Page 55 of Seduced By the Enemy

“But Salvatore—pain is part of life. We all hurt each other, in one way or another.”

“I can’t hurt you.”

She closed her eyes, frustration butting heads with futility. “You won’t.”

“Of course I will. I’m only angry I didn’t comprehend that from the beginning. What possible good outcome is there, here, Emilia? If we stay together, you will lose your family—I cannot permit that to happen. It is not a choice you should have to make.”

“If I lose my family, it will be because of their choices, not yours.”

“And I will always know that you are unhappy.”

“I would?—,”

He shook his head, lifting a finger to her lips. “You say that now. But, in time, you would miss them in an unbearable way. I have heard you speak about them, I have seen the love and respect you feel for them. Every time you mention your brothers or your parents, your whole face lights up. I will never be the reason you do not have them in your life.”

“Youwouldn’t be,” she insisted. “In choosing to love you, I’m doing what’s best for me. If my family can’t understand that, then that’s their decision. I wouldn’t blame you.”

“And what next?” He pushed, like a dog with a bone, evidently determined to have her understand his concerns. “How long does this last? Another month? Six? A year? Can you honestly say that the longer we’re together will make iteasierto separate?”

She frowned, truly confused by how much he wasn’t following her. “Who says we have to separate at all?”

He expelled a rough breath. “My past history.”

“You’ve just explained why you made those choices—but this is different. I’m different.”

“Yes.”

“So why isn’t it reasonable to assume the outcome will be, too?”

He cupped her face then, holding her steady. “I can’t hurt you.”

“That’s not an answer.”

“I don’t trust myself not to hurt you,” he amended.

“That’s stupid.” Anger made the words erupt harshly. “You’re a great person, Salvatore. A wonderful man. And I’m a grown woman, just like you said. If you hurt me, I’ll tell you, and you’ll fix it. If I hurt you, you’ll tell me, and I’ll fix it. That’s the way relationships work.” She lifted up onto the tips of her toes to kiss his lips. “It’s a leap of faith for both of us. But can you really think of someone else you’d want to take that leap with? Can you really imagine a world where we don’t?” His eyes stayed locked to hers, so the hope that had started as a small flicker in her heart exploded into a proper fire. “Do you actually want me to leave here, now, and never come back?”

She could see the fight in his mind. She could see in the way his eyes shadowed and his jaw tightened that he was literally atwar with himself. It was a knife’s edge moment—an almost out of body experience, because Emilia was aware she was standing on the precipice of something. Either way, she’d tumble over and into the rest of her life. It was just a question of whether Salvatore would be there or not.

“I don’t want you to go,” he said, finally, slowly, closing his eyes on a wave of surrender. Not happily, though. She could tell how angry he was with himself for admitting that. “But I can’t make you any promises beyond that. Just…stay tonight, Emilia. Stay tonight because we both want that. We’ll talk more in the morning.”

15

SALVATORE WOULD HAVE LOVED to be able to say that clarity came with the dawn, but if anything, waking up with Emilia in his arms only served to further muddy the waters. Because holding her like this, seeing her sleeping face and remembering those awful seconds when she’d been at the bottom of the stairs, flat on the landing, and he’d had no idea if she would live or die, had been one of the worst moments of his life.

Thathad brought with it clarity. In that moment, he’d understood what he’d been wilfully ignoring almost the whole time he’d known her—that this was more than sex, more than a fling, more even than a relationship. It was love, just like she’d said. The kind of love that breathed its way into a person and took them over completely.

The kind of love that became your reason for being, your absolute everything. The kind of love that required of a person any kind of sacrifice. Because love wasn’t selfish and it wasn’t just about feeling good.

While staying here in his apartment and ignoring the realities of their families did indeed feel good, it wasn’t the pathforward. Nor was running around hiding this from the people they loved most.

The only way through this—with any hope of success—was to face the music. And see what happened. Even then, Salvatore couldn’t ignore the risks. Hurting Emilia was a possibility, but not an inevitability. God knew he’d do anything he could to avoid hurting her. And that meant being brave enough to give this a try. If he walked away without giving her that, he’d be hurting her regardless. Perhaps if he’d done the smart thing and left it at that one incredible night in Moricosia. If he’d walked away from temptation, knowing that nothing good could come from this, thenmaybenone of this would have happened.

But neither of them walked away. They dove in, feet first, and fell in love.

“Good morning.”

He had been so enveloped by his thoughts that he’d missed the moment she’d woken and blinked at him, all sweet and sleepy. If he’d had any doubts about how he felt, then the way his heart exploded at that sight would have convinced him.

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