Page 93 of Her Dark Salvation

“You’re human,” I said.

“Last time I checked.”

“I’m a blood demon. An immortal blood demon. An immortal blood demon connected to the Mafia.”

“And?”

I ground my teeth. “I don’t feed for pleasure.”

“Why not?”

“Why not? Because it’s one or the other for me. Always has been.”

Because I’d never been able to get the image of a stranger drinking from Mamma’s neck out of my head. Because separating feeding from pleasure was the only way I’d been able to live with the guilt of her sacrifice. Because tearing down that wall meant committing to Anna, and committing Anna to risking her life. For me. I couldn’t allow her to make that sacrifice.

“If I start feeding from you, I won’t want to stop. I won’t want to feed from anyone else, and I can’t depend on you for blood. You don’t belong in this world.”

“What’s that supposed to mean?” A sharp edge entered her voice, but there was no stopping this avalanche. It was barreling down the mountain at full speed.

I rested my elbows on my knees, shoved my hands into my hair, and stared at the carpet. “My life is dangerous. The only way I can protect you is to keep my distance, and I’ve already fucked that up. I was reckless at the gala. I risked your safety parading you around. Put a target on your back. The feds went after you for information even before the gala. They’ll be more aggressive now. I seized all the pictures of us, but I can’t erase people’s memories. People talk, and I have enemies.”

I shook my head in my hands. “You don’t want a future with me. You don’t want to give up your life as a human and bind yourself to a blood demon. You don’t want to be a pawn in this game, leverage the feds or the Irish can use to get to me. You deserve better than that. You deserve safety and security. If I failed you, if I failed to protect you…”

My voice broke saying those words out loud, and I didn’t have the strength to finish the thought. I’d failed so many people. If I failed her, it would kill me.

“You’re too precious to be a part of my world, Anna. I can’t allow it.”

I turned my head in my hands, finally able to face her.

All traces of sadness were gone. Red splotches of fury crept up her neck and her eyes flashed with anger. “You won’tallowit?”

Her heated tone snapped the final thread of my control. “No,” I clapped back. “I won’t allow it!”

She stood and shoved a finger in my face. “Fuck you, Marco DeVita!” Her face turned a fiery red. “You’ve got a lot of goddamned nerve.” She stalked to the other side of the room, fuming.

Before I could explain all the reasons she was better off without me, she threw her hands in the air and laughed hysterically at the ceiling. “What is it with people telling me what I can and can’t handle?”

She planted her hands on her hips and leveled me with a heated stare, tears spilling down her flushed cheeks. “Guess what, Marco? You do not get to make my decisions for me. In one day”—she held up a finger and started counting—“I found out supernatural beings existed, the man I’m falling in love with is one of them, and he’s in the Mafia! In one day! Barring the fainting spell, I think I handled it pretty fucking well.” Her chest heaved with the ferocity of her temper.

I got off the couch and gave her a slice of my own. “This isn’t a game,” I roared. “I’m looking out for you. Be reasonable. You could get hurt.”

“Don’t tell me to be reasonable! Don’t tell me what to do or how to feel or what I want! Don’t tell me what I can’t handle!” Her voice went shrill, shaking through each declaration. Hot, angry tears streamed down her face.

God, I’d fucked up. Pressed the worst possible button. And I was too exhausted from the ring and Luca and the shitstorm that was my life to figure out what to do about it. I opened my arms, needing to hold her, but she held up her hands.

“Why did you come here tonight?” Her voice went quiet. “If you never saw a future for us, why did you come here?”

“I wanted to see you. I need you.”

She nodded. “But not enough to bite me.” She canted her head. “Right?”

“That’s not fair,” I ground out through gritted teeth.

She hiccupped on a sob and swiped the tears from beneath her glasses. “You don’t get to come in here and dictate the terms of our relationship. There are two people standing here, and we both get a say.” She sucked in a deep breath, closed her eyes, and let out a shaky exhale. “Well, here’s mine.

“It’s taken me years to figure this out, but now that I have, there’s no going back. I’m done compromising what I want. I’m done short-changing myself because I’ve bought into someone else’s rhetoric. I know what I want, Marco. I want this.” She waved a finger between us. “I want you. And you might not feel the clock ticking, because you’re immortal, but I sure as hell do. My life’s too short to waste a single precious moment on something that’s not going anywhere.

“You need to decide what you want. Do you want to continue playing the martyr? The noble hero who sacrifices his own happiness for the sake of others? Or are you ready to start living your life for a reason other than making up for past wrongs?”

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