Page 23 of The Bond

“Love?” she breathed out.

She went entirely still, then, as if in anticipation of something, and so did the whole world along with her. Everything seemed to go quiet, even my heartrate slowed down. Valentina gazed as me as if she didn’t dare hope, but from the way her face was shining, hope was exactly what she wanted.

“Love most of all,” I told her. “Every husband has a duty, but you need to know that I love you Valentina.”

Every single one of my actions for her had been far more than duty. Far more than simple devotion. Valentina gave my life meaning for the first time, and it was like I was finally, truly alive. Life had started when I met her and not a moment earlier.

One thing about being in the mafia underworld—it was a trial by fire to find a woman beyond a man’s wildest dreams. Only the test of a world as dangerous as ours made it possible to win an extraordinary woman. With renewed determination, I did not plan on failing this test. I would have Valentina, mind, body, heart, and soul if it killed me.

“Everything I do from now on is because I love you,” I said, finally finding the right words. Hoping that my declaration wouldn’t scare her off. I’d lost her when she found out the full extent of my plans for her. I could not ever lose her again. That would destroy me more completely than any poison, fire, or bullet. “You are my life’s purpose.”

I braced myself for what she would say next, hoping against hope that somehow, Valentina no longer saw me as her sworn enemy. At the very least, this could be a break from the past and an end to the war.

She took a step back, opening her bedroom door. This could very well be Valentina choosing to escape. Choosing to reject my love for her. She’d step inside, slam the door in my face, and that would be it. The end of every worthwhile thing in my life.

And yet, I couldn’t accept defeat so easily. I held out my hand to her, silently showing her that I wasn’t going to give up on her. All I needed was for her to take a leap of faith with me.

Chapter 10

Enzo

“I love you, too,” she said, taking my hands to draw me into her bedroom.

I stared at her in wonder and disbelief. “All this time, I thought you hated me.”

“Believe me, I tried in the beginning. But how could I hate you for long? Really, this is all your fault,” she said to me, her hands squeezing mine.

I was so fucking over the moon about her saying that she loved me that I could barely understand anything else. “My fault?”

“Yes. You are so kind and selfless and caring,” she bit out in frustration.

“And that’s a bad thing?” I teased, stunned that anyone could see me that way. I had always been considered brutish and violent. No one alive except Valentina would possibly see any good in me. Seeing myself through her eyes was a revelation. She made me feel like I could do anything. Like I could be a man worth loving in spite of my myriad sins.

“No, it’s just extremely annoying.”

I laughed at that. “Why?”

“It’s annoying because you being kind to me makes me want to be better, Enzo,” she explained. “Not just better at my job as head of New York but as me. You push me to think beyond what I’ve been taught or what’s expected. You allow me to be my own woman. You challenge me, and that means I can never take the easy way out. You don’t treat me like your enemy or a Romano. You treat me like I’m Valentina. Like I’m a person.”

“I had hoped you would think of yourself as a De Luca,” I said.

“You want me to change my last name?” she asked, chewing her lower lip thoughtfully.

“That’s not what I meant, though that bit’s up to you,” I replied.

“What did you mean then?”

“You are a De Luca now, Valentina,” I reminded her. “Use whatever last name you wish. Just know that regardless of what you call yourself, you are my wife and I will love you until death. Those vows I said today were real. You are my family. You are my home.”

I saw the way her eyes were shining as she gazed at me with complete devotion.

“I think I want to marry you all over again,” she said, laughing.

I grinned at her. “Not bad, eh?”

“Oh, kiss me, Enzo,” she ordered, and then she flung her arms around me and my lips found hers.

Heat shot through me. I wrapped my arms around her waist, pinning her against me. A contented sigh escaped her, making her entire body tremble beneath my hands. I thrust my tongue past her lips, prying them apart. I groaned. Damn, she tasted exquisite. Like wine and caramel sugar. So good that I didn’t want to ever stop kissing her. I felt myself go hard, my arousal so intense that it was like a physical ache.