I huffed out the breath I’d been holding, relief ripping through me.
“I’m not a good man, angel.”
Her gaze sharpened with determination. I rarely saw this fire in her, but when it flickered to life, I knew she was about to give me a piece of her formidable mind.
“You are. You didn’t ask for your life, and you obviously don’t want it. You didn’t mean for that man to die.”
“That doesn’t change the fact that he did,” I said, strained.
“No, it doesn’t,” she allowed. “But the way you feel about it changes everything. When Marco kidnapped me, I thought I didn’t know you. I thought I couldn’t trust you. But I was always right about you. I know you, Joseph. You are a good man. And when all this is over, we’ll go back to Cambridge and have the life you want. The life you deserve.”
My chest tightened at her words. I wished they were true. I was relieved at her reaction to the ugly truth about me, but I knew her vision of our future was impossible. Now that she was in my world, I wouldn’t be able to return her to her old life. Even if she could go back to her classes at Harvard someday, her life would always be tied to mine.
Because I wouldn’t let her go. I wasn’t capable of letting her go.
“I’d like that, angel,” I said, offering her the only truth I could. I longed for the dream of a normal life with her, but the time for that had passed. It had never even been a possibility.
She beamed up at me, elated at my response. She didn’t realize that I was deceiving her again, but I couldn’t bring myself to shatter this moment with her. By some miracle, she wasn’t horrified by the admission that I was a killer. I wasn’t willing to ruin that by dashing her hopes. She’d adjust with time, and she’d forget that she’d ever thought about leaving.
I hoped I wasn’t deluding myself.
Chapter Three
Ashlyn
“I thought we were going for a walk?” My brow furrowed as Joseph led me into the massive garage, but I didn’t hesitate to follow where he led.
His sensual lips tilted in a crooked, heart-stopping smile, and the bright fluorescent light glittered across his aquamarine eyes. “I have something a little more exciting in mind.”
His warm hand enfolded mine, tethering me close to his powerful body. He practically glowed with excited anticipation, and I was so entranced by his magnetic energy that I barely noticed the rows of luxury cars, motorcycles, and ATVs.
“Marco lets me keep some of my favorites here,” Joseph explained, gesturing toward several vehicles that were probably obscenely expensive. “The storage conditions are ideal, and the garage would be half-empty otherwise. He doesn’t really care about cars like I do.”
Joseph led me past at least half a dozen sports cars, telling me details about make, model, horsepower, zero-to-sixty, and a lot of other jargon I didn’t really understand. He was basically speaking a different language, but I didn’t mind one bit. Just seeing him light up with enthusiasm as he gushed about his treasured possessions was brilliant enough to ensnare my full attention.
After several minutes, he paused and shot me a wry grin. “Sorry, I got carried away. Do you know much about cars? I can get pretty geeky about this stuff, and I don’t want to bore you.”
A giddy laugh bubbled from my chest, his effervescent energy catching. I never would’ve associated the term geeky with gorgeous, self-assured Joseph. But there was something absolutely adorable and achingly endearing about his boyish excitement. This garage was like his own personal playground, and I could listen to him talk about engine types and specs all day, even if I didn’t really understand what any of it meant.
“I’m not bored,” I promised. “Not at all. I’m happy that you’re sharing this with me. It obviously means a lot to you.” I went up on my tiptoes and pressed a kiss to his cheek, his rough stubble stimulating my sensitive lips. “And that means a lot to me,” I added on a murmur.
I love you. I couldn’t say it. Not now. Not yet.
When Marco had kidnapped me and told me that Joseph was a mobster, I’d realized that I didn’t really know Joseph at all. But the more time I spent with him on this estate, the more I was coming to understand that maybe I’d known the truth of his soul from the very beginning: Joseph was a good man, and he practically worshipped me.
I locked my deeper feelings for him behind a bright smile, barely managing to contain the confession of love. There was so much I still didn’t know about this beautiful, powerful man who’d stormed into my life and swept me off my feet.