Page 42 of Deceptive Vows (Bound by Vows #3)

Chapter Thirty-Four

THEA

The words struck like a physical blow, stealing my breath. I stilled, heart slamming against my ribs as something terrifying and wonderful unfurled inside me. Every instinct screamed at me to pull away—to shield myself from the vulnerability those words demanded.

But I couldn’t.

“I’m broken, Nazar?—”

“Not—”

I pressed my fingers to his lips, silencing him.

“As broken as I am, I’d rather entrust my pieces to you than anyone else.

” My voice cracked with the weight of this admission.

“When you hit the ground, I thought my heart had been ripped out. And right then, I knew, if I was ever going to choose someone, offer my love and devotion to anyone, it could only be you.”

The heart monitor began to shriek, betraying the frantic pace of his pulse. He cursed under his breath and reached for the alarm silence button on the monitor. “The last thing I want is a nurse barging in.”

Despite everything we’d been through, laughter bubbled up from somewhere deep inside me.

His hand caught the back of my neck, rough yet reverent, fingers splaying wide as he pulled me close.

His mouth crashed against mine—fierce, unyielding, desperate.

I gasped against his lips, the heat of them stealing the last of my restraint.

My fingers curled around his wrist, anchoring myself to him as I leaned into the kiss.

Years of walls crumbled with each heartbeat.

It should have terrified me, but instead, I felt lighter and freer than I had in years.

When we finally parted, I pressed my forehead to his, my breath uneven against his skin. There was still one thing we needed to address .

“Lucas and I had a long talk while you were out,” I said, suddenly unsure how to start.

He held me out slightly, his eyes searching mine. “And?”

I caught my bottom lip between my teeth. It’d been a difficult choice.

“I love my family.” Lucas, Ari, Dimi, and Lex…Claire and Anna and now her little one that would arrive in nine months.

“We can make this work. We can?—”

My fingers touched his lips again, stopping him.

“Would you stop interrupting me?” I couldn’t keep from smiling as I put a little more space between us.

“I love you too. And New York isn’t that far from Chicago,” I teased lightly, trailing my fingers over his jaw.

“If they need me... maybe Pasha will loan us his plane once in a while.”

His expression was unreadable, and for a moment, doubt flickered through me. I leaned closer, needing him to understand what I was offering.

“I choose you.” I brushed my lips across his, feeling his breath hitch. “I want you.” Another sweep of my lips against his. “I want all of you to have all of me. ”

Saying those words should’ve felt like standing naked in a blizzard. Instead, it felt like coming home, warm and safe beneath a blanket.

“I accept your terms, Mrs. Volkov,” he murmured, his lips brushing the corner of my mouth.

His hand slipped beneath my shirt, his palm rough and warm against my skin, sending a shiver up my spine as he pulled me flush against him.

“All of me wants all of you. Forever. When your family needs you, we’ll come back… together.”

He claimed my lips again, deeper this time. A soft moan escaped me as I melted against him, careful of his injuries but hungry for this connection. When we finally parted, both breathless, he shifted and winced, a sharp breath betraying his discomfort.

“You need to get some rest.” I settled carefully against him, my head finding its place on his shoulder.

“I’d rather continue kissing my wife,” he replied, though the pain was evident in his voice.

I ran my nose along his jaw and pressed a kiss to his cheek. “I’ll be here when you wake up, my love.”

As his breathing evened out, I felt the even rise and fall of his chest beneath my hand.

For so long, I believed that love was a vulnerability I couldn’t afford—that to care was to create a weakness others could exploit.

But lying here, watching over him as he slept, I realized that loving him hadn’t weakened me at all.

It had given me something more to fight for.

I’d been Thea Kalantzis, then briefly Thea Volkov, out of necessity. Now I chose that name, and everything it meant. I was a part of him. My partner. My husband.

Whatever came next, we’d face it together. Gabriele wouldn’t be forgotten. And when the time came, we’d be ready.

Nazar’s arm tightened around me in his sleep, and I smiled against his shoulder.

I was home.