Page 79 of Ruthless King

Nico finds a nondescript white car and breaks into it, hotwiring it to start the engine. We dive inside and drive away before the police can find us.

An hour later, we arrive at Nico’s safehouse. It’s a simple ranch house that blends in with every other house on the street. It’s hugely different from his mansion, but none of that matters. All that matters now is that we’re both safe.

Andrew’s blood covers my hands from when I shot him. I’ve killed two people now, and it doesn’t even bother me.

Before my father died, I never imagined taking a life.

Look at me now.

Nico helps me inside and gets me cleaned up. It’s only when he’s washing my hands for me do I realize I’m shaking.

“Hold me,” I whisper. Nico doesn’t hesitate to pull me into his arms. By some miracle, he’s forgiven me for my betrayal, and I’ll be forever grateful to him.

“Come here.” Picking me up, he carries me into the bedroom. We lie down on the bed together.

I know it’s wrong. I know I probably shouldn’t be feeling this after everything we went through, but I want Nico. I want to know he still wants me.

That he needs me as much as I need him.

“Kiss me,” I say.

Nico holds my gaze for a moment before doing as I ask. Our lips meet in a tender kiss that quickly turns passionate. He rolls me onto my back, his hands moving down to my hips to squeeze them.

“Are you ok with this?” he asks in his low, deep voice that I love so much.

“I need you, Nico. I need to forget.”

His eyes tell me he completely understands. He holds my gaze as he gently strips my dress off me. I can’t hold back, and Ikiss him with everything inside me. Nico wraps his arms around me and lowers me back down. Our bodies are pressed together perfectly. Every inch of him fits within every nook of me.

We kiss as we take each other’s clothes off, and once we’re naked, Nico settles on top of me. We haven’t had sex since I lost the baby. My body is ready for this. And even if Nico and I can never have biological children, I still want to be with him.

He didn’t kill my father. I think I knew that deep down all along. It’s why I was so hesitant to hurt him. Nico has only ever shown me kindness. What happened in the basement was because of Andrew. He’s gone now, and it’s just Nico and me left.

When he slips inside me, we groan and hold onto each other. It doesn’t take long for my body to be fully on fire from my desire for Nico. He’s the man I never knew I needed.

Our hips rock together a Nico wraps his arms around me, bringing us chest to chest and lips to lips so there’s no space between us. I want to stay like this forever with him.

We kiss deeply as our bodies move as one. This is the most tender lovemaking we’ve ever done.

And soon, we’re both shuddering and trembling in each other’s arms as we come together.

Nico doesn’t pull out of me right away. We lock eyes, and he caresses my face, filling me with so much love I can barely breathe.

I love this man.

Nico and I will have to move on from this safehouse eventually. We’ll need new identities, given we’ve both killed people. And there’s still the matter of the detectives who’ll be hunting us down.

But I know Nico and I can make it work. We’ve chosen to trust each other.

And that’s true love in my eyes.

Chapter

Twenty

NICO

Istand over Detective Chase’s body as he sleeps in bed.