Page 31

For a few long minutes, it was awkwardly silent between us—the same silence I’d been dreading this whole time.

At this point, I was left with two choices: to leave now or stay back and start another conversation with him.

Even if I did leave, I’d only return to the boredom that awaited me in my room, my cell.

It wasn’t like I had anything better to do, anyway.

Plus, his energy was receptive tonight. And although his expression was still blank, I could see a slight crack in the high walls he’d built around himself.

This was my chance to speak—my opportunity to ask the question that had lingered on the fringes of my mind since the last time we were intimate.

“Are you just gonna keep standing there, or are you going to spill what's on your mind?” he asked, looking right at me.

His question—his confrontation—caught me entirely off guard, and for a moment there, my brain went blank. “Huh?” was the only thing that came out of my mouth.

A glimpse of amusement flashed across his face as he turned to face me. “There’s something you wanna ask me…. You’re just not sure how to do so yet,” he said softly, his voice dripping with conviction.

What are you, a psychic? I thought to myself, raising my chin to hold his gaze.

“I’m not a psychic. Your anxiety is just all over the place,” he said, as though he’d read my mind.

My breath hitched, my eyes widening ever so slightly.

Did he just hear my thoughts? Oh, my God!

Nik chuckled, picking up an apple from the fruit basket on the countertop. I blinked a few times, watching him chew, his jaw moving gracefully. There was no point holding back; he already knew that I had something to say, so why not spill the beans?

I heaved a sigh, my heart starting to race in my chest as I looked at him, preparing myself to speak. His expression had softened a bit, a hint of curiosity dancing in his eyes. He wanted to hear what I had to say, and his interest was an invitation to speak.

“How long are we going to keep ignoring the elephant in the room?” I asked, meeting his gaze.

“I’m afraid you’re going to have to be a bit more specific than that,” he said, munching quietly on his apple.

“I’m talking about you sleeping with me when you have a fiancée.” The words tumbled out of my mouth before my brain could analyze them.

The apple stopped halfway to his mouth, and slowly, he drew closer, eyes never leaving mine. “Last I checked, you were the one who said you’d do anything to raise our son.”

I didn’t know why, but somehow, hearing him say “our son” stirred up a funny feeling inside me, a feeling that I didn’t want to name.

I pulled backward, away from the man approaching me with a familiar look in his eyes.

Desire.

My throat wobbled as I swallowed hard, struggling to suppress the emotions brewing within me. The lust in his gaze awakened my passion, and now the same flame from the last time we’d had sex had ignited inside me.

No, no, no, no. Not tonight. I couldn’t fall for him again.

I should fight this feeling. But the more I tried to do so, the more I lost to my own lust. He was getting close, too close, and his cologne had filled the air around me, invading my nostrils.

I felt my willpower dwindling by the second, my heart racing like a galloping horse.

“Why, though?” I asked, my voice barely above a whisper.

“Why what?” he growled, his tone deep and husky.

I felt a cold shiver run down my spine, and the next second, my back met the wall behind me. “Why not go to your fiancée? Why not take her instead of me?” My lips trembled.

He halted in front of me, a hand resting on the wall behind me, his eyes never leaving mine. “What do you wanna hear?”

“The truth,” I said. “I wanna hear the truth.”

Not that it would change anything, but I was curious to know his reason. Was it because I promised to do whatever he wanted? Because I was readily available and without the ability to turn him down? I needed to know.

Nik’s lips curled into a faint smile, and he leaned in, whispering in my ear. “The truth is, Alessia, Helen is not half the woman that you are.”

My heart sank into my belly, and my breath ceased at the answer he gave.

I wasn’t expecting such words from his lips, nor did I expect to hear the sincerity in his tone.

Did I hear him correctly, or was my mind playing tricks on me?

Nik just implied that I was better than his fiancée, and now that statement had stirred up a lot of questions in my head.

If he thought so, if he genuinely thought so, then that would mean that I wasn’t the only one struggling with my feelings here. He might just as well be going through the same thing as me.

I stared deeply into his eyes, my pulse quickening and my heart beating rapidly. Wait a minute. What if he was only saying this because he wanted to get between my legs again? What if he didn’t mean the words he said?

Yes. There was that.

But there was also sincerity in his tone and a glint of affection in his eyes. He could be telling the truth; he could mean every word he said.

Again, I swallowed against the sudden dryness in my throat. “I…I don’t believe you,” I said, too afraid to trust at this moment. My gaze wouldn’t leave his face as I searched his eyes and expression for the slightest hint of dishonesty and insincerity.

However, I found none.

“That’s not my problem,” he replied to my previous statement, his hand caressing the strands that framed my face. “But the truth, Alessia…will always be visible. You just have to see it.”

He wasn’t wrong because all I saw when I looked at him was a man true to the words he’d spoken. No lies. No deceit. Only sincerity and honesty.

He touched my cheek with the back of his hand, fingers brushing against my skin. My body trembled, a wave of ecstasy spreading through my veins. The air was charged with tension, his gaze, light and sexy, sending tremors down my core.

“I don’t know how you did it,” he continued, his breath warm against my face. “But you have slithered your way into my head, Alessia.”

His confession and the husky tone with which he spoke made me feel wet between my legs. I brushed my thighs against each other in an attempt to hide the desire, the longing his touch had sparked within me.

He went ahead to say, “There’s a fire in your eyes that draws me in. And there’s something about you that I find irresistible.” His hand dropped to my heaving chest, fingers grazing my bare skin. “You feel it, too, don’t you…? The pull?” he whispered, his eyes locked on mine.

At this point, my heart threatened to explode from my chest. He was right. I could feel the pull, the magnetic field drawing us closer until our lips were merely inches apart.

It was no secret that I wanted him, that every fiber of my being craved him.

The last time we made out, his touch lingered on my mind for days—in fact, even until now, I couldn’t stop thinking about that night.

This was an opportunity to have him all to myself again, to feel his warmth and his hands on me.

It was clear now that he was just as attracted to me as I was to him. At least it wasn’t one-sided. That realization alone made it easier to give in to this temptation. Why starve myself when I knew this was exactly what I wanted, what my body needed to relax and release all that tension?

I found it rather interesting how the atmosphere moved from something ordinary to something very sensual in a matter of minutes.

My body was subtly shaking, a sudden cold seeping into my bones as my lips quivered with need.

His thumb slowly traced the gentle curve of my mouth, his eyes boring into mine with the kind of intensity that made my pussy tingle.

I stood there, helpless, with my back against the wall, my chest heaving with anticipation.

He was taking his time to tease me, to make me want him more than I already did.

My legs parted slightly when his other hand dared to travel up the hem of my dress.

I steeled myself, my body stiffening as his fingers slid up my thigh.

My lips parted by a fraction, taking his thumb in my mouth. A slight moan left me when his hand finally settled on my underpants.

“You naughty little devil,” he whispered, gliding his middle finger up and down the fabric of my panties. “You’re already wet for me,” he added, a twisted smirk tugging at the corners of his lips.

I felt a bit embarrassed, but that fleeting embarrassment could not be compared to the hunger I felt. “Oh, yes!” The soft exclamation fell from my lips without my consent as he dipped his finger inside me.

My legs parted, my body subtly shuddering at the sensation coursing through my blood.

A mix of cold and heat spread across my body, leaving me hornier than before.

He pushed his thumb into my mouth, and I sucked on it, licking that finger with a face contorted in pleasure.

He glued his eyes to mine, his small grin proof that he was enjoying the look on my face.

Nik’s finger traveled deeper into my pussy, and as my moans grew louder, he withdrew his thumb and planted a fervent kiss on my lips. I slid my tongue into his mouth, drawing a deep, long breath like it was my last. His kiss was hot, passionate, and quite intense. Just the way I wanted it.

While simultaneously fingering my cunt, he fondled my breasts over the fabric of my dress before sliding his hand in beneath the neckline.

My gentle swells felt soft beneath his delicate squeezes as he caressed my chest region.

Lost in a sea of ecstasy, our heads danced to the beat of our passion, tongues twirling in our mouths.