Page 88 of Vendetta Vows

"Like who?"

"My father." The admission feels like gravel in my throat. "I swore I'd never become him, and yet..."

Aurora's hand touches my arm. "You're not him."

"How can you be so sure?"

"Because you feel this," she says simply. "This shame at what you've done. You know it was wrong."

"I should talk to her. Apologize."

Aurora shakes her head. "Not yet. Let her have some space."

"But—"

"Trust me on this, Ruslan." Her voice softens.

I glance toward the staircase, fighting the urge to march up there and make things right immediately. The pakhan in me wants to fix everything now. To control the situation and command respect.

But that's exactly what got me into this mess.

Slowly, I nod.

Aurora reaches up and places her palm against my chest. The warmth of her hand seeps through my shirt, and my pulse quickens beneath her touch. Something jolts between us. Something that has nothing to do with our arrangement and everything to do with how she grounds me when I'm spiraling.

"How do you do that?" I murmur.

"Do what?"

"Know to say exactly what I need to hear, and not what I want to hear."

A half-smile tugs at Aurora's lips, and slowly, her face transforms from fierce protector to something softer.

"Thank you," I say, covering her hand with mine. "For standing up to me. For standing up for Mikayla."

"That's why we're getting married, right?" she replies. "Someone has to keep you honest."

The words hang between us, loaded with possibilities neither of us dared to consider before. They trigger something deep inside me. A hunger not just for her body, but for this connection.

This understanding.

Along with that, a thought more terrifying than anything else comes to the surface.

Maybe this marriage might become something more than simple convenience.

Maybe it can become something I'd stopped believing I deserved a long time ago.

23

AURORA

THE NEXT DAY

I can't decideif it's easier or harder to play dress-up when the stakes are this high.

"Nervous?" Ruslan asks, his voice pulling me from my thoughts.

I smooth my hands over my jeans. "Is it that obvious?"

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