34. Kat

Chapter 34

Kat

Nik’s kiss isn’t gentle—it’s raw, demanding, like he’s been holding back for far too long. His mouth moves against mine with a desperate hunger, and when his tongue sweeps into my mouth, he groans low, tasting me like he’s starving.

Before I can catch my breath, his fingers twist into my hair, tugging me closer. His other arm hooks under my thighs, and suddenly, I’m off the ground, pressed tight against his chest.

“Nik!” I gasp, startled, as he strides down a hidden set of steps tucked into the shadows of the terrace.

“Where are you taking me?” I pant, breaking the kiss just long enough to ask.

“Away from here,” he growls, his tone sharp with annoyance, as though I shouldn’t have stopped kissing him. “When I make you come, no one else is going to hear your sweet little moans. Those are for my ears only, kiska .”

My stomach flips at the possessiveness in his voice, heat rushing through me. He carries me deeper into the shadows, stopping under a towering tree, its branches forming a dark canopy above us. Without hesitation, he presses me against the rough bark, his body pinning me like he can’t stand the thought of any space between us.

I grab his hair, yanking his mouth back to mine. My legs wrap around his waist, and I grind against him instinctively. His hard cock presses against the silk of my underwear, and a gasp slips from my lips. His fingers dig into my hips, pulling me closer as he groans into my mouth—a sound so low, so tortured, it makes me gasp

“I want you,” I manage to whisper between ragged breaths, my words tumbling out as his mouth leaves a scorching trail down my neck.

His response is almost a growl, his lips finding the spot where my neck meets my shoulder. He bites down, just hard enough to make me whimper, and when he lifts his head, his eyes are wild, burning with unrestrained need.

“I need you,” he rasps, his voice rough, shaking with intensity. “You’re mine.”

As we kiss, I lose track of everything but Nik—no sense of where I end and he begins. I breathe in the air he exhales, but it's not enough—I need more. His mouth consumes me, rough and unrelenting, his hands roaming with a desperation that mirrors my own. When his hand slips under my dress, the world tilts. Time feels meaningless, absurd.

Then his fingers are inside me, swift and confident, and I gasp against his lips. My head spins as his fingers slide out me, then inside again in one fluid, devastating motion. My cries are swallowed by his lips. “ Kiska ,” he growls, his voice dark and possessive, “you’re mine.” His lips graze mine, demanding, insistent. “Say it.”

“Yours,” I whisper, my voice shaky and raw. I grab his shirt, pulling him closer, my body arching into him. My tongue meets his, desperate and impatient, silently pleading for more. Faster. Harder. I’ve waited too long for this—for him. For us.

But then, faint at first, a sound cuts through the haze. For a second, I think I’ve imagined it. Then it sharpens. A voice.

“Nikolai,” the voice calls again, shattering the moment.

Nik stiffens against me, his entire body going rigid. Fury rolls off him in waves, tangible and electric. His grip on me tightens, and when he turns his head, his entire posture shifts, rage rolling off him like a storm. “ What ?” he snarls, his voice deadly. “Do you have a death wish?”

Vladmir emerges from the shadows, his face grim. “We have to go. Now ,” he says, sharp and urgent. He mutters something in Russian, quick and clipped, and whatever it is makes Nik immediately straighten. His entire focus shifts in an instant.

His arms tighten around me protectively before he glances back at Vladmir and responds in Russian, his voice low and commanding.

Then his gaze finds mine, softer but no less intense. “We have to get out of here,” he says, his tone steady but urgent. He untangles my legs from his waist, lowering me carefully to the ground. His hands linger on my hips as he steadies me.

“What’s going on?” I ask, my breath still uneven as I try to piece it together.

“Erin is missing,” Nik says grimly, his jaw clenching. “McGuire thinks I’m behind it. We’re in danger.”