Page 29 of Ruthless King

I hurry back to our bedroom and get under the covers, where I spend the next hour sobbing. Nico eventually joins me, but by then, I’ve quieted down.

He’s just as quiet as he gets into the bed. Even though we’re lying next to each other, there’s a huge cavern between us.

Nico calls me into his office the following day. It surprises me because he’s normally out of the house by now.

“Yes?” I ask, standing in the doorway.

“Lean over my desk on your stomach.”

I blink. “What?”

“Lean over my desk on your stomach.”

I want to ask why, but there’s a darkness to Nico’s eyes that makes me listen to him. I slowly approach the desk and, with a hard swallow, lean over it. It doesn’t escape my notice that my butt is in the air.

When Nico comes around the desk and stands behind me, fear courses through my body. What’s he going to do to me?

“You’re terrified,” he muses.

“I …”

“You don’t have to explain. From now on, you will not try to force yourself into having sex with me. I want you willing, Aurora. I want you to be able to lean over this desk and bevulnerable like this without being terrified. But you’re not at that point yet.”

But how can we become close without sex? I can’t exactly tell Nico my entire life story, and he’s not the most chatty of men.

Beatrice told me to seduce him to gain his trust, and I’m utterly failing at it.

“You have a beautiful body,” he tells me. “I want to touch you. Fuck, I want to. But only when you stop fearing me.”

“And how can I do that?”

“Only time will tell. Now, you may leave.”

I stand up and turn around, only to bump into him. “Oh.” He catches me, steadying my feet. Just as soon as he touches me, he lets me go. I feel the coldness in the air, and it stings my heart.

Nico steps out of my way, and I leave his office, more confused than ever before.

A week goes by without much progress. Nico spends his days working while I spend my days trying to avoid Enzo.

And I’m no closer to finding out if Nico murdered my father or not.

So, when I go to see Beatrice and she tells me she finally found something, my heart almost beats out of my chest.

“What?” I ask. “Did Nico kill my father?”

“I found the combination to his second in command’s briefcase.”

I had mentioned Andrew’s briefcase to her at our last meeting.

“How does that help me?” I ask.

“It helps you because you can dig through it the next time he’s over and see if it reveals anything.”

“So, you don’t have any actual proof.”

She sighs deeply. “Technically, no. But I’ve had some spies of mine keep an eye on Andrew, and he’s a fishy one. That’s how I discovered the combination. So, I did my job. Now, do yours.”

Enzo drives me back home from the hotel, asking me how my time with my aunt went.

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