Page 73 of Angelo

"Then don’t gamble away your life on Gaspare and Valentina!"

"I assure you, the odds are in my favor."

"Your confidence has always been your weakness, Alessio."

His eyes locked onto her as he carried on in halting tones, "This is where you are wrong,cuore mio, I am not confident at all."

"If you aren't confident, why do you insist on handing over evidence to the authorities?"

Hesitation clung to Alessandro. "Because I realized something after my father's funeral."

"What did you realize?"

He smiled tritely. "Nothing new or profound. Just that absolute power corrupts absolutely."

Elyse's eyes widened with uncertainty. "Alessio..."

"I realized that becomingcapohas already corrupted me, and it will only continue to change me until I become unrecognizable."

"But there can be honor in the gray," Elyse countered, "you said it yourself!"

Alessandro grimaced. "I find that I will do anything to keep you safe. Brutality will be necessary to hold onto power. The thought of spilling blood does not faze me. But I know how much you abhor violence. You have a gift for saving people, but, in time, the lives I take will far outnumber the lives you can heal. The more I step into my role ascapo, the more, I think, I will lose you."

Elyse felt sucker-punched. She felt as though their roles were suddenly reversed. Alessandro had become the realist while she was the romantic. His confession moved Elyse as much as it unnerved her. There was a heartbreaking sincerity in his voice. Elyse wanted to believe that their love would be strong enough to carry them through the darkness. However, she wasn’t an idealistic child who viewed the world through rose-colored lenses. She’d been hardenedby too much tragedy to ignore the truth in her husband's words.

Still, stubbornly, she chose to shove her head in the sand, arguing, "That's not true! I know what I signed up for when I married you.”

He clicked his tongue. "I know your heart and your mind, Elyse. You have already given up too much to be with me. You said it best,no?I am your burden to carry.I cannot expect more from you. As my character deteriorates, you will be forced to accept me against your will."

Elyse fought back again, "You're not my burden at all, and I'll learn to adapt."

"What I love most about you," Alessandro murmured, "is your heart and your mind.Exactly as they stand. I do not want you to change because, in time, you will despise me for it, and I will resent myself for it as well. This is why I must risk it all to uproot the whole fuckingcosca, to give myself a chance, to give us a chance, at happiness.Real happiness. I cannot bring your father back to life, but, if there is a possibility for me to give you back everything else you have lost,your education, your career, your independence, a normal life, then I must do everything in my power to make it happen."

He left her speechless. His recklessness terrified her. Grief still consumed her. Yet, their love uplifted her. How was it possible for one man to be so utterly devoted and yet infuriatingly stubborn at the same time?

Elyse had never desired or admired him more. In a soul-blinding burst of affection, Elyse threw herself into Alessandro's embrace and crushed her lips to his mouth, pouring all of her beautiful, complex feelings for this beautiful, complex man into their kiss.

"I love you, Alessio," she declared without a shadow of doubt.

With reverence in his eyes, he lowered her onto the bed. They were in a spare guest room, safe from the music box. Their clothing fell away. They made love in whispers and gasps and breathy sighs. She kept her touch upon his skin light, delicate, teasing. He caressed Elyse with even more care and tenderness. Alessandro entered her as though she was made of glass. Their eyes burned only for each other. When her husband's cock began to thrust, he pumped slowly, sensually, as though purposely trying to prolong the inevitable. They fucked until Elyse's climax washed over her like a gentle wave. Soothing, sweet, and dreamily euphoric.

Alessandro came a moment later, grunting mindlessly into her ear with every throb of his shaft,"Ti amo, ti amo, ti amo, giuro su Dio, ti darò tutto ciò chemeriti..."

Elyse had been too far gone to pay any attention to his Italian. In the afterglow, her heart shone with love, though, her mind wracked with worry. Elyse didn't know whether she had married the world's bravest man. Or the stupidest one. Either way, she wanted to keep her husband close, to not let him out of her sight, as though this alone could allow her to shield him from harm. She hated the idea of leaving him behind in Palermo, especially at such an uncertain intersection in their lives.

Afterward, as they lay entangled together in bed, she murmured to Alessandro, "I changed my mind, Alessio. Come with me to New York."

"No," her husband declined, surprising her with his change of heart.

Elyse's head snapped up in shock. "What?"

Something seemed to catch in his throat, an unfathomable emotion too thick for any language to express, and he averted his gaze as he spoke, "I am sorry,cuore mio, but my mind has changed as well. You were right. I should stay here. Valentina will be marrying Gaspare soon. I cannot leave them unsupervised."

"That's probably wise," Elyse replied with a frown of disappointment. "You should stay. Valentina and Gaspare can't be trusted. I'll come back to you soon as soon as possible."

Alessandro caught her hand and placed a long, lingering kiss in her palm, offering gruffly, "I will have Mr. Schmid arrange the flight for you. You can leave first thing tomorrow morning. Do not keep your father waiting."

"Thank you," Elyse murmured with an aching heart, "I'll miss you when I'm away."

---