Page 69 of The Wages of Sin

I swallowed down another disbelieving laugh. Were we talking about the same Dorian? The man whose jawline could cut glass? The guy whose blue eyes shined brighter than the Hope Diamond? Whose body looked like it had been carved by a damn Renaissance master?

All I had to do was glance over my shoulder to prove what liars his brothers were.

Even now, a line of women had formed next to the velvet rope, frantically trying to catch Dorian’s attention while he talked to Russo. Some batted their eyes and bit their lips, while others pushed their cleavage out and raised their skirts.

“Yeah…just look at all those ladies tripping over themselves, desperate to get away from.”

My sarcasm brought the focus of Gabriel’s fury right back to me.

“You think we’re talking about fucking?” he demanded with enough force to make me flinch. “Sure, Dorian could screw any woman in this place. He’s probably had a few of the chicks over there screaming at him right now, in fact. He likes to take them off to a dark corner and bang them up against the wall while no one’s looking. But you know what he doesn’t do?”

It took me a few moments of strained silence to realize Gabriel’s question wasn’t rhetorical. He wanted an answer.

Unfortunately, the man was beyond intimidating and my answer came out cracked and squeaky. “N-No.”

“He doesn’t take them home,” he said, his voice sharp enough to cut through solid steel. “He doesn’t give them a place in his bed. He doesn’t clothe them, or take out their enemies, or bend over backward to make sure they’re safe.”

A wave of guilt crashed over me.

Dorian didn’t have to do all of those things. No one had asked him to. And yet he’d done them all...for me.

“I’m sorry if I sounded ungrateful,” I said. “I realize he cares about me, but?—“

“Cares about you?” Gabriel cut me off with a terrifying bark loud enough to make even Dorian look our way. In his next breath, however, his voice was back down to a chilling whisper that could barely be heard above the music. “He’s taken you into his home. He killed to protect you. He’s about to go to war with his own family trying to keep you safe…and all you can say is that he cares about you.”

I clasped my hands together in my lap, pressing them together in a futile attempt to keep them from trembling. This time, though, the shaking had nothing to do with fear.

Even though I was pretty damn sure I didn’t want to know the answer, I found myself asking, “What are you saying?”

“I’m saying Dorian loves you,” Gabriel said with a grimace, almost as if he didn’t like the way the answer tasted on his tongue.

Love? Could that be true?

“Do you really think so?”

I could barely believe the sound of my own voice. It sounded…hopeful. How long had it been since I’d felt hopeful about anything?

“Yeah,” Gabriel admitted, though that truth clearly disappointed him. “Though after this conversation, I’m not sure why.”

Gabriel’s answer was harsh…but it wasn’t wrong. I knew I hadn’t come across as particularly warm or caring. It seemed like every time I learned something new about him, I let my fear drive a wedge between us.

I’d judged him rashly…just like everyone had judged me after my sister’s murder.

The realization slapped me across the face, stinging worse than any words Dorian’s brothers could hurl at me.

In a heartbeat, I shot up from the couch, utterly overwhelmed by my own shame.

“I…I need to get some air,” I said before turning and rushing out of the VIP area.

Getting past the velvet rope was the easy part.

The moment I was beyond it, though, I was immediately sucked into the chaotic embrace of the dance floor.

I tried to push my way through, but the wall of bodies was practically impenetrable. Instead of moving through them, I was pushed this way and that, tossed like a tiny rowboat on stormy ocean waves.

The dim light and the deafening music only disoriented me more. A minute or two later, I still didn’t know if I was any closer to the exit or further away. All I knew was if I didn’t get a moment of peace to pull myself together soon, I was going to lose my mind.

Just then, a hand cupped around my shoulder—big and strong. My defenses sky high, I jumped and swiveled around…to find a very concerned-looking Dorian standing right behind me.

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