She watched me as she waited for me to say something. “Don’t say it’s different because it’s not. I would do anything for Sapphire because you love her. You know how I am, loud and opinionated. But the second it was clear that Sapphire was the only woman you wanted, I was supportive and loyal. I made her feel like family more than anyone else. I became her friend when she had no one else. She could have been a total bitch, and I still would have treated her the same way.” She stared at me with her hard gaze. “I love this man with all my heart.”
I took a deep breath when she confessed her feelings, hearing the sincerity ring like a bell.
“I don’t want anyone else. I’ll never want anyone else. Mama and Father are trying to accept him. I’d appreciate it if you would do the same. I don’t expect it to happen overnight, and Griffin is very patient. But I’ve always been there for you when it mattered—and I’ve been there for Sapphire. When Knuckles offered to make the exchange of me for Sapphire, I told you not to do it. I was willing to die for the woman you love. You owe me this, Con. Big-time.”
I clenched my jaw, having no argument against that at all. My sister had paid her dues, had been unflinchingly loyal to me. I would give this to her in a heartbeat under any other circumstance. “I don’t trust him, Vanessa. I don’t trust him not to kill our family.”
“Trust is something earned, not given. I would never ask you to trust someone you didn’t know, Con. You never have to trust him if you don’t want to. You don’t even have to like him. I’m just asking for acceptance right now. The rest of that stuff will come later…when you’re ready.”
I’d never anticipated my love for Sapphire would come back and bite me in the ass. “Can you really be with a man your entire family hates? I just talked to Father, and he despises him more than anyone else on the planet. You’re smarter than this, Vanessa. Find a better man and don’t put your family through this.”
“I tried to forget about him, Con. I broke up with him when he told me he loved me. I dated someone else. I did everything…it didn’t work. I knew I loved him so much I was willing to do anything to make it work. As slim as the odds are, I want you guys to learn to like and accept him. He’s willing to be a punching bag to make it happen. If it doesn’t work, at least I tried. I had to try before I gave up.” She took a deep breath, her chest rising. “But I don’t want to give up. The way I love him…is the way you love Sapphire. Just keep that in mind when you talk to him.”
“But how do you know he’s the right man to love? How do you know this isn’t a plot to hurt all of us?”
Her eyes watered slightly, like the question offended her. “Because he would die for me, Con. Would a man die for me if he didn’t love me with all his heart?”
I kept my hands in my pockets and stared at her, feeling the chilly air surround me and enter my lungs. I saw a different side to my sister, a vulnerable side she never let me see. Her beating heart was on her sleeve, visible for the whole world. All of her cards were on the table, and even though she had a shitty hand, she wasn’t ashamed.
“Please try,” she whispered. “For me.”
Six
Bones
Vanessa was the first thing I looked at every morning.
I opened my eyes, and she was there, her beautiful skin bright in the morning light. Her olive skin contrasted against the white sheets. Her thick eyelashes were luscious and feminine. I studied her for a while before I turned her over and made myself welcome between her legs.
Evening used to be my favorite time of day. Now it was the morning.
Because this was how every morning was.
My arms pinned her knees in place, and I moved between her legs, greeted by her tightness and wetness. I woke her up slowly, watching her eyes flutter open as the pleasure circulated in her veins. She enjoyed sex the most when she was half asleep, when all her sensations were heightened. Her hands eventually pressed against my chest, and she looked at me with sleepy eyes.
Beautiful.
I loved the way she looked at me, with nothing but love, lust, and devotion. She gave herself to me despite all the odds against us. She told her brother I was the man she loved, told her father she wanted to be with me forever. She stood up for me in spite of the overwhelming obstacles in our way.