Chapter 23 Chapter twenty-three
Elena's POV
I didn’t know why the question slipped out of my mouth.
Maybe it was the quietness between us, too calm for men like Nikolai. Maybe it was the way he sat on the chair as if the cinema belonged to him, cigarette unlit between his fingers, eyes half-lidded as if he were bored with the world. Or maybe it was because he made it impossible not to wonder. He was sitting here, in a Cinema, not a casino, as his right-hand man said, maybe he swapped the names. I know he would rather be in a casino than be in a Cinema watching a boring romantic movie with me and listening to me acting like a desperate bitch.
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
The words hung there, fragile and stupid, the second I said them.
Nikolai turned slowly, his gaze cutting into me with lazy amusement. Then his mouth curved not into a smile, but a smirk. The kind that promised trouble. The kind that made my stomach tighten. The kind that thinks you have a motive for asking that.
“Why?” he asked. “You're asking to apply?”
I frowned immediately, not expecting that. “I’m serious and stop teasing.”
"Was I?" His voice came out low and seductive. I glared at him
He chuckled under his breath, deep and smooth, and pushed his body closer. “Alright, then.” He tilted his head, studying me like a puzzle, I was still leaning towards him. “What do you think?”
I crossed my arms. “I think if you said you didn’t, I wouldn’t believe you.”
That did it.
His expression lit up, pride flashing openly across his face like I’d handed him a crown. I sighed inwardly and rolled my eyes so hard it almost hurt as I discreetly withdrew my body from him, while I studied him.
There it was.
That fucking Playboy reaction.
Men like Nikolai thrived on praise. They didn’t even try to hide it. Give them one compliment and suddenly they were ten feet taller, chest out, ego fully inflated. It was ridiculous.
“I knew it,” he said smugly. “You get me.”
“I don’t get you,” I shot back. “I just know men like you don’t stay single. You don’t even need to lift a finger. Girls would line up just for the chance. And you don't keep one girl. You don't often change them; you reuse them until they're no longer your favorite. Or maybe, you keep them as long as they match your taste .”
He chuckled, "Wow! Where did you get that information?"
"Come off it, I know I might not know much about the mafia world, but I know enough when it comes to their taste of women. Don't forget my dad, is a mafia boss. Those mafia boys hang out most of the time at my place when Dad thinks Shannon and I are at my grandparents' place. So I heard things."
His smirk deepened. Dangerous now.
“Careful, Elena,” he murmured, leaning towards me this time, “if you keep talking like that, I’ll start thinking you’re impressed.”
“I’m not,” I lied automatically, pulling from him, while I crossed my hand over my chest.
He laughed softly, shaking his head. “You just described me like I was a prize.”
I scoffed. “A prize with an expiration date.”
He grinned wider. “Still a prize.”
God. Unbelievable.
He leaned closer again, invading my space the way he always did, not physically most of the time, like he knew I wouldn’t move. Like he enjoyed watching me pretend I wasn’t affected.
“So,” he said casually, “are you falling for me?”
The question hit me like a slap.
I shook my head too fast. “No.”
His face dropped instantly.
The change was dramatic enough that for a split second, guilt stabbed at me. He brought a hand to his chest, eyes wide, mouth falling open in mock devastation.
“Ah,” he breathed. “Straight through the heart.”
I burst out laughing. Although he looks like he doesn't do this act often, he didn't turn out awkward; rather, it got my crib cracking. I was already laughing hard, not at the words he said but at his facial expression.
I couldn’t help it. The sound tore out of me, loud and unrestrained, echoing into the cinema. Tears stung my eyes as I doubled slightly, clutching my side while he stared at me like he had forgotten how to breathe. Although the lights were dim, they were enough for us to see each other's faces.
I laughed harder.
It felt… good. Too good.
When I finally looked up, still smiling, I realized he hadn’t joined in. He was just watching me, really watching me, with something unreadable in his eyes. The amusement was gone. So was the smirk.
The laughter died in my throat.
“Oh...” I straightened, suddenly self-conscious. “I’m sorry. I didn’t mean to."
“There’s nothing to apologize for,” he said quietly.
I blinked. “I was laughing at you.”
“I know.”
“And you’re… okay with that?”
His gaze softened. Just slightly. “The sound of your laughter is nice.”
My heart skipped, then stumbled. I looked away immediately, uncomfortable with how warm his words made me feel. “I don’t think so.”
He raised a brow. “You don’t like your own laughter?”
“It’s loud,” I muttered. “And annoying.”
He shook his head. “It’s real.”
That made my chest ache.
I wrapped my arms tighter around myself, and the room suddenly felt colder and more noticeable. I lowered my gaze while I tried to focus on the screen, but I couldn't keep quiet. “Rafael doesn't like it.”
The name shifted something between us.
Nikolai leaned back against the chair again, expression carefully neutral. “Rafael doesn’t like a lot of things.”
“He doesn’t like me drawing attention,” I said. “Especially not from men like you because he said loud women attract men like you.”
His jaw tightened. “Men like me?”
“Dangerous,” I said honestly. “Unpredictable.”
“Honest,” he added.
I glanced at him. “Are you?”
“With you?” His eyes met mine. “Always.”
That scared me more than any lie could have.
Silence settled again, heavier now. The movie hummed in front of us, kissing and cuddling. I wondered when things had shifted between us, when teasing had turned into something sharper, something that lingered too long in my chest.
“So,” I said softly, changing the subject before I drowned in it. “You didn’t answer.”
He looked amused again, but the edge was gone. “Didn’t answer what?”
“Do you have a girlfriend?”
He studied me for a long moment, then shrugged. “No.”
I snorted. “Liar.”
He smiled faintly. “See? I told you, you wouldn’t believe me.”
I hated that a small, traitorous part of me hoped he was telling the truth.
I turned away, gripping my purse, forcing my thoughts back into order, into the movie but the scene on the screen wasn't helping matters. This was dangerous territory. I didn’t belong here, alone in a room with a screen displaying an intimacy between the female lead and the male lead, with men like Nikolai, laughing too freely, forgetting who I was supposed to be loyal to.
But as I felt his presence beside me, solid and warm against the December wind, I knew one thing for certain.
Whether I was falling for him or not
This wasn’t nothing.
And that terrified me.
I don't think I could catch it, if ever I saw him with another female. Then his voice came up. "Me having a girlfriend wouldn't be an issue Right?"