Page 114 of Worth Every Penny

“You’re not going back to the States permanently, are you?”

“Not yet. It depends what my father’s plans are for retirement, and we won’t know that for a while. But I have to go back in a couple of weeks for an event. Some charity thing I said I’d make a speech at. It’s been in the calendar for months.”

“I’ll miss you.”

“I’ll miss you too. I think about you all the fucking time. It’s becoming a hazard in the workplace. I’m constantly distracted.”

My heart gives a giddy little canter.

I feel so safe, so contained in his hold. And yet, when I walked into this room, that look in his eye… there was a fierceness lurking there, hiding beneath his desire.

“Was something wrong when I got here?” I ask.

His muscles stiffen slightly beneath my hands. “What do you mean?”

“You were… different. The crawling. The fucking at the window.”

“Did you not like it?”

Under his watchful gaze, heat rises through my body until I feel slightly choked by it. “I did. But I wondered if it was about something else. If you needed me to be that way and do those things to make up for something else. You and Jack—”

“Please tell me there’s a good reason you’re mentioning your brother right now.”

He’s making light of it, but what happened this morning has been bothering me all day. The way Jack barked at me for not telling him about Martin. How Nico’s shoulders had tensed, his fingers flexing against the desk.

“The spa meeting,” I reply. “What was wrong? Is it Martin?”

An expression I can’t place flits over Nico’s features, unsettling me. “It’s nothing. You don’t have to worry.”

“You and Jack walked out of that meeting like the world was ending.”

Nico shakes his head. “I’m sorry it looked that way. We weren’t expecting it. You get used to one person being in charge and it takes a moment to adjust. I haven't seen Martin Brooks for years. Not since before your father died.” His tone is light, but there’s a darkness in his eyes that doesn’t match.

“So, nothing is wrong?” I clarify.

“Nothing is wrong.”

“Don’t lie to me. I can’t take it. I need to be able to trust you.” I suspect he’s keeping something from me and uncertainty coils around my heart. “Swear to me, Nico. Please. Swear you aren’t lying. You won’t lie. It’s the only thing I need.”

He lowers his forehead to mine, resting them together. A contemplative grunt sounds from deep in his throat. I don’t know if it’s agreement or disagreement, or pure lust.

“I need your word,” I repeat, pulling back. “Otherwise, this isn’t going anywhere.”

He holds my gaze. “I swear it. Nothing is wrong.” His voice is so steadfast that my doubts begin to seep away.

“And just so you know,” he adds, closing in and speaking against my mouth. “I’d want to see you crawl whether something was wrong or not. You’re unbelievably hot on your knees.”

34

NICO

“Nico. What’s going on back in the UK? Still raining?” Matt bellows a laugh and my stomach twists because he’s in a good mood and I’m about to destroy it.

I lean forward in my chair and prop one elbow on the desk. I’ve been putting this call off. And not just because I don’t want to give Matt the bad news. Ever since I had sex with Kate in here, I’ve been consumed with guilt that I lied to her about Martin Brooks.

I glance out the window, memories of Kate pressed against it flooding my mind. I blink to focus on the glass as it is now—rain running down in rivulets.

I grit my teeth and haul my attention back to Matt. “Yes. Pissing it down. Listen.” I fist my hand, press it to my lips and cough. “There’s something I need to tell you.”

---