Page 143 of Vicious Addictions

“Show it to me,” she orders.

“No.”

“I said, show it to me.”

“Mina—”

Before I can get another word in edgewise, she grabs my arm and pulls my hand out of my pocket, the queen chess piece still in my grip. She doesn’t say anything as she gently unlatches it so she can hold it in the palm of her hand.

“I thought I had lost it,” she whispers, eyeing the white ivory chess piece as if it were as precious to her as it is to me. “I looked everywhere for it. Everywhere. And you had it all this time. Why?” she asks softly, her beautiful stormy eyes filled with confusion and what looks a lot like hope.

“You know why?”

Her breath catches in her throat, remembering every time I said those same words to her—you know why.

It was my answer when she demanded to know why I became so jealous of Felix when learning her Aunt Pippa proposed she should marry him.

It was my answer when she couldn’t comprehend why our first kiss made me want to keep a safe distance away from her.

It was my answer when she asked why I was at her bedroom door after she was kidnapped.

And it’s my answer now.

Because every time I said those three little words to her, I was replacing them with three others I had longed to say—I love you.

It’s because I love you, Mina.

That’s why I do the things I do.

As the realization dawns on her, it’s enough to suck out all the malice, disdain, and contempt she was so fiercely holding onto when she walked through the door.

Without uttering a word, Mina places the chess piece back in my hand for me to keep holding onto. I’m not sure if she is giving it back to me because she doesn’t have the heart to take it back or because it’s the only part of her I get to keep.

And I wish the not knowing didn’t just kill a part of what was left of my soul a little more.

I wake up the next day to the sound of ruffling bed sheets, with Mina’s head nestled on my shoulder. We stayed up all night in perfect silence, watching over Dimitri. But we must have fallen asleep somewhere along the way, considering the bright rays of the early dawn filtering through the curtains.

I stay rooted to my chair, not moving a muscle just so I can keep her head exactly where it is. Asleep like this, she looks like the woman I fell head over heels in love with. She looks so peaceful and beautiful as she snuggles closer, placing her hand on my chest. I brush the hair out of her face and just drink her in.

“Ti amo così tanto amore. Non c’è niente che non darei per trattenerti. E come mi tormenta la certezza che ti perderò. Il mio cuore sanguina per te. Il mio cuore sanguinerà sempre per te.”

I press a light kiss to her temple before forcing myself back, hating that I can’t show her the same tenderness when she’s awake.

Unfortunately, when Dimitri shifts on the bed and starts to groan, I know this stolen moment has come to an end.

Ever so gently, I push her back into her chair and place another quick kiss on the top of her head before making my way to Dimitri.

“Water,” he croaks to me when I reach him.

After pouring some water onto a cup, I lift his head and help him take a few sips. I then lower his head back on the pillow, putting the barely drunk cup back on the nightstand.

“Looks like you’re going to make it after all,” I announce, hovering over him.

His eyes become weary.

“What are you going to do to me?”

“You know the answer to that question,” I state flatly.

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