25. Chapter 25

Chapter twenty-five

M arching down the hall towards his room, Haven huffed. She made Rea tell her exactly how to get where she was going. Rea only told her on the condition that she agreed not to try to kill him. Apparently she'd seen enough fury written on Havens face to understand that she was truly pissed.

Ascending a small set of stairs, Haven walked towards the end of the empty hall and banged on the large wooden door ahead of her. It opened with a creak but no one was on the other side.

Stepping into the room, it was dark and appeared empty. Even better, she thought, she'd slip in, steal back the necklace and be gone. Once Haven got a little further into the large circular room, she realized she could hear the groan of a shower beyond the skinny door to the left of a large dark oak bed. She'd have to be fast .

A quick glance around the dark room revealed a small nightstand next to the large bed straight ahead of her, a matching dresser stood to the left next to a tall rectangular window set into the wall. To her right was a small couch facing a fireplace. Next to the fireplace was another door, Haven assumed it probably led to an office. Overall the room was fairly bare. There was only one pillow taking up space on the large bed.

Creeping up to the nightstand, Haven moved aside a few papers in search of her necklace and found nothing. Next she tried the small drawer, finding it locked. Moving to the dresser, she was careful not to disturb the few knickknacks sitting on top of it. There was a small statue of a wolf and another of a flying crow but no necklace. Haven listened to make sure the shower was still going before attempting to pull open the top drawer.

Cautious in her movements, she pushed aside the soft clothes she found. This drawer looked like it was full of the kind of clothes you'd wear to bed but again, no necklace. Moving to the next drawer, Haven opened it and found nothing but boxers. Right as she went to close it rather than digging through what would probably be nothing but underwear, Havens eye caught on the glint of something at the far back of the drawer.

Just as she closed her fist around the object she'd found, Haven got the same sense she'd had in the library. She was being watched. Before she could spin around, someone grabbed her from behind and forced her up against the wall next to the dresser.

"What the hell are you doing in my room?" He growled into her ear. His grip was loose enough for Haven to turn. When she did, she found him barely a breath away from her.

"Looking for this" Haven held up her necklace she'd managed to snag from his drawer between them and looked Nik dead in the eye as she said,

"Looks like someone's got sticky fingers"

Nik rolled his eyes and pressed himself further into her, his hands on the wall on either side of her head. The slight contact between them was making Havens head spin. Taking a moment to look Nik over, Haven realized he was in nothing but a towel, his chest still gloriously wet from his shower and showcasing a whole array of tattoos. She could also still hear the shower running. He must've left it on so the sound would disguise his footsteps.

Nik leaned in closer to her ear and asked, with disdain dripping from his voice,

"I'll ask you again princess, what are you doing in my room?"

Havens mind tripped on the word princess. How could someone make something said with so much hate also sound so hot?

"And I'll repeat myself Nik , I was looking for this" She gestured as much as she could to the necklace currently pinned between them.

"It looked terrible on you, I was doing you a favor. You shouldn't have worn it"

Haven scoffed. Tilting her head back against the wall and rolling her eyes, she said,

"Oh really? That's your excuse? I want the real answer Nik!"

Niks eyes tracked the pulse in her throat that was exposed when she tilted her back against the wall. She watched as his eyes dilated, barely catching the movement in the dim light of the room.

"I told you, you shouldn't have worn it" Nik spoke lowly and aggressively, eyes still on her throat. A speck of truth rung out in that statement but before she could question him further, Nik looked down at the dress from dinner she was still wearing, leaned in close and continued,

"Actually, I think this whole getup looks terrible on you."

Haven sucked in a breath, Nik was so close that Haven could feel his breath on her neck. Haven didn't get a second to think as Nik slowly dipped his hand into the slit of her dress.

Parting the fabric, he laid his palm directly on the outside of her soft thigh. Her skin burned where Nik touched her. His hand was barely resting on the outside of her thigh and it was still one of the most erotic things she'd ever felt. Haven struggled to bite back a moan as Nik slowly, so slowly, slid his hand higher, parting the fabric even more. It was dark enough he probably couldn't see the stretch marks on her thighs and she was somewhat thankful for that. She'd always struggled a bit with showing off her body to romantic partners. Her friends usually weren't a problem, just like it had been with Rea, but anyone she was attracted to was an entirely different story. She may dislike the guy but Haven could admit she was most definitely attracted to him.

Thoughts of the necklace were pushed to the very back of her mind when Nik laid a light kiss to the sensitive skin just below her ear. Her heart was pounding in her chest. The ache in her core seemed incessant, it only deepened when Niks lips parted and he ran the tip of his fangs over that same sensitive skin.

Haven reached a hand up and wound it through the thick hair at the base of Nik's skull, tugging slightly. A soft groan sounded from him. Pushing himself impossibly closer to her, Haven could feel the evidence of Niks attraction, especially when he hitched her leg up through the slit in her dress and wound it around his hip.

A sudden voice pulled Haven and Nik from the trance they had found themselves in,

"Am I interrupting?"

Nik threw himself away from her, the loss of contact and wash of cool air brought Haven back into her mind where she realized exactly what she'd been doing and exactly who she'd been doing it with. Taking the opportunity, Haven darted out the open door behind the stranger. She didn't even bother to greet whoever had interrupted them as she ran, the necklace still clutched in her palm.

Once she was safely down the hall, she let her mind wander over what just happened. Realizing something she cursed, Nik completely distracted her from finding out why he had taken her necklace in the first place. Haven didn't know if it was intentional or not but she had the feeling it was. Embarrassment burned on her face as she thought about how easily she'd been played.

At least she had gotten back her necklace, Haven thought as she made her way back to her room. Unlocking the door, Haven crashed down on her bed, still in her dinner clothes and still feeling the result of being up close and personal with Nik. She quickly decided to hide beneath her covers and try her best to forget about everything that happened tonight. Even if part of her did not want to forget, she would not be listening to that part again anytime soon.