Page 36 of Renata Vitali (The Five Syndicates)
“I know what I want.”
“Me?”
A smile tipped my lips. “Yes, you.”
She shook my head. “We can’t.”
“Why not?”
“I’m a Vitali.”
And I was a De Luca. Would that always haunt me? No. I would dethrone my father, and I would make De Luca a name to be proud of.
I sat up, lifting her with me. “Pretty soon, my father will no longer have a throne, and there will be nothing in our way.”
“Promise?”
“Always.”
This lust-filled fog dowsed me, but I knew what I felt. I loved her. I fucking loved her. “I’m lucky you’re here.” I closed my eyes and relaxed, my guard the furthest down it had ever been. “I’m lucky they intervened.”
“What?” She widened the gap between us, and her brows pressed together. “Who intervened? I was sent here,” she ground out. “By my father.”
Oh, shit.
I sobered up quickly. The fog washed away like rain pouring down on a dirty car. Never once had I spilled about The Benefactor notes to anyone but Cris. Except now, and I didn’t even know why or who sent her here.
Her eyes punished me, threatened consequences if I didn’t tell her the truth. I took her in before relenting, because yes, I wanted her to trust me. “Your dad didn’t send you here.”
That was all I knew. That she was sent here for a reason and not by her dad. I was telling her the truth, and I needed her to trust me.
She shook her head, her face resolute. “Yes, he did. I was there when he told me I had to come here.” She seemed furious. Absolutely pissed. While I understood that I’d broken her trust, I also understood that she loved me. There had to be something else bugging her.
“Knight—”
Her eyes darted to the side, focused on the nightstand, and returned to me. “Tell me everything you know.”
“I can’t.”
I didn’t know anything, and she didn’t believe me. Trust took so long to build, yet it slipped away so quickly, I couldn’t catch it.
Her throat bobbed. “You’re a liar.”
“Princess, ple—”
“You’re just like the rest of your family. Just like your dad.”
My eyes flashed before I reminded myself she was just angry. She didn’t mean it. This would tide over.
I caressed Ren’s face. “You’re mad. That’s oka—”
She pushed me until I laid flat on my back with her hovering on top. “And you betrayed me. Know this…” She raised her knee, so it pressed painfully against my cock, her chest pressed against mine and lips brushing against my ear as she spoke. “If ever I am gifted the opportunity to betray you, I’ll take it. If life hands me the chance to destroy you, I will. Today. Tomorrow. Ten years from now. I will always want revenge. And you will never stop looking over your shoulder.”
Then, she fled.
She left Devils Ridge.
She left me.
