Page 28 of Bound in Promise
Thankfully, in addition to packing a set of Victoria’s clothes, I thought to clear her nightstand into the overnight bag I brought with me. It was easier than sorting through what might or might not be essential when every second I wasn’t on the road was another second she was in danger. The bottle of aspirin and tube of lip balm may not matter in this moment, but her face when I pull out her brush is…everything. I can see her eyes crinkle and the hard line of her lips softens.
I haven’t ruined this. Not yet, at least.
She moves towards me slowly, exhaustion evident in every line of her body, and does what I ask, taking a seat between my legs. Scooping her long hair over her shoulders, Victoria tucks her chin into her chest.
I don’t want her to go on thinking I blame her for anything. It’s me I’m most angry with, since all I seem to be doing is apologizing for fucking up, for not being there to protect her when she needs me.
Gently starting at the ends of her hair, I run the brush through her strands and permit the silence to swallow us up.
I’m not good with words, so I very rarely use them. They’ve already gotten me into this fucking mess, making her cry when I should be making her feel safe and secure.
I’m halfway through her hair when Victoria straightens her spine and lifts her head, giving me access to the top of it to run the brush through. I can’t help but reach around and wrap my fingers around her throat, dragging her back against my body.
“Nothing came out right,” I finally say, running the pad of my thumb along her jawline softly. “I’m not good at this, princess.”
She gives me a faint nod, but nothing more. It’s not enough for me. I’m a broken man who’s done fucked up shit and I need her to realize that none of this is on her. I’m the problem.
“You weren’t supposed to be anything to me but a damsel I saved from the people planning to drain your funds dry. People who would have left you stuck with the bill for a debt you were never part of. I didn’t expect you, princess. You were a vulnerable young lady, a student—rich as fuck, though—and that was it.”
I expect questions. I wait for Victoria to give me something, anything to gauge her mood or thoughts, but she leaves me dangling in a noose of my own making.
“I wasn’t expecting to go crazy over you, Victoria,” I sigh.
Her body tenses against me and, fuck, did I push it too far? Am I a fucking creep now? Have I misjudged things? Does she have a better handle on what this marriage was meant to be than I do?
I roll my eyes and shove back my doubts because I’ve had this woman plenty, and she lusts after me as much as I do her. This is mutual, and I can only hope she’s as lost in her feelings as I am.
Her lack of response makes me impatient. “Liam needs to go,” I tell her firmly. That gets a reaction, since Victoria sits up on her knees and twists her body around to face me. “Don’t,” I warn, my voice dripping with menace.
“Don’t don’t me, Dante,” Victoria snips, her brows pinched in a scowl. “That boy is stupid as hell, but like I said, he’s terrified.”
“That’s not my problem.”
“You’re older than he is. You should be reasonable,” she argues. “Yes, he did things?—”
“He kidnapped my wife,” I fume. How can she still not understand? “He kidnapped you.” How much clearer I can make this?
He touched what’s mine, and it doesn’t matter how long I get to call her that. Whether she’s mine for another month or three years. Another man took my woman, smacked her around, and even tried to sell her.
He probably would have killed her.
I’m not sure where forgiveness factors into this.
Victoria spins her body around to fully face mine. As she turns, her breasts brush my knee. She’s beautiful beyond words.
Stunning and perfect, despite the bruises.
I can’t ignore them, even though she’s now safe with me. But that might not have been the case if she didn’t find a phone to reach out to Ellie.
“I need you,” she whispers, reaching for my free hand in my lap, “to stop focusing on the stuff that’s already happened and focus on now. Focus on what’s ahead.”
“Have you forgotten what he did?” I challenge.
Victoria presses her lips together and replies, “No. But I’m not going to allow it or him to consume me to the point where I lose my chance at having what I’ve wished for.”
She’s a better person than me then.
Because all I can think about is murder, blood, and the calming peace that follows.
