The Lonely King

Chapter Fourteen

I was currently in the kitchen getting a glass of water when Ryan walked in.

"I've been meaning to get you alone." He said. "Can we talk?" He asked.

"Sure." I replied. What did he need?

"Want some wine?" He asked, getting a bottle and two glasses.

"Why not?" I giggled.

He handed me a glass full of some red wine, probably something Italian. "Let's go outside." He stated.

I followed him out to the sitting area by the pool. We sat down, and I was getting anxious of what he could possibly say.

"What do you think of Nick?" He started.

"What?" I asked with shock. Why does he want to know?

"I won't tell anyone what you say to me today. You have my word. So answer this: how do you feel about him?"

I took a deep breath. "I care about him a lot."

"Care about him as a friend or something more?" Oh. Oh! I see what he's trying to do.

"Why is this relevant?" I asked, defensively.

"Just answer the question."

I sighed. "Fine, but you can't tell anyone. It's more than a friend."

He sighed of relief. Huh? "That's a relief."

"Why?" I asked.

"You don't see it?" He looked surprised.

"See what?"

"He obviously likes you!"

I laughed. "No he doesn't. If he did, he would have made a move by now."

"No, he wouldn't. He's too afraid to bring you into a world of danger. That's why he hasn't made a move!" He explained.

"Are you sure he has feelings for me?" I question, still not believing what he said.

"Do you want to know what he's told me about you?"

"Yes." I said, masking how eager I was to hear this.

"The first night he met you wasn't the first time he saw you. He saw you about a month before, walking in Central Park. He told me that day that he saw the most beautiful woman in the park.

"The night when you first met, he came to me and told me that he thought you were an angel at first because of all the blood he was losing, but then realized that you were just a human walking home alone at night, so he followed you home to make sure you were safe.

"When you were kidnapped the next night, he went to check on you. He waited for you to come out of your office building and wanted to follow you home to make sure you were safe, but he had to leave to take care of something at work. When he came back, he waited hours for you, but you never came out, so he assumed you went home in the time he was gone.

"He got a call from Tony that he had someone he wanted to kill, so he went to the warehouse. He was already a little worried and on edge since he didn't see if you came home safely or not, so when he saw you in the chair, he was so angry. You should have seen what he did to Tony." He started to laugh.

"What did he do to Tony?" I asked accusingly.

"It's nothing. Anyway, back to the story. He thought it was his fault that you got hurt. He thought if he waited longer to make sure you got home safely, it would have never happened. He felt guilty about the incident, so he kept his distance in the beginning.

"He decided to use you as a cook, since he didn't want you working too hard as a maid, and it would also give you something to do. He didn't expect your food to be that good though. The first night you cooked for him, he ranted about how amazing your food was and how it doesn't compare to any restaurants or anyone's cooking.

"Then, I tried your food and learned that all he said was true. The other big moment for him was when he saw a man hold a knife at your throat. He was truly afraid you'd die. He did say, however, that he was impressed with how you didn't tell him your real name and found the perfect time to kick him where the sun don't shine.

"After that, he became really cautious, too afraid to somehow get you into a situation like that again. He's scared you'll be taken away from him. He doesn't want to lose you.

"I don't know how you couldn't see it. He cares about you on a way more than friends level. He just wants to see you happy and safe. He says he doesn't care if it's with him or without, but he's lying: he does want you with him. He thinks he's being selfish by putting his happiness over your safety, but I don't think it's selfish."

"I don't think it's selfish either." I chimed in. There was a pause.

"I just wanted to know how you felt about him and let you know how he feels about you." He started to stand up.

"Ryan." I called out. He turned around. "Thank you." I gave him a small smile.

"Anytime." He said before walking away.

I smiled as I thought about how Nick feels about me. He likes me. That thought brought warmth in my heart.

I don't want to make the first move though. I want him to do it when he's ready. I just need to drop some hints to show him that I want him to be selfish.