Màu nền Màu tối Mặc định Xám nhạt Xanh nhạt Xanh đậm Vàng nhạt Màu sepia Vàng đậm Vàng ố

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Nico's POV:

Marcus' body tensed as we sped through the castle, arriving in front of my door.

He let out a quick and quiet breath as I released my hold I had on him near his stomach, causing him to stagger on his feet.

I quickly glanced around, making sure no one was around before I opened the door and lead him in.

My small smile came without warning as Khloe's eyes met mine before they met Marcus.

Then her face turned to one of shock and horror at the sight of his condition.

"Marcus?!" She exclaimed, leaning forward on the bed.

The boy gave her the best smile he could, offering up a nervous wave.

"H-Hey Khloe." He responded, some relief evident in his voice.

Confusion swept over her face as she continued to look him over.

"What...," She paused, noticing the bruises and blood trails on the parts of his body that weren't covered by the towel, "What happened to you?"

Her eyes turned to me, hoping I would give her an answer.

"I'll tell you soon," I replied to her before turning towards Marcus, "As for you, Ill have some food and clothes brought up for you while you shower, after that ill take a look at your injuries and then let you got a bit of sleep before we leave. Sound good?"

He nodded twice.

"Yes-," He hesitated before speaking his next word, "Nico, Thank you."

He bowed his head, which really wasn't necessary, before he shakily made his way towards the bathroom.

All of these rooms were basically built the same, so he already knew where it was.

Khloe and I just watched in silence until the bathroom door was closed.

She turned back to me as she leaned back against the headboard, her eyes wide in concern, "Nico..."

I rolled out my shoulders as I made my way over to her.

"The Lord decided that Marcus was going to be his new plaything," I explained, not wanting to tell her the real reason he was in that situation, "I recognized his scent on you from when you came back from the clinic, so after you told me that you two were friends, I decided I wanted to take him with us. Plus he can drive us."

I got onto the bed as soon as I heard the water running in the shower, closing some distance between us.

She said that she'd continue where she left off and I intended to take her word for it at least for a couple minutes before I had to tend to Marcus

"So you broke him out and plan on sneaking him out with us without the Lord knowing?" she asked, bringing her hand up to touch my cheek as I leaned towards her.

"Mhm," I responded, placing my hand over hers, "I plan to have him be the top slave on my floor as soon as we get there, so he'll always be available to us if we need him. Plus I wanted you to have someone that you could hang out with whenever I can't be with you."

Her gorgeous smile curved her lips.

"Thank you," She breathed, laying herself back down to lay on the pillow, taking her hand down with her.

I just looked at her for a second, admiring her.

"Anything for you sweetheart," I responded, lowering myself onto my elbow so I was still partially sitting above her.

"Does he know about us?" She asked.

I shook my head.

I'm sure Marcus may have his suspicions, but it's not like I was explicitly trying to hide it.

After what I did for him I doubt he would say anything to anyone even if he did know.

But I didn't want to risk telling anyone directly.

If you want to keep something a secret, you keep it close to you and only you.

That way only you control when or if it gets out.

I felt myself stiffen at the thought, my brows furrowing.

I don't know what Id do if this got out, so I'll just have to make sure it never does.

Ever.

People can have their suspicions, but the source is the only thing that holds proof. Whether their suspicions were true or not, they'll never know without hearing it from me.

Which they never will.

No matter what, I couldn't risk it

I couldn't risk losing this. Losing her.

After all it took to get her...

Khloe's touch snapped me out of my thoughts, her fingers running through my hair right above my ear.

"You OK?" She asks, her concern now focused on me as she read the look on my face.

Her icy blue eyes wide with wonder.

God, how could I ever not be ok with her around?

I leaned down, cherishing her small gasp as I lightly kissed her neck, then her jaw, placing my final kiss on her lips, lingering there longer than the previous ones.

Her hands paused as I leaned back, seeing the new heat on her face.

"I'm fantastic," I responded softly.

I began to lay back down to where we were positioned this morning, feeling Khloe lightly pull on my hair like she was debating on whether or not she was going to one-up my affection.

In the end, her small defeated sigh told me she wasn't before she began trailing her fingers back through my hair.

"You didn't try to go back to sleep?" I asked, wrapping one of my arms around to hold her lower back.

I felt her shake her head.

"No. I knew I wouldn't be able too. I'm too excited about what's to come."

"You're excited?" I questioned.

I wanted her to be. I knew that this was something that she was going to enjoy, but I also knew that this was where she's lived her entire life.

"I am," she laughed quietly to herself, "My mind keeps coming up with all the possibilities of things I'll be able to do there... that well be able to do there."

I let my eyes close as she began massaging the back of my neck.

We laid like that for a few minutes in silence, save for the purrs that frequently resonated from my chest.

"Is this really going to work?" Khloe broke the silence.

My eyes shot open, the worst coming to my mind and making me think that she meant us.

"What?" I asked, trying to mask my thoughts.

"Getting out of here under Bronwyn's nose. I mean once Layla tells him what happened and he realizes we left, isn't he going to try to come after us?"

The tension left my chest as my worries vanished.

"He can try, but once we're out of his territory, he can't do anything. He only has authority in his city, and once were in my domain, he won't even try to come after us." I explained.

"So he'll just ignore what happened?"

"Well, probably not ignore. He'll get mad, that's for sure, but he'll eventually get over it once he realizes that there's nothing he can do."

She hummed a short response.

"So then as soon as we leave were safe?"

I breathed out a small laugh at here meaningless concern.

She worried about her safety like I wasn't going to protect her no matter what.

I pushed myself up, having heard the water in the shower turn off.

"Yea Khloe, were safe."