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She gives me a pitying look. “I hate to tell you, darling, but it’s written all over your face that you and Nico have something going on. Hell, when I saw you in the library, all I could see was the mussed hair, like he had been running his hands through it, and your lips were red and swollen. I know all about what a woman looks like when a man is making them feel good.”
I bury my face in my hands for a moment and groan. “I don’t know what the hell I’m doing.” I lift my face and wince at her knowing grin. “Look, he kissed me and…did some other stuff, but that’s it, and it’s not going to happen again.”
“We’ll get back to the other stuff in a minute. But if you think that man is going to do all that and not finish what he started, you’re in for a rude awakening. Besides,” she smirks, “I don’t think you’re as repulsed as you like to think you are.”
I scowl. “Of course I am! He kidnapped me and is holding me here against my will.”
“It may have started out that way, but if I’m not mistaken, he gave you a chance to leave, and you agreed to his terms before you did all of it, which makes you no longer his prisoner, but his willing captive, correct?”
“Willing isn’t the word I would use.”
“Fine, whatever you want to call it, but the way I see it, you have two choices. You can fight it at every turn and wear yourself out over it all, and piss Nico off in the process… Or you can make the best of it and see what happens. Maybe he will get tired of you and allow you to leave and live the life you want, or maybe you decide you don’t want to go and stay here. Though, I’d like to point out there are a hell of a lot of women out there that would love to be in your position.”
Jealousy flares at her words before I can crush it down. “Then I’ll happily trade places with them.”
“That flash of green in your eyes says otherwise, Gia, darling,” she taunts smugly. “If I were you, I’d give some serious thought into making your time here a hell of a lot more pleasurable, if you know what I mean.”
“So you think I should become his whore?” I demand bitterly.
She doesn’t even flinch at my tone. “Women hold a lot of power, Gia. A whore is someone who is expecting payment after the deed is done. You would be giving yourself the freedom to take control of your life in the way you want.” Her face turns serious. “I know exactly who your family is, Gia, and what they’re capable of. And what they have put you through. People in my position like to talk amongst ourselves. And I know that you’ve been sheltered, unwillingly, your entire life. So I say take your power back and do whatever the hell you want. Because your family certainly hasn’t let you, and Nico is giving you that shot.”
She has a point, but I still don’t know that I’m ready for everything she’s suggesting. “I don’t think me sleeping with Nico is going to change my situation. If anything, he’ll probably just get tired of me faster and ship me back to my father.”
She shakes her head. “Darling, you’re never going back there. Nico won’t allow it. And if he does get tired of you, I think you’ll find that he’s reasonable enough and you might just get the freedom you’re craving so much.”
“So you think I should sleep with him and hope I’m so good in bed that he’ll agree to let me go and live my life away from the mafia world?” I ask dubiously.
“Men have done a lot of things in the past for good pussy, so why would you be any different?”
I sigh. The idea is ludicrous. “Besides, I don’t know what the hell to do with a man. I’ve never been with one.”
She pauses and then purses her lips. “Yes, that could be a problem. But something tells me Nico isn’t bothered by that from what I saw earlier. Perhaps he’s excited to teach you things. But I can always tell you a few tricks.” She sobers after a moment and adds, “And while I know that the idea of sex with Nico, or any man, frightens you, perhaps you should think of it this way. It is your choice of who you give your virginity to. Not your family’s or whoever they try to marry you off to. Yours. And in this moment, Nico is giving you that choice. He may be rough around the edges, but he is a good man, and he will never force himself on you. He may try to persuade or seduce you, but if you say no, then he’ll stop, no matter how much he may not want to. Because deep down, he’s a good man, a fair man.”
Honestly, that’s what I’m kind of afraid of. After our little session in the library, it’s clear the man knows what he’s doing, and he doesn’t find my innocence off-putting. And it makes me think of last night when I was sleeping in his bed. He could have easily done anything he wanted to me, but instead, he merely let me sleep. I don’t know of any other man that would ever do that. And it frightens me how much I liked it. I should be fighting tooth and nail to get away. But where would I go? God, I’m so confused and I have no idea what to do about it. “Thanks for the offer, but I think I’m going to hold off for now,” I say with a small smile to Sofia. Hoping she will let the conversation go.
“Suit yourself, but if you need some advice, or if you have questions, let me know. Now, how about we bake some cookies? I’m craving something sweet.”
I nod and smile. We get to work, but her words keep spinning around and around in my head. Do I really want to use my body to get out of here and hope that I’m good enough for Nico to let me go? Because something tells me it could be him that convinces me to stay.
The man is far too dangerous, and I need to be careful. Especially where his body is concerned.
CHAPTER20
Nico
“Fucking hell,”Eion hisses as stares at the picture in front of him. He looks up at me. “None of my team know she’s there, which means she either found the place on her own, or her father knows and there’s a reason he hasn’t shared with the rest of us.”
“Odd, don’t you think that she’s allowed to live there with no security?” I remark, no inflection in my tone. “Or, perhaps, you are not the head of security that you thought you were if something like this sneaks by you.”
He scowls at me, clearly not liking the insult I just levied at him, but at least he has the good sense not to lash out at me. Instead he bites out, “Do you really think that if I knew I would have left her unprotected? Makes me wonder if she’s actually there or if someone is using her name to throw people off.”
I glance at Dante briefly over his shoulder when Eion pulls out his phone to look through something. Dante gives me a subtle nod, letting me know he will look into it. I wouldn’t put it past whoever Marco is fucking to do something like that to throw people off the trail of whatever he is concocting.
After another couple moments of silence, Eion looks back up at me. “I’ll go and check out the place myself.”
I arch a brow. “You’re just going to walk into De Luca territory and investigate?” I ask carefully. I don’t know whether the man is brave or stupid. “Seamus won’t sanction that.”
“You’re not the only one who knows how to get into places unseen,” Eion replies. “Besides, if it is one of Seamus’s girls, I should know about it so they can be protected. As much as I hate their fucking father, those girls have been damn sweet their entire lives. Well, except for the oldest girl, but she’s married off to one of the families back home. Hasn’t come back in years. Think she’s got a kid or two now.”
