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The cliché was true. Nic’s blood turned to ice. He shoved the door open, which mercifully Blair had left unlocked, almost tripping on the suitcases on the foyer, and bounded up the grand staircase, trying to recall which bedroom was Lexie’s. Not bothering to knock, he found her in the third room down the left wing seated on the foot of the bed. She was staring out of the window, her shoulders hunched in a gray jumper. She turned to look in the direction of the door when he flung it open. Nic almost fell to his knees at the expression or lack thereof in her cat eyes. She gazed at him with deadened eyes and he noted her drawn, pale face. Nic wanted to howl and break something, but he would deal with his rage later. Right now, Lexie was all that mattered.
“Rojita,” he rasped, his voice sounding rough from lack of sleep and alcohol.
She flinched and averted her gaze to look out of the window again.
“Rojita,” he again started, registering the panic in his voice, “por favor.” He took several steps farther into the room until he was standing a few feet away from her. “You must listen to me. I have no idea how they got these photos. ” He reached out to her, his hands loosening their grip on the offending photos, and they fluttered to the carpeted floor. She shrank away from his touch.
She spoke for the first time, but her voice was devoid of inflection. She turned to stare at him blankly. “That night in Vegas. Who took those photos while I was sleeping?”
“Lexie, let me explain−“
Her voice trembled slightly. “Who took them? Just answer my question.”
He closed his eyes briefly in frustration. “I did,” Nic admitted baldly. “I swear to God it was a spur of the moment thing. You were so beautiful I just had to−“
“How much did Butler pay you for them?”
Pay? What the hell was she talking about? “He didn’t pay me anything,” he recoiled mentally from the accusation. The patron paying him for the photos? She wasn’t making any sense. ”How do you know about Butler?” he asked in bewilderment.
She gave an unpleasant little laugh. “The photos were attached to Stefan’s email this morning with a note. If Stefan doesn’t award him the alledramite contract, my photos will be splashed all over the Internet by tomorrow. Your patron has no compunctions about playing dirty.”
“He is no longer my patron as of yesterday,” he said with a hollow, sick feeling in his stomach.
“I’m sure you were paid handsomely for your services.” Her tone became wintry. “I’m surprised those are all the photos you were able to give him. A half-naked princess is pretty tame by today’s standards. He said there would be more if Stefan doesn’t give in to his demands. Are you holding out for a sex video by any chance?”
“The fucking bloody bastard!” His tone was feral as he knelt by her side and grasped her limp, cold hands. She let him without a fight. “Listen to me, Lexie. Butler accessed those photos in my phone somehow.” There was a nebulous, nagging impression in his head about Butler and the photos, but he couldn’t just make the connection right now, not while he was trying to convince her of his innocence. “You were so beautiful sleeping that night, rojita.” He gripped her hands tighter then relaxed his hold when she winced. “I couldn’t believe I had found you and I wanted to keep a memory of that moment. I swear to God it’s the only thing I took of you. There are no videos.” Nic willed her to look at him, but she kept her face averted. “Lexie, I would never do anything to hurt you.”
“But you already have, Nic.”
Desperate, Nic said the only thing he hadn’t said to convince her. “Te quiero. I love you, Lexie.” Then of course, because he was such a dickwad, he had to go and ruin it. “Fuck, I don’t want to, but I do.”
She shook her head, and this time it was he who grew cold. “It’s a little too late, Nic. Stefan was right. I’m such a trusting little fool.”
His chest had grown tight with fear. “It’s not too late, rojita. I’ll make it right.” It was a vow. “I’ll make it right.” He tilted his head to glance at her shuttered face. “I have been falling in love with you since that first moment I saw you that night in Las Vegas. And everyday I am with you, I am falling deeper and deeper. I pushed you away because I was stupid and afraid. Afraid you’d wake up one day and realize you had made a mistake in choosing to be with me.“ His tone grew desperate. “Lexie, I’m willing to take the leap. Just give me another chance to prove it. I have never betrayed your trust.”
