I couldn’t help but smile. The thought of Violet belonging completely to me made me so fucking hard. I wanted her, and I’d gladly call her mine.
She was mine.
“I’m not going to back away, Rowdy. I’m not going anywhere.”
Rowdy gave me an exasperated look. “It looks like we’re going to have to agree not to beat the shit out of each other anymore then, because I’m not going to ruin my sister’s life, not if she cares about you.” Rowdy leveled me with a hard stare. “But if you fuck this up or hurt her in any way, I’m coming after you. You hear me?”
“Loud and clear, but you don’t have to worry about that. I’d rather gouge my own eyes out than hurt her.”
“Good.”
I grinned. I leaned forward, rubbing a hand down my face. Her brother was finally on board. Now I just had to get my girl to see that I was the only option for her.
I had a feeling that it was going to be easier said that actually done.
Violet wasn’t going to give in easily. I’d seen the disappointment on her face when I was escorted away in a police car. She deserved better than that. I needed to be better for her.
“Good luck with her. Take care of her and if you don’t, I’ll fucking kill you,” Rowdy said.
“That’s it? No more threats?”
Rowdy shrugged. “You know me and what I’m capable of. I figure that’s good enough.”
Yeah, I knew, but then again if it were the other way around, I’d probably feel the same way.
11
Violet
I’d let my brother and Malachi stew in jail for a few hours before I finally caved and bailed them out. I loved my brother and was realizing I was kind of falling for Malachi … I didn’t want to see them behind bars, when ultimately it had been because of the relationship I had with Malachi.
Now we were back at the apartment, Rowdy in the kitchen looking rightly annoyed, and Malachi sitting at the table with an ice pack pressed to his face.
I was exhausted, but I knew I wouldn’t be able to fall asleep.
“So this is really going down, huh?” my brother asked, and I looked between him and Malachi.
I didn’t want to answer, because honestly I wanted to see what Malachi would say.
He set the ice pack down and leaned back in the chair, the wood creaking from his muscular form. And then he leveled me with an intense stare. “It’s really going down if your sister will have me.”
My heart stopped, and my throat tightened. I felt something with Malachi, that was undeniable, but hearing him say it right in front of my brother was still kind of surreal.
“Do you, Violet, want that with me?”
I squeezed my hands into tight fists in my lap and tried to swallow. I glanced at my brother, feeling a little weird talking about this with him. He finally exhaled and pushed away from the counter. “I’ll be in my room if you need me.”
And then we were alone.
Malachi
Her silence had me nervous as hell, and that wasn’t something I was used to. I was used to getting what I wanted, but the very thought of Violet turning me down left this ache in the center of my chest.
Come on, baby, don’t leave me hanging here.
She glanced down at her hands, and after a second she looked at me again. “Is that really what you want, Malachi?” she asked me softly. “Because I’m not in the game of giving someone my heart only to be used.”
She was afraid I’d hurt her, and I could understand that. I got up and before she knew what I was doing, I pulled her out of the chair and cupped both sides of her face. I just stared into her eyes, knowing that my whole life had been about jumping from one girl to the next. I was done with that, done with pretending I didn’t give a shit. “I know everything is fast, but I also know I want you, Violet.” I leaned down and kissed her before she could stop me. But she didn’t pull away and instead leaned into me. “You don’t have to be afraid I’ll hurt you, baby, because that’s not going to happen,” I murmured against her lips. “Just tell me you’ll be mine.” I felt her smile against my mouth.
“I do want this, want you.”
I kissed her harder, so fucking happy. And I meant it when I told Rowdy I’d rather gouge my own eyes out than hurt her. Violet was so fucking special, and I wasn’t about to fuck this up.
Epilogue
Violet
I sat on the bench watching as Malachi trained with Eric. He was looking so damn good, and I felt the weight of the ring on my finger. The great Malachi, cocky bastard that he was, had decided to marry me. Yeah, I couldn’t believe it either. What shocked me even more was the fact that I even said yes.