't be by force. It won't be because you think you don't have a choice. It'll be because you ache for me."
"I…" She pulls back, her tear-stained face wary, and still so goddamn beautiful. "I'm sorry I ruined your clothes."
"Fuck my clothes," I growl, leaning in to brush tears from her cheeks. "Ruin whatever you want to ruin. I don't give a fuck. Fight me. Burn this house down around me. But don't put yourself in danger, tesoro. Not because you're pissed at me. Believe me, I'm not worth it."
Her mocha gaze slides across my face, searching for something. I'm not sure if she finds it, but a little furrow etches itself between her brows. "You're confusing me," she whispers.
"Yeah?"
She nods.
"Then that makes two of us. You've been confusing me all day, tigrotta."
Of course that makes her smile. Beautiful little folletta.
"I'll make you a deal, tesoro."
"I thought we covered this already. I don't make deals with the devil, Rafe."
"We did." I brush my thumb over her bottom lip, unable to resist. The urge to kiss her again beats at me, but I fight it off, unwilling to shatter the tentative, fragile threads of peace we've only just begun to forge. I need her trust. Perhaps more than I've ever needed anything. Not because of Diego. Not because I don't want her trying to sneak out as soon as my back is turned. But because I want her to believe in me enough to let her guard down. I want her to see me. "But you'll want to make this deal with the devil, Amalia."
She eyes me placidly, waiting to hear me out.
"If you'll agree not to endanger yourself trying to run away, I'll give you free run of the house. You can go anywhere except the west wing."
Her eyes narrow in suspicion. "Is there an enchanted rose and a magic mirror in the west wing?"
I feel my lips twitch. "You think I'm a beast."
"If the Disney movie fits," she says with a shrug.
"I have no enchanted furniture, Amalia."
"Why can't I go into the west wing?"
"Because I said so."
The furrow between her brows deepens, her expression growing frosty. "Try again."
Of course a simple order isn't good enough for her. She wasn't made to fall in line. She was made to question everything and never back down. Isn't that what's had my dick hard all day?
"The west wing is where my men who stay on the property reside," I say, willingly giving her what I'd give no one else. "I don't want you in their quarters."
"Oh." She purses her lips. "I can go anywhere else in the house?"
"You can even go outside so long as either myself, Mattia, Coda, or Domani are with you."
"Fine."
My sigh of relief is short-lived.