Total pages in book: 97
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
Estimated words: 91149 (not accurate)
Estimated Reading Time in minutes: 456(@200wpm)___ 365(@250wpm)___ 304(@300wpm)
“I think it’s good what you told your brother tonight.” Her words fill up the cavernous space, and it’s not what I want to discuss, but I suppose it’s better than lying like a corpse next to her.
“We have a strained relationship. I doubt what I said will matter.”
“I think he will forgive you.”
I don’t answer because I’m not as hopeful.
“What were you trying to warn Talia about?” she asks.
I look at her. She is my captive, and rightfully, she doesn’t need to know these things, but I can’t think of any good reason to keep them from her.
“You understand this world. You know that honor comes above all else, yes?”
“Yes.”
“The pakhan did not believe my father was being an honorable man. He demanded that I cut off his ear, and I did. But my father is misguided in his anger, and instead of blaming himself or even me, he finds fault with Alexei.”
“Oh.” Nakya frowns. “Would he ever hurt Talia?”
“Sergei?”
She nods.
“I would like to say that I know for certain, but I don’t. He is a skilled liar, and I have often questioned his true character.”
“He hides it from you?”
“It’s hard to tell sometimes.”
The admission is an honest one, and more than I should give her. I can’t trust that she isn’t just fishing for information to use against me later, but I would like to believe that Nakya has more honor than that herself.
“And what about Katya?”
“What about her?”
“You also made a point to warn Talia about her.”
“Only because she has her sights set on Alexei. She is rabid for a high-ranking Vory husband, and she is delusional enough to believe that she can destroy their marriage and take him for her own.”
“It looked like he was not the only one she was after this evening.”
Her words are tainted with possession, and it encourages me to lean over and kiss her again.
“She only wants me for my rank,” I murmur against her lips. “But it makes no difference now.”
Her eyes fall shut, and I said the wrong thing.
“No, I suppose it doesn’t. Viktor won’t let you marry her when Ana is up for offer.”
Pillow talk extinguished, the room is quiet again. My eyes are heavy, and I can think of nothing else to do, so I pull her into my arms and bury my face against her neck, inhaling her.
“Go to sleep, zvezda. Tomorrow is a new day.”
I wake in Nikolai’s arms. The only logical reason I can find for his desire to cuddle is that his judgment was impaired from too many drinks at the party last night. But when I look at his face, he is not asleep, and he’s not under any illusions of what took place.
His eyes are soft and warm, traveling over my face as his fingers ghost over my arm.
“Good morning, zvezda.”
I smell of him. Cloves and smoke and aftershave. Our bodies are at ease together, wrapped in warmth, and I think it’s the best night’s sleep I’ve had in forever.
“Why do you call me that?” I ask.
“Zvezda?”
I nod.
“Why wouldn’t I? You are my star. My dancing ballerina. My northern light. I think you lead me to do good.”
My heart skips a beat. It’s probably the nicest thing he’s ever said, and he follows it up in true Nikolai fashion by wrapping my hand around his hard cock. He guides my fingers up and down his shaft, and his ocean eyes roll back like the tide.
“I want you,” he says. “Ride me. Allow me to see you.”
Panic cripples my hand, and everything stills between us.
“Please, Nakya.” He cups my face in his palm. “Do not go to that place in your mind. You must allow logic to win sometimes. I would not ask this of you if I did not think you were perfect in every way.”
His words make sense, but I’m scared. My confession is barely audible, and I can’t see his reaction because my eyes are closed. But I feel his breath on my lips. His body moving closer to mine.
Sometimes, it’s better when he makes demands, and I don’t have to think. Free will is the most fearsome thing of all to someone who has only known captivity. And perhaps Nikolai understands this. He pulls me on top of him with little effort, spreading my legs across his hips, and laying my head on his shoulder.
“Keep your hand here.” He places it on his chest, against the cage where his heart lives. And I know now that he does have one because I can feel it.
“Don’t move it,” he says. “The heart doesn’t lie. If you can’t believe my words, then believe this.”
Strong and steady, his pulse hammers against my skin.
Even his heart is a liar.
He grabs the flesh of my ass, dragging me down against his cock. We don’t need to draw it out because everything we do is foreplay. My body is wet for him already. And when he grabs a fistful of my hair, forcing my lips to his, he enters me without frills. This is the prelude, the main act, and the encore all rolled into one.