Page 181 of Forced Vows

Her lips set in a firm line. "If that hypocrite had my dad killed, I am going to cut his throat and enjoy watching him bleed out."

"Blood thirsty."

"I have some of my dad in me. I figured that out a while ago."

I believe her, but it's the best parts of the man. Not the ability to kill. "As much as I appreciate the sentiment, leave the killing to me. I'm trained for it."

"You promised to train me," she reminds me.

"We'll start this week. But I'm training you in self-defense. It's not the same thing."

"So you say. "

"I do. Trust me, mi dolce fiore, killing isn't as easy for someone like you." And there's no way her father taught her aggression fighting techniques. "No matter how much you hate the person you are taking out."

"As opposed to someone like you? What do you think you have that I don't?"

I kiss her hand again and close her fingers around it to hold my affection as I want no one else to do. "It's not what I have, but what I don't have."

"I know you have a conscience. Your actions with me show it. When you realize you screwed up, you backed down. You're keeping your word. And it's not just about being trustworthy in the criminal underworld. You care about keeping your vows."

"Yes. I do. But, I don't have a soul anymore. Or if I do have one it is so black you can't see it. One more killing won't make a difference in the opaqueness."

"You have a soul," she says earnestly. "I feel it every time we touch because our souls connect. If yours was as black as you think it is, that connection wouldn't feel as beautiful as it does."

"If there is any beauty in my soul, it's because of you."

Her beautiful eyes glisten with moisture. She smacks my arm. "Don't say stuff like that."

"I will speak the truth…"

"And shame the devil?"

"I am the devil and I feel no shame for the goodness you bring into my life."

With an inarticulate cry, Róise throws herself at me, kissing me with hot and irresistible passion.

Chapter 62: RÓISE

I wake up needing to pee and hungry.

After Round 4, or was it Round 5? Does mutual masturbation count as a round? Anyway, at some point we stopped sexing and fell asleep.

From the sound of his breathing and the leashed power tension in his body, I know Miceli is already awake. The fact he's sitting up against the headboard with my body tucked into his side is a dead giveaway too.

Yawning, I lift my head.

He's on his tablet, a pair of glasses perched on his nose.

"You wear glasses?" I scramble to my knees to get a better look.

Bare chest. Treasure trail disappearing under the blankets resting across his hips. The Family Always snarling wolf tattoo on the heavily muscled arm.

Mmm. So sexy.

"When my eyes are tired." He taps on the screen and then swipes up. "They're blue light blockers with a small magnification."

"I like them."

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