Page 80 of Vow of Desire

“You drove here?” I ask when I see Matteo’s car in the driveway.

“I did.”

“But you’re hurt.”

“I am. But I needed to see you. I needed to know why you hadn’t visited me. I thought…” He ducks his chin, looking embarrassed. It’s a sight I don’t get to normally see from my husband.

“What?” I ask softly.

“I thought you didn’t want to see me. I wasn’t sure why, after everything we went through together. But I thought maybe you still saw me as the monster.”

I take his hand. “Matteo, I know you’re no longer the monster. I haven’t seen you as a monster in a long time. It was wrong of me to not give our marriage a chance. But I want that now. You fought so hard to save me and I love you for that. I love you.”

“So I heard.” His cheeky little grin makes me smile in return. A real, genuine smile. “I love you too. You should know that, Luci. When you were in my arms and I thought you were going to die, all I could think about was how much I didn’t want to lose you. How there was still so much more for us to talk about. For us to learn about each other.”

“I agree. My father brought me here for my own safety but it was never for me. I know I’m safe with you. There’s no one else I’d rather be with in a time of crisis. You fought so hard to save my life. I don’t remember all of it but what I do remember was how hard you kept on fighting for me even with your own injuries.”

“I made a vow, remember? I promised to protect you. I am a man of my word.”

“I see that. I just want to go home with you.”

“I might have to go back to the hospital,” he admits.

My chest squeezes in panic. “What? Why?”

“I’m still not fully healed. I only left because I needed to see you again. But I need more time for my body to heal. It’sembarrassing. I should be stronger than what Dante did to me. Fuck. Dante. I want to go after him and end his life.”

I cling to Matteo’s hand tighter. “Don’t. Please. I don’t want you to put yourself at risk like that. I don’t want a war.”

“Gabriel wants us to make a peace deal with Dante. Another marriage. An arranged one.”

“Did he say with who?”

“No. But I’m sure he has someone in mind. What do you think of that?”

I shudder. “I don’t want Dante anywhere near me. But if he accepts an offer of peace, it would be better than him trying to kill everyone I care about. But for right now, I don’t want to worry about that. I just want to be with you. I want us to focus on our future.”

He presses a gentle kiss to my forehead and I lean into his touch. Nothing has ever felt this right before. “We can do that. Focus on our future. For now, let’s focus on healing. We both went through so much.” He stumbles as he walks to the car.

“Let me drive,” I say. “Let me help take care of you for once.”

His eyes soften as he gazes down at me. “You put yourself in front of a gun for me. No one has ever done that before.”

“I knew my father wouldn’t shoot me. But even if I was worried about that, I’d do it again. You were completely selfless when you told Dante to hurt you over me. It was time I be selfless too.”

The soft kiss he gives me makes me melt into him. I wish we could stay in this moment forever but I know we can’t.

I remain at Matteo’s side when he returns to the hospital and gets checked in. The nurse scolds him from leaving in the first place.

“You don’t have to sit there,” Matteo says once he’s in a hospital bed with an IV in his arm. I’m firmly planted in the seat beside him.

“I want to be here. There’s nowhere else I’d rather be.”

“But you need to rest as well.”

“My infection is completely gone. I feel good. You don’t need to worry.”

His eyes soften. It makes him even more handsome. “I’ll always worry. You know that.”