The Marriage Debt (Underworld Kings)

“I thought you were going to hurt him,” I say, averting my eyes. “But it turns out he wanted to hurt me more.”

Luca softly tilts my chin. “He doesn’t know better, can’t see past his rage. Just like I didn’t know better. But I do now.”

Even though my clothes are soaked, and the cold rain is clattering down on top of us, my cheeks fill with heat and warmth.

“Why did you jump after me?” I ask. “I made my choice, knowing what it would cost.”

He leans up farther, cupping my face. “You wanted to save me more than you wanted to save yourself … But I’m not afraid of death. The only thing I’m afraid of is not having you. I can’t live without you.”

My lips part, but the words feel so distant now that he’s right here in front of me, alive, staring straight into my soul. No amount of words can ever describe what I feel inside my heart.

“Did you mean it?” he says, leaning in farther and farther until our lips are only inches away.

“Mean what?” I mutter.

“When you said you loved me.”

My face turns white as snow. “You heard?”

A wicked smile forms on his lips, one that still manages to make my heart flutter. “Of course, I heard. It’s the only thing that kept me going.” He grabs a strand of my hair and nudges it behind my ear, his finger lingering on my skin like he refuses to let go. “But you didn’t answer my question.”

I nod a few times. It’s the easiest admission ever, despite my reservations only hours ago.

“I’m sorry I didn’t realize sooner,” I whisper, more tears rolling down onto his face, mixing with the rain.

His voice is rough on the edges, just like his soul. “Say it again.”

“I love you.”

Love.

The one word I couldn’t possibly fathom to hear from Luca’s mouth or mine mere weeks ago.

And now the mere idea makes my heart sing.

His smile is bittersweet as he picks up a tear with his thumb and swipes it away. “It was worth the wait, every single second.”

“But—”

“Your love is what I risked it all for,” he interrupts. “It’s all I needed. I’m not asking for anything else.”

All he needed.

All he ever wanted.

And it turns out, after all this time, I finally understand that it’s exactly what I desired, too.

Because when he grabs my face and presses his wet lips to mine, all the turmoil in my head ceases to exist.

There is only … us.

“I love you, Jill.”

Chapter 34

Luca

* * *

I spend two days in the clinic, two more than I initially wanted, but they wanted to make sure I wasn’t going to dry-drown. Besides, my knife wound needed to be patched up. Luckily, Jasmine kept the knife so they could see the actual size and knew exactly how deep it went.

She even gave it back to me and then excused herself.

I’ll apologize to her later for everything that went down.

First, I have to talk to my girl.

But this fucking wheelchair is damn hard to control as I try to roll out the door. The fucking doctors don’t want me walking just yet.

“Hey, where do you think you’re going?” Jill asks, laughing as she steps out of the bathroom and meets me halfway down the hall.

“Getting out of here before they tie me to the bed.”

She snorts. “Thought you’d be into that kinky shit.”

“Only if you join in on the fun,” I reply, winking.

The familiar sight of that embarrassed flush on her cheeks still makes me grin. “Maybe when we’re home.”

My eyes light up. “Oh, that’s a promise.”

She rolls her eyes at me, but she can’t hide the cheeky smile underneath. “C’mon. Let’s wait until you’re officially discharged.”

She rolls my wheelchair back into the room and shuts the door. “Besides, I still have some questions, and your parents are probably worried sick now that Jasmine told them what happened.”

I look at my phone, which has been buzzing nonstop all day. I haven’t found the energy yet to pick up.

“Wanna talk to them?”

“Pass,” I reply.

“You have to tell them about Liam someday.”

“Someday … is not today,” I retort, smirking.

She folds her arms. “He’s their son. If you don’t tell them, Jasmine might tell our parents, and then yours will find out soon enough.”

My eyes twitch. She really knows how to get under my skin.

I guess that’s what happens when you let someone get close.

“Fine, I’ll contact them tomorrow,” I reply, and I wheel my way to her as she sits down on my bed and block her from getting up. “Now tell me what those burning questions were.”

She sucks in a breath. “Well, I just wanna know about that night. How did you know Liam was going to be there at the cliff? And why my sister?” She clutches her own hands close to her chest. “There’s so much I don’t understand.”