Page 58
But he doesn’t do any of that.
A breath shudders through him, sharp and uneven. And then, he speaks, low but lethal.
“Don’t say her name like that.”
My eyes snap open, and his are already on me, burning, black, and deadly still.
“Don’t speak her name like she matters, because she doesn’t.” He takes a step closer, until the heat of him is all I can feel against me.
“You think I’ll marry her?” His voice is a threat now, quiet and deliberate. “You think I’ll let my father use me like a pawn while the only person I fucking want is standing right in front of me?”
My lips part, but he cuts me off, one hand rising to cup my face, not gentle, but careful , as though he’s terrified of breaking open something already cracked.
“You’re the only thing in this world I’ve ever wanted that wasn’t handed to me, soaked in blood.” His thumb brushes over my cheekbone. “And I swear to you, Jordyn…I won’t let them take you, too.”
Christ, I feel it again, that ache in my chest. That pull to him that defies every shred of logic I have left.
And God help me…I don’t want to fight it anymore.
The room still crackles with everything we didn’t say.
My breath is tangled with his, lips still tingling from words that cut deeper than kisses ever could. His thumb is at my cheekbone. My fingers are curled into his shirt. We’re holding onto each other like this is the last quiet before a raging storm.
And then, Bang. Bang. Bang. A sharp knock slices the moment in two. I jump out of my skin, but Ares doesn’t even flinch. Only lets out a peeved sigh.
The door swings open, too fast and urgently.
“Ares—” Dante again. His voice is clipped, serious. His eyes flick to me, then back to Ares. “You’re gonna want to see this.”
Ares doesn’t move at first.
His hand slips from my face slowly, as if the release costs him something, as if in letting go, he’s leaving a piece of himself behind
Then he turns, the softness gone, replaced by cold precision.
“What is it?”
Dante hesitates. “One of the Ferrara runners was just found outside the west gates. Barely alive.” A pause. “They carved a warning into his chest. Something about sending a message to you .”
I see it, the shift. The quiet, terrifying stillness that comes before violence. His shoulder squares despite the pain. His voice is gruff.
“Get the car.”
He turns back to me just long enough to brush his fingers down my arm, brief, almost reverent.
“Go home, bambina.”
“Ares—” He’s already moving, already slipping back into the version of himself that terrifies the world.
And I’m left standing in the silence that follows, heart pounding, breath caught, wondering what fresh war just crossed his threshold. And worst of all, what kind of danger is he blindly walking into?
I should leave... he told me to go home.
But my legs don’t listen, and my heart… my heart hasn’t stopped beating too fast since the second he walked out the door.
The stillness in his house stretches long and heavy. But it’s not cold. Not like I expected.
It feels like him.
Wound tight. Controlled. But full of shadows that never quite reach the surface.
I drift down the hall instead of toward the exit. I tell myself it’s just for a minute. Just to find Ladro.
And sure enough, I find the little furball curled on a plush grey blanket at the end of the hall. Ladro blinks up at me, blinks once, then mews like he’s been waiting for me all day.
“Hi, trouble,” I whisper, scooping him up.
He purrs instantly, loud and unbothered, and as I carry him back toward Ares’s room, I catch something that makes me pause.
On the floor, near the corner of the dresser, sits a sleek black bag filled with brand-new pet supplies, tiny food bowls, treats, cans of gourmet cat food, scratching pads, a fuzzy tunnel, a ridiculous leopard-print bed still half in its packaging. There’s even a tiny collar, tags still attached.
I can’t help it, I smile.
For all his growling and snarling, Ares Russo went out and bought a kitten starter kit like a secret softie. I can picture him scowling the whole time. Telling the clerk he didn’t need help. Pretending he didn’t care.
But really, he does.
And somehow, that undoes me more than the violence in him ever could. Because, how cute is this?
Ares Russo, the man who carves threats into silence and wears blood like a second skin, bought a toy mouse with a feather tail.
For Ladro.
For me.
My heart does something I don’t expect, it stutters, then squeezes, aching in that sweet, dangerous way it only does for him.
I take off my shoes and sit on the edge of his bed, trying to convince myself that it’s just for a couple of minutes, that I’m staying for Ladro and not for him.
“Shall we see what kind of treasures your gorgeous, broody owner picked out for you, little one?” I murmur, cradling Ladro against my chest.
He opens his mouth with the fierce determination of a lion… and lets out the tiniest meow I’ve ever heard. I huff out a quiet laugh. “I’ll take that as a yes.”
His fluffy tail flicks as if he’s already unimpressed, but I swear there’s a sparkle of excitement in his wide blue eyes, like he knows this place is his kingdom now, and we’re just his humble servants.
I spend almost an hour playing with him, and we’re in the middle of a very exciting game of chase the feather wand when he grows tired and stretches in my lap, paws kneading into the fabric of my leggings, making biscuits.
I run my fingers through his soft, grey fur, gently scratching behind his ears.
He purrs louder, content, completely at home.
I rest back against the pillows, pulling my knees up. I can barely feel the weight of him curled on top of my chest, but his warmth seeps into me.
So does the scent clinging to the sheets. Ares . Clean and dark and comforting in a way that makes no sense, but feels like exhale after a breath I’ve been holding for too long.
The room is still...safe.
And somewhere between the rhythm of Ladro’s purrs and the ghost of Ares on my skin, my eyes grow heavy.
The last thing I feel is Ladro nuzzling beneath my chin and a whisper of peace curling into my chest.
And then I’m asleep.
Wrapped in the quiet of a man the world fears, but whose bed, somehow, feels like the safest place I’ve ever known.
Table of Contents
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