Page 102 of Salvatore

“Yeah. Don’t fuck it up,” Apollo agrees, staring back to where she disappeared.

I swing open my door, muttering a few swears and forgetting the flowers I brought. I move fast, prowling forward. For all I thought I was ready to see her, I’m not.

She looks . . . beautiful. What kicks at my gut is that she also looks happy. This isn’t the first time I’ve wondered if she’s better off without me, or if she’s found someone else?someone who makes her smile, draws her laughter, and fires her passion?someone who didn’t make her cry like I did.

My feet stomp as I steel myself for what she may say or do. If she tells me to leave?if she doesn’t want to see me?I’ll go. I won’t like it, but I’ll respect it. Even if it finishes killing what’s left of me.

The moment I clear the barn, a large white house with a wrap-around porch comes into view, a sprawling pasture just behind it. The whole place resembles a painting, too perfect to be real.

It doesn’t hold my attention. Aedry does.

Her hair flutters behind her as a warm breeze coasts along the field. I’m not sure if I should yell her name, wait to get closer, or?fuck?I don’t know what to do. All I know is the need to have her in my arms.

Her dog whips around, barking and growling, alerting her of my presence. She turns, slowly, her eyebrows lifting when she sees me. I stop a few yards away from her, staring at the way her hair flows around her.

I’m dressed in dark jeans and a tight black T. With my hair growing out like it is, at first, it’s almost like she doesn’t recognize me.

But then she does.

The basket falls at her feet when she clasps her mouth, the motion revealing the depth of her shock. I don’t think she wants me here, but from one breath to the next she takes off, racing toward me.

I charge forward, lifting her when she throws herself into my arms and straddles me. My lips find hers, seeking her out as my hands sweep through her hair and along her back, clutching her tighter against me. Christ, it’s like we’ve never been apart?my body, my mouth, my damn heart, as hungry for her as she is for my touch.

I don’t want to let her go, kissing her until she finally pulls away.

Her soft smile warms me, but it’s the tears shimmering her blue eyes that remind me how much I hurt her. Her fingertips trail along my jaw and her gaze sweeps along my form.

“You’re here,” she says, hardly believing it.

“Yeah, I am.” I ignore the dog continuing to circle us, my voice breathless. “I went to your house. Your neighbor told me where to find you.”

She motions behind her to the field. “They needed help milking.”

“I don’t know what the fuck that means,” I tell her honestly.

Her laugh stirs my smile and squeezes my heart like only she can. “The dairy cows,” she reminds me. “The ones my parents bought.”

She quiets then, pressing her forehead against mine, relief and maybe a little pain, too, flooding her small features. Our closeness allows me to feel her body heat and bask in everything I’ve missed about her. That perfume, the flowery one she wears, seeps into my nose, and her hair feathers against my cheek, reminding me of all those times she fell asleep against me and how easily she stole my heart.

I stroke her back in the silence that follows, wondering how I ever survived without her and assuring myself that, at least for the moment, she wants me with her.

“You’re safe?” she asks, her gentle voice cutting through the sounds of the birds singing and her dog panting at my feet. At my nod, she glances over my shoulder. “And the boys?”

“The boys” she says, that familiar sweetness reminding me of everything that makes her Aedry. “They’re good,” I answer. “In my ride waiting for me.”

I lower her to the ground, but maintain my grip on her hips, trying to speak.

Shame born from my sins forces my gaze briefly away. But when I meet her face?God, that beautiful face?my words are strong. “I’m out,” I tell her. She lowers her head in a way that tells me she understands. “I’m not a part of it?and I won’t be anymore.”

When she doesn’t say anything, I spill the rest. “I moved here a few days ago.” She jerks her chin up, her eyes rounding. “For you . . . for us. I don’t want to be without you. But if you don’t want me, I promise I won’t stay.”

Tears spill down her cheeks, driving that spike deeper into my chest. My fingers glide along her hips. “I love you,” I tell her, pleading with her to believe me. “And I’m sorry for everything?every last lie and everything I’ve done to hurt you.” I all but fall to my knees when she remains quiet. “Please, Adrianna . . . give me another chance to love you.”

Her expression crumbles as tears drench her face. “Do you have any idea how much I’ve missed you?” she asks, her voice breaking. “Do you know how hard I’ve cried being without you?”

My throat tightens. “I lost my soul when I lost you,” I confess, everything I’m feeling slicing into each word. “You’re my world, Adrianna.”

She chokes back a sob, nodding like she understands what I’m feeling. “No more lies?” she asks. “No more secrets?”

“No,” I rasp. “I know I messed up. I know I’ve hurt you. But if you let me, I promise to spend the rest of my life making it up to you.”

I fall to one knee, pulling the small velvet box from my pocket. This isn’t the ring I tossed, the one from that man who wasn’t good enough for her. It’s the antique one I found on her birthday, the one that made me want to be that better man for her.

She takes in the ring, her cries hard enough to rock her shoulders, but not enough to stop her smile. “Forever?” she asks.

“Forever,” I promise.

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