It had been a hectic day. As soon as we got back to the house, I locked myself away in my bedroom. I didn’t want Nikolai to get the wrong idea but I needed time to process. We freaking kissed. We also were followed but I’ll let Nikolai deal with that.
Ohhh, that kiss. It gave me shivers as I thought about it, and once I started thinking about it I couldn’t stop.
I needed relief from the heat that had begun to build within me.
I skipped into the bathroom to run the bath. There was nothing like a steaming bath to soothe the tension that now riddled my body. If this was what it felt like after one kiss, I wondered how I’d survive anything more. Nikolai King had me in knots.
That night, the good outweighed the bad. Even if it only lasted a few hours, I had gotten a glimpse of my future here with Nikolai and it wasn’t as bad as I’d previously thought. In fact, I liked the look of it, of us. I liked how he made me feel and that’s all that I thought of as I climbed into bed that night.
* * *
A knock sounded at my door pulling my attention away from my reflection in the bathroom mirror. My eyes flitted down to the white fluffy towel that I was wrapped in and up to the turban-style towel wrapped on top of my head.
It was too early for Nik’s brothers to be here. I still had plenty of time to get ready. I held back from answering the door as I wasn’t exactly dressed for company. Instead, I called out, “Who is it?”
“It’s me. Who the hell else would it be?” Nikolai’s sharp voice cut through the door, his words causing my eyes to roll. Great, grumpy Nik was back. He ran so hot and cold he was like a faulty shower in need of a good plumber.
Oh, that sounded dirty. I was glad no one else heard that.
Ugh. “Hang on.” I rushed to pull the towel from my head. I shook my hair out, slipped my feet into my slippers and moved across the room.
“I’m busy. What’s up?” I asked as I swung the bedroom door open. Nikolai was still in his suit from this morning. He mustn’t have been home long.
His mouth flailed open and closed for a good full minute before I shook my head and started to close the door on him.
“Wait.” Nikolai’s hand slammed on the door, stopping it from closing. “I have to pop out to pick up Drex, his car broke down.”
“Okay.” I still wasn’t getting why this warranted a visit to my bedroom.
A slight frown pinched Nikolai’s eyebrows together. “Zedd is on his way.”
“Again, okay.” I was starting to get impatient to be left alone again. I wasn’t sulking but I did prefer my own space most of the time anyway.
“If you don’t want me to leave you alone with him, I’ll call a tow.”
I rolled my eyes at him. This was ridiculous. “Honestly, it’s fine. Go. I’ll be down in a minute. You sound like you don’t wanna go rescue poor Drex!”
He still looked hesitant but I shoved at his shoulders until he left. He needed a chill pill. What was the worst that could have happened? Actually I pushed that line of inquiry from my mind as I continued getting ready.
As I was making dinner, at my request, I had the kitchen all to myself. I secretly loved Nikolai’s kitchen, it was massive and so gorgeous.
I began cooking the ground meat and prepping the sauce. I was making lasagna, not only because I made a really good lasagna but also I hadn’t had it in so long. I hated store-bought garlic bread, so I’d opted to make my own, I just hoped I had the time. I was already behind schedule as it was.
“Hey, Ana.” Zedd walked into the kitchen as I began mixing the sauce and meat together.
“Zedd. Perfect timing. Since you’re early, you can help me.” I handed him a spatula. “Mix that,” I said, pointing at the meat and sauce.
“You’re cooking? Look who’s suddenly gone all domestic on us.” I watched him mixing for a moment, to make sure he was doing it right. He was. Right, onwards with the bread.
“For your information, this is a very normal picture for me. Cooking, I mean.”
“So I take it you’re not still freaked out?” Zedd asked as I tried to keep his hands away from the bowl of raw dough.
“About what?” I moved around the kitchen with ease. Compared to my old apartment, Nikolai’s kitchen was a castle, and I was the queen. I loved it, I loved it even better when I was on my own.
Zedd barked a surprised laugh. “‘About what?’She says. About all of this. You do remember that my brother basically kidnapped you, right? Or has he drugged you too?”
Despite myself I smiled as I joked with him. “Why are you here, again? I didn’t think y’all were coming around until later on...” Suddenly Zedd faltered.
