Page 17 of Sacred Sin

I couldn’t answer him with words. Instead, I turned around and lifted the back of my shirt, glad he couldn’t see the tears that cascaded like a waterfall. The humiliation I felt was so consuming that all I wanted to do was go somewhere safe and hide under a blanket forever.

“Nicolette,” Gio said gently. He lowered my shirt and pivoted me around. “He won’t ever touch you again. I promise.” The certainty in his voice frightened me more than the bruises.

Gio didn’t make promises he couldn’t keep.

I was pulled from my memories when I heard, “I promise, Nicolette.”

“Huh? What did you say, Marko?”

He leaned down in front of me and handed me a tissue.

“I said, things will work out, I promise. Now, time for you to get in the shower while I pack our bags.”

“I’m not going.” I pouted. We both knew that wasn’t true, but I had to say it to show I wasn’t on board with Gio’s plan.

Marko stood and pulled me to my feet. “Go. Get ready,” he demanded, turning me toward the ensuite door, and delivering a resounding smack on my ass that was so unexpected I cried out from surprise. A stinging flame quickly morphed to a delicious wave of heat that set my clit throbbing.

Only then did I realize that Marko no longer had the vanilla cookie scent I associated with home. It had been replaced with an intoxicating combination of musk, cayenne, and dark chocolate. Yet another reminder that the boys I’d once loved had grown into dangerous men. I was beginning to question the wisdom of bringing Gio and Marko back into my life.

Chapter 5

Marko

I offered to drive back and received my answer when my best friend climbed into the driver’s seat, leaving me to choose between the passenger seat or in the back with Niki.

“Sit in the front, Marko. We have logistics to discuss.”

Since arriving back from the studio, Gio hadn’t directly communicated with Niki. He used me to speak with her indirectly. Without being aware of it—at least that was what I assumed—Gio had placed us right back into our roles from when we were kids, with me keeping the peace between them, well, between all of us, really.

He wasn’t fooling me with his act of dispassion. I knew Gio well enough to know it was taking everything he had to remain indifferent toward the only woman he’d ever loved. I also knew he thought by acknowledging her existence as little as possible, he was punishing her, and taking a peek in the rearview told me his strategy was working.

Not that either of them would admit it.

Niki had spent most of the drive staring out the side window, but every few minutes her attention drifted forward. The moment she thought Gio wasn’t looking, her gaze settled on him. Sometimes it lingered on the side of his face. Sometimes on his hands gripping the steering wheel. Once, it settled on the scar near his jaw that hadn’t been there twelve years ago.

The second his eyes shifted to the mirror, she looked away.

Every.

Single.

Time.

The funny thing was Gio wasn’t much better.

He checked the mirror constantly. At first I told myself he was watching traffic. Then I told myself he was keeping an eye on a potential threat. By the tenth glance, even I couldn’t lie to myself anymore.

He was watching her.

Not openly.

Never directly.

A glance in the mirror.

A quick look when she moved.

A subtle shift whenever she spoke.