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“Very nice, Ryzen. Maybe you’ll take me for a ride in one?” I placed my hand on his biceps. “That would be nice.”
He gazed down at my lips, an evil grin spreading across his face. “Great idea. This one has a sleeping nook in the back.” He nodded at a boat-sized car in the corner, and I laughed, patting his arm.
Ugh. I had to keep him mellow, unsuspicious, and flirting was the easiest way to do that. Even though it made me feel dirty as hell.
We walked up a circular staircase, a beautiful skylight above us. When we reached the hallway, he grabbed my hand and yanked me towards a room with double doors that swung open towards us. “Look at this. I got it at a museum auction several years ago. One hundred percent authentic.”
I stopped short when we walked through the doors. To my right was one of those medieval knights’ suits of armor. He tapped his finger against it, making a dinging sound. “It’s real. Can you believe that? Paid a pretty penny for it too.”
“Wow, that’s amazing.” What the fuck was I supposed to say to him? Cool metal outfit? I chuckled and glanced around the room, noticing that we were in some sort of office. There were bookcases covering each wall, and a large mahogany desk close to the windows.
Thanks, Ryzen. Now I knew exactly where I needed to snoop first. He showed me to a room that I could get ready in and pulled a box out of his pocket. “I got this for you.”
I tugged on the ribbon and opened the box, an extravagant gold necklace laced with diamonds inside. “It’s breathtaking, Ryzen.” I trailed my fingers over the diamonds and lifted it out the box. It was beautiful, very heavy, and not something I would typically wear.
“I want you to wear it tonight. It will go great against your skin.” His fingers caressed my neck.
“Oh, but I have my other necklace, the one Juliet gave me.” Fuck.
He shook his head. “No, this one, Nova. It will really make me happy to see you looking so beautiful.”
I nodded. It wasn’t like I could argue with him over it, otherwise it might look too suspicious. If a man you supposedly had feelings for gave you jewelry, you wore it. There was no way around it, and I knew it.
“That connects to my room if you need anything.” He pointed to the door off to the side. “Anything at all.” He lowered his head, his lips on mine. My whole body stiffened, but he didn’t seem to notice. His tongue pressed forward, trying to gain entry into my mouth, and my stomach turned. I had been really good at keeping him at bay, telling him I wanted to take things slow. Just a little flirting here and there, and he had seemed fine with it. Probably because he was jerking off on the phone with Iva, or hell, he was probably fucking other women that I had no clue about. Either way, I didn’t care, as long as he kept his hands to himself.
“Ryzen,” I breathed, “we should get ready.” I placed my hands on his chest and pushed slightly, but he wouldn’t budge.
“I can’t help it, Nova. You’re so damn beautiful.” He brought his head down, his breath warm against my neck as he kissed me there. Bile rose in my throat, but I swallowed it down.
“Good things come to those who wait.” My voice quivered slightly, and he groaned.
“You’re right.” He sighed and checked his watch. “OK, I’ll see you in a little bit, beautiful.” He kissed the tip of my nose.
Great, now I was going to have to shower again.
I didn’t like these little surprises of his. He knew I didn’t want to have sex with him until after we were quote-unquote “married,” and for some reason, that seemed to only make him try harder to fuck me.
Maybe I should have listened to Orin and taken the gun.
No, that wouldn’t have been smart. It just meant that I needed to try harder tonight. That journal had to be here, and I wasn’t leaving this place without it.
Chapter Fifteen
“How are you doing, little star?” Cian’s voice echoed in my ear, a warm feeling spreading through my chest.
“Better now that I can hear you.” I sighed and grabbed the necklace Ryzen had given me, putting it on. It felt like it weighed ten pounds, and was more like a leash than an actual present, but I supposed that was what most wealthy men like Ryzen did—provide their girlfriends with lavish expensive gifts so they would turn their heads the other way at any wrongdoing.
“You’re doing great, Nova. You can do this,” Cian purred. “Tell me what you’ve seen so far.”
“Well, a bunch of cars have already arrived. At least fifty of them. His security is everywhere also. Do you think it’s because of Kaviathin?” My voice hitched when I said his name.
“Don’t worry about Kaviathin. Eros is tailing him as we speak, and he’s miles away from you.”
My shoulders drooped and I said a silent thank you to the universe. Kaviathin was the last person I needed to be worried about tonight. “Awesome, that makes me feel better.” I brushed my hair, letting it cascade over my shoulders. The earpiece was slightly hidden by my hair, not that it mattered. To anyone else, it looked like a cool piece of jewelry. But to me, it was my lifeline to the only piece of sanity I had left.
“Ryzen’s room is right next to mine, so I can gain access to that pretty easily. Once I know he’s occupied, I’ll check there first.” I applied some lipstick and puckered my lips in the mirror. “He has some sort of office filled with trophies and books just down the hall. He might have documents hidden in there.”
“Good, very good, Nova. Just stay perfectly calm. You are in complete control, OK?”
