Page 35 of Sweet Deception (Irish Kings #4)

Chapter Thirty-One

Shane finding no fault with Nika floods me with an overwhelming sense of relief.

If he’d ruled her a big enough liability to warrant her death, nothing and no one could’ve changed his mind, but that wouldn’t have stopped me from trying.

The thought of those expressive gray, gold-flecked eyes closing forever haunted me every single mile I drove to and from the safe house.

But in all my wildest fantasies of how things might go, I never once considered the possibility of Shane wanting Nika to stay here at the estate. With us. With me . He told me specifically to “keep her close” for her skills, though I’m not entirely sure what that entails.

Am I supposed to be her jailer? Calling the shots at the safe house was one thing. Now that there are other orders involved, I’m no longer sure what I’m supposed to be doing. It’s an unfamiliar sensation.

The other night, my father seemed to imply the…complexity…of my relationship with Nika was on full display. Was my uncle aware we were screwing when he ordered me to watch her closely?

I got the sense that he granted his blessing, but that can’t be right.

Despite my confusion, a lot of tension’s melted from my limbs, because at least this way I can keep her safe. I no longer have to fret about Troy’s thugs hunting her down.

As I guide her down the hall toward the grand staircase, her curious gaze bores into the side of my face, but I’m still at a loss for what to say to her in the wake of my uncle’s decision.

“So?” she hisses under her breath as we pass a pair of foot soldiers in the hallway. “What happens next?”

Great fucking question. If only I knew the answer.

Clearing my throat, I gesture toward the third floor. “What happens next is…we get you to your room.”

“My room?”

We ascend the steps in silence. I know she has more questions, but the growing buzz under my skin distracts me too much to worry about them. Not only can I ensure she’s safe without hiding her from my family, she’ll remain nearby. In a bedroom about ten feet away from my own.

Things are looking up.

On the third floor, I lead her to a guest suite. The moment we both clear the door, she whirls on me, her expression stony.

“Do the Kings have any intention of helping the girls or not?” She crosses her arms over her chest and scowls. “Tell me now, Darren. No more hedging.”

I’m taken aback by her query. “If we bring Troy down, the girls will be safe.”

She shakes her head. “You can’t really be that naive.”

“Says the girl who hacked one of the most powerful mafia families in New York City on baseless hunches.”

Nika scoots around me, opens the door, and gestures for me to leave. “Thanks for everything you’ve done to ensure my safety, but it sounds like I’m going to have to save Lucy on my own.”

We gaze at each other, frozen, like two paintings stuck in a fresco.

“What does that mean?” Irritation colors my voice. “Are you going to try and run away tonight?”

A hint of a smile plays at her lips. “Not tonight. It’s getting dark.”

I nod, then crack my neck, uncomfortable with the silence stretching between us. Which is weird as fuck.

I breed silence, causing people to walk away, nervous and confused. But Nika isn’t going anywhere. She regards me with that cool, composed energy she’s carried through every chaotic moment.

At a loss, my brain lurches to the easiest way to break the tension.

I fish in my pocket and extract a peace offering. “Here.”

Nika’s mouth falls open before she snatches the phone from my hand. “You’re giving it back? Thank you.”

The genuine gratitude lighting up her expression causes an uncomfortable squirming sensation to kick off in my gut. “Hungry?” I hate not knowing what to say, what Nika needs to hear…or acknowledging the reality that even if I did know, I probably couldn’t deliver.

Anxiety? Is that what I’m experiencing?

I hate this shit, whatever it is.

Her fierce expression blunts a little. “I am hungry, but…honestly, I’m too exhausted to eat. More than anything, I just want to reclaim my kitty from Kiara and sleep.”

“Okay. Yeah, sleep.” After our several-day separation, the thought of saying good night fills me with disappointment. “I’ll leave you alone so you can…you know.”

Mechanically, I shuffle back toward the door she’s still holding open until her tentative voice says, “Wait.”

I jerk to a stop like I walked straight into a wall. “What?”

“Did you mean it?” Color blooms on her cheeks.

I wrinkle my brow. “Mean what?”

She fidgets with a loose thread on her shirt. “What you said earlier. Before we went in to see your uncle.”

Her words take a moment to sink in. “I didn’t want to leave you…”

Fucking hell, I forgot I said that. Now, I really do want to run.

But denying it would only make me an asshole, so…

“I meant it, Nika.”

Electricity zaps down my spine as my eyes connect with hers. The impulse to kiss her seizes me once again, but I stand frozen to the spot. Something delicate is unfolding between us, and I know if I make one single move, this fragile bond will break.

“Then…stay.”

Muscles in my back tighten, and everything inside me demands that I tackle her.

Tackle her now .

“Don’t leave,” she continues, hesitating by the door. “I don’t want…”

She trails off. Maybe she’s nervous too.

Call me a dick, but that thought comforts me. I don’t want to be the only anxious one in this room.

“I don’t want to be alone.” She wraps her arms around her waist and bows her head, as if convinced I’ll still walk away.

Little does she know that I would never turn my back on her right now. Not when she practically cracked herself open to show me her soft, gooey core.

Slowly, I press the door closed before cupping her cheeks. I kiss her once, gently.

I guide us the twenty paces from the door to the king bed on the far side of the room. She lies down, and I settle around her, pulling her into my chest.

To hold her in my arms again, her sweet scent enveloping me, is almost too much to handle. I want to inhale her like a drug. Everything that was in disarray since I left her at the safe house seems at ease now, which is messed up. Since when do I do peace?

She settles deeper into the bend of my body, as if she belongs there.

“Tomorrow, I’ll have a runner go to your apartment and pick up some of your things.” I close my eyes. “Since you may be with us for a while.”

She catches her breath at those words. We’re tucked so tightly together, I sense her chest stuttering against my own.

“The music box.”

“Hmm?”

“My grandmother’s music box…” Her hopeful eyes plead with mine. “It’s priceless to me. If there’s any way you could get that, I’d be?—”

“Done.”

“Thank you,” she whispers, and I truly believe she put her whole heart into those two syllables.

I’m still as a statue with my arms locked around her. Which is fine, considering she’s asleep in seconds.

Holding her so near, I listen for her small huffs of breath while my mind ponders over our time together. When I reflect on the way I’ve been acting, I don’t like what I find.

Truthfully, I don’t recognize myself.

The chaos agent I pride myself on being is nothing short of mush around Veronika Kotova.

I blow things up. I kill men with my bare hands. I show other people how to do the same.

I don’t cuddle defenseless ballet dancers while they sleep, wanting nothing more than to keep them safe. But here I am, snuggled up with this woman and drowning in protective instincts I never even realized I had.

What the hell is happening to me?