Chapter 95 Trust You
Lila POV
I held his gaze, my heart hammering so loudly I was certain he could hear it the truth hovered on the edge of my lips, fragile and terrifying all at once, I saw two pink lines.
The words begged to be spoken and I wanted to tell him and to confess that in the middle of all the death and ruin that seemed to follow us like a curse, we had somehow created something beautiful. A life and a tiny heartbeat born from half of me and half of him, growing quietly beneath my ribs.
It should have been a miracle and It should have filled me with joy but instead, fear clawed at me from the inside out.
What if Nico didn’t want a child?
What if he thought I was trying to bind him to me with it?
What if he decided I was nothing more than a liability and cast me aside like something broken beyond repair?
The questions crowded my mind, sharp and relentless but how could this possibly turn into anything good when everything between us had been forged in darkness? I was taken by the man whose child now lived inside me and my father had been killed by the brother of the man who haunted my every thought then the man whose baby I carried was the same man I had sinned with beneath the cover of shadows and desperation.
Where was the hope in that?
Where was the future?
I forced myself to step back, creating space between us, even though every instinct screamed not to. “I appreciate this,” I said quietly, my voice softer than I intended. “Truly.”
Then a thought struck me, cold and sharp “What do you want in return?”
His brow arched slightly, amused and intrigued all at once. “What makes you think I want anything in return?”
“You just admitted you’re selfish,” I replied, lifting my chin even as uncertainty twisted inside me. “That means you don’t do anything without expecting something back.”
A slow, wicked smile curved his lips, dangerously handsome. “Soon.”
I frowned. “Soon what?”
“Soon,” he repeated smoothly, “you’ll find out what I want.”
“Why won’t you just tell me now?”
He studied me in silence, his gaze sharpening until it felt like he could peel me open layer by layer and my stomach fluttered under the intensity of it.
“Because you’re not ready, little pet.”
A shiver ran down my spine. “Ready for what?”
His smile deepened, but he said only one word. “Soon.”
“Nico"”
“Are you tired?”
The sudden shift made me blink. “What?”
“I asked,” he said slowly, his voice dropping into something darker, “are you tired?”
“Why does that matter?”
It happened in a blink and one moment, I stood at a safe distance away the next, I was pinned against the wall, my wrists wrenched above my head and trapped in his iron grip and the impact knocked the breath from my lungs.
“Just answer the damn question,” he growled.
I didn’t struggle because I knew better. I had learned long ago how futile it was to fight his strength. “No,” I whispered. “I’m not tired.”
His thigh slid between mine, pressing upward and lifting me just enough that my breath caught and heat exploded low in my stomach, instant and humiliating the need I’d been trying to ignore all night surged to life like a match struck in darkness.
He leaned closer, and the faint sweetness of champagne lingered on his breath. “Do you trust me?”
I inhaled slowly, trying to steady the storm raging through me. “That’s not a simple question, Nico.”
He shifted, capturing both my wrists in one hand while the other rose to trace the curve of my cheek with unsettling gentleness. “Let me simplify it for you,” he murmured. “If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t melt into my touch and If you didn’t trust me, you wouldn’t crave me the way you do right now.”
“Who says I crave you?” I shot back, though the words sounded weak even to my own ears.
A low laugh vibrated through him, dark and knowing. “When will you learn, little pet?”
“Learn what?”
He tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle already solved. “That your body can’t lie to me.” His voice dropped lower, rougher. “I can feel it the way you react and the heat between your thighs. The way you tremble when I get too close.”
His nose brushed along my cheek, and I shuddered. “I can even smell it,” he whispered. “Your desire and it’s driving me insane.”
A soft, helpless sound escaped me before I could stop it.
I was too wound up, too starved for him. My body betrayed me completely and slowly, almost unconsciously, I began rocking my hips against his thigh, chasing the friction the sensation sent sparks racing up my spine, making my toes curl.
It felt too good and too dangerous, his lips ghosted near my ear. “That’s it,” he murmured. “My needy little mouse.”
He let me continue for a few more breaths just long enough to make me dizzy with it before suddenly pulling his leg away, the loss hit like a physical blow. A whimper slipped free before I could stop it. “Nico are you trying to kill me?”
A wicked gleam lit his eyes. “On the contrary,” he said softly. “I’m preparing you.”
“For what?”
A roguish grin spread across his face. “Because the reward is always sweeter after you’ve been denied.”
“Please” The plea tumbled out, raw and unguarded.
“I have something planned for you tonight,” he said, his tone turning velvet smooth. “For us.” His gaze locked onto mine, intense and unyielding. “But first, I want to hear it.”
He released my wrists and stepped back, giving me space I didn’t know how to handle.
“Say it,” he demanded quietly. “Tell me you trust me.”
I rubbed at my aching wrists, trying to steady my breathing while keeping my eyes locked on his my thoughts spiraled, tangled between fear and longing.
Don’t try to understand him, just trust him.
My tongue flicked out to wet my dry lips. The words felt heavy, irreversible but they were already written somewhere deep inside me.
“I trust you, Nico,” I whispered.