Tirone (The Night Skulls MC #2)(44)

“You remembered that night?” He finally spoke.

“I’ve never forgotten. I remember everything.”

“But you want to forget.”

“You’re making sure I never will.”

“You’re blaming me for opening your eyes? Since when do you like to be fooled, Jo? Since when do you wish to live a lie?”

“I’m not blaming you for telling me the truth, but you can’t deny you didn’t do it for me. You only spoke when it was convenient for you, to break Furore and me up.”

A sigh erupted from his chest as he slumped against the wall. “I can’t live without you, Jo. I don’t know how.”

“I used to feel the same way when you left. I wanted to die when you weren’t next to me.”

“We don’t have to feel that way anymore. We’re both here, and we can be together forever.”

“It doesn’t mean we’re not toxic. We bring out the worst of each other. You pulled a knife on your father, Tirone.”

“I’d do anything for you.”

“Don’t you dare. I never asked you to hurt anyone on my behalf. That’s all you.”

“Let me rephrase. I’d do anything to have you.”

A knock on the door set that dark promise a finality.

“That must be Fort,” I said. “Stay here. I won’t be long.”

I shut the bathroom door and headed out of the room. Fort had the medical supplies. I took the bag and examined his forehead. Band-Aids covered the wound. “I was going to take care of that.”

“Already did. Not my first time, and it’s just a scratch.”

“Okay.” I fished the keycard to his room from my pocket and gave it to him. “Your room is right next to mine. You should rest.”

“I’m here to keep an eye on you, teach, not rest. You should go to bed. You’ve been through a lot.”

“Neither of us will be doing any sleeping tonight. I’ll just watch a movie, try to get my head off things so I can gain some clarity.” I waved the bag. “Thanks for these. If Ty comes back, send him over so I can patch him up.”

“He won’t. He’s probably running back to his mama.”

“You don’t know the first thing about Tirone Lazzarini. He will be here first thing in the morning, if not sooner. Good night, Fort.”

“Night, teach. If you need anything, I’m one knock away.”

“Um…actually, do you have a…backup?” I pointed at his gun, in case he was confused. “I don’t have mine.”

He stuck his hand in the back of his pants and brought out a pistol. Then he handed it to me. “Don’t shoot me like you did with Hook.”

I labored a chortle. “No promises.”

He waved a hand in dismissal and entered his room. I went inside mine and locked the door.

Tirone’s smoldering eyes met me. I stood where I was, resting my back at the door, my hands clasped behind me. He strode toward me, closing the distance between us. He reached for my hand, unclasping it from the other. He took the bag and put it aside, and then the gun. “I get the bag, but the gun?”

“For protection.”

“From me? Are you scared of me?”

I shook my head. “I’d never use a gun on you and you know it, even when you scare me. But I’ve always had one. Can’t sleep without knowing I have a weapon. You know that, too.”

He took both of my hands in his and made me sit on the bed. Then he dropped to his knees and rested his cheek on my thigh.

His sobs pierced the silence, and his tears seeped into the fabric of my pants, wetting my skin. A painful sigh escaped me, and I stroked his hair gently, hoping it’d ease his own pain.

We stayed like this for twenty minutes, my own tears flooding, too. Then, without changing his position, he finally spoke. “I don’t think you’ll ever understand how I feel about you. I meant it when I said I couldn’t live without you, Jo. Literally.”

“You can’t say things like that. That’s emotional blackmail. You can’t think like this either.”

“I can’t help it. It’s how I feel. I’m not trying to blackmail you. I’m just talking my heart out because you’re the only one I can talk to freely without filters.” He took a deep breath and lifted his head to look at me. “I don’t just love you, Jo. You own me. I fucking worship you. I’d fucking worship the dirt you walk on, if it pleased you.”

In a way, he owned me, too, even if I wouldn’t admit it to myself or even fathom it, my weakness around him was strong evidence that his power over me was a force I couldn’t fight.

Perhaps Tirone and I were destined for each other after all. Perhaps us wasn’t the mistake but the dream coming true.

He smiled at me through the tears and blood. “Do you remember what happened that night?”

We formed a bond that would never be erased, and he showed me what making love truly was. “I showed you my eyes and hair. You called me your little faerie.” I downsized it, making it awfully shallow. I was falling to pieces, and the emotional weight of the reminder would break me.

“You’re so beautiful. Stunning. But I never cared how you looked like. I’d fallen for you a long time before. You’d enchanted me and become my obsession, my lifeline.”