Page 153 of Dark Love

“Vincenti did what?” Vex’s hands ball into fists and he starts to move away from me. “I’m going to kill him regardless of the fact that it’ll cause a war with his family.”

Kill. War. What? That makes no—I grab onto Vex’s shirt, which is no small feat considering how tight it is, to prevent the killing and war. “You can’t kill Max. He’s harmless. What in the world do you mean by war with his family? We don’t live in the Middle Ages where men go to war for a woman’s honor.”

“You don’t know…. Of course, you don’t know. You live in a dream world. Max Vincenti is the son of the Vincenti Don. They’re an Italian Mafia Family.”

Max? Mafia? “That would make Talon a…”

“Mafia don.”

“But… but, he can’t be. They’re ruthless killers. Talon is a sweet, caring man who loves his family.”

“We’re digressing. My point is Max isn’t the man you think he is.”

Oh, now I’m irritated. “Don’t tell me what to think and who to be friends with. Max is exactly the man I think he is. He’s a loving father and a man who will stand up for a woman when she’s hurt. Everything else doesn’t matter. I’m not going to marry him, because I love you.”

“And if you met him first before you fell for me?”

“That’s not an issue.”

“How can you say that, Dahlia?”

“Because when he smiles at me I feel nothing, when he proposes to me it makes me want to giggle not swoon, and when he carries me to bed I feel nothing.”

“WHAT? You slept with Max. You slept with Maximus Rage Vincenti?”

I don’t know whether to be insulted or flattered by the intense jealousy staring back at me. “No, I did not. Did you even listen to the words I said? Max carried me to bed a few times.”

Vex stalks away muttering, “A few times. Max carried you to bed a few times.”

So much for stopping Vex from starting a war. “It’s not like that.”

He spins around. “What is it like then? You ask him for help. You let him carry you to bed. It sounds like you’re in a relationship with someone else.”

This conversation is going in circles and only getting worse. “Max and I are just friends. When I asked him for help, all I asked about was you. He knew I was in a relationship. More than knew, he understands it because he’s still in love with his dead wife. I doubt he’ll ever get over her. And it certainly won’t be for me, a woman he doesn’t even have a single spark with. Max comes over because when you aren’t here, I can’t sleep. We sit in the backyard working until I pass out. Then he carries me to bed and locks the door before he goes home. There’s nothing hinky going on. Max thinks I can’t sleep because I was roofied, but the truth is, I can’t sleep without you. Your arms ruined my brain forever. I only feel safe when I’m with you. It’s something I haven’t felt since I was a child and I crave it. I crave you.”

“Since when?”

“Since I woke up, and you made me feel safe. When I should have felt the most vulnerable, you made me feel secure. I knew no harm would come to me when you were there.”

Vex takes a long breath and lets it out with a slow sigh. The thunderclouds on his face shift into fiery intensity. “We need some ground rules.”

Um… ground rules. A tremble runs through me.

“When you’re scared, you call me.” Vex takes a step towards me.

The way he says that sounds like a threat.

“When you need help, you call me.” He tugs off his tie as he takes another step.

Uh oh.

“When you want to talk, you call me.” He unbuttons the top buttons of his shirt as he moves closer.

Um… I should run like the coward that I am.

“And when you can’t sleep, you call me. You know what… never mind. That rule doesn’t matter, because from now on we’re spending every night together.”

Every night?

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