Page 69 of Vicious Little Princess

“Yeah.”

“How you were breaking me down, forcing the fight andattitudeout of me, making me nothing but a submissive, weak mess of a person?”

He scowled, showing me how much he hated even the thought of it.

I knew he did.

It absolutely repulsed him, not just that I could be subjected to that, but the idea that they all thought it was possible at all. That he would do that. That I would endure that.

“I was in a position to spare you from hearing about that day in and day out, so I kept it off your radar. I know you don’t actually need my protection and I know you don’t like people thinking you do, or actions being taken to protect you, but—”

“No.”

He raised an eyebrow. “No?”

“I don’t like the suggestion that I need protecting or that I can’t protect myself, because of course that’s demeaning. But Idolike the idea of us protectingeach other. I like that a lot. This team element I wasn’t familiar with before the three of you burst into my life… I can’t imagine not being a part of that camaraderie now. That togetherness. The unconditional support. The understanding.” I eyed him pointedly. “Thatlove.”

I shifted on the bed until I was sitting cross-legged facing him, urgency radiating off me as I told him, “For so long, you were the only one in our fucked-up world who didn’t discount me. Even as twisted as our little war was, I saw what you were really doing—beyond the obsession of it all, anyway. You challenged me, you always saw me as an equal and you wanted that from me. You pushed me, you wanted me to dominate, you wanted me to come into my true power in a way I’d been struggling with.” I took his hand in mine, stroking his fingers softly. “You saw the real me before I did. And you fucking worshipped me for it. You went out of your way to safeguard that when I was pulled back into the Leone bullshit. And you put your trust in me even when it came to your brotherhood. You’ve believed in me at every turn.”

“Caterina—”

I pressed my finger to his lips as I rose up onto my knees and sank my fingers into his soft black hair. “How could I notlovethat? How could I not loveyoufor that?”

His eyes widened, his disbelief blatantly apparent, so much so that it had my gut twisting. “That’s right. You heard me correctly. I love you, Nico Marchetti.”

He eased my hand from his mouth and stared up at me, that disbelief giving way to reverence. “Why did it seem like you were so very far away from being able to admit that, or entertaining the notion of it at all?”

“Because of the circumstances. Being surrounded by this nightmare. I didn’t want something so special tainted by all of this. Something so pure being poisoned by it. I guess I wanted to wait until it was all over, until we were free so that it would just be about that and not burdened by anything else. By this war, or this fake marriage, or all the pain the four of us have been through and are still likely to face with what’s coming.”

“I worried about the same thing. I even weaponized it when I confessed as much to you when I was trying to get you to take some time, to rest. I just couldn’t hold it in any longer. I needed you to know. But I’m sorry for it coming out like that and—”

“I get it.”

“Yeah?”

I nodded. “After what happened in that hellhole, getting Julian out and walking into that kind of danger, knowing it will be far from the last time… it hit me so brutally just how uncertain things are for the four of us. Whether we’ll come out of this, whether we’ll survive it. And even if we do, will it be in pieces? And with that, I just… I couldn’t stand holding onto this a moment longer either, to you not knowing just how deeply I feel for you, how much I adore you. That I do, in fact, love you, Nico.”

“And you don’t like being vulnerable.”

I smiled. “That too.Butyou have been for me, so here it is, me reciprocating.”

His eyes lit up, basically shining at me, and that sweet, boyish grin spread over his face. He looked so happy, so unburdened, if only for this moment in time, that it sent a beautiful thrill through me.

I wrapped my arms around him and he did the same, pulling me down with him. “Thank you, Caterina. Thank you for giving this to me.”

“I’m not leaving you. I’m not leaving any of you. When this is done or whatever happens, I’ll still be here with you as yours. The time for walking away has long passed for me. I promise.”

His hold tightened around me, and he nuzzled against me. “Good, because we’re never letting you go.”

I chuckled as he held me to him, both arms encircling me and his leg even draped over me, essentially trapping me to him.

But it was the good kind of trapped, not the claustrophobia-triggering kind. It was the right kind, the comforting kind.

The belonging kind.

Unfortunately, the sweet intimacy of it was cut all too short by the sound of my phone ringing.

Nico grunted at the disruption, but admitted, “It could be urgent.”

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