Page 122 of Made to Sin

Honest? I bitterly laughed at the paradox. She wanted me to be honest? Fine. There was no point in hiding it anymore. If I didn’t confess, I risked losing her.

“From the first moment I saw you, I was obsessed with you. Is that honest enough for you?”

Her eyes widened as her bravado fell. “What…?”

I should have stopped, but I wanted her to know the lengths of her betrayal. I wanted her to know that she drove me to the brink of insanity.

“It only gets worse from there, sweetheart. I was so obsessed, I fucking worked with your husband to see your face more, I taunted you to hear your voice, I planned events so that you would be nearby. Is that honest enough for you?”

“Then, why didn’t you say anything when I asked? Why let me believe otherwise?”

“You’re so hung up on words, you couldn’t see my actions. You make me go fucking insane, so insane that I killed that fucker of a husband you had for daring to lay a hand on you. Is that honest enough for you? Because somewhere along the way, the obsession turned into love.I fell in love with you, Katarina. There is no replacing you— not today, not ever. You want your honesty so bad, there you go.”

She stood up, poignantly quiet. Dropping my gaze toward the floor, I couldn’t look at her walk away from me. I couldn’t look at her leaving my life.

Perplexingly, she didn’t do either.

She walked over to stand between my legs, and her hands reached out and cupped my face up, forcing me to gaze up at her face. She was so pretty, it stung my eyes. Was this what people meant when they advised to not stare at the sun?

Unable to stop myself from touching her any longer, myhands grazed her bare calves with a feather-like touch. From the smallest interaction, my body purred in satisfaction.

She filled the silence, voice low in disbelief. “You killed Marco?”

I froze, realizing what I had confessed. Nobody knew the truth besides Dante, Romeo, Marco, and myself.

My pulse fastened as I scanned her face for a reaction, fearful that I drove her away. My job was full of violence, but I didn’t know how she would feel if I took someone’s life under her name.

She held no repulsive look or judgment, calming the fire inside of me.

“I couldn’t stand watching you suffer at his fucking hands.”

“Why did the Bartolos claim they did it then?”

“It was easier for business.”

“Oh…” She looked skeptical but accepted the lackluster answer. “Repeat what you want for your favor.”

My hands shook as I covered hers in my own, embracing her warmth. “You.You are what I want for my favor.”

“What if you stop?”

“Stop?”

She suddenly diverted eye contact. “Stop wanting me… stop loving me. Made Men aren’t known to have the cleanest reputation, and you’re a notorious one.”

She was worried I would stop loving her? Anyone who stopped loving her was a fool. I hadn’t even thought of another person, let alone a woman, as much as I thought about her.

Pulling her hand from my face, I held it up against my chest, letting her feel how deeply affected I was. My heart thumped louder under her touch, begging her to love me back.

“Sweetheart, I might not be the cleanest page in the book, but I promise you that to stop loving you, I would have to cut out my heart. Even then, until its last pulse, my heart will only beat for you.”

Her fingers grabbed ahold of my dress shirt as if she was willing herself to not give in. “You say that now, but theCosaNostrais unforgiving, Luciano. I can’t be another mob wife while you go off and do who knows what, calling it business.”

“You were made to be whoever you wanted to be, Katarina. As long as you’re with me, and you’re happy, that is more than I could expect of you.”

Her resolve was falling. I saw it in the darting of her eyes, and it was time to end this stupid rift we built.

“Marco had a diamond in the rough but didn’t cherish it. Though I wanted to kill him every second of the day, I was also grateful because he brought you into my life. Tell me, sweetheart, how can I help you be happy? You don’t have to be the mob wife you never wanted to be. Do you want to fight? I'll train you. Do you want a job? You can keep working at the bar, or I can help you find something else. Do you want to stay at home and do nothing? You can stay at home and do nothing. I’m willing to do whatever it takes as long as it isn’t leaving me.”

---