Page 55 of Ferocious Nightmare

"I should do it,” he repeated, almost as if he was trying to convince himself, "but…I can't quit you, nightmare." He heaved against me, sounding so torn and broken. “I should, but I can’t.” He paused, his next words coming out a croak, “If he’d killed you, I would die, Aster.”

I squirmed again and this time he pulled back, letting me turn to face him. His eyes, open and expressive, were filled with so much pain. He traced a thumb over my cheek. “You could’ve died.”

I stilled, realizing that this was the real Coulter. Being open. Showing me his heart.

The Prince of the city was destroyed by the thought of my death.

I melted inside, understanding flowing through me, making me soft. “It’s okay, micorazón.” My heart. “I’m okay.” I clasped his cheeks, leaning up to kiss him softly. “I’m not going anywhere.”

He shook his head. “There is only death in my world. It’s too dangerous for you, Aster.”

The softness dissipated. “I’m not leaving you, Coulter.”

“And I’m not letting you. In fact, I’ll never let you go,” his hands went around my waist, clutching me tight, “but you need to be more careful.”

“There is no careful now.” I stated adamantly. “The only way out of this is through it.”

“If ‘through’ means you making choices that take unnecessary risks, then I’m taking control from here on out.”

“You promised me we were going to do this together.” I gave him a challenging stare, “It may seem like the only way through this is death, but I know we can do it. Nero doesn’t deserve to live, and we’re going to make karma our bitch.”

“Maybe…” He paused, his tortured and turbulent eyes, a molten sea of gold, searched mine. “But sometimes…I’m not sure I believe it.”

I scowled, tightening my hold over him, my voice fierce. “We will.”

“How can you know? There have been so many deaths, so much pain.”

Dios, he really was hurting.

“Because,” I stared into those gorgeous golden eyes, “we are a team now. You don’t need to do this on your own. Luca and his men are protecting Bourbon and Rose. We have Dante and Knight, and I know some of the other men will protect us. And even if we didn’t have all that, we have each other. And that’s enough.”

“Do you really believe that?”

I nodded. “I have no doubt.”

He inhaled a deep, shuttering breath, still staring into my eyes. It took him a long moment to give in, but finally he nodded. “Okay.” His lips trickled upwards. “You swear?”

I nodded firmly. “Absolutely.”

His gaze suddenly filled with something unique.

Pride.

“You were always my hope, little nightmare.” He cracked a smile. “And you were pretty badass today. It was fucking sexy.”

“I know.” I smirked. “And this is only the beginning.”

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