Page 72 of Vicious Little Princess

With that, he hung up, and I stared at Nico, stunned.

“Yes?” he asked, grinning at me.

“What was that?”

“He’s important to you. It was clear from his tone with you that it’s purely platonic on his end. He’s a great support for you. You were also all lit up as we spoke with him—he obviously brings out a lighter side of you, and I want that for you, especially while we’re caught up in all this madness.” He reached out and tucked some strands of hair behind my ears, the tender and reverent gesture sending a surge of warmth through me. “Again, I’m sorry that I ever tried to interfere with that. You make your own choices and it’s not for me to get in the way of that. He’s your only friend and you need that in your life, somebody you’ve given your trust to who’s safeguarded it well.”

“Wow,” I breathed.

He eased my phone from my hand and put it down on his nightstand. “Plus, I’m not at all worried.” That self-satisfied smirk with a hint of deviousness was out in full force. “You just told me that you love me.”

I chuckled and wrapped myself around him, then pulled the covers up over us. “Come here.” His arms encircled me again, and I rested my head on his chest. “Stay here holding me all night. Don’t let me go.”

“Never,” he said, tightening his hold. He kissed the top of my head and nuzzled against me. “Sleep now,amore mio.”

16

~Julian~

They were walking on eggshells.

And they were trying to act like they weren’t actually doing so.

It was all very… complicated. And awkward as shit.

Jesus.

I’d thought it might have lessened a little over the last several days since I’d been discharged from the hospital and staying at Charon Manor again, that they’d calm down and ease into it where I was concerned.

But they hadn’t.

The three of them were tense too, outside of what had happened to me being factored in.

Something had gone down.

Some shit had hit the fan in a major way.

I suspected it was related to whatever the three of them had needed to do in order to get me out of that hellhole. Therehadbeen a price. Nico had dismissed it when I’d asked him at the hospital, obviously not wanting to stress me out. But the fact that he still hadn’t brought it up, that none of them had, was now doing the opposite and stressing me out in a big way.

Because they were cutting me out.

I knew they were just trying to do what they thought was best for me, to keep everything light and fluffy, but that wasn’t the life we led, and it wasn’tus.There was a powerful undertone of darkness and danger present for us.

As fucked-up as it was, without that, it wasn’t… real. It felt fake.

Worse, it didn’t feel normal.

And feeling like that was one of the worst things for me right now.

I didn’t want to feel… wrong.

Not like me.

Like I was damaged.

Likehe’dmanaged to damage me, like he’d actually won out.

“Please.”

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