Page 10 of Their UnBearable Destiny

She nodded. “I know.”

“But after a while, we had the work figured out and then they could concentrate on finding mates.”

Emiliana didn’t mention that she noticed he didn’t include himself in that comment. It was better, in her experience, to listen but not draw attention to herself and her thoughts. Invisible was better than ridicule.

“It took years of searching, trips to other states, big cities and small and nothing. Not even a moment of interest from Salvatore.” Shifting on his chair he met her eyes, with a bit of humor glowing within his own. “That is until Natale’s father contacted Salvatore. He’d likely felt some connection based on our shared heritage in Italy, but once Salvatore met Natale, he knew he’d found his mate.”

“And Valerio?” She hadn’t spent much time with Valerio before they’d left Santa Biago, but she remembered him being a solemn young man. “What about him?”

She saw the slow smile curve the corners of Uberto’s mouth. He held up a hand and held a sliver of air between his thumb and forefinger. “Val had been this close to meeting his mate when we’d first arrived, but fate had kept them separated at first.” He lowered his hand back to his thigh. “Until the day my brother was forced to use the subway to get to a meeting.”

Emiliana had seen photos of the New York Subway and seen videos from an Improv group that held twin rides and even encouraged people to ride the subway without pants in the cold of winter. She had a hard time reconciling Valerio, dressed in a bespoke suit, making his way through throngs of New Yorkers and tourists.

“He found Allegra as a man had set hands on her, intending to cause her pain.” His bear snarled to the surface. “From that moment, he knew he would never part from her again.”

She narrowed her gaze at him. “Was it truly that simple?”

The spark of humor in his eyes told her there was much more to the story.

“The course of true love never did run smooth.” She held her tongue instead of commenting on his use of Shakespeare. It was yet another surprise that he’d given her since his return.

“If that is the truth,” she offered, “then there is no truer love than ours.”

“Should I dare to hope that you mean that?” He swallowed, and she turned to see his Adam’s apple bob along his throat. Both she and her bear wanted to chase it with their lips, smooth it with their tongues. “Do you feel love for me?”

“I feel,” she began, “a connection that goes deeper than mere bone or heart. My bear, the most primal part of my soul, longs for you, but-”

She saw him still, waiting for her to continue.

“My mind, my heart, fear that loving you… truly being your mate would only put me under your control.” She couldn’t stop there. Her thoughts had been turning over and over in her head since she’d seen him in town. “I’m not going to be like Allegra or Natale. I’m not going to be happy waiting for you to come home and spend time with me. I’m not that woman.”

Sitting forward in his chair, Uberto leaned his forearms on the edge of the table and folded his hands together. “I’m sorry.”

His words startled her more than anything else.

“Sorry?” She felt her mouth go dry. “For what?”

Uberto carefully turned his head to look at her. “For whatever it was that I did that hurt you so badly. I know I was young and much too sure of myself. Likely I drove you to distraction with my ways. Looking back on it, I’d suffered from the delusion that I knew exactly what I was doing when I discovered my bear. He filled up my mind and soul for a moment and then it was gone. No one could tell me any different. I was ready to be the kind of mate that my father was and take care of you like he had taken care of my mother.”

She drew in a breath but didn’t speak.

“I figured out quickly that you didn’t want that, but for the life of me I didn’t understand what you did want. And then, you wanted me gone. And gone I could give you.”

“I know you were angry back then,” she sat up and tucked her feet under her chair and sighed, “but I was so set in my own ways too. I wonder if I’m still that same person.”

There was a long silence between them and she looked up and met his intent gaze. “You’re not,” he smiled, “you’re so much more.”

“Stop talking about my a-”

His fingers silenced her with a tender touch to her lips. “I love every inch of you, Ana.” His eyes went coal dark in the dimly lit room. “And yet, you never were one to accept a compliment.”

She nipped at the tip of a finger to get him to move his hand away from her mouth. “And you,” she shook her head, “really liked getting compliments, especially from the ladies.”

He shrugged. “Blame the human in me, bella. Know that the only woman I want to hold, is you. The only heart I want beating with mine, is yours. And the only body I want naked against mine, is yours… always yours.”

Reaching her hand out, it was only at the last moment that she remembered she wasn’t going to allow herself to touch him. She laid her hand back into her lap. “You and I,” she bit off her words for a moment as she considered them, “we’re oil and water, ‘Berto. Sure, you can mix us up for a little while, but then we naturally separate.” Her shrug was only a helpless gesture.

She waited for him to agree. Surely this was one of the few times they could agree on something.

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