Page 50 of Sugar Baby
“N-nothing.” I shake my head to try and get my point across that I’m unharmed, but he has zoned out.
He pulls me to my feet and rips his t-shirt over his head. He dresses me in it steadily but quickly. Inhaling his gorgeous scent, I notice the sticky bandages on his side that are letting blood through.
“You’re hurt,” I murmur, reaching out to touch him.
“A scratch.” His dismissive tone is just a front. He must be hurting.
Without another word, he reaches down for a blanket and wraps it around me before scooping me up into his arms. If my weight is causing him harm, he doesn’t show it. He whisks me out of the room and down the stairs quickly.
I catch sight of Cain and Atlas embroiled in a fight with several of Enzo’s men, but Enzo, and more importantly Carter, are not there, that I can see anyway.
“How did you find me? I thought Enzo was playing with my mum,” I mutter, my head lolling with a sudden exhaustion which has overcome me, along with a good old dose of the sweats.
“I found you, princess,” he mutters and takes me past the fighting to the outside, where a van is idling, being driven by Luca.
Nico bundles me into the van, making sure I’m comfortable and covered up with the blanket, when Franco comes storming over.
“Enzo got away,” he spits out. “Quinn is going to…” When he spots me, he trails off.
“We got Sophia. That was the objective,” Nico says steadily, moving over to let Franco in.
He climbs in and moves to the back of the van, followed shortly by Cain and Atlas. I have no idea how or why they are working as a team now, but I don’t care. The heat that I thought was disappearing is returning, and it’s fogging up my brain.
“Go,” Nico orders Luca, who sets off with a screech of tyres.
Nico wraps his arm around me, and I sink into him, trying not to hurt his injuries.
“Is she okay?” Cain whispers.
“No. God knows what they inflicted on her while she was here.”
“I’m okay,” I whisper, but I don't think any of them heard me, and I don’t have the energy to repeat myself.
Torn away from Carter and Trent’s scented t-shirt, I feel desolate and empty, but at the same time, it’s not really real. It doesn’thurt, it just feels wrong, but there is something else trying to push through. Closing my eyes, I clutch the collar of Nico’s t-shirt, pulling it up over my nose. I draw in a deep breath. The log-fire scent fills my nostrils, and I let out a small mewl of longing.
Nico.
He is the one that is affecting me with his proximity.
Opening my eyes, I look up at him. His face is rigid, his jaw tightly clenched. He is staring straight ahead.
“Nico,” I whisper, lowering the t-shirt from my face but keeping it in my grasp.
He turns his head to look down at me, his face softening. “You’re safe now, Sophia. I promise I will never let anyone hurt you ever again.” He kisses my forehead gently.
More tears fall when the realisation hits me. He cares about me, and not just in a bodyguard way, but real feelings. I can see it swimming in his eyes.
Not knowing what to say, I lean against him again, pressing my lips to his warm skin as he tightens his arm around me.
The rest of the ride home is in silence which I’m grateful for because I have some things to figure out, and fast.
ChapterThirty-Two
Nico
When the van pulls up to the gates of the compound, I realise that Sophia has fallen asleep, leaning against me. I was so wrapped up in my failure to save her from whatever horrors had befallen her while she was held hostage that I didn’t even notice.
The electric gate slides open, and we drive through, pulling up the driveway outside the compound.
