Chapter 16

16

RILEY

" T hink you'll be okay alone for a few minutes?" I tease Nikolai.

"No." He leans down. He places his hand on my ass, drawing me in to him as his mouth descends onto mine.

"Nikolai," I whisper breathlessly. "We're in the hallway," I remind him, like he gives a shit. No, Nikolai isn't shy about the PDA. Not since we both let our walls down. He always has his hands on me. Except when my sister and Matteo are around.

I'm not ready to tell them yet. I really don't want to worry her. She's been beaming since Matteo found her again. Mona spent her whole life taking care of me. I want to give her some peace of mind, especially while she is pregnant. I don't want this time in her life to be about me. She deserves the focus to be on her.

Nikolai isn't too thrilled about it. He wants to be all over me, but it's not like he isn't still sneaking into my bedroom every night. Plus, my sister has been spending more time out at the house, getting it ready for the baby.

"Don't care." He kisses me again to prove his point.

If someone had told me a couple of weeks ago that this is how Nikolai and I would be, I would have called them a liar. Sure, deep down inside, it's how I wanted us to be, but I never thought he was on the same page as I was.

"All right, I'll be right back." I laugh, slipping into the bathroom. I'm checking my phone, not paying attention until someone grabs my arm. My phone slips out of my hand, falling to the floor.

"You little bitch." Becky slams me up against the bathroom wall, knocking the air out of my lungs. Her minions all laugh. "Are you paying him? Is that what it is? You have to pay someone to fuck your ugly ass?"

"He's not fucking me." I'm not sure why I divulge that little tidbit of information.

"Of course he's not. You're a fucking chubby dork."She wraps her hand around my throat. Becky snatches my glasses off my face. She's about to drop them, but a hand wraps around her wrist.

"Let go of her and give the glasses back to her." Nikolai's voice is calm and cold. Too calm. Becky must sense the threat because she releases her hold on me. When I reach for my glasses, she lets them go. The second I do, Nikolai releases her wrist from his hold, but only to grab her by the throat, slamming her into the wall.

"I'm sorry," she gasps.

"Trust me. You don't know what sorry is." He tightens his hold on her throat. Becky's minions simply stand there, their eyes wide with fear. "Don't think that having a used-up cunt between your thighs keeps you safe from the likes of me." Nikolai leans in closer. "I'll enjoy making you scream and beg, and it won't be the same way I get Riley to do it for me."

Becky's face is starting to turn red. "Blink twice if you understand me." She quickly blinks twice. Nikolai lets her go, stepping back as she slides to the floor, coughing. I stand there in shock.

"Come on, sweetness. You have to get to book club." Nikolai leans down and picks up my phone for me before wrapping his arm around me, leading me out of the bathroom.

We walk to the library in silence. I think I might be a little bit in shock. Not in a bad way, though. It's hard to explain how I'm feeling.

"Why are you so quiet?" Nikolai asks as we approach the entrance to the library. "Did I scare you?" I've never seen Nikolai look worried before, but that's exactly how he looks at this moment.

"No," I answer without hesitation because fear is not what his earlier actions evoked from me. His protectiveness had done the exact opposite: It had turned me on. I've remained quiet because I'm having trouble reconciling my reaction to the situation that unfolded.

"If you keep showing up, we're going to make you join." Angel's voice causes us to turn around. "Why the serious faces?"

"It's nothing." I wave my hand. Nikolai drops a kiss on the top of my head before letting me go. Angel and I take our normal spot and pull out our books to talk.

My eyes can't help but keep flicking over to Nikolai. I'm more turned on than I should be. There might be something wrong with me. It's a fight not to wiggle in my seat.

"You okay?" Angel nudges me with her elbow.

"Yeah, just a little distracted, I guess."

"I can see why." She laughs. "You two have plans this weekend?"

"Oh, I don't know. I'm never sure when Nikolai might be working." Shit, what do I say if she asks me what he does?

"Well, if you want to hang out, text me."

"Okay." That actually might be fun. Angel is starting to feel like a real friend. It's kind of sad, but I only had my sister to consider as a friend growing up.

We say our goodbyes before heading out. I feel guilty for being happy that Matteo and Mona aren't at the condo tonight. Nikolai and I enjoy playing house when they're not around. He watches me cook dinner for the two of us.

"I heard you tell the blonde I wasn't fucking you." My fork pauses halfway to my mouth. I bet Becky would die if she knew a man kept forgetting her name.

"We'll, we're not," Guilt fills me. I know about his past. He opened up to me. "Not that we need to. If you need time or whatever?—"

Nikolai throws his head back and laughs. I can't help but stare at him. That dimple of his is showing. Damn, do I love it when I get it to come out.

"First off, I fucked you with my tongue this morning."

"Nikolai!" I gasp, like someone might hear us even though we're alone. I like when he's crude. No one has ever spoken to me that way. I can still be a little shy about it, but I don't want him to stop.

He's not wrong, though. I had woken up with his mouth all over me. I can't get enough of how needy he can be when he starts to touch me, but it's always just been about me. I want to give him pleasure too. I know he's gotten off when we've dry humped like the horny teens we are, but I want my mouth all over him.

"I love when I get you to blush like that." He leans over and kisses my cheek. I love it too.

And I'm pretty sure I love Nikolai too.