Page 6 of Depths of Desire
"You’re trapped on the ship anyway, so you could stay with me." I blurt the words before I can second-guess them. "It’s twelve days. Just stay and keep me safe until we get to Baltimore. Give me a head start. Then you can tell whoever you want."
Nico cocks his head, amusement flickering in his gaze. "Twelve days in this tiny cabin with you?" He leans in slightly, voice dropping. "In that little bed?"
Heat floods my cheeks. "That’s not what I?—"
He chuckles, the sound low and rich. "I know. But can you blame me for the way my thoughts went?"
I press my lips together, frustration curling through me. "Listen, I just need to get out of Genoa. My father’s losing his mind, and whatever’s happening, I don’t want to be part of it. I won’t be his pawn."
Something shifts in Nico’s expression, something unreadable. Then, finally, he nods. "Fair enough. But we need a better plan. Staying here isn’t an option."
Panic grips my chest. "We’ve already left the dock. It’s too late."
He studies me, silent for a moment. "We’re not really stuck, Luna. I can get us off this ship."
Fear lashes through me. "No. No, no, no. You cannot tell your brothers. If they find out, my dad will know, and then I’ll never escape."
Nico lifts a hand, cutting me off. "Relax, honey." His voice is warm velvet, edged in steel. "You’re adorable when you beg, but I have a better plan."
My chest tightens. "What kind of plan?"
His grin is wicked. "First, let’s get off this tub. Then we’ll figure out the rest."
"And if I don’t like this idea?" I ask.
Nico steps forward, his body cutting off my escape, the warmth of him an oppressive, inescapable force. My spine flattens against the cold metal wall, and suddenly, breathing feels like an impossible task.
"Sunshine," he murmurs, his voice dark silk over steel. "You don’t have a choice."
He leans in, close enough that the scent of him—smoke, salt, something darker, something purely him—wraps around me like a noose. My heart pounds, a wild, erratic rhythm, and my lips part before I can stop them.
Is he going to kiss me?
I don’t know if I want him to.
Everything is too confusing, too sharp, too raw.
And then—Nico freezes. His head tilts slightly, like a wolf catching the scent of prey on the wind.
"What?" I whisper, barely able to push the word out."
He straightens, his entire demeanor shifting into something predatory, alert. "It’s what I don’t hear."
A strange, unsettling silence settles over me like a weighted blanket. The soft, constant buzz beneath my feet—the ever-present vibration of the engines—is gone.
I blink. "You mean… we’ve stopped?"
"Yes," Nico says, his voice tight. "We’ve stopped. Well, technically, we’re still gliding. A ship like this doesn’t just stop on a dime. But the engines are off."
Cold dread slithers down my spine. "Oh, that’s not good."
"No."
A sickening wave of fear crashes into me. Sweat prickles along my back. "Holy shit. Do you think my father’s found me already?" My voice wavers, the thought suffocating. If he’s already tracked me down—if he’s stopped the ship—then it’s over.
Nico chuckles, low and unbothered. "No, I don’t think your father found you. He was a big man once in the family, but not so much anymore. And he sure as hell doesn’t have the power to stop a ship like this. No, I think it’s something official."
"Official," I murmur, my stomach knotting. "Oh God. You mean like the Coast Guard? Or… Customs? Police?"
