I didn’t take my eyes off him, and neither did he.
I heaved a sigh, fingers rubbing my forehead. “I can’t believe I’m saying this, but I was a lot safer within these walls.”
Again, silence.
Then he broke it. “So, I took you out once, and now somehow, I’m the bad guy.” His voice dropped low, the kind of calm that sounded too close to laughter. “Interesting logic.”
“Don’t do that—don’t try to turn this around.” My scowl deepened.
At this point, anger was the only emotion that I could muster. It was the one thing that could block out the illicit thoughts creeping into my mind.
“You know, instead of making me the villain, you could actually just thank me.”
I scoffed, brows rising in disbelief. “For what? Saving the life you endangered? Yeah, no—I’m not doing that.”
He pushed himself off the door frame and approached me with slow steps. I drew a breath, bracing myself as he closed the distance between us. My eyes flicked to his chiseled abs, then to the faint print of his stick dangling between his legs before returning to his face.
“You’re one stubborn little mule, you know that?” he said, his voice barely above a whisper.
I looked up at him, defiance flashing in my eyes. “So I’m told.”
Towering over me, he asked, “Do you know what they say about stubborn people?”
“We don’t break easily,” I answered, arrogance creeping into my tone.
His hand snapped out, fingers caressing the strands that framed my face. “True. But that’s just that first part. The second part says you bleed longer.”
Silence.
My heart was pounding like a drum, and all I could do was hope that he wouldn’t notice how nervous I was. He’d gotten so close to me that I could feel him grazing against my thighs.
The soft touch stirred up something primal within me, and jolts of electricity surged through my blood, leaving me vulnerable.
I was tempted to glance down at the shaft teasing my upper legs, but by doing that, I’d only be exposing my own desires.
“Stubbornness is strength without direction,Dikaya,” he drawled, eyes narrowing slightly. “It burns bright. But it burns out.”
I locked my jaw, my chest heaving with slow breaths. He held my gaze and leaned in to mirror my face, his lips inches from mine. A sudden heat spread across my body as a cold shiver sprinted down my spine. My palms were greasy, and I was already sweating in awkward places.
I felt a tingling sensation between my legs, and my thighs brushed against each other in response. My body stiffened when he ran the back of his hand along my arm. His electric touch weakened my knees, turning my legs into jelly.
My heart sank into my stomach as I held his gaze, struggling not to shrink under his stare. The scent of his cologne was intoxicating, his towering height intimidating. He had me trapped—cornered. Literally.
In that moment, I knew that one wrong move would send me melting into his arms. I was weak and vulnerable, and if he decided to act on that tonight, he’d have me in his bed in no time.
I was wet down there just by looking into those cold eyes of his. His fingers on my arm ignited a flame within me, and it was starting to burn like a wildfire. It was as though every cell in my body had come alive, and all I wanted was to taste his lips.
This—whatever this was?—it was intentional.
Nikolai Tarasov was teasing me on purpose, messing with my emotions just to see how long until I gave in. As much as I wanted to prove him wrong, I knew even if I passed the test tonight, it was only a matter of time before I fell completely.
He wasn’t going to give up; the determination in his eyes was a testament to that. I was at his mercy, ready to bend to his will—and if he kissed me right now, I wouldn’t push him away. Instead, I kissed him back and maybe even lost myself in the passion. That was how turned on I was.
His lips twisted into a mischievous grin, and just like that, he quietly pulled away. “Sleep well,Dikaya,” he whispered, then turned and left.
After he disappeared out of sight, I let out a long sigh of relief, realizing just now that I’d been holding my breath this whole time. With a hand on my chest, I struggled to get a hold of myself, and my grip tightened around the railing.
My knees were too weak to carry my weight, my mind too busy to focus on anything other than Nikolai Tarasov. I despised how my body betrayed me, how it responded to his touch with longing. I knew that entertaining those illicit thoughts in my head was a bad idea, but I couldn’t help it.
