Cahal’s Vampire growled, but when Antonio lifted an absent hand, his attention back to me, and flicked Cahal’s forehead, the growling stopped. Antonio brushed Cahal’s cheek once before letting his hand fall slack to the bed, saying, “Lil, do you want to talk about this?” He paused, his worried golden eyes darting over my face. “Are you confused or upset?” He inhaled heavily, his chest lowering and falling, and said rapidly, “This in no way means that I didn’t love your mother. I did. But we were only friends.”
I opened my mouth to say I had known he and my mother hadn’t been an item to begin with, but I stilled when I watched Cahal touch Antonio’s hand, resulting in Antonio’s shoulders relaxing, his quick intakes of air slowing. I closed my mouth slowly, lips pinching as I examined how Antonio’s thumb moved the slightest bit over Cahal’s, gripping it.
I was seeing something I had never seen before with Antonio.
He loved Cahal.
It showed when he glanced down at him, his eyebrows pinching, allowing Cahal to see his private worry, before turning his attention back to me and asking softly, “Lil, are you all right?”
My wolf growled, and my eyes glowed fiercely as my attention snapped to Cahal, feeling all kinds of protective instincts rising to the fore, each battling to strike at the person who might harm who I felt was mine to defend. I stalked through the bedroom until I was staring down at Cahal. I pointed at him around the coffee and stated bluntly, “Since this whole scene never actually happened, I’m going to tell you right now that if you hurt him I will personally carve out your fucking heart and let my wolf feast on your corpse.” My wolf growled furiously in agreement. “Do you fucking understand me?”
“Lily Ruckler!” Antonio barked, sounding surprised and pissed. “Apologize. Now!”
“I. Will. Not,” I growled, bending so my face was right in front of Cahal’s. “Answer me, dammit, because I am as serious as this fucking war.”
Dark eyes stared an inch away, not flinching under my regard. “Have you drunk from those cups?”
I blinked at his question, wondering how the hell he hadn’t gotten my point since I couldn’t have been clearer. “Excuse me?”
“The cups,” he stated slowly, like I was a halfwit. “Have you drunk from them yet?”
My wolf growled but, curious where this was going, I stated, “No.”
“Good,” he lifted one from my hand, took a sip, completely ignoring the fact I was still in his face, and peered to Antonio, holding the cup out to him. “I’d like for you to drink.”
I went still. Understanding. Not sure how I understood, but again, it was part of that knowledge that remained between my memory voids. I quickly raised, moving back a step and slamming against Ezra, not even realizing he was behind me. “You…” I cleared my throat as Ezra steadied me. “You love him, too.” This was a symbolic gesture of wooing, of love, normally done at weddings, but since this event ‘never’ happened, it couldn’t be done in front of others, only us, their children, who would keep their mouths shut.
Cahal nodded once in answer, his eyes completely set on Antonio. “Tony…drink.” Antonio stared between the cup and Cahal, a weary, almost scared hesitation that he tried to hide shining on his features, but it peaked only to quickly disappear. And I watched, silent, as Cahal’s indifferent countenance cracked then completely crumbled, his expression plain as day, his love and adoration for Antonio shining through his eyes. “I’ll never run again. I won’t hurt you as I did before. I love you…and I’ve never stopped.” Cahal’s jaw clenched hard as he lifted the drink closer to Antonio. “Please, Tony. Trust me and drink.”
I wasn’t breathing, profoundly taken aback. My mind kind of…floated…at his heartfelt words, at his plea. I didn’t completely understand the depths of it, but it was sincere and torn from somewhere deep inside him. I could tell it had cost him dearly to say, to put himself out there, by the way his heart rate galloped and his chest heaved, perspiration beginning to form on his forehead as he waited for Antonio’s answer.
Ezra’s heart rate wasn’t doing much better, and I reached back with my free hand when he kind of tilted against me, and grabbed his hip, keeping him steady and damn near holding all his weight, his hands instantly gripping my shoulders for added support.
Ever so slowly, one of Antonio’s hands began to lift. Hovered.
Lowered a bit as he stared at the cup.
Air shuddered past his lips, then he finished raising his hand to the cup and took a firm hold on it. “I love you, too. Even when you hurt me, I never stopped.” Golden eyes touched and held Cahal’s dark ones, his love vulnerably revealed in his expression, his gaze, and his act as he lifted the cup to his lips, staring at Cahal over the rim as he took a sip.