Page 175 of Madness & Mercy

My first thought waking up to an empty bed isdamn, I’m sore.My entire body aches, proof that Nico Vitale doesn’t know the meaning of mercy. That bastard left me wrecked, aching, and apparently abandoned.

Images of last night flash through my mind. His hands, his mouth, the way I lost every shred of control. The wayhelost control.

I fumble for my phone on the nightstand, my eyes half-shut. Nothing. No calls, no texts.

“Well fuck you too, asshole,”I mutter. One minute he’s telling me he belongs to me, and the next he’s vanishing like it never happened. Like I was just a fuck. Not that I care.

I toss the phone back down, head for the bathroom, and let the shower scald me awake. It doesn’t matter how hot the water gets, I can’t get him out of my head. My mind keeps looping back to the way he begged, the way I chained him to the bed and rode him until I forgot my own name. Did I push it too far? Maybe. But hell, heliked it.

I brush my teeth, throw on a pair of grey sweats, and stalk down the hall. Knowing him, he’s holed up in his office, hiding behind a mountain of paperwork and secrets. Or maybe he’s outwith Luca, painting the town red. Either way, what gives him the right to disappear after giving me the best damn sex of my life?

I find his office.Locked.

I slam my fist against the door. “Hey, asshole. Open up.”

Nothing.

Great. Now I’m pacing the damn house, checking every corner like an idiot. Kitchen, empty. Lounge, empty. Guards and staff, gone. What the hell is going on?

My phone buzzes in my pocket. I yank it out and glare at the screen.

NICO:You look adorable when you’re flustered.

I scoff.

JULIAN:Very funny. Where is everyone?

NICO:Luca and Enzo took Allegra to run an errand. Gave the staff the day off. Meet me out back. I’ve got something to show you.

I squint at the screen, suspicion curling in my gut. Knowing him, this is just some elaborate plot to drag me back into bed. And after the shit he pulled this morning? Yeah…likehellI’m falling for that.

JULIAN:Why should I?

NICO:Because I said so.

I roll my eyes so hard it hurts, shoving the phone in my pocket as I head for the back doors.

The second I step outside, my jaw goes slack.“You’ve gotta be shitting me…”

Sunlight filters through silk drapes strung between the trees, the fabric shifting lazily in the breeze. Rose petals are scattered everywhere, spilling across the grass like droplets of blood. And at the center, a fountain runs clear and bright, rimmed with candles—yes, actual candles—still flickering against the daylight like Nico couldn’t resist overdoing it. There’s no one else around. Just us. Justhim.

Nico stands at the end of the path, waiting for me in a designer suit, silk tie, polished shoes. It’s the kind of perfection that makes my stomach drop and my throat close up. Holyhell,he looks good. Like sin wrapped in Armani.

And I’m supposed to walktowardhim? With my pulse trying to escape through my neck? Yeah, right. Still, my feet betray me, dragging me closer no matter how hard I try to resist.

“Nico, what the hell is this?” I rasp, trying not to let my voice crack.

That infuriating smirk curves his lips. Without saying a word, he sinks down on one knee.

My brain short-circuits. My breath catches. My chest caves in like someone just punched me. Andfuck me,my eyes water.

“You bastard…” I whisper.

He pulls a velvet box from his pocket like he knows he’s already got me. When he flips it open, I nearly stagger back.

The band inside gleams like it was forged from the stars themselves. It’s the kind of ring that doesn’t belong on a man like me. It’s too perfect. Tooexpensive.And yet somehow, he’s holding it like it was always meant to be mine.

My chest feels too tight, my thoughts too loud. Part of me wants to scream at him to get up, to stop looking at me like I’mhis entire world. But the other part, the reckless, buried part I can never seem to kill, just wants to hear him say the words—