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“I’m sorry to make you worry, Ryzen. I just—” I trailed off and looked out the window. “There’s a lot that happened since we got back from Texas. Um, Juliet and I got into a huge fight and she’s not speaking to me.” I sighed and tugged my hands out of his. “It’s just a lot of crazy things happening right now. But I’m OK.” My shoulders drooped, and I sank back into the couch.
What was I supposed to say?Your nemesis tricked me into believing you were this homewrecking monster, and I believed him, when in reality he was the one doing all the bad things? He said you were involved with the Mob, and I naively believed him?
“Look, about how we left things…” Ryzen leaned back on the couch and ran his fingers through his hair. “I’ve had a lot of time to think things over, and I apologize for treating you the way I did.”
I froze and glanced at him from the corner of my eye. Wait, he was the one apologizing?
“I’m under an enormous amount of pressure to close this deal, and I wasn’t thinking rationally. I was a complete asshole. I’m ashamed of my actions, and I apologize profusely.” He squeezed my thigh, waiting for me to respond.
I was almost too stunned to speak. He was apologizing. To me. I tugged on the collar of my sweatshirt and cleared my throat. Well, wasn’t I just the biggest jerk who walked the earth? Besides Cian, of course. I stared down at my feet, looking for the right words to say.
He scooted closer to me on the couch and wrapped his arm around my shoulders. “We don’t have to get married, OK? I’ll figure out another way to convince Covington to close the deal. It will be difficult, but I don’t want you to worry about anything.” He cupped my chin and stroked his finger along my jaw.
An uneasiness built in my stomach at his touch, and I shook it away.He’s not the bad guy, remember?
It was hard to forget everything Cian had said about him, but I had to remember that it was all a lie. A lie to get Cian’s revenge. And I had been just a pawn in his little game.
“Come.” Ryzen stood and held his hand out to me. “Let’s get you in the bath and cleaned up. Then we’ll figure out this situation with Juliet. OK?”
I stared at his hand. A peace offering. I had nothing else to lose anymore, so I grabbed it and followed him to the bathroom. He turned on the water and sat on the edge of the tub. He picked up bottle after bottle and smelled them, dropping in a few drops of bubble bath as I stood there and watched. When the water was filled to the top, he stood and took off his jacket.
“Get undressed.” He rolled up his sleeves and sat back on the edge of the tub.
“You don’t have to do this, Ryzen.” I wrapped my arms around myself.
“Nonsense. Let me take care of you. It’s the least I can do.” He grinned, showing off his dimple.
I sighed. What was the harm in letting him give me a bath? It wasn’t like anything was going to happen. I wouldn’t allow it, even if he tried. I had this overwhelming desire to go hide under my blankets and sob, but I couldn’t do that. And the more detached I felt from Ryzen, the more Cian was going to win. And I would not allow that either.
Ryzen’s innocent in all of this.
“OK.” I pulled my sweatshirt over my head, a tank top underneath. “But turn around until I get into the water.”
He threw his head back and laughed. “All right, boss lady.” He turned in the other direction.
Once I was satisfied he wasn’t looking, I stripped off my clothes and sank in the water. It warmed me to the bone and my shoulders sagged as I melted into it. I pulled my knees up and rested my chin on them. It was quiet for a moment, and I let out the breath I had been holding in for what seemed like two days.
A trickle of water ran down my back, and I tensed.
“Relax, Nova. I’m going to make everything OK.” He ran the sponge over my back, across my shoulder, and back down. “It’s OK,” he cooed like he was talking to a child, and I instinctively remembered when we were trapped in the elevator together the night we met.
He tugged my hair out of my scrunchie and poured water on top of it. I tilted my head back, letting him lather it up with soap. His fingers grazed my scalp, massaging as he went. There was no spark, though, no lust building ready to explode. Why the hell had Cian had to ruin this for me?
“Can I ask you a question?” I murmured as Ryzen massaged conditioner into my hair.
“Of course.” His fingers squeezed into my scalp.
“Is Ryzen your real name?” I bit the inside of my cheek and couldn’t bring myself to turn around.
His hands stopped moving for a second, and he scoffed. “I see my good friend Cian Blackwood has been whispering secrets into your ear.” He continued massaging, a little more aggressively this time.
My body tensed at the mention of his name, and I dug my nails into my palms. “He said a few things while we were doing the treasure hunt, yes.” Like Grams always said, the best way to get away with a lie was to stay as close to the truth as possible.
“I wondered when you would ask. I assume he spun a lavish tale about how I’m a sadistic human being without a soul who ruined his life?” Ryzen tugged gently on my hair, and I let my head fall back as he rinsed the conditioner out. I squeezed my eyes shut and breathed deep.
“Yes,” I whispered, guilt eating away at me on the inside.
“Let me tell you something about Cian Blackwood.” Ryzen slid to the other side of the bathtub and lifted my right leg up. “He’s a liar. Stone-cold manipulator. If I had known that you were going to be paired with him at Covington’s, I would have never left.” He dragged the sponge up my calf and around my knee. “He sees someone like you, Nova, someone pure and good-hearted, and he sees prey. He’s the vulture ready to pick at your bones the second you slip up and begin to trust him. I know this, because he did it to me.” Ryzen tossed the sponge into the water and lifted my chin up. “I will not let him trick you. Whatever he said was a lie.”
