Page 64 of Hostile Love
Making a fist, I hold it out and let a few drops plummet to the tiles.
“If blood has to spill between us––it will be mine. Never yours. I’ll make sure of it.” Our gazes lock tight and my heart bucks. “That’s the only vow that matters to me.”
In three self-assured strides, he’s in my personal space, his big hand wrapping my forearm and his brows pinched tight.
“Jesus Christ, Dani? You think I want you to bleed? And what the hell happened to your wrists? Who the fuck did that to you?”
“It’s nothing. I promise,” I whisper-croak.
He clamps onto my chin and directs my face upward.
“I asked you a question. It looks like you were cuffed. Are they dead? Because they will be in five minutes.”
Dragging his hand off my face, I blink up at the anger flashing in his eyes.
“You know bruises are an occupational hazard in our line of work.”
I dip the tip of my forefinger in the blood on my cut hand and draw a tiny heart on his pec. His nostrils flare and his eyes close briefly, absorbing the sensation.
When they reopen, pitch black pupils dilate and the halo of chestnut flames under the lights. Hot and molten.
“I have Blanco’s blood in my veins, Mat,” I say. “But it doesn’t matter when you'rethe only one under my skin.”
After an audible exhale, his whole body drives me backwards. My ass bumps into the wall. I willingly let him trap me with his nakedness and authority.
Crowding me, he puts a hand on the tiles above my head and drops his gaze.
“You don’t know what you do to me, do you?” he mutters, his voice gritty with frustration. “Seems like you can’t keep away either. But random nights aren’t enough, not for me.”
Fingers graze my shoulder, the touch electric.
“We could have had it all if not for the fact you associate me with your past. I would have committed all that I am to you.Whereas you can’t get beyond your high walls. Right now, you’re trying to forget the massive fucking elephant in the room. I’m a Souza who’s proud to stand next to my brothers. I demand to own your heart and soul, baby. Not just screw you when you're feeling horny.”
He pushes off the wall, his muscles visibly tense, like he’s keeping himself in check. Somehow, stopping himself from touching me by using distance as a weapon.
A shiver runs over me when he backs up to the vanity and grabs a bundle of tissues.
Folding them in half, he prowls in my direction and carefully takes my hand in his own, pressing the tissue on my cut.
“Don’t ever cut yourself again. If anyone else were to do it, I’d slit their throat.”
The expression on his face turns serious. His jaw flexes as he stares at the blood seeping through.
“I’m taking some time away from The Covenant to help Sinéad run things. So, let’s keep things professional.” He lets go of me. “Go back to the villa.”
Fuck him.
I’ve already made up my mind and I’m not going anywhere until he hears me out. Despite his sudden coolness, desire still burns in his eyes.
I can feel it too. That same magnetic pull is impossible to strangle.
My heart is racing, knowing the emotions I have to unpack. I need to offload––something I have to admit. My stomach somersaults.
Despite it being a calculated risk, because I know he adores me; it won’t make this conversation any easier.
Generally, I’m not scared of anything—except for the uncontrollable flutters this man gives me.
“You’re right, Matheus.” I remove the tissue and wiggle my fingers. “You’ve been upfront from the start. Whereas I had hoped my feelings for you would’ve died. That I could have snuffed them out like I do everything else.”
