Page 48 of Ruined in Vows

“You can wait there,” he tells Matteo.

“Boss will fucking kill me if anything happens to her.” He jerks his head toward me.

Dante rolls his eyes. “You know I would never hurt her.”

Matteo blows out a breath, shaking his head. “You may have remembered some shit, but that doesn’t mean we can trust you.”

Dante sighs. “I know you are all looking out for her. But give us this moment. I promise to give her back to you in one piece.”

Resigned, Matteo snaps, “You have ten minutes.”

Dante smirks, closing the door before facing me.

“Principessa,” he breathes out, his voice raspy with emotion.

My skin tingles, stomach tightens. One word. But it means so much.

“What are you doing here?” I repeat the question he didn’t answer.

He steps closer to me. “I may have slipped a little Ambien into Cat’s wine.”

I notice how he doesn’t call her wife this time. It’s a relief. I don’t know how much more my heart can take hearing that word. It makes me a hypocrite considering that I am supposed to be entering into my own marriage in a couple months. But it doesn’t change how I feel.

“How did you know I was here?” I breathe.

Grinning, he drawls out, “Nic. He told me where you would be. When I saw you on that dance floor. Fuck.”

My back hits the wall, Dante’s arms coming down and caging me in. He leans forward, sniffing the skin on my neck and breathing me in. My pulse rate kicks up to an unnatural speed. This was our thing. I would sniff Dante, and vice versa. Does he remember? Has muscle memory kicked in? Or has it just come natural to him?

Whatever it is, it’s suffocating having him this close. Don’t get me wrong, I have wanted this for so long, but now I feel like I can’t breathe.

“I don’t remember us. But I know I miss you. I can feel it deep in my gut. The way my heart aches every time I leave you,” he whispers, his tongue darting out and licking a trail up my neck.

My eyes roll shut on their own volition, moisture gathering in my panties. My throat turns so dry, I don’t know how I manage to speak. “I miss you, too.”

He groans, peppering kisses across my jaw. “This fucking dress.” His finger curls under the spaghetti strap on my shoulder. “You’re killing me, angel.”

“Angel?” I question.

That’s new.

I have always been hisprincipessa.

He pulls back to look at me. “From the moment I saw you at those fountains you looked like an angel. My saving grace. You were ethereal and so beautiful, but you looked haunted. Now I know why.”

Emotion tightens my throat. I was more of a ghost when he saw me. Going through the motions. “You may not have recognized me, but deep down your soul knew me. It's why you saw through my façade that night.”

His eyes squeeze shut as if he is in pain. He places his forehead against mine. “We will get through this. There is no other way.”

Reaching up, I rest a palm over his erratically beating heart. A heart that beats strong, and only for me.

“I love you,” I tell him honestly, scared that I might not get another chance before I leave.

His eyes snap open, those dark orbs filled with a range of emotions, but the most prominent one? Love. He smiles, and before I can blink, his lips smash to mine. My breath hitches as he dominates my mouth in a bruising, claiming kiss, but it feels like coming home.

My brain short circuits at the contact. It’s too much but not enough at the same time. He prods at the seam of my mouth, begging for entrance. I allow it. Of course I do. His tongue pushes inside, exploring my mouth like it’s the first time and the last time at once.

But it’s not. We will do this for as long as I live.

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