Page 133 of Savage Saint
"That bullet wasn't going to hit me by accident," I continue, my voice steady despite the emotion clawing at my throat. "It was meant for you. And I couldn't... I won't live in a world where you're not in it."
"Kasia—" His voice breaks on my name.
"I love you." The words spill out of me, simple and true and terrifying. "I love you, Angelo Santoro. And I'd take a thousand bullets before I'd let someone take you away from me."
The silence that follows is deafening. Angelo stares at me like I've just told him the sky is falling, his hands frozen on my arms.
"You don't know what you're saying," he whispers finally.
"I know exactly what I'm saying." I lean closer, my forehead almost touching his. "For the first time in my life, I made a choice that was completely mine. Not because I was trained to, not because someone ordered me to, but because I chose to. I chose you, Angelo. I chose us."
A shudder runs through his powerful frame, and when he speaks, his voice is raw. "You can't love me. I'm not good enough. You don't know what I am, what I've done—"
"I know you're the man who held me when I had nightmares. The man who brought me ice cream because I'd never chosen my own flavour. The man who looked at all my scars and called me beautiful." I stroke my thumbs across his cheekbones, feeling moisture there. "I know you're a man worth dying for."
"Don't say that." His hands tighten on me, almost desperate. "Your life is worth more than mine. Don't you understand? You're light and hope and everything I've never deserved."
"Then deserve me now." The words come out fierce, demanding. "Stop deciding what I'm worth and start accepting what I'm offering."
Angelo searches my face like he's looking for the lie, the manipulation, the catch. But there isn't one. This is the most honest I've ever been, the most vulnerable, the most free.
"I love you," he breathes, the admission torn from somewhere deep in his chest. "God help me, I love you so much it terrifies me."
Relief floods through me so powerfully that tears spill over, running down my cheeks. "Say it again."
"I love you, Butterfly." His voice is stronger now, more certain. "I love your strength and your courage and the way you chose me even when you had every reason not to."
Then his mouth is on mine, desperate and claiming and perfect. I taste salt—whether from his tears or mine, I don't know. The kiss is everything I've ever wanted, a promise, a claiming, a beginning.
When we finally break apart, we're both breathing hard. Angelo rests his forehead against mine, his hands gentle on my face.
"Promise me," he says quietly. "Promise me you won't throw yourself in front of any more bullets."
I consider this, weighing the words carefully. "I promise I won't throw myself in front of bullets unnecessarily."
"Kasia—"
"But if someone is trying to kill you, all bets are off." I meet his gaze steadily. "This is who I am, Angelo. I protect the people I love. And I love you."
He stares at me for a long moment, then shakes his head with something that might be fond exasperation. "You're going to be the death of me."
"Not if I can help it," I say firmly.
Angelo huffs out a laugh, the sound rough but genuine. "Come here."
He pulls me carefully against his chest, mindful of my injured arm, and I melt into his warmth. The pain is still there, throbbing with each heartbeat, but it feels distant now. Unimportant compared to the solid reality of Angelo's arms around me, his heartbeat steady beneath my cheek.
"I love you," I whisper against his throat, testing the words on my tongue. They taste like freedom.
His arms tighten around me. "I love you too, Butterfly. Always."
And for the first time in my life, I believe in always. I believe in forever. I believe in love.
I chose this. I chose him. And he chose me back.
It's the most beautiful freedom I've ever known.
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