Emotion caught in my throat. I spun in his hold, cupping his jaw with my hand, and kissed him hard—because I knew exactly how much those words cost him.
“I love you too, Nik,” I whispered against his mouth, my chest aching with the truth of it.
His gaze searched mine for a heartbeat before his lips curved up in a slow, dangerous smile. “Come on, little lamb. Let’s get you upstairs so you can clean up… Then maybe I’ll get myself a drink and a smoke before we finish our night.”
The promise in his tone was unmistakable. He hadn’t had nearly enough of me.
He caught my hand and tugged me along the narrow aisle of the balcony, cutting through the crowd packed against the railings. My face flamed as I realized more than a few people turned to watch us go—their eyes lingering on us like they knew exactly what Nik had just done to me. My skin prickled with embarrassment…and satisfaction.
We reached the elevator, and the moment the doors slid shut, Nik pulled me against him, kissing me hard. His hand slid up the inside of my thigh, his knuckles brushing through the slickness between my legs.
“Mmm,” he murmured, his lips grazing mine. “I can feel my cum leaking down your leg. All warm and messy, marking you as mine.”
He dragged his fingers through it and reached up to smear it across my lips. “Lick them clean so you can savor exactly what you’ve been fucked with,” he growled, and I complied. The tangy flavor of both of us on my tongue made me shudder.
Then he kissed me hard again. A moan filled my mouth. He pulled away and fisted my hair. “Hell, I might have to fuck you again before we leave—drag you into the center of that dance floor, hike your dress up just enough, and fuck you slow and deep while everyone sways around us, clueless they’re dancing inches from your orgasm, leaving you dripping for a second time.”
God help me, the image scorched my brain—me, in the center of the crowd, music pounding, strangers brushing past as Nik fucked me like we were alone. My cheeks burned, but the heat pooling lower told the truth of my desire.
The elevator chimed, and when the doors opened, Nik stepped back, settling his palm on the small of my back again and guiding me out. When we passed the office door, he nodded toward the hallway. “Bathroom’s just there. Go clean up for me.”
By the time I returned from the bathroom, he wasn’t alone. Lucian was beside him, in front of the wide window overlooking the bar below. They stood with their arms crossed, drinks in hand, heads bent slightly toward each other. It was the kind of ominous exchange that reminded me of who Nik was, even if I couldn’t hear a word of what they were saying.
When I stepped closer, they turned at once, commanding masks in place.
“Evening, Mrs. Volkov. Married life looks good on you,” Lucian said smoothly. “Would you like me to fix you a drink?”
I glanced at Nik. His unreadable blue eyes flicked over me, then to Lucian.
“Actually,” Nik said with a smirk, “we’re on our way out. Our night is just getting started, and we’re already running late.”
Lucian’s mouth quirked up into an amused grin, as if he knew exactly what that meant. “Then have a great night.”
Nik’s palm was firm between my shoulder blades as he guided me toward the elevator. Once the doors slid shut, I tilted my head toward him. “So…what’s the grand plan for the rest of the night?”
His side-eye was lethal. “Plan? You think I need one? After what you did tonight, I’m going to take you home, bend you over the first surface I see, and fuck you until you forget your own name. That was just the opening act, my wife. Now I’m going to give you the encore.”
We quickly moved through the crowd and stepped out into the cold night air, straight into the chaos of the city. Saturday-night energy pulsed through the street—music blaring from somewhere down the block, shouts and laughter rolling over the crowd. Paparazzi were clustered near the club’s entrance, their cameras flashing like lightning in a summer storm. The sidewalk was so packed that people spilled onto the street.
Then—
“Nikolai Volkov!”
The shout cut through the noise, sharp enough to make Nik pause mid-step.
We turned, and there was the mayor, weaving through the press of people, his hand outstretched in a too-bright greeting. “Just the man I wanted to meet.”
Nik released my hand to shake the mayor’s.
And in that instant, everything fractured.
A surge of bodies closed in—paparazzi, men in dark jackets—hands shoving and pulling. I was pushed backward. My heels snagged the grate on the sidewalk, and Nik’s head snapped toward me, his eyes flashing murderously, even as someone grabbed his arm.
“Lacey!” he shouted, his voice a sharp command.
Two men closed in on me from either side, seizing my arms in a brutal grip. I thrashed and twisted, scraping their skin with my nails, but they dragged me into the crush of bodies, undeterred.
“Get your fucking hands off her!” Nik’s roar split the air.
