WARPED VANITY ( BL)

CHAPTER 24

Sam,” I said firmly. “I can handle it.”

  I’d handled vegas for months. Nothing could scare me anymore. Maybe the same thought crossed Samuel’s mind because he nodded with a grimace.

  “I’ll wait in the hallway,” he said, leaning against the wall beside the wooden door.

  I knocked twice then walked in, not waiting for a reply.

  My breath caught in my throat at the mess. Someone had thrown two book cases over. Ripped books and broken glasses. Dad’s beloved collection of whisky tumblers scattered the floor. The leather sofa was slashed, filling poking out everywhere.

  Danilo had done this and nobody bothered to clean up afterward.

  My eyes found my fiancé. He was controlled, so much like Dante that he probably couldn’t stand being compared to him anymore. I couldn’t imagine him doing this. His brown eyes latched onto mine, full of regret and anger.

  “Dove?” Dad asked.

  I cleared my throat, realizing he and Dante were staring at me as well.

  “I’m sorry for disturbing you,” I said. “But I need to have a word with Danilo.”

  Dad hesitated, his eyes flitting between my fiancé and me. Dante put a hand on his shoulder and eventually they both left. Danilo faced the window, his hands pressed into the wall on both sides.

  The door closed with a soft click, and silence reigned in the room.

  Danilo’s shoulders heaved. He was tall and muscular, but not quite like Remo.

  “I ...” I began but then didn’t know how to go on, how to explain that I was lost to him.

  Danilo turned around slowly, a haunted expression on his face. He smiled but it was strained, tired, and behind it lurked something dark and broken. “pete,” he murmured. He took a step closer but stopped when I tensed. “I still want to marry you. If you want me.”

  I regarded Danilo’s handsome face. He knew to hide his violence better than vegas. He was elegantly handsome, not brutally attractive like vegas. Vegas. Always vegas. I own you.

  “I’m not the boy you were promised anymore,” I whispered. “I’m ... lost.”

  He shook his head and came closer, but still not close enough to touch. “He will pay. In these last two months, I’ve spent every waking moment thinking about you, going crazy with worry and rage. Your family and I ... we wanted to get you back ... We failed ...”

  “It’s okay,” I said softly.

  “And I don’t care that he ... that you aren’t ...” His face twisted with guilt and fury. “I still want to marry you, and you don’t have to be scared, pete. I won’t touch you until you’ve healed, until you want me to, I swear.”

  I moved toward Danilo. We could have been happy. He would have been kind to me, as good a husband as a Made Man could be. I didn’t kid myself into thinking he wasn’t a monster, but he was a restrained one. I touched my palms to his chest and looked into his eyes. Something in them had changed from our last encounter two months ago. They were harsher, darker. My captivity had left its mark on him too.

  “I can’t. I’m sorry,” I whispered. “You deserve someone else. Please find someone who deserves you.”

  He regarded me, his jaw flexing. “From the moment I saw you the first time, I only wanted you.”

  I lowered my eyes because from the moment vegas had laid eyes upon me, I had been his.

  “I’m sorry,” I repeated.