Page 77 of Stolen Vows
Fuck.I had no idea it would feel this good to acknowledge life. That something as simple as touching my husband’s hair would light me up inside.
My husband.
The longer I stare at him, mesmerized by his mere presence, the more I consider his question about my future.
Ourfuture.
My touch rouses him, and he looks up at me with sleepy, smoky eyes.
“You’re awake.”
“You’re here.”
He smiles, and my stomach somersaults.
“Where else would I be?” he replies.
I try to shrug, but one arm is trapped against me, the slight movement making me grimace. Glancing down, I notice the blue sling it's wrapped in and lift my brows in surprise.
“Dislocated,” Leo offers, sitting up. He cracks his neck, revealing more purple-and-black skin down the side of his face. I’m afraid to see how the rest of him looks. “When the elevator crashed, the impact must have caused it to pop out of the socket. We’re lucky that’s all that happened, frankly.”
Frankly.My eyes widen, and I rush forward, reaching for him. “What happened to Frankie?”
Leo grunts. “He’s fine. Recovering down the hall actually, if you want to go see him later. You deserve a thanks for saving his ass, too. Since you suggested he was poisoned, the auction organizers were able to find and administer an antidote. He’ll be on oxygen for a while because of the damage it did, but…I suppose it’s better than the alternative.”
Exhaling, I give him a look. “Yousuppose?”
“Would’ve hated for him to die before I could kill him myself. He was supposed to help me keep an eye on you, and instead, he almost got all of us killed.”
“What were those guys even doing there? Why did they want me?”
Leo hesitates, leaning back in his chair. “I killed my father and a bunch of other De Tore men during a meeting the day after we married. The reason I rejected you that night was because I couldn’t afford to take things any further. I needed you to leave before my superiors came after me, so I asked Irene to be your guide and to help you get as far away from Boston as possible.”
A shiver skates down my spine, and I settle back against my pillow. “Why’d you kill him?”
“He deserved it.” Leo shrugs and places his palm on my knee. “The man refused to see you as anything but some kind of pawn, and even back then, I knew I… Well, it might have started out that way, but I knew almost immediately after making you mine that I wouldn’t let him use you. And so, if he couldn’t have you, and none of the De Tores could have you and get vengeance against your family, then neither could I.”
I glance down at my lap, toying with the oximeter on my index finger. “I thought you said you’d keep me safe. That in your luxury condo, I’d live a great, protected life.”
“That was my belief at the time. But after your altercation with my father, I quickly realized that keeping you locked away up there made you a target. Plus…I don’t know. You had this deep effect on my psyche, Stella. I told you I’d been watching you for a long time before we married in that church, and every second I spent with you, even though there weren’t many, just dug my grave deeper. I couldn’t believe how I’d lucked out, though I also didn’t…I didn’t want to be like your father, stifling you. Making you miserable. So I sent you away.”
Irene’s sudden vested interest in my escape back then makes sense now. I approached her after drugging Leo, certain that if anyone was going to help, it’d be her—even as she seemed to despise me. She didn’t ask any questions, and I was on a flightacross the country before the sun was up, trusting her promise that nothing would happen to me.
She said she’d keep my secret so long as I fulfilled my dreams to the best of my ability.
And it’d been Leo’s sentiment all along.
Shaking my head, I ask, “So, what happened with the auction? Valerie’s never going to be invited again, is she?”
“It’s very doubtful. I made a hefty donation in order to keep the details of what happened in the tower on the down-low. Still, I think it’s safe to say the Black Rose Auction organizers aren’t going to be chomping at the bit anytime soon to invite a Ricci, a De Tore, or a Van der Vorm to another function.” He pauses, squeezing my knee. “Not that it matters, seeing as I got the best prize there anyway.”
“You didn’t even pay,” I point out, snorting.
He stands, then leans a knee on the hospital bed beside my thigh. Gently, so very gently, he presses a kiss to my lips, and my head swims for entirely different reasons.
“I paid,” he says when he pulls back. “Something tells me I’ll be paying for the rest of my life as well.”
“Nah, that sounds like my sister Ariana. She’s super high-maintenance.” I slide my free hand over his jaw, reveling in the feel of him. My body heats as I remember all the ways I’ve felt him before, and suddenly, I want more. I swallow down my desire. “I’d be content just going back to Boston with you.”
