Page 30 of Violent Delights

I glance away. “Your fiancé’s men are asking questions.”

“Let them ask.” Her defiance is cute, but I can hear the fear that’s tainted the tone of her voice.

“I’m not going to get you killed, Lia.” A sigh escapes my lips, and I realize it’s the first time I’m feeling the exhaustion. I’vebeen running on adrenaline, hoping to keep her safe, but now I’m too relaxed. It’s dangerous.

She walks toward me slowly, the robe swaying around her legs. “You don’t get to decide that.”

I stand up too fast. My voice comes out harsher than I intend. “I do if it means keeping you alive. What is it you want, Lia?”

She stops in front of me. Her eyes wide, tears making the irises glitter in the dim light. “No one ever asked me what I wanted. Until you.”

My throat tightens. I reach for something—logic, duty, anything to stop me from drowning in the fire in her eyes.

But I can’t.

“I don’t need saving,” she says softly.

“I know,” I whisper. “But I still want to try.”

The distance between us vanishes. Her hand presses flat against my chest. I cover it with mine before I even think about it. We aren’t hidden here. Thankfully, there are no cameras in this room or I would have walked out before she had time to enter.

“I’ve lied to a lot of people, Lia,” I say, the words escaping before I can stop them. “But every time I touch you… that is the truth.”

Her mouth parts slightly, eyes shining. “My life has never been easy, Nico. I’m the prisoner my father made me. Even back when I was a teenager, I used to dream about running away.”

I nod once because I used to consider the same thing. My voice is hoarse when I finally answer her, “You made me want to stay.”

And just like that, I’m lost again.

She leans up, and I meet her halfway.

The kiss isn’t frantic this time. It’s slow. Reverent. Like we both know what it means. Like we both know this could be the last one.

When she finally pulls back, her fingers trace my jaw. “Don’t disappear tonight.”

“I can’t stay,” I whisper. “Not long.”

She nods. “Then stay for now.”

And so, I do as we make our way to her bedroom.

Chapter 15

Lelia

Nico follows me to the bedroom where I’m meant to be held prisoner in a beautiful cage. As much as I should hate this, I can’t because he’s here.

He closes the door behind him like it’s the only thing keeping the world out. For now, it is. Even if there were guards outside, I’m not alone and that’s the only thing that matters.

The room is dark, lit only by the faint spill of silver moonlight through the curtains. My heart is louder than it should be. I’m almost certain he can hear it, but Nico won’t admit it. Instead, he’ll only comfort me to calm that erratic beating.

“I shouldn’t be here,” he says softly as he pulls me into his arms.

I take a step closer, even though everything in me is trembling and I can’t get any closer if I tried. Each time he’s embraced me, it’s been as if we are one entity. “And yet you are.” My voice is low, a whisper.

He exhales, sharp. “Because I don’t know hownotto be.”

I lean my head against his chest, only to hear his heartbeat. The thrum is a rhythmic sound that calms me. My fingers find his. “I think about you every day, all day. What happened between us earlier was everything I wanted, but I want more.”My admission is a whisper that escapes easily because I’m not looking at him. If I were, I wouldn’t be able to say it. “What we’re risking…” I start slowly as I murmur the words. But my voice breaks and I have to close my eyes to keep from crying.

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