Page 50 of In Love with a Ruthless Man

His lips twitched. “I can take that, I suppose.” He drew her to him then, and she didn’t even think of resisting. Her head fell against his chest. Her eyes closed.

She needed this—-

This reassuring sense of security telling her that she wasn’t alone, this feel of invincible strength, telling her that he could protect her from the pain—-

She needed...him.

Fawn felt the prince’s lips touch the top of her head. “I am sorry you had to experience such pain,parthena mou.”

The prince felt more than saw her smile against his heart as she whispered jokingly, “Me, too.”

Good girl, he thought.

Strong, brave, beautiful girl, and he was damn proud of her.

He heard her sigh, and he asked, “What are you thinking of?”

“Him.” Her fingers curled into a fist between their bodies. “I know it’s bad, but I just wish I could hurt him back.”

She expected him to tell her to stop being bitter, but then again she should have known she couldn’t expect something so benign from the Prince of Darkness.

Instead, the prince said easily, “You could.” Before she could answer him, the prince tipped her chin up. “You can hit him where it hurts the most.”

When he spoke again, it was the Prince of Darkness’s voice he used, and the husky, melodic cadence of his tone wrapped its seductive notes around her bruised heart as he murmured,

When the prince’s head lowered, Fawn’s common sense urged her to push him away. But it was too late. The mesmerizing promise in his emerald green gaze had enslaved her, and all she could do was wait-—

“Simply say the word—-”

His tongue began to trace the curve of her lips, and it was like tasting fire.

Oh God.

“And I will be your lover behind his back.”

Part Two

The Past

EIGHT YEARS AGO

EVERYONE AT THE NURSESstation had a hard time not staring as a young, dark-haired man stepped out of the elevator, his gaze trained on his phone as his fingers moved swiftly on the screen. He was extremely attractive, with ebony black hair, brilliant green eyes, and beautifully chiseled features. Despite his young age, the stoic look on his face as well as the way he carried himself lent him an unusual air of maturity. Unlike most eighteen-year-old boys, he neither swaggered nor walked with a slouch. Instead, he was perfectly poised, his pace steady, and his every movement both graceful and correct.

In most cases, he would have been considered an outstandingly upright young man but because he was Reid Chalkias, people saw him differently. It didn’t matter that he was only eighteen, didn’t matter that he had never stepped foot on any Mafia-owned soil. When one looked at Reid Chalkias, it didn’t matter that his citizenship was British and that he was a staunch advocate of all the right causes.

For most people, Reid Chalkias’ singularly defining identity was that he was the son of two notorious criminals, and for them, the apple could never fall far from the tree. It did not help, of course, that despite how stylishly urbane he appeared, Reid also had an innate aura of dangerous strength about him. He might have only been withCosa Nostrafor the first eight years of his life,but it was more than enough to give him a raw, unpredictable edge that isolated him from the rest of humanity.

When it became obvious that Reid Chalkias was heading straight to their station, a silent but dead-serious flurry of activity ensued as the nurses competed among themselves on who could speak with him first. They elbowed and jabbed each other. all the while biting back cries and groans, none of them wanting the apple of their eye to realize that he was the prize they were fighting over.

Upon reaching the counter, Reid dropped the phone back into his pocket and looked up. “Good afternoon—-” He paused, momentarily disconcerted by the sight that greeted him. The nurse smiling at him possessed hair that strongly resembled a bird’s nest, and if he wasn’t mistaken, the top button of her uniform also appeared to have been torn off. Even more astonishingly, all the other nurses appeared in the same state, which led him to ask slowly, “Is everything alright?”

“E-everything’s quite fine.” Pia forced herself to stay still as she found herself the sole focus of Reid’s mesmerizing gaze. She had expected him to be hot, but not this hot. If he had asked her to give him a blowjob then and there, she would have been on her knees in a flash.

Those green eyes could make a girl do anything, she thought wistfully. For this beautiful young man, she wouldn’t mind risking her job and coming on to him. And she probably would have – if she hadn’t been aware of the purpose of his visit.

But the problem was, she and the other nurses did know why he was here, and only the most insensitive woman would have made a move on someone whose girlfriend had been kidnapped and nearly beaten to death.

Taking a deep breath in an effort to control her racing pulse, she fought to keep her voice level as she asked, “May I help you, sir?”

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