by Monica Burns
“Because I love you,” she rasped, unable to lie anymore. Beneath her palm, she could feel the tension in his body recede as he stared down at her.
“Say it again.”
“I love . . . you.”
“Was that so difficult?”
The warmth in his voice made her heart skip a beat, and she shook her head. Swallowing hard, she closed her eyes. After Michael, she’d made the conscious decision never to let another man into her heart again. But where Dante was concerned, she’d ignored all the warning signs. Now she was adrift in uncharted waters with only him to cling to. It terrified her. There wasn’t a place for her in his life. His mind lightly touched hers before retreating.
“What are you afraid of, dolce cuore?” His fingers gently stroked the side of her face in a manner that made her quiver with a longing she didn’t know was possible to feel.
“I’m not afr—” He frowned, and she sighed. “It’s just that this isn’t going to work.”
“What won’t?”
“Us.”
“Because of some ridiculous notion that without special skills you’re not Sicari? The fact that you can read my thoughts proves to me you’re a Sicari.”
His observation caught her by surprise. Why hadn’t that occurred to her before? Because she was too busy trying not to fall in love with the guy. She dismissed it with a slight shake of her head.
“All right, we have a connection, but it doesn’t mean I have any skills.” It was a weak argument, and she knew it. The sardonic gleam in his dark eyes said he knew it, too.
“I love you for who you are, Cleopatra, not what you are.”
“Fine. But I’m a liability you can’t afford.”
She met his gaze steadily, opening her thoughts up to the memory of Dante finding her with Ignacio holding a knife to her neck. He blanched slightly, and she knew he’d seen the images in her mind. Determination swept across his face as he shook his head.
“I’m not going to let you use that argument to keep us apart. We’ll work it out.”
“How? By me not taking on any more assignments?” She winced as he quickly averted his gaze. “That’s what I thought.”
“I can adapt,” he said through clenched teeth as he met her gaze again. “Just because I don’t like the thought of you taking on new assignments doesn’t mean I’d ever order you not to.”
“But it wouldn’t stop you from trying to convince me not to take them on, would it?” she asked in a fierce voice.
“No more than it would stop you.” His words were a dark rumble in his chest as frustration thinned his beautiful mouth. “Finish getting dressed.”
His thumb brushed over her lips, and the gentleness in his touch made his command softer than it sounded. Without any other warning, he quickly got out of bed. She stared after him in amazement. That was it? He wasn’t going to say anything else to convince her they belonged together? For a brief second she chided herself for being annoyed he’d stopped trying to change her mind. Still, it was impossible not to stare at him in surprise as he reached for his jeans. His gaze caught her, and he nodded at her clothes.
“I suggest you hurry up. Your parents are going to be knocking on your door any minute now.”
“How the fuck do you know that?” She stared at him in horror.
“Because I can sense Marcus’s presence. Your mother is arguing with him, and he’s not happy about whatever she’s insisting on,” he said dryly as he arched an eyebrow at her. “You’re a lot like your mother. The two of you like to get your own way.”
Cleo glared at him as she fumbled with her jeans. She wasn’t anything like her mother. Okay, maybe she was a little. She winced. Dante was right. She was a lot more like her mother than she cared to admit.
What would her mother think when she found Dante in her apartment? She’d be grilled about it the first chance Atia had. She froze. Christus, if her parents realized she and Dante—she refused to finish the thought. He’d broken his vow because of her, and she had no idea how it was going to affect Dante or how her father would react.
It was bad enough Dante was determined to make their relationship more permanent. What he was conveniently forgetting was how it would affect the Absconditus and the Order. Worrying about a family made a Sicari Lord vulnerable. And she was certain her mother and father would agree. Her mind stumbled over the fact that she was easily referring to Marcus as her father now.
Although the two of them were a long way from knowing each other well, it was a big step for her to even think of him as her father. Ignacio had always been the father figure in her life. Her throat closed up at the memory of Ignacio’s betrayal and then his sacrifice at the Tarpeian Rock.
His actions showed he really had loved her and her mother. It was impossible to forgive him completely, but his willingness to give his life for her mother’s made her think less harshly of him. The low chime of the apartment doorbell made her jerk upright. Dante was putting his shoes on and shot her an odd look.
“You’d better go let them in,” he said with a quiet determination that put her senses on alert as he tied his shoe. He was up to something.
“But you’re not even dressed yet.” She eyed him with panic. The thought of him strolling out of her bedroom with her parents in the living room shot her blood pressure up. That sure as hell wouldn’t be easy to explain.
“Go.”
Again, that steely note of purpose in his voice. It unnerved her. The doorbell rang again, and she blew out a harsh breath then strode from the bedroom. The moment she opened the door, Atia stepped forward and enveloped Cleo in her arms. Over her mother’s shoulder, she saw Marcus’s stern expression and a flicker of concern in his eyes. Dante was right. The Sicari Lord wasn’t all that happy about being here.
“Carissima.” Her mother kissed her cheek then, with her hands still grasping Cleo’s shoulders, stepped back to eye her carefully. “Are you feeling better? We’ve been worried about you.”
Cleo forced a smile at her mother then stepped aside and gestured for the couple to enter the suite. After she closed the door behind them, she turned, expecting to see Dante greeting her parents, but he was nowhere in sight. A chill crept over her skin. Fuck, what was the man up to?
“Cleo, did you hear me?” Atia’s voice was tense with emotion, and Cleo blinked her eyes in confusion.
“I’m sorry, Mother. What?”
“I asked you if you’re going to forgive me and come home.”
For a moment, Cleo stared at her mother in bewilderment. Forgive her for what? The tight expression of fear on Atia’s face made Cleo wince. After everything that had happened, her mother’s revelation a few weeks ago seemed a minor transgression in the overall scheme of things.
That her mother had lied to her still stung, but she’d offered up her own life to Nicostratus in exchange for Cleo’s. The action only reinforced her mother’s claim that everything she’d ever done was to keep Cleo safe. Her mother might have made a bad choice by not telling Cleo that her father was still alive, but she understood her reasons.
Gabriel’s kidnapping had shaped her mother’s choices, and Cleo couldn’t fault her for that. If she’d been in her mother’s shoes, she probably would have done the same thing for her child. Her heart clenched at the thought. As her eyes locked with Atia’s, she swallowed hard then moved forward and embraced her. Atia went rigid for an instant before she hugged Cleo close.
“Oh, bambina,” Atia sobbed quietly. “If I’d lost you . . .”
“I’m sorry, Mother,” she murmured with regret. “I was angry and stubborn.”
“I wouldn’t have you any other way.” Atia’s cheeks were damp as she stepped back and grasped Cleo’s hands tightly. “It’s all behind us now. I’m just grateful you’re safe.”
“As am I,” Marcus said quietly. Cleo turned her head to meet his brilliant blue gaze. The relief she saw flashing in his eyes warmed her heart. There was something else in his gaze that said he would be there for
her whenever she needed a friend—or a father.
“Will you come home with us to White Cloud?” Atia asked with quiet excitement. “I know your father . . . Marcus would like to get to know you better.”
“I’d like that, too,” she said.
A familiar tingle swept across her neck, and she jerked around to see Dante emerging from the bedroom. Painfully aware of her parents’ astonishment, she glared at him. Her anger didn’t seem to bother him in the least as he moved toward them.
“Eminence. Madame Consul.”
Dante bowed slightly in their direction as he came to a halt at Cleo’s side. The long, drawn-out silence was awkward as her parents looked at Dante and then her. Extremely uncomfortable, she shot Dante a fierce look before meeting the curiosity in her parents’ eyes.
“I suppose you’re wondering—”
“I’m sure they’ve already figured out our secret, carissima.” Dante’s arm slid around her waist and pulled her into his side.
“Secret?” Cleo looked up at him with angry confusion. He didn’t look at her. Instead, he bowed his head in Marcus’s direction.
“Eminence.” Dante drew in a deep breath then exhaled. “I wish to ask your permission to blood bond with your daughter.”
Floored, her mouth fell open as she stared up at him. His request had obviously astounded her parents as well. The older couple stood speechless as they stared at the two of them in amazement. Ignoring her parents’ surprise, Cleo broke free of Dante’s grasp and eyed him with outrage.
“Christus, but you’ve got a pair, don’t you?” she snapped.
“I think I answered that question earlier in the bedroom.”
Dante’s calm reply made Cleo stare at him in wide-eyed horror. Had he really just announced to her parents that they were sleeping together? Obviously that was the conclusion her parents had drawn, considering her mother’s loud gasp and the way Marcus was clearing his throat. Not about to argue in front of her parents, she reached out with her thoughts.
“What in Juno’s name do you think you’re doing? You just told my parents we were making love a little while ago.”
“Exactly.”
“What?”
“Making love.” His mouth tilted slightly with amusement. “It’s what people do when they love each other. When they want to share their lives together.”
“I’ve already told you I won’t blood bond with you.”
“And I said your reasons weren’t good enough.”
“You need an heir.”
“We’ll adopt. There are plenty of orphans here in the Absconditus who need loving parents.”
“Deus, you’re a stubborn bastardo.”
“Not anywhere near as obstinate as you are, mea amor.”
“You’re wasting your time. You have responsibilities, and you can’t afford to make me one of them, no matter how much you love me.”
Dante stared at her in silence for a long moment, not communicating with her at all. Suddenly, his face hardened with a grim resolution that frightened her. He nodded at her then turned to her parents.
“Cleopatra thinks it’s impossible for us to be together as long as I’m to be Sicari Lord.” Dante’s profile resembled a chiseled stone bust as he bowed toward Marcus. “Therefore, I must renounce my role as Tribune and heir to the Sicari Lord title.”
Cleo didn’t even have to look at her parents to know that they were just as stunned as she was. She stood frozen, unable to believe she’d heard him correctly. The man had lost his fucking mind. He’d just abdicated as the next Sicari Lord. Jupiter’s Stone. Who was going to replace him? Did he expect Marcus to continue as leader of the Absconditus? She grabbed Dante’s arm, her fingers digging into hard muscle.
“Are you insane? You can’t do this.”
“Yes.” He nodded grimly as he peeled her hand off his arm. “I can.”
“If you’re trying to blackmail me, it’s not going to work.”
“Not blackmail, mea amor. I just don’t know of any other way to convince you that you’re more important to me than anything or anyone else in the world.”
With another slight bow in Marcus’s direction, Dante wheeled about on his heel, leaving Cleo and her parents staring after him in shock. The sound of the apartment door closing quietly behind him rang out with a finality that horrified her. He’d given up everything for her. His vow to the Absconditus and now his responsibilities as the next Sicari Lord.
It was a sacrifice she couldn’t let him make. She bolted after him, the door slamming back against the wall as she ran out of her suite. Dante’s long stride had already carried him to the end of the hall, and she raced after him. She caught up with him just as he turned the corner, and in three more quick steps, she planted herself in front of him.
“I won’t let you do this,” she said fiercely.
“It’s already done, mea amor.” His fingers left a warm trail across her cheek as he studied her with a resigned look.
“Then undo it,” she bit out. “Go back in there and tell Marcus you made a mistake.”
“The only mistake I could make is letting you go, dolce cuore. Since the only obstacle standing in the way of you bonding with me was my title and responsibilities, I eliminated it.”
“But I never said I’d blood bond with you if you weren’t my father’s heir.”
She raked her fingers through her hair with frustration. The only other person she’d ever known who was so inflexible and determined was herself. He was going to be impossible to live with if they bonded. Trepidation flooded her veins. She was crazy to even consider the possibility. But she already was considering it.
“What are you really afraid of, Cleopatra?”
The moment he asked the question, the answer fluttered through her head with the screeching of a flock of birds. She was afraid she wasn’t worthy of him. Cleo stared up at him. The love gleaming in the depths of his midnight blue eyes frightened her, too. He’d given up everything for her, simply to prove he believed her worthy.
Cleo had no idea whether there was anyone else capable of being the Sicari Lord, but she was certain there would be no one as good at it as Dante. He was born to lead the Absconditus. Tension clutched at her muscles as she prepared to speak what she hoped would be a convincing lie.
“The only thing I’m afraid of is what will happen to the Absconditus and the Order if I let you go through with this.” The lie made her wince. His stormy blue gaze caught her grimace.
“That’s not what you’re really afraid of.”
“Fuck. What more do you want from me?” she snapped. The determination in his eyes ratcheted up the tension locking her muscles into stone.
“The truth.” He wasn’t going to give up. Her mouth dry, Cleo drew in a deep breath then expelled it harshly as she turned her head away from him.
“I’m afraid of not being worthy of you.”
In a split second, Dante crushed her against him. Cleo buried her face in his neck as he held her close. A shudder ripped through him, and she gently stroked the edges of his mind. The depth of love she sensed in him was humbling. She didn’t deserve him, but she’d do everything she could to be worthy of him.
“I can’t think of any woman more worthy of me.”
“Oh, I’m sure there are plenty,” she muttered as she pulled away from him slightly to look up at him. “But as Sicari Lord, you’re just going to have to put up with me.”
“In case you’ve forgotten, I just walked away from that title.” His wry tone made her narrow her gaze at him.
“Well you’re going to go right back in there and retract your resignation if you want me to blood bond with you. The Sicari need you. And I refuse to be the reason the Absconditus and the Order fall—”
She didn’t get the opportunity to finish, as his mouth slanted roughly over hers. It was a kiss of possession, but it held a promise of commitment that no one had ever made to her before. The kiss deepened as her mouth parted beneath his, and his tongue mat
ed with hers in a fiery dance that sent a white-hot heat crashing its way into every cell in her body. Desire exploded in her belly, and she moaned as an erotic image took shape in her head. An image she knew wasn’t hers. It accelerated her heart to an unbelievable pace. Deus, she wanted him. Needed to show him with her body how much she loved him. Adored him. Bedroom. Her bedroom. The sooner the better. Dante’s body suddenly shook with laughter as his mouth left hers to brush across her cheek.
“What?” she asked as she threw back her head to look up at him.
“Your parents,” he groaned softly. “They’re still in your suite.”
“Fuck,” she muttered with frustration.
“An appropriate commentary on both situations.” His dark chuckle of amusement made her cup his face in her hands. As much as she wanted him at this very instant, she knew they had a lifetime of lovemaking ahead of them. His mind stroked hers in silent agreement. She smiled at him, her fingers rubbing against his mouth.
“I love you, Dante.”
“And I you, carissima,” he murmured as he flooded her head with more images of exactly how he intended to prove his love over and over again.
Chapter 27
“MY life for your life.”
Cleo trembled slightly as the sound of her voice rang out in unison with Dante’s. She’d witnessed numerous blood bonding rituals, but the words had never resonated so strongly with her as they did now. Her gaze met that of the Absconditus’s newest Sicari Lord as they held hands in front of the roughly hewn stone altar in the guild’s ceremonial hall. Concern flickered in Dante’s dark blue eyes the moment she shivered. Cleo willingly opened her mind to him.
“I’m fine. Just nerves.”
“You’ll fearlessly storm into a Praetorian snake pit, but you’re afraid of a small cut on your palm?” Cleo rolled her eyes at his gentle teasing.
“Smart ass.”
Her affectionate exasperation earned her an invisible swat on her rear. Startled, she drew in a sharp breath to keep from crying out in surprise. The wicked smile curving his lips made her heart skip a beat, but when the mischief in his eyes quickly faded to reveal his love, it left her breathless. Dante’s hands tightened on hers as an overwhelming sensation of joy and happiness pulsed between them.