I lean in close, my breath grazing his ear. "You're mean," I murmur, voice barely above a whisper as I swallow down the whimper threatening to escape-though from the way his smirk deepens, I know he hears it.
That devilish grin spreads across his fa...
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"Why were you so mean to me?" I ask we're on a plane towards Violet city. Emilianna is on the seat beside me headphones over her ears watching her iPad. "If I was mean to you you would be mean to me I couldn't risk fa- " he pauses and doesn't finish.
"Risk what?" I press, but already knowing the answer, but I need to hear it. I need him to say it.
He doesn't answer.
"Falling in love with me?" I ask, mouth curving into something that wants to be a smirk but ends up fragile.
"I thought you were incapable of that," I add, teasing half defense.
He finally grunts, eyes still fixed forward. "I can fall in love. Despite being a sociopath," he says flatly.
"That's not what I meant." My voice dips, almost ashamed. "I meant you. Not the diagnosis. Just... you."
He exhales slowly. The kind of breath that sounds like it's been sitting in his lungs for years.
"You didn't behave like I wanted you to," he mutters.
My eyebrows lift. "So you tried to punish me for that?"
"No." His eyes flick toward me. "I tried to control it."
"You weren't even mean." He adds disappointed. I life a brow with confusion "I had my moments." I mumble "I liked attention. And I liked people knowing you were under my control at times.. That, even if you didn't want to care, I could pull you in any way I wanted." I add admitting it.
"And you did," he says, eyes dark. "You pulled me in so deep I forgot who the hell I was. And I hated that."
I nod slowly. "I liked knowing you were under my control... sometimes. But I didn't want to destroy you."
"You didn't destroy me," he says, voice low. "You woke something up in me I thought I'd buried. You made me feel things I didn't know how to handle. That's worse."
"I'm just as bad as everyone else." I say I feel my voice weakening "it wasn't disheartening when Nigel broke my leg I felt like I deserved it and no one did anything and I thought they think I deserve it to." He grabs my cheeks "you didn't."he declares sternly.
"You didn't deserve that not then, not ever. You didn't deserve to be hurt like that, no matter what. I care, and you're worth protecting Katerina." "Colten I didn't say this to get an apology out of you it's in the past I-" "you didn't deserve it." He repeats padding my cheek with his thumbs. I nod my head.
I lean closer toward his mouth but I pass it kissing his forehead softly. I nod I tuck Emilianna in her seat pulling her pacifier out her mouth.
-
The Bambino is the kind of hotel that reeks of old money and glossy pretense—floor-to-ceiling windows, velvet drapes, and gold accents on just about everything that could hold them. The lobby was ridiculous, like someone gave a millionaire toddler free rein with a Roman Empire theme. I didn't even want to know how much Colten dropped for this place, but he picked it, and he's paying, so I kept my mouth shut.
Our room is on the twelfth floor, and the moment the elevator doors open, there's that faint scent of vanilla, leather, and something floral like a perfume I'd never be able to afford. The suite itself is massive, stupidly so, with a sprawling king-sized bed dressed in silky, high-thread-count sheets that probably get ironed every day. There's a chandelier above the bed. A chandelier. The walls are painted a rich, dark green that makes the gold-framed art pop some abstract nonsense that probably costs more than my rent.
There's a bar in the corner, fully stocked, and a sunken tub in the marble bathroom that looks like it was made for royalty or at least for someone trying very hard to pretend they are. Floor-to-ceiling windows overlook Violet City's skyline if you can call it that. Even in the distance, the prison is just a dark silhouette against the hills. Close enough to remind me why we're here.
We're only staying a couple of days, but it's more than enough. Colten hasn't said much about it. Neither have I. But I know what we're both thinking.
