Page 70 of Vendetta Vows

The brother he couldn't save and the nephew taken from him.

I hear the weight of responsibility for his nieces. And beneath it all, I hear the echo of another story he hasn't told me yet.

A simpler time when someone used to hold the nape of his neck like I'm doing now.

"Even me?" I ask.

His hand finds my face, fingers tracing the lines of my cheekbone. His touch is warm against my skin.

"Especially you," he adds, so softly I almost miss it.

My heart stutters in my chest. "You care about me?"

"I do." No hesitation, just certainty in those two simple words.

Something blooms inside me, fragile and frightening in its intensity. I should be backing away. I should be guarding my heart. But instead, I lean closer, my lips hovering inches from his.

"Prove it," I challenge, my voice barely a whisper.

Strong fingers tangle in my hair and he pulls me down until the distance between us closes. When our lips meet, it's not a gentle or tentative kiss but a claiming one.

The kiss ignites every nerve ending in my body. His mouth is hot against mine, insistent and hungry. I gasp against his lips, and he takes the opportunity to deepen the kiss, his tongue sliding against mine in a way that makes me moan.

My entire body melts against him, surrendering to the sensation. Seven years of numbness and hiding shatter under his touch. I feel reckless, alive, desperate for more. My fingers clutch at his neck and his hair to anchor myself as desire floods through me.

His hands tighten possessively on my body, one at my waist, the other still tangled in my hair, holding me exactly where he wants me. The controlled strength in his touch makes me dizzy with want.

But what undoes me completely isn't the physical sensation. It's what I feel pouring from him into me through this connection. Protection. Care. A promise.

When we finally break apart, both breathing hard, I rest my forehead against his.

"I believe you," I whisper. "Your turn."

"Truth or dare," Ruslan says, his voice deep and smooth as velvet against my skin.

My heart races. This game seemed innocent enough when I started it, a way to learn more about the man who's offering to marry me to keep me safe. But now? With his eyes glowing like amber in the dim light, and the lingering taste of his lips on mine?

I consider saying "dare" to avoid the potential danger of his questions. What if he asks about my past?

About who I really am.

About Jamie Fields.

Yet despite my hesitation, I answer, "Truth."

Ruslan leans forward slightly, his eyes never leaving mine. "What's a secret you've never told anyone?"

I knew that question was coming but it still feels like a punch to my chest to hear it. I swallow hard, and the words "Jamie Fields is dead" nearly tumble from my lips.

But then I remember.

Ihavetold someone. Hannah knows this darkest secret of mine. Which means... I can offer something else. Something still vulnerable, still raw, but not quite as dangerous.

I bite my lip, my fingers fidgeting at the back of Ruslan's neck.

My mind flashes back unwillingly. Rough fingers digging into my hips. The smell of stale cigarettes in the back of a police cruiser. The feeling of slimy saliva between my open legs. The emptiness afterward, wondering if this was what everyone made such a big deal about.

The certainty that I had done something wrong, somehow.

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