Page 79 of Sacred Vow

My chest aches.

More tears fall.

I can’t breathe in this silence.

“You were taken. You were hurt.” He touches the cheek that Mason slapped. “You weren’t kept safe. I didn’t keep my vow.”

“You came for me. You saved me,” I argue, yanking on his wrist when he starts to pull back. “You did everything to keep me safe.”

His brown eyes pierce me.

“So, this is where you realize all those things you said were just your dick talking, right? Are my bags packed already?” I push his hand away and step back.

“No.”

“I’ll get it done then.” I start to turn. He doesn’t get to see my heart break. He doesn’t get to see me fall apart.

A heavy grip wraps around my arm, and he spins me back to him. “No.”

“No, what?” I shove against his chest.

“No, your bags aren’t packed. No, this isn’t where I admit to anything. No, this isn’t where you walk out of my life.” His stare heats.

“Then why do you feel so far away?” My chest aches, like it’s about to crack open if he doesn’t fix it soon.

“I’m angry with myself.” He pulls me into him. “You could have been taken from me. I vowed to protect you from all of this darkness, and you were dragged through it anyway.”

“You think your life is all darkness?” I touch his cheek, brushing my fingertips across his jaw. “Everyone has shadows following them, Andrei. You can’t protect me from every horrible thing out there. But you can be at my side, helping me through.”

“If you would let me lock you away, I could protect you from the world.” His suggestion isn’t entirely in jest.

“Promise to keep me at your side. That’s all you have to do to keep me safe. Be there with me.” I could walk through fire if he were beside me.

“It’s a sacred vow you’re asking for. Only one I would make for the woman I love above all else in the world.” He runs his knuckles across my cheek. I’m pretty sure my heart is going to bruise my ribs if it keeps up this pounding. “I love you, Izzy.”

“Are you sure?”

He raises an eyebrow.

“Because you barely looked at me when I walked in here a few minutes ago.”

“I was trying to convince myself to let you walk away if it was what you wanted.” He touches my lips with his finger. “But you haven’t asked to leave. You haven’t demanded to go home.”

“That’s because I’ve finally realized something.” I touch his face, feeling the gruffness of his untamed beard beneath my fingers. “I am home.”

He grasps me around my middle, lifts me off the floor, and carries me to the kitchen island. My ass hits the countertop a second before his mouth crashes down over mine.

His hands dive into my hair, deepening the kiss. My mind whirls. I slip my arms under his and fist his shirt, not wanting to let him go.

I lick at my lips the moment he breaks the kiss, wanting more of him. All of him.

“I wouldn’t have done it.” His confession comes out gravelly, like it’s straining his throat to let it out.

“Done what?”

“I wouldn’t have let you go.”

I smile. “I thought maybe you changed your mind.”

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