Page 54 of Vicious Impulses (The Capo and Ballerina)

I’m not sure why the revelation hits me as hard as it does. I barely know this man—and yet as he tells me about his medical situation, a sudden cold gust blows through my lungs and leaves me breathless. I’m left staring at him in the blue-tinted dark, both shocked and horrified by the revelation.

Even when he told me he was sick earlier during dinner, I hadn’t grasped the extent. I hadn’t truly understood what he was saying.

Flashbacks of our wedding night play in my head. How he’d seized up in pain, then went missing for days. I hadn’t understood what was going on. No one would give me any answers.

I blink and try to stave off the sad, small cry bubbling up inside me.

Caelian slides his thick forearm past my stomach and around my hips ’til he’s dragging my body toward his. “Nevi, don’t think you can hide from me. Don’t cry for me either. It’s a reality of my life I’ve long ago accepted. Everyone’s time is limited. Mine more so than others.”

I sniffle. “Is that when you’ve been dreaming of me? Your treatments?”

“You have gotten me through the pain. I don’t know where these dreams have come from. Why you appeared to me the way you have. But I knew I needed to find you. Make you mine while I could.”

He drops a kiss on the tip of my nose that would be sweet if I still weren’t plagued with an inexplicable sadness.

“Go back to sleep, Nevi. We’ll spend the day together—and I promise you can speak your mind all you like.”

I slowly smile at him, then nod, scooching even closer. The weight of his large, muscled body at my side and the heat it radiates are unrivaled.Comfortingin a way.

My eyes slip close and before I know it, I’m out.

Hours must pass.

I stir to the light tapping sound of a knock on the door. “Nevaeh dear, I’m coming in.”

I sit up and squint against the bright morning light flooding the room.

Ms. Poitier enters clutching a garment bag she lays flush on the foot of the bed. “Good, you’re awake. Time to get you ready.”

The space in the bed beside me is empty. I rub my eyes. “Where’s Caelian?”

“He had some important business to handle. Get up, dear. We have to get you showered and changed.”

“When will he be back?”

“Soon.”

“Is it about his medical condition?”

Ms. Poitier quirks a silver brow. “So he’s told you? It’s business just like I said. A lot is happening between his family and the Vorones. Grab your things and meet me in the bathroom. I’ll get the shower started. You like it very hot. It might need an extra minute to warm up.”

I wait until Ms. Poitier wanders off toward the ensuite bathroom before I pad over to my luggage in the closet. I haven’t bothered unpacking.

Between last night’s passion and this morning’s confusion, there hasn’t been much time.

I unzip my suitcase and slip my hand through the opening. Relief fills me as I run my palm over the glass dome of my snow globe. It’s remained intact even throughout our travel.

“Nevaeh dear!” Ms. Poitier calls from the bathroom.

I snatch the first pair of panties in my luggage and hurry toward the open doorway, grateful I’ve managed to keep my promise even now. “Coming!”

SIXTEEN

Caelian

“You could die, Mr. Ziccardi,”says Doctor Gerber. “This treatment is experimental and has not passed clinical trials.”

“This isn’t the first time I’ve been told I would die. It won’t be the last, doctor.”