Page 69 of Slay Me

“He has a small army, Dante. And those are the ones that remain in the compound with him.”

“It would be worth the risk.”

“Not to me, it won’t be.”

He turns toward me. “I will protect you,” he says. “With every breath in my chest.” Dante crosses toward me and sits on the bed, reaching out to take my hands into his. “What happened with Valentina won’t happen again. I didn’t believe she was a legitimate threat, but I’ve learned.”

“I’m alive, and she’s gone.” I try to speak the words matter-of-factly, but the truth is her attack made me feel weak. Vulnerable. And after everything I’ve been through, feeling anything but strength is terrifying.

If I can’t protect myself against a pixie, what’s going to happen when I leave here?

When I’m no longer protected by the dragon I’ve shared a bed with?

The feel of that bat crashing into my shoulder. My head. My knee. It all comes rushing back. Tears blur my vision as the emotions from that memory collide with those of my nightmare.

The bed tips, and Dante pulls me against him. His lips press tenderly against my shoulder.

“Why won’t you tell me what happened when you touched me?” I whisper into the darkness.

“Tomorrow,” he whispers then presses his lips to my shoulder. I shiver though warmth spreads through me until my mind grows foggy, my eyes heavy, and I drift off to sleep in the arms of a dragon.

Chapter22

Liv

By the time I make it back to my apartment, I’m prepared for a massive mess to clean up. Blood splatter, broken items—I was so out of it when they took me to Dante’s apartment that I don’t even have a clear memory of what is left. I know Adaya said they were working to clean up my apartment, but I’m assuming they were merely removing Valentina’s body parts.

I shiver.

Thankfully, it’s lunchtime, so I run into no one as I move through the decrepit hall and stop right before my door. The red paint is peeling, the gap below the floor large enough for a small rodent to slip in. But it’s home.

I turn the knob and shove the door open. The place isimmaculate.My bed has been made using clean linens. The few dishes I do remember having in the sink have been washed, and there’s not a speck of blood anywhere.

No evidence of a struggle.

“What the—” I move further inside and shut my door. The only remnants of anything having happened is the lingering scent of Dante. An aroma I will never forget. Some people see things, and memories are triggered.

For me, it’s scent. I can smell something that will remind me of another time, another place, and it’s as though I’m there all over again.

So now, breathing his scent in, I might as well be standing in his room again, feeling his hands sliding over my body.“I don’t think you realize what you mean to me.”

Why me? Of all the women he likely has had and could have, why the hell did he choose me?

“Liv?”

I turn toward my now open door. Apollo’s expression relaxes immediately, and he rushes inside and crushes me against his hard body. “It is you! I am so damn happy you’re back!”

“Hey,” I manage despite the air being shoved from my lungs with the force of his embrace. I try to pull away, to put distance between us, but he just holds on tighter. “I can’t breathe, Apollo,” I tell him.

Finally, he releases me but keeps his hands on my arms. “Where have you been? Are you all right? Valentina—”

“Is dead,” I tell him. “She attacked me.”

His gaze hardens. “I know.”

“I’m sorry if you had to help clean up—”

“Don’t apologize. If the Ringmaster hadn’t killed her, I would have done it myself,” he growls. “You sure you’re okay?”

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