He was dead, and Bella was safe.
Chiara and her son had come through the ordeal uninjured too.
As Savage held Bella in his embrace, he glanced to the door where Scythe had now entered. The former Hunter strode inside his house, his black gaze taking in the signs of struggle and the pile of ash still crackling on the floor. Then he looked to Chiara and Pietro, the pair of them huddled together nearby, and something crossed the remote male’s face.
Relief, Savage thought.
And maybe something more.
Regret?
Whatever it was, the emotion was there and gone in an instant.
He gave Savage a sober nod, whether in confirmation of what he’d allowed him to see just then, or in acknowledgment of their teamwork tonight, Savage wasn’t sure.
He might have tried to decipher it, but right then, with Bella warm and alive in his arms and his heart full to the brim with love for her, the only thing on his mind was the well-being of his woman.
His brave, beautiful mate.
He couldn’t contain himself from dragging her to him for his kiss.
She resisted a little, drawing back on a small groan. “Ettore, I’m a mess. I have his blood on me…his foulness.”
“That won’t stop me from kissing you,” he told her gently. “Nothing is going to stop me from doing that ever again.”
He pulled her closer, wrapping her in his embrace as he brushed his lips over hers in a slower claiming, a tender joining of their mouths that still had the power to inflame them both—even after the ordeal they had just endured. Perhaps because of it too.
But she was right. She had been through hell with Massioni. Not only tonight, but for the past three years as well.
Now that the monster was no more, Savage wanted to erase all trace of him from Bella’s life.
He swept his tongue across her soft lips on a groan that promised more. With Chiara quietly tending to her son, Savage lifted his head to look at Scythe.
“If you don’t mind, I’d like to go draw a bath for my lady.”
“Actually, I’d prefer a shower,” Bella interjected, glancing up at him wryly. “No more baths, at least not for a while.”
Savage chuckled. “Baby, whatever you want, it’s yours.”
“You, Ettore.” Her soft brown gaze turned serious as she reached up and held his face in her warm, courageous hands. “You’re all I want. You are all I’m ever going to need.”
“You have me,” he murmured quietly. “You have every part of me, sweet Bella. You always have.”
They kissed again, his love for her soaring in his chest, in his veins. Through their bond.
Her love twined with his, and the depth of their connection was so profound it nearly brought him to his knees.
He didn’t care that they had a small audience in the room with them. He didn’t care who knew how completely he adored Arabella.
Loved her.
Desired her.
He wanted the whole world to understand that she was his.
And he was hers…in all ways.
Forever.
Chapter 14
“Keep kissing me like that, female, and I may decide to keep you here permanently.”
Bella laughed and gazed up at Ettore, both of them now dried off and dressed after taking their time to clean up together. “Live in a sassi cave house and make little Breed babies? Sounds just about perfect to me.”
Ettore paused. “Is that what you want?”
She smiled, lifted her shoulder in a faint shrug. “The cave is optional.”
The sound he made as he wrapped his arms around her was one of joy and wonder. Even reverence.
“Do you have any idea how much I love you, Arabella?”
“I do,” she said. “Because I feel it inside me. I hope you can feel even a fraction of the love I have for you, Ettore.”
His rough moan was confirmation enough, but he kissed her anyway. Their union was so precious to her, she truly would have stayed right there with him forever if he asked it of her.
But Chiara and Pietro were waiting in the living area outside.
And Ettore’s comrades with the Order in Rome were awaiting his return too.
Bella knew his duty was on his mind as he led her out to join the others. He’d been in touch with the command center in the hours since Massioni’s death, both to inform them of the situation in Matera and to explain that he would be coming back to Rome with his Breedmate and her kin.
He threaded his fingers through hers as he brought her out to the main part of Scythe’s home.
The signs of the earlier confrontation were gone now. Chiara was sweeping up the cold ashes from the floor, while Pietro sat on the rug nearby. He had a little toy in his hand—a carved lion made of stone. Scythe stood back from the boy, his black eyes haunted somehow as he watched him play with the miniature creature.