Page 113 of Betraying Family Vows

I reach up, placing my hand over his where it rests against my face. "You've saved me like five times already, so..." I drift off smiling.

"I didn't know I could feel this way," he admits. "Didn't know I could care about someone more than anything."

Before I can say anything, his mouth is on mine, soft at first, then with increasing hunger. I melt into him, my arms winding around his neck as his encircle my waist.

"I’m in love with you, Alepoudítsa," he says against my lips.

I smile wider than I ever have in my life and feel more giddy than anything I could explain. "I love you too, Dimitri."

I thought I couldn't love anyone, not really. Now I know I was just waiting for someone I was terrified to lose.

The vibration of his phone against my hip startles us apart. Dimitri pulls back just enough to retrieve it from his pocket, his other arm still firmly around me.

He glances at the screen. "Text from Ares."

I nod, already feeling the distance creeping back between us. "You should go."

"Yeah." He sighs, tucking his phone away. "Go back to our room. I'll have some food brought." He brushes a strand of hair from my face. "Relax after everything. I'll check on you in a few hours."

We turn and make our way back, walking faster than before.

As we get back to the home, I stop.

"Dimitri," I say, turning to him, "Promise me you won't do anything stupid."

"Define stupid."

"Dimitri."

He kisses my hand. "No solo suicide missions. Promise."

I'm not entirely convinced, but I nod. "Because now you have someone waiting for you. Someone who loves you."

His eyes darken at my words, something possessive and hungry flickering in their depths. He kisses me again.

"I won't be long," he says against my lips.

"You better not be." I give him a gentle push. "Go. Your brothers are waiting."

Dimitri steps back, his hand lingering on mine until the last possible moment before our fingers separate. He turns and walks back toward the office door, and I watch him go inside.

I stand there for a moment, looking out over the olive trees, and realize with startling clarity that I would do anything, absolutely anything, to protect him too, and that I can't wait for all this to be over.

But something tells me all this is just beginning.

37

DIMITRI

The first thing I notice when I step back into the office is it's quieter now. No voices raised. No objects flying. But the quiet doesn't feel peaceful. It feels like the moment right before lightning strikes.

Theo sits in the same chair he occupied before, a glass of whiskey in hand. He doesn't look up when I enter. He's staring at the television, though it's gone black.

Ares is pacing. Back and forth, back and forth, the way he used to when our father would call us all into this office for some new task.

The shards of the speaker lie scattered across the desk and floor. Nobody has bothered to clean them up yet. The staff were probably scared to enter.

I come in and sit down in the chair next to Theo.