Page 13 of Dark Knight (Knight's Ridge Empire 10)

My tears only come faster as I think back to that night and the way he’s avoided and ignored me ever since.

He knew I’d seen him, yet he’s never once tried talking to me about it.

It hurt to know that he regretted it so much when I truly believed every word he’d said to me that night.

I knew going anywhere near Ant after discovering that he was part of the Mariano Family was a bad idea. But he was so sweet. He saw me as just Calli—not the Cirillo princess—and he made me feel like no one else I’d ever met.

He was my secret. Something I chose for myself when every other part of my life is dictated by my parents, by the Family.

But it was selfish of me to drag him into my fucked-up life.

I have no idea how long I lie there sobbing, but eventually, I cry myself back to sleep.

* * *

When I wake up, I know that something is different before I’ve even opened my eyes.

I feel him.

His stare, his presence. His breath wafting softly over my face.

For a few seconds, I allow myself to remember how safe, how wanted he made me feel that night, but that contentment is soon washed away when I remember what happened tonight.

Was it even tonight?

How long have I been out of it?

Ant.

Myeyes fly open and they collide with his dark pair.

He’s lying on the bed beside me, staring at me with his hand tucked under his cheek.

The sight of him looking completely relaxed after everything he’s done ignites a fire in my belly.

I tug at my arms, hoping that he’s taken pity on me and released me now that he’s here, but no such luck.

“What the fuck is your problem?” I seethe, my voice rough with emotion when all he does is lie there and stare at me as if he can’t really believe that I’m here.

“Shh, it’s okay, beautiful,” he whispers softly, reaching out and tucking a lock of my hair behind my ear. “It’s okay. Everything is okay.”

“Are you actually fucking insane?” I snap, my eyes bouncing between his, waiting for some kind of reaction, but all he does is smile.

It’s not something he does all that often, and the sight of his dimples makes something odd happen inside me.

“Your assurances and your smile aren’t helping the situation,” I hiss, although I regret it the second his lips flatten once more.

“I’m not going to hurt you, beautiful. I’d never hurt you.”

“Untie me then. My arms ache.”

He looks up to where my wrists are bound and then back to my eyes.

“I can’t,” he confesses.

“Why?”

He studies me for so long that I don’t think he’s going to respond. But eventually, he reaches out once more, brushing his fingertips down my cheek and then along the edge of my jaw as if I’m something precious, something that might vanish at any moment.