Chapter 35 Chapter Thirty-five
Elena's POV
"Can we talk?" His eyes drifted all over me, I was still wearing his big shirt. The one he had pulled up when we were groping each other in the kitchen. Somehow, what happened between Nikolai and me in the kitchen came flooding my memory.
One minute he was pointing his gun at me, thinking I was an intruder, and the next minute, I was already on the top of the counter, and Nikolai was feasting on my breasts, one after the other. I know I should tell him to stop, but I felt hungry and needy, and somehow it felt right in my head. It was my first experience of such feelings, and it was ecstasy. I drank in the pleasure Nikolai's mouth was giving. My body is trembling with his touch. Rafael and I had never crossed this line. He had never once grabbed my tits or kissed me fully on the lips.
Everything happened so fast and ended the same way it started, Emma entered the kitchen. I was sure she saw us, but was pretending like the first time at the rooftop.
Just my instinct.
I couldn't stop myself from eavesdropping, so I lingered by the slightly open door, even when I said I was going to bed.
I know Emma was going to reprimand him, and I wasn't wrong when I heard the muffled voices drift through the kitchen.
"When is she leaving?" Emma's voice came up, "Yes, because I wouldn't want my little innocent boy getting into trouble because of a girl."
My chest tightened until I could barely breathe. So that was what it was about. Me. Again. She thinks I was bad for him and will only bring him trouble.
I told myself to leave, give him his privacy, and pretend nothing had happened, but my legs refused. My heart was pounding too loudly for me to walk away. When I finally did, I found myself walking to his floor, where his room is. I waited for him there when he pushed the door to his room, and my voice came up.
His brows lifted lazily. “Elena, I thought you had gone to bed?""
"Waiting for you? Probably you would want to send me away this night?" His brows hike, "Are you sending me away?"
"What?"
I swallowed, trying not to look like a guilty child. “I’m just asking.”
His gaze sharpened. “Were you listening to our conversation?”
I forced a shrug, but I could feel my face burning. “I couldn’t help it.”
The corner of his mouth twitched. “How much did you hear?”
“Everything,” I muttered, crossing my arms. “Right up to the part where I apparently shouldn’t be around you because she doesn't want her innocent boy getting into trouble.”
He froze and then he laughed. Not a small chuckle. A full, amused, warm laugh that rumbled through his chest. I hated that it made my stomach flutter. It built desires in me.
“Elena,” he said, shaking his head, “didn’t Moretti tell you that eavesdropping on people’s conversations is bad?”
“He did,” I replied, lifting my chin, “but not when it concerns me.”
That made him laugh even harder, to the point he had to pinch the bridge of his nose. My annoyance twisted with embarrassment.
“You’re unbelievable,” he murmured, still amused. Then he stepped aside and nodded toward the inside of the room. “Do you want to come in?”
I shook my head instantly. “I’d rather stay out here. I don’t want the innocent boy getting into trouble because of me.” I dramatically mimicked Emma's earlier tone. “Since I'm apparently the bad one.”
His laughter exploded again. I glared, but that only made him laugh harder. "Fine, we can talk here." He shut his door behind and slid his body down the floor resting his back on the wall, "sit here," he tapped the space beside him.
"Better," even when I didn't want to sit beside him, I find myself agreeing to it because I just can't resist him. Maybe, Emma was right, I'm bad for him. "Cause I don't want to put you in trouble," I muttered as both our backs were leaning against the wall.
“Really?” he said, smirking. “Between the two of us, I’m the one who should be saying that. Not you,” he sighs, lowering his voice. “And… Elena… I'm sorry for earlier. Things got heated. I didn't mean to disrespect you, I'm.”
I waved it off even though the apology hit deeper than I expected. I didn't want him to apologize, “Don’t worry about that. I can keep secrets.”
His eyes flicked to mine, dark and curious. “Oh? And what secrets are you planning to keep?”
I exhaled sharply, suddenly aware of how close he was. “You’d be surprised.”
He hummed, amused again, then changed the subject. “What will you be doing tomorrow?”
"I don't know," I pulled my knees into my chest, and resting my chin on them, my eyes focused on the opposite wall in front of me.
"You don't plan to stay at home all day, or do you want to go back to Rafael?" He snickered and lifted his elbows on his knees before tilting his head towards me.
"Can we not talk about Rafael?" He didn't answer. His silence made me tilt my head to him and give him a close look. Yet again, my fucking heart skipped a beat upon seeing him looking at me intensely.
No, not me, at my lips. I felt my breath shallower. I retrieved my gaze. Why was he looking at me like that? “Shopping,” I said suddenly.
"Uh!" He muttered confused.
"You asked what my plan is, so I said shopping!"
He nodded, "Oh!" Another single word.
“I need to busy myself. And...” I hesitated, “You should come with me.”
His brows rose in mild surprise before he nodded. “Alright, I'll take you.” My heart did something stupid, but I pretended I didn’t feel it.
“Good,” I said. “Then let’s call it a night.”
I turned, intending to leave before I embarrassed myself even more. But the moment I straightened, his sharp inhale sliced through the quiet. My stomach dropped. “What?”
His voice dropped low, rough. “Elena...” His stare dropped, slowly trailing down before he retrieved his gaze. “Why aren’t you wearing any underwear?”
Heat exploded through my face. I looked down, realizing that his t-shirt I’d hike up when I bent, and when I stood, it lifted enough to show too much.
I spun around, pulling the hem down frantically. “What the hell, Nikolai?”
He sounded half amused, half accusing. “Am I supposed to pretend I didn’t just see that? Why aren’t you wearing anything under that?”
Mortified, I snapped, “Was I supposed to keep wearing pants that were soaking wet?”
He fell silent for a second, just long enough for the tension to thicken and then he murmured, “And whose fault is that?”
I whipped around in disbelief, eyes wide. “Yours! Obviously yours!”
His smirk returned, slow and wicked. “You didn’t seem to mind earlier.”
“I... ” I choked, pointing a finger at him. “You are an asshole.”
He grinned, leaning casually against the wall as if he wasn’t the cause of my humiliation. “I’ve been called worse.”
I huffed, turning away again, trying to hide the burning red on my cheeks. “Goodnight, Nikolai.”
“Goodnight, Elena,” he echoed, his voice lower than before, a thread of something dangerous beneath it. “And next time…” I paused mid-step. “Wear something to cover that ass of yours,” he murmured.
I didn’t turn back, "asshole!" I muttered, without looking back but I could feel his gaze on me as I rushed away, my heart racing, my skin burning, and my mind refusing to stop replaying the sound of his laughter and the way he said my name. "Fuck Elena! You're not seriously falling for him."