“Come here,” he says, opening his arm and gesturing me to come to him. I gladly untuck my legs from where I’m sitting and go over to him. He pulls me onto his lap, holding me, kissing me on the brow. He smells of his usual scent, cinnamon and citrus, but he also smells of me. My perfume is all over him, marking him as mine.
“Thank you for telling me that.”
“I thought it was obvious,” I say with a shrug.
He gives a strained chuckle. “No, you’re a fucking enigma, Viola. I have absolutely no idea how you feel.”
I frown but say nothing. I have no idea how I feel either, but it’s probably not the right time to admit that.
“You were right. I was afraid,” he says in a low voice after a few minutes of holding me. “I was afraid that I was too soft for you. You kept asking me to be darker, harsher. I wanted to, but…fuck. I was afraid if I didn’t change, I would lose you. And that you would never love me the way I love you.” His body tenses in my arms as if waiting for a confession too. But I say nothing because, truthfully, love is something I have no measure for.
And have no need for.
I didn’t mention that I would leave after this all goes down. Telling Dino that I’m not tying the knot with him, but leaving, is not a discussion I wanted to have in the dead of night. Not after his eyes changed, and my heart stopped fluttering about in my chest like a dying fucking bird.
Not after I felt peace for the first time. And the buzzing under my skin for the first time ever….
Just stopped.