Page 121 of Ruthless Vow
My hand moves without permission. Brushes a strand of hair from her face. Traces the curve of her cheek.
She stirs. Makes a small sound. Her eyes flutter open.
She just looks at me. Confused. Then awareness floods in and her whole face changes. Her lips part. Her hand flies to my chest like she needs to check I’m still breathing.
“Hi.” Rough with sleep.
“Hi.”
She blinks. Takes stock of herself. I watch the self-consciousness creep in. She pulls back. Touches her hair. Grimaces.
“Oh God. I must look terrible. I should go clean up before?—”
I catch her hand before she can pull away.
“Stay.”
“Dante—”
“Cassia.” I tug her closer. Cup her face in my hands. Make her look at me. “You sat beside me for three days. You didn’t leave.” My thumb traces her cheekbone. “Stay. Please.”
Her eyes fill. She laughs. Wet and broken and beautiful.
“Okay.”
The word hangs between us.
I said I loved her last night. Meant it. Mean it now. The confession is still in the air, still settling into the spaces between us.
She goes still in my arms. Her chin lifts. A decision settling into the set of her jaw.
“I need to tell you something.” Quiet. Steady.
I wait.
She sits up. Takes my hand. Presses it against her chest, over her heart. I feel it pounding beneath my palm. Fast and hard.
Her lips move. No sound comes out.
She closes her eyes. I watch her throat work, watch her lips shape silent numbers. Steadying herself the way she always does when everything gets too loud.
Cazzo.My ribs wrench apart watching her fight for the words.
“I love you, Dante.”
Four words. Her voice breaks on every one of them.
That’s it. That’s all she says, and the room tilts sideways. My vision blurs. Something detonates behind my ribs, warm and devastating, and I can’t fucking breathe.
Her tears spill over, tracking down her cheeks. She’s shaking. Her hand squeezes mine so hard her knuckles go white.
“I tried to wait.” A shaky laugh that sounds more like a sob. “I was going to find the right moment. Say it when I wasn’t a mess.” She shakes her head. “But I woke up and you were here. Alive. And I nearly lost you without ever?—”
Her voice gives out.
Dio.My eyes are burning.
“You saw me.” She presses my hand harder against her sternum. “Nobody ever saw me before you.”
