Chapter 10
For once in her life, River’s mind was completely quiet…except for Nico’s offer.
As many orgasms as you want.
That was three hours ago. Her only response had been a stuttered statement that she’d put some thought into what she wanted from him and their marriage. He’d told her that was fine. Then he’d shown her to her room.
Much like the rest of the house, the bedroom she’d been given was so perfect, River hated the thought of touching any of it.
She could imagine that in the daytime, creamy sunlight would pour in through the tall windows, glint off the warm, honeyed tones of the wood-paneled ceiling, and bounce off the sprawling bed that looked comfier than royalty was probably accustomed.
There were deep, golden accents everywhere—from the textured blanket on the king-sized bed to the gleaming starburst chandelier overhead—making it impossible not to feel both pampered and wildly out of place, as if she was squatting in a luxury hotel suite.
Each thoughtful detail screamed wealth and taste: tasseled pillows stacked just so, potted succulents and fresh greenery tucked into golden planters, and artfully mismatched textiles. Even the air felt richer here. Cleaner somehow.
It was a very far cry from her dingy little ground-level apartment on the west side of town, with its asbestos ceiling tiles and thrift store furnishings.
But she wasn’t thinking about her plush surroundings. No. Not when so much of her focus was being spent on Nico’s offer.
So, while she was settling Feather in her cage, she thought about Nico making her come. When she was washing her face and changing into an oversized t-shirt and boy shorts, she thought about Nico making her come.
And now, while she was tucked into the most comfortable bed she’d ever felt, sprawled on zillion-thread-count sheets, staring at the ceiling while Feather made sweet little cooing noises in her sleep, River was wide awake, still thinking about Nico making her come.
And he was only one bedroom, one door, away.
This was not what she should be thinking about.
Her entire life had been uprooted. She’d been threatened with sex trafficking and forced into an arranged marriage—or a marriage of convenience or whatever—to a stranger.
She should be trying to figure a way out of this disaster, not fantasizing about a mafia boss making her come.
No matter how sexy he was.
And damn it, he was sexy.
Was his over-the-top sex appeal (and the promise of many screaming orgasms) the reason she wasn’t more concerned about being forced to marry a stranger? Maybe. But she was afraid it was a little more pathetic than that.
The fact was that her life wasn’t especially great these days.
Sure, her job paid the bills, and she enjoyed having summers off (like now).
But if she was being honest, she didn’t love it.
Hell, she didn’t even really like kids that much.
They were whiny and germy and always sticky for some reason. Being around them all day was taxing.
And while she adored Feather, she did still get lonely from time to time. Not enough to sign up on dating apps. She shuddered at the thought of going out after work willingly and talking to strange men. But still…it’d be nice to have someone to come home to and watch TV with.
So, the idea of marrying a crazy-hot man who promised her orgasms and looked to have more money than the Catholic church and all the Kardashians combined seemed like a drastic improvement to her circumstances.
But marrying the head of the mafia made her feel…something she wasn’t ready to name just yet.
What she did know was that letting herself get sucked in by yet another handsome man would be an epic mistake—one she couldn’t afford to make.
For now, maybe the smart thing to do would be to play along. Do as she was told. Avoid making waves while she figured out a way to save herself from this situation.
Because if her life up until this point had taught her anything, it was that knights in shining armor only existed in fairy tales, and she was no princess.
Somehow, the sidekick of the story was going to have to figure out how to save herself.
On a good day, Nico functioned on two or three hours of sleep, a general disdain for the human population, and enough caffeine to single-handedly support the Colombian economy.
Today was not a good day.
Oh, sure, the caffeine and disdain were there. But the sleep was a far-off, impossible dream.
How the fuck was he supposed to sleep with River right there, only a door away?
She’d been without orgasms for far too long. He imagined it wouldn’t take much effort to talk his way into her bed. He didn’t want to do that, though. He wanted her to come to him. To beg for the orgasms she deserved.
To realize he was the only one who could give her what she needed for the rest of their days.
Which was not going to happen when the mere suggestion of orgasms struck his normally hyper-verbal fiancée mute.
So, he’d wait until she was ready. It wouldn’t be easy, but something told him River was worth the effort.
Sleep was out of the question, though. Especially since his brain kept reminding him she was right there.
With an irritated sigh, he got out of bed and pulled on a pair of sweatpants before stalking back down to his office. Might as well get some work done while he was up.
Once he was in the only sound proofed room in the house (other than the basement where a gorier type of business was typically conducted), he placed a call to the only man he’d ever met who slept less than him.
“It’s late,” the grumpy bastard said in lieu of an actual greeting.
“It’s actually early,” Nico answered, glancing at the little clock on his desktop monitor. “But what difference does that make when we both know you were up, obsessively checking your cameras?”
He had not met Ren Solace through traditional means. In fact, their paths might have never crossed at all…if Nico hadn’t accepted a contract to kill the woman who was now Ren’s wife.
Of course, he’d never actually planned on killing Lark.
It was a long story that dated back to way before Nico became a mob boss.
But when Ren and Lark convinced him to team up with them against the real villain of their story, he’d immediately recognized Ren for the scarily talented (and just scary in general) bastard he was.
Ren was a genius-level hacker. Put a laptop in front of him and he was unstoppable. He was also a monster of a man who looked like he spent all of his free time in a gym. Without him, Nico wouldn’t be where he was today. Which, lately, hadn’t been that great of a place.
Until today, that is.
After a loaded pause, Ren said, “Being right doesn’t make it any less rude to call at 2am.”
“I know. Apologies. But we do have an emergency on our hands.”
He sighed. “I already talked to Van. Don’t worry. I’ll find Ricky. He’s not smart enough to hide for long.”
“I have another job for you.”
Nico gave Ren a quick rundown on Jeremy Lang. “I want to know everything there is to know about that motherfucker. Then I want him found and brought to me. Alive.” He paused, giving it some thought. “Bloody and broken would be fine, though.”
“Consider it done,” Ren said. “But can I ask you a question?”
He smirked. “You have details about me and my operation that could put me away for life. I think we’re beyond secrets. Feel free to ask me anything.”
“Are you sure I shouldn’t be looking into this girl? Your fiancée?”
Nico sat up straighter. “I’m sure,” he said, struggling to keep the menace out of his voice. He couldn’t blame Ren for having questions. “I trust her.”
Another long, loaded pause before Ren said, “Interesting.”
He paused, but Ren didn’t elaborate. No one could ever accuse the man of being overly chatty. “Why is that interesting?”
“Because you don’t trust anyone.”
“I trust you.”
“Mutually assured destruction. We have enough dirt to bury each other. What does she have on you?”
Nico had been asking himself that since he first saw River. What did she have on him? “She…fascinates me,” he admitted.
Ren sucked in air through his teeth. “That’s dangerous.”
“Coming from the man who married the woman he stalked and kidnapped, I’ll take your word for it,” he said dryly.
“All I’m saying is, be careful. Play it cool.”
Cool. Right. The one thing he hadn’t done at all since River showed up in that strip club. “I will.”
“And I will do some research into her background, because it’s my job to be a paranoid bastard,” Ren went on. “But I won’t give you any of it unless you ask me to. How’s that?”
He wanted to tell him not to bother. To not waste his time. But he didn’t. There was a reason he trusted Ren with this kind of thing. He needed to let him do his job. “Fair enough,” he said quietly.
Nico ended the call, but in the silence that followed, he started to doubt himself for the first time in, well, maybe ever. Because while he didn’t think Ren would uncover anything disturbing in River’s background, that didn’t mean she wasn’t dangerous.
Especially to his heart, which was the one thing he didn’t have the luxury of losing to anyone.