Chapter 11
Chapter
Eleven
AURORA
“ T his was painted by the renowned painter Picasso. We will start the bidding at one hundred thousand dollars.”
People begin raising their paddles to bid. Soon, the Picasso painting goes for over five hundred thousand dollars.
Nico and I sit at the auction, with him bidding on things we don’t really need. Even though I come from money, I’ve never been to an auction before. That was more my father’s thing.
The memory of my father hits me in the gut. His body has been found. The police know something is wrong. They’re looking at Nico and me, and if we’re not careful, we could get hurt.
After I gave Nico my virginity, it brought us even closer. Nico constantly touches me now. Little touches on my back when he opens the door. His fingers graze mine when we pass each other in the hallway. It’s exactly what Beatrice wanted—Nico cares for me even more. I don’t have to ask him to know that. I can see it in his expression and by his behavior.
He didn’t pull away, and I’m grateful. I don’t want to be alone any longer.
I’m just not sure how I can kill him now or even if I want to. Nico is becoming more my husband with every passing day. I know Beatrice is getting antsy for results. If I’m not careful, she just might try to kill Nico herself.
I squeeze his hand. “I’m going to get a drink.” He gives me a small smile and a little kiss before letting me stand. It’s the small, simple things like him kissing me that make this so much tougher.
I head up to the bar near the back of the auction room and order a water. I’m so parched. It must be my nerves. Everywhere I go, I feel like someone is watching me. If I don’t find a way to kill Nico soon, I just might die from paranoia.
“You ruined my life.”
I gasp and whirl around. Enzo is there, looking ragged, his shirt wrinkled. His eyes are blazing with anger. “I …”
He grabs my arm roughly and walks me to a private corner of the room. “You should feel ashamed of yourself.”
“What are you doing here? Nico will hurt you.”
“He’s already fired me. You need to pay for what you’ve done.”
“And what have I done?”
He leans in closer to me, reeking of alcohol. “You tried to kill him. Admit it.”
I may be a little na?ve, but I’m not stupid. There’s no way I’m admitting my true mission to anyone, especially to Enzo, who has it out for me.
“You’re drunk. Let me go.”
His grip on my arm tightens. “Admit it.”
“Let her go,” Nico growls, shoving Enzo away. I gasp and stumble back.
“Nico,” Enzo says, surprise in his voice. Did he really not expect my husband to show up to protect me?
“Leave. Now.”
“Not until she admits it.”
Nico blinks, then frowns, turning to me. “What is he talking about?”
I shrug. “No idea.”
“She tried to kill you, Nico,” Enzo says. “You can’t just let her get away with that.”
Nico sets his dangerous eyes back onto Enzo. “You’re playing with fire. Leave before I hurt you so fucking bad you’ll be begging for me to end you.”
Enzo looks between the two of us before walking away.
Nico slumps against the wall, raking his hand down his face.
“Are you all right?” I ask.
“I should be asking you that.”
“I’m fine. Enzo didn’t hurt me.”
Nico drops his hand. “Why does he keep accusing you of trying to hurt me? Is there something I don’t know?”
Panic seizes my throat, but I manage to get words out. “No. I don’t know what Enzo’s problem is. I care for you, Nico. I’ve given you all of me now. I don’t want to hurt you.” But I must .
Nico looks at me for a long moment before grabbing my hand and kissing the back of it. “All right. But let’s go. I’m tired of this fucking auction.”
He walks past me, expecting me to follow. As I do, I catch the sight of Enzo down a long hallway. Standing next to him is Andrew. I almost stumble. What are those two up to? Enzo wanted me to admit what I tried doing, which means he wanted to use it against me. I just know it.
Andrew catches my gaze and slowly smiles.
I quickly walk away, feeling utterly rattled.
“Do you want to talk about it?” I ask once we get home.
“No,” he says gruffly, then heads into his office, shutting me out. Nico has a lot of burdens right now. The police looking at him. Enzo causing issues.
And now, me. I can’t let him doubt me. The moment he does, he’ll never trust me again, and then I’ll never be able to kill him. If I’m going to do this, I need to do it now.
I rush into the empty kitchen and grab a knife. Now that I don’t have a guard breathing down my neck every second, it makes moving around the house so much easier.
I wait in our bedroom for Nico to appear, but he doesn’t. Hours pass, and I finally work up the courage to go to him myself.
When I knock on the door and don’t get a reply, I slowly push it open to see Nico … asleep at his desk. For a moment, my heart melts at the sight of him. He only truly looks innocent in his sleep.
And then I realize—this is my opportunity.
I grip the knife and slowly approach him. My heart pounds, and my hand is so sweaty, I almost lose my hold on the knife. I stand behind him and raise the knife high …
And stop. If I bring this knife down now onto his neck, he’ll be dead. I’ll be free of the torment of Nico being my father’s possible killer.
But what if he’s not? What if someone else did it? Andrew was the one with the pictures and files in his briefcase.
And even if Nico did kill my father, do I really want him dead? I care for him. I think it might even be more than that.
But if I don’t kill him, Beatrice will hurt me. I know she will. I’ll never get any of my father’s money.
And my father – what would he think of me right now?
Before I can decide, Nico begins to wake up. I quickly turn around and shove the knife into the bookshelf behind his desk.
“Aurora?” Nico blinks, sitting up. “What are you doing in here?”
Think, think. “Uh …” I slowly turn back to him. “You didn’t come to bed. I was just checking in and saw you asleep.”
His eyes soften as he pulls me against him. “That’s sweet. Come here.” He leads me into his lap, where he kisses me deeply.
Quickly, our kiss goes from sweet to passionate. Nico’s touch has a way of lighting me on fire. I’m obsessed with him in more ways than one.
Nico growls deeply in his throat as he picks me up and places me on the desk. “I’ve been thinking about your body all day,” he says against my lips.
“Me, too,” I admit.
Just a moment ago, I was considering killing him, and now, I’m about to make love with him.
I moan softly when his hands go to my thighs, and he pushes my dress up. “Nico,” I whisper.
He resumes kissing me as he pulls my panties down. Somehow, I’m already aroused. The way he can make me go from zero to sixty is astounding.
Gripping his pants, I pull his zipper down, and Nico groans when my hand grabs his erection. My body remembers how he felt inside me, and I need it again. I need him to make me forget what I was about to do to him. I don’t want to be in this position. I just want to be free in how I feel.
Free in my love for Nico.
He lines his length up to my entrance and thrusts into me. We moan together as my hands grip his shoulders and his hands grip my hips.
“Nico.” I drop my head back, letting the pleasure he’s giving me course through my body.
His hips grind against mine. “God, you feel so good around me.” He kisses my temple, and the action is so sweet, it almost makes me cry.
Our foreheads touch, our skin sweaty.
My legs wrap around his waist, pulling him deeper into me. His hands slam against the desk. My breath comes out in pants. I can barely breathe. I need Nico to take away the pain I’ve been feeling. I need to be absolved of every sin.
“Fuck, baby,” he growls, thrusting hard into me. I gasp at the sensation.
Every time he brings his erection deeper into me, a new surge of pleasure hits me. I can feel myself getting close.
“Nico, I need you.”
“You got me, baby. You got me.”
His words send me over the edge. I gasp, my hips jerking up to meet his as I tremble and shake. Nico holds me, burying his head into my neck as his orgasm hits him.
We remain in each other’s arms for a long time.
Nico kisses along my neck. “You know, if we keep this up, you’ll be pregnant.”
I tense. I’ve been so distracted with having to kill Nico, Beatrice judging me, and the police breathing down my neck, that I forgot all about that.
Nico and I haven’t used protection. It only takes one time to get pregnant.
And if I end up pregnant, then … what? I’ll be tied to Nico forever, and then I definitely won’t be able to do what I have to do.
Nico smiles down at me, clearly happy at the idea of me getting pregnant. The sight of his happiness almost breaks my heart.
I force myself to smile back, and then I kiss him so he doesn’t detect my panic.
I could be pregnant.
I don’t know what to do about that.