Page 56 of Darkest Sin

I think I’m in love with this man.

“Holy shit, Killian. Remind me why I’ve been so stupidly trying to avoid you these past few days when we could have been doing that instead?”

“I do not claim to understand the inner workings of a woman’s mind. However, if I had to take a guess, I would say it’s because you’re stubborn as hell and don’t know what’s good for you.”

“Are you suggesting that you’re what’s good for me?”

“Not even a little bit,” he tells me. “A life with me is a life of ruins, but that doesn’t mean I can’t make you feel more alive than you’ve ever felt before, and it sure as hell doesn’t mean that I can’t give you everything you’ve ever wanted and more. You’re a priceless jewel, Chiara, and I want to give you the world, even if it means burning it to ashes to fit it in the palm of your hand.”

My heart swells, and I push up on his chest so I can turn enough to meet his heavy stare, and the moment our eyes connect, I feel something solidifying between us like an invisible string tying itself to both of our souls. “How is it possible that you’re so terrifying and yet so sweet at the same time?”

“I am not sweet, Chiara.”

“You are though. To me, at least. Especially when I haven’t deserved it. I’ve been cruel to you these past few days and judged you based on something I know nothing about. Even during those first two weeks before we really had a chance to get to know each other, you were patient with me when it’s not in your nature. You’ve shown kindness when you didn’t need to, and I don’t think I’ve ever told you how grateful I am for that. You’re making an effort to ensure I am comfortable with you, and I should be putting in more of an effort to return that favor.”

“You do not owe me anything, Chiara. I am not the gallant man you make me out to be,” he says. “The night I took you from the auctions, I had every opportunity to drive back into the city and let you go. I could have given you freedom, but instead, I chose to keep you for myself. That is not the act of a noble man.”

A stupid grin cuts across my face. “Perhaps not,” I agree. “But despite how I came to be here and how terrifying it was, I’m still grateful.”

Killian watches me for a moment before sitting up and leaning against the kitchen cupboards. He lifts me onto him so I’m straddled over his thighs with his hands low on my hips. “The things you saw in my office—”

“You don’t need to explain yourself,” I say, cutting him off. “It’s none of my business, and after seeing the way you protected me today, I don’t believe I have a right to know.”

“You’re my wife. Of course you have the right to know.”

“I’m your wife in public, remember? We don’t have a real marriage.”

“Stop fooling yourself, Chiara. I know I told you that it was all for show, but the moment I declared you my wife, it felt right. And though I know for you it may be different and you may not feel as strongly as I do regarding this, but for me, this is no longer just for show. For me, you are my wife for all intents and purposes.”

My hands fall to his chest, feeling the heavy beat of his heart beneath his skin. “You want me to be your wife?” I murmur, my voice dropping so low I can barely hear it.

“Yes, my sweet angel, I want you to be my wife. I knew it the moment I saw you helpless in that cage, I just didn’t understand what it was,” he tells me, bringing his hand up and swiping his thumb across my cheek.

I blow my cheeks out and hold his heavy stare. “I mean, couldn’t we start by putting some of my clothes in one of your drawers like normal people?”

“Or we could move you permanently into my bedroom. I wish to have you in my bed every night.”

I nod. “I can manage that.”

“Good, now as for the things in my office—”

“I told you, I don’t think I need to know.”

“It’s important to me that you do,” he tells me. “As I told you, it’s important that you learn to fear me. You need to truly understand who I am and what I am capable of. You need to learn where my boundaries are. What I will tolerate and what I will not. But despite that, I also need you to love me, and in order to do that, you must see past all of my flaws. It’s a balancing act, Chiara.”

Leaning into him, I drop my forehead against his, feeling the electricity burning between us, and as he lifts his hands around my back and pulls me closer to his chest, my world explodes with the sweetest satisfaction. “I want to love you so bad it hurts,” I whisper. “A part of me thinks I might already be there, but the other part . . . I don’t know if it’s possible to love someone you fear. But that’s just it, Killian, no matter how much you push me away or how many horror stories you tell me, I don’t know if I’m capable of fearing you . . . not anymore.”

He nods and is silent for a short moment before finally going on. “The police report you found on the desk,” he starts, this time not allowing me a chance to cut him off. “You were right, I was responsible for that massacre. Your second night here when you joined me in my bedroom, I had just returned and there was still blood on my clothes.”

“Why did you do it?”

“The Donatelli family was responsible for a raid at one of my warehouses. Their men brutally murdered twenty-three of my workers for the sake of getting their hands on Ecstasy and guns. These were innocent men and women who were only trying to make a few dollars for the families and children they left behind.”

I suck in a gasp as my mind begins to process, but before I have a chance to say anything. He goes on. “The surveillance screens. Tell me what you need clarified.”

“Umm . . . There was a man hanging from chains.”

Killian nods. “He raped and murdered my cousin’s daughter six months ago. She was barely eighteen and only starting her life.”

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