Page 101 of Thorns of Love
Beep. Beep. Beep.
The memory flashed in my mind. That naughty smile on her lips. The way her eyes twinkled with mischief even as those two boys were escorted out of the house. But the deal was sealed the second I touched her soft skin.
“Your note was a temptation I couldn’t resist.” It led to a chain reaction. Adrian hid her identity from me for years. A chance meeting with Tatiana’s brother brought her my way. I should have snatched her right then and there. Married her. Instead, I focused on Maxim’s mess and Adrian married her.
“Your moan was game over for me. I dreamt of you. I stalked you. I waited for our time because I knew deep down, you were mine. You were always meant to be mine.” I brushed my lips over her skin, the scent of roses filling my nostrils. “Don’t you fucking leave me.” I put my hand on her stomach. “Don’t leave us,” I rasped.
I released a long, harsh breath. Years wasted. What I wouldn’t give to get them back? Once I learned who Adrian was, everything I’d done was to protect her.
“I thought you were happy,” I murmured. “Not a day went by where you didn’t cross my mind since the moment I spotted you at that party. Then when I finally learned your identity, Adrian snatched you away from me. You looked so fucking happy, so goddamn in love that I convinced myself you were better off.”
It fucking hurt to think of it, never mind say it. I didn’t know who Adrian really was. I didn’t recognize the boy who had become the man. “But make no mistake, Tatiana, I would have ended him a long time ago if I’d known who he was. If I knew his intentions weren’t pure.”
Skimming my lips over her cheek, I murmured against her ear. “I love you. I’ll kill anyone who tries to hurt you. Just come back to me.”
The door opened and Boris came in. My second-in-command.
My eyes darted his way with the unspoken question. I couldn’t leave Tatiana, otherwise I would have done it myself. “She’s in the dungeon,” he spoke softly, his eyes flickering over Tatiana. “How is she? Babies?”
I trusted Boris. He had proven his loyalty. Over and over again. Nikita’s traitorous ass at least didn’t destroy that.
“She’ll pull through,” I said.She has to.“Babies are healthy.”
He nodded, then turned around, his hand on the door. “I’ll keep Jane Ford alive until you can deal with her.”
I nodded. She was the last link to my mother’s side of the family. The last threat to be eliminated. No more loose ends.
Boys grow up to become men. They come back to find you, and suddenly, the hunter becomes the hunted.
There were no more boys left to haunt us. But there was one aunt, Jane Ford. My mother’s sister; Nikita’s mother.
Then when all threats were eliminated, Tatiana and I would write our story. Our future.
A shift of the hospital bed pulled my attention. Tatiana’s fingers twitched in my hand and her eyelids opened.
“Tatiana?” She blinked, her gaze disoriented. I leaned forward, stroking her chin and cheeks. Her brows scrunched and our gazes met.
“Hey,” I whispered, emotion thick in my voice. I stroked her cheek. “You gave us a scare. How are you feeling?”
She stared at me, blinking slowly. I watched life slowly creeping back into her gaze, as if she was trying to process everything. Seconds turned into minutes. My heart rate slowed as I waited to hear her voice like my life depended on it.
“Moya luna,” I called, worry creeping into my expression.
“I’m okay,” she rasped and a relieved breath instantly filled my lungs. The tightness in my chest eased just a fraction. “I thought I was dreaming but I wasn’t.”
I frowned “Dreaming what?”
“All the crap with–”Adrian. The name remained unspoken. My mood blackened, worried about her feelings for my half-brother. I fucking hated that word.Half-brother.He had stolen her, taken years from our lives and for what. In some pursuit of revenge for something I couldn’t have stopped if I wanted to.
There was nothing nobody could say or do to stop him from bestowing revenge on our mother and her lover. Nothing short of his own death before he killed them.
“Is he dead?” Her voice was soft. I nodded and her brows knitted for a fraction before determination entered her expression. “Good.”
I studied her expression, worried maybe she didn’t mean it. Or blamed herself. There was one thing Adrian was right about. She had known him for most of her life. She had loved him for most of her life. It wasn’t something that could be switched off.
It was the only reason I was willing to spare Adrian’s life. If she’d asked me not to kill him, I’d have thrown him in one of the dungeons and kept him there.
Thankfully, she didn’t ask for his life to be spared.No reincarnations.It reflected my wife’s strength. She’d always come through and do what needs to be done. For her family. Forourfamily.
