Inferno's Kiss Read Online Free Page A

tonight, and her grief was his. The thought propelled him forward. When he reached her, Atia stared up at him in surprise as he gently pulled her into his arms.
    “I’m here for you, carissima . I always have been.” It was the truth.
    From the first time he’d met her, Ignacio had made it his goal to become indispensible to her. It has been expected of him. In the process he’d fallen in love. He’d fought against it and had never spoken of his feelings to her until the night he’d discovered Vorenus was Cleo’s father. He almost felt sorry for the man, finding out the way he had that Cleo was his daughter. Almost.
    Cleo was the child Ignacio had never had. He’d tended to her scraped knees, taught her how to fight and a dozen more things any father would teach their children. He’d allowed himself to become such a part of their lives that he wasn’t sure he would be able to let go when the time came. And that time would come. It loomed in front of him like the river Styx. He crushed the thought. There had to be a way to make Atia his, no matter what the obstacles.
    “I take it Cleo didn’t react well to the news.” His simple statement made her flinch.
    “No.” She gently pushed herself out of his arms in a way that said she wanted to spare his feelings. “We’ve fought before, but this was different. I don’t think she’ll forgive me for not telling her about Marcus.”
    Ignacio bit down on the inside of his cheek at the way Atia’s voice softened when she said the Sicari Lord’s name. Did she even realize she’d revealed so much in that one word? He cleared his dry throat.
    “We both know Cleo is stubborn, but she’ll come around,” he said as he grasped her hand. “She always does. I’ll talk to her.”
    “No. She’ll think I sent you.”
    “I think I know our . . .” He’d almost slipped and used the word daughter. “Cleo will be more reasonable in a couple of hours. She just needs time to cool off.”
    “You didn’t see her, Ignacio.” Atia shook her head.
    The sorrow in her gaze made his heart ache for her. Without thinking, his hands cupped her face and he kissed her. It was a light kiss, but she immediately stiffened beneath the touch. Ignacio pulled away from her instantly. Fuck. Her reaction was like she’d just kissed a Praetorian. He winced.
    “Forgive me,” he murmured.
    Flustered, and her cheeks bright with pink color, Atia stepped back from him with a wave of her hand. “I . . . you know I care for you, Ignacio. You’re . . . I don’t know what I would have done without you over the years. I value your friendship so much, and I don’t want to lose you as a friend.”
    Atia’s words cut deeper than any wound he’d ever suffered. Bitterness with the sharpness of an asp’s sting hardened his heart. Friendship. He wanted more than that from her.
    “You won’t lose me. I’ve been here for you since the beginning.” He’d learned to lie so well he wasn’t sure what the truth was anymore.
    “I know, and that’s one of the reasons you’re so dear to me. Without you, life would have been so much more difficult.”
    Was that her way of telling him that he didn’t stand a chance with her? He didn’t want to know. It might make him act too hastily. He lifted her hand and pressed his mouth against her skin. So soft. So sweet smelling. Deus , how he loved her. But it had been a mistake to become so involved with her. He needed to leave now or he’d tell her everything.
    “I’ll speak with Cleo,” he rasped before he turned away from the sorrowful look in her gaze and stalked from the room.

Chapter 2
    CLEO grunted as she took a hit to the back of her calf. It was like someone giving her an instant charley horse. She went down on one knee and waited for the pain to subside. She couldn’t remember the last time she’d allowed herself to take such a beating. That wasn’t true. Just a few days after a Praetorian blade ended her pregnancy and the doctors had told