Or the way our eyes met in the mirror across the?—
The door opens, and my eyes dart to Nikolai entering the room. I watch him breathlessly as he walks toward the bed, bare-chested and barefoot, wearing nothing but charcoal dress pants that ride dangerously low on his hips. His belt hangs open, the leather trailing against his thigh with each step. His hair is mussed, damp at the temples, and all I can think about is what it would feel like fisted in my fingers while his mouth works its way down my body.
God help me.
I watch him approach. He’s angry. His jaw is tight. But his eyes… oh God. His eyes are locked on me, vibrant and feral and blazing with heat.
He doesn't speak. He doesn’t need to.
His intentions are clear.
I’m going to pay for breaking the rules.
For trying to escape.
My breath trembles in my throat. All I have is the thin barrier of a bedsheet clutched against me as he prowls closer, his piercing gaze raking every inch of my skin.
I should scream.
Try to run.
But I do nothing.
Because I’m caught in his spell, and all I can do is stare.
He reaches the edge of the bed and crawls up.
Slow.
Predatory.
Every movement deliberate.
His bare hands sink into the mattress, his arms flexing with power as he looms over me. I feel his heat before he even touches me. Then he’s straddling me, his belt dragging across my thigh as he climbs up my body like he’s done it a hundred times.Like I belong beneath him.
His tongue slides up my throat, a single stroke from the base to the line of my jaw.
I shudder and bite back a moan.
His mouth trails across my skin until his lips brush my ear. “You’re going to pay for breaking my rules.”
I jolt awake.
My eyes fly open in the darkness, and it takes me a moment to fully wake up and catch my bearings.
The room is dark and empty.
No Nikolai.
I sit up and press the heel of my palm into my eye. The sheets are tangled around my legs, damp with sweat, and my skin is flushed and slick.
A dream.
It was just a dream.
I take in a deep breath then let it go slowly to steady my racing heart.
But Nikolai’s voice still echoes in my head.
