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She was just as beautifully broken today as she was back then,
I can be relentless when it comes to getting what I want. And I don’t just want Amelie Brooks; I’ll go fucking insane without her.
“Devi calmarti, piccola ballerina
“Mi piacerebbe marchiarti, ma non così.”
“Why are you here?” I whisper. “Tu. Sono qui per te.”
Three possible languages appear—French, Italian, and Spanish. But it doesn’t matter which one he was speaking because the word means the same thing in all three. You. When I asked the masked man why he was here, his answer was you.
Green eyes spitting fire. Lip snarling. Muscles coiled and ready for a fight. So fucking majestic, I could hardly look away.
The whole damn situation with her is mind-boggling—that I could lose myself so completely in the need to possess another person. I don’t understand it.
“Is this a friendly gesture or an attempt to get in my pants?” she asks in a casually curious tone. “Is there a difference?”
I have a horrible feeling that this incessant curiosity about him will continue to get in the way of logic. Isaac isn’t the sort of man I should be interested in. He’s the epitome of everything I’ve tried to avoid for years—risk and danger and heartbreak. Surely, I’m not dumb enough to ignore the dangers simply because of a pretty face. You mean epically gorgeous? I am so screwed. One can only hope…
He’s the spitting image of what the Devil would look like, should he choose to walk the Earth—an irresistible mix of rebellion and angelic perfection.
I realized that I wasn’t a passenger in my life. I was the fucking pilot. If I wanted things to be different, I had to get off my ass and make it happen.
Me: Hey Isaac, it’s Amelie. Any chance you could come get me at the theater? Isaac: What’s the address? A breath I didn’t know I was holding whooshes past my lips. Me: I’m at the Metropolitan Opera House Me: Thank you. I’m sorry to bother you. Isaac: Wouldn’t have given you my number if I didn’t want you to use it. Isaac: Your stalker show up? I type out a phony explanation before erasing all but one word and hitting send. Me: No Isaac: Lie to me again, and I’ll bend you over my knee. I’m so stunned by his reply and embarrassingly turned on that it takes me a solid minute to respond. Me: I’ll
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“The second you chose me, you made it my concern,” I explain in a voice ravaged with emotion. “I chose you?” she asks, baffled. I nod. “You did. You reached out to me when you could have called literally anyone else in the world.” “I tried others, but they were busy,” she cuts in defensively, but the jab lacks strength. She knows it’s an excuse as much as I do. I lift her wrist to my lips and press three claiming kisses slowly along her flushed skin. “You chose me, Amelie. And that’s a decision that can never be undone.”
I’m more complicated than that. And maybe you feel like you know me, but you don’t know everything, and I know nothing about you.” The glint in his eyes sharpens with ardent intensity. “Then give me a chance to show you.” “You haven’t even told me your last name.” “That’s meaningless. I said give me a chance to show you who I am. I’m not like any other man you’ve met before. I’m not easy to label or categorize. The only way to know me is to set aside your fears and expectations and see me as I am.”
This is the second time she’s tried to put up walls between us in less than a day. I fucking hate it. I’m glad her body responds to mine, but I want the whole package. I want Amelie Brooks to feel as helpless without me as I feel without her.
“Sorry to burst your bubble, but that’s not how this works. You chose me. I chose you. We haven’t fucked, but that’s only because I want you to get to know me first. We can skip ahead, though, if it means you start to understand that you’re mine
“Who are you, Isaac?” I ask quietly. His answer threatens to bring me to my knees. “I’m the man who’s going to keep you safe.”
“This feel like something a villain would do?” “No.” I have to swallow before I can get the word out. “But it sounds like something a villain would say.” The corners of his lips twitch. “You’re learning.” “What does that mean?” “It means plenty of people would label me their enemy, but you’ll never be one of them.”
“I never lied to you. My name is Sante Isaaco Mancini. I didn’t correct your belief that we’d never met because I’m not that person anymore. The past is irrelevant.”
When I open my palm, I see the silver ring she’d flashed earlier. The one with the evil eye. Keeps the monsters away. She was trying to protect me the only way she knew how.
“Mellie, look at me.” I do, though reluctantly. His tone tells me I have little option. “Who did I say this body belongs to?” “You,” I breathe. “And that’s the problem. How will anyone else unlock a door when I’m the only one with the key?”
“I will not let this man touch you or your family. You understand me?” “But…” “No. No buts. I understand what’s at stake. It. Will. Not. Happen.”
“Any man can stick his dick in a woman. There’s no real value to that. A man’s worth is in his ability to provide and protect—to make his family’s lives better.” Again, I sneak a glance her way, and this time, that grin is practically splitting her face in two. “What now?” She giggles. “You callin’ me your family, Sante Mancini?” She’s teasing me, but it doesn’t feel like a joke. I wasn’t kidding when I called her my future wife. “So long as I’m breathing,” I say without a trace of humor.
“That’s because Amelie doesn’t have a brother, and I don’t fuck my sister.” Kennedy scoffs, rallying to save face. “I don’t see how that’s possible. She spends every waking minute practicing. If I had a man like you waiting for me, I’d make plenty of time for him.” She shoots me a spiteful glare. Sante gets out his phone, not even looking at Kennedy when he responds. “No leading role and no man. Sounds like you should focus on yourself and less on Amelie.”
“I wasn’t joking when I said I’m going to marry you. You’re mine. That means I’ll protect you at all costs. It also means I have the rest of my life to fuck you in every position imaginable, and I plan for us both to live very long, healthy lives. There is absolutely. No. Rush. Understand?”
I’m in danger of falling hopelessly in love with Sante Mancini. But if this is what danger feels like, I’m ready for the front lines.
He shakes his head with a wry smirk. “I’ve created a monster.” I hug his middle and snuggle my head under his chin. “Nah, you keep the monsters away.”
“You have everything backward. The point is, I wanted you to see exactly who I am,” he growls, his anger getting the better of him. “I’m the man who sees what he wants and goes after it. I’m the man who will break a man’s jaw before I let him disrespect you. You think I couldn’t walk past those Russians? I did that because I wanted you to see.” “Why? So I’d be scared of you?” “No, so you’d love me in spite of it all,” he roars. “Because this is who I am.” He slaps a palm against his chest. “I will track you and mark my body with your name and annihilate every one of your enemies. I won’t hide
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“You kept the monsters away for me,” he tells me, voice raw with vulnerability. “When I was sleeping in a barn on dirt floors, thoughts of you gave me hope. At that wedding, I could see my own demons reflected in your eyes, yet you fought them back with such strength. I knew that if whatever had brought you that sort of pain was possible to overcome, then there was hope that I could do the same.”
“I wasn’t winning against the demons. I was drowning,” I admit, a sob clawing its way up my throat as I curl my hand into a tight fist around the ring. “You were the one who gave me hope. Any light in my eyes that night was there because of you. Because for the first time, I didn’t feel alone.”
If our quirks align such that we naturally give one another what we need, shouldn’t that be enough? Maybe that’s all anyone is looking for. Maybe normal is a myth, and healthy is relative.
“Amelie Brooks?” “Mmmm?” “I don’t ever want to know life without you.” He stills, bringing our gazes back together. “Tell me you’ll be my wife. Tell me you’ll be mine forever.”
I used to feel so ashamed that I hadn’t stopped it from happening. But now that my secret is out, it’s taken the shame with it. I did nothing wrong. He’s the monster. He’s the one who should be ashamed. He’s the one who should be punished.
“Mellie, you’re mine, my piccola ballerina, forever and always.”
“Oh, pet, what have you done? You should know better than to let a man like me see you thinking thoughts like that.”
“Such a performer, pet. I approve, so long as this sort of show is only for me.” Again, I nod. “It only feels good because it’s you.”
“Amelie, I vow to follow you to the ends of the earth and love you throughout the journey. To live my life dedicated to your happiness and to strive each day to be worthy of your love. I will honor you, protect you, and keep you all the days of my life.”
“I choose you, Sante, to be no other than who you are. To grow with you and fall more in love with you each day. I trust in your integrity and have faith in your abiding love for me. I vow to love and cherish you so long as we both shall live.”
