Page 100 of Vicious Heir

“Couldn’t live without me for a few hours?” he asks, teasing.

I slam his door shut. “Grandmother was just here.”

His smile fades. “Is she still here?”

“No, I sent her away.” My jaw works. “God, the nerve of that woman. She came in here and demanded that I talk you out of whatever you’ve been doing around the city because somehow it’s making her life harder.”

Adriano sits back, looking thoughtful. “I’m not surprised. I’ve made more than a few enemies lately.”

“It’s true then? You’re pissing everyone off?”

“Rich people don’t like it when you burn their fancy art to the ground.” He grins slightly, head tilted to the side. “Helena must be getting some real nasty calls.”

I stare at him, heart racing, and it hits me all at once. The way he’s smirking, clearly delighted by the destruction. Grandmother’s anger downstairs, her whole demeanor, how afraid she seemed.

This is serious. It’s beyond serious—it’s a very, very deadly game.

“You don’t have to do this,” I say softly, going toward his desk.

“Are you doing your grandmother’s bidding now?”

“No, I mean, screw her. I’m just saying, you married me to get my family connections, right? If you keep burning down their art, then you can forget about any of that.”

He pushes his chair back and stands. I watch him come around the desk, moving like a lithe, deadly panther. The man is so sleek and beautiful, his athletic body like a piece of oiled machinery. I shiver when he touches me and pulls me lightly against his chest.

“Fuck your connections,” he whispers. “I just want you.”

And it finally breaks in me. I realize with a jolt that he really doesn’t care about my family name anymore. Maybe our relationship started out that way, but slowly, as we’ve gotten to know each other more and more, it changed.

To the point where he’s torching any progress he might’ve made.

All because he loves me.

And he lovesme, not the Willing-Morris name, not the WM Fund, not the big fancy house or the charity galas or benefit balls or any of that, butme. He’s lighting this whole city on fire because he wants to make sure I’m safe from Demir, and he doesn’t care who he pisses off in the process.

When he kisses me, I burst into tears. “I’m sorry!” I say, crying like an idiot as I bury my face against his chest. “I know it’s weird that I’m crying right now!”

He sounds startled. “Are you okay?”

“I’m fine, honestly, I’m really good. I just—” I cry harder. Oh my god, he’ssacrificingfor me. I have no value to him anymore, and that doesn’t matter, because this isn’t about what I’m worth.

It’s about how we feel for each other.

“It’s alright,” he says, hugging me and rubbing my back. “I don’t know what I said, but everything’s alright.”

“It wasn’t you.” I manage to get control of myself and wipe my eyes. “I’m just happy, that’s all. You really don’t care about my name, do you?”

“Lucy? I mean, it’s fine and all?—”

“No, asshole. My last name. My family connections.”

He wipes another tear away. “Not a fucking bit.”

“Good.” I pull him down to me. I’m so hungry for his lips it’s killing me. I bury my mouth with his, drowning myself in his taste. “Because I don’t either.”

I stay in his office feasting on him, feeling freer than I’ve ever been, all the chains and shackles that used to keep me bound to a version of myself I thought Ihadto be finally loosening and drifting away.

Chapter 38

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