Page 5 of Mountain Daddy (Broken Boss Daddies #1)

NIKOLAI

V iktor’s hand brushes her arm and I see red.

Mine.

The word echoes in my skull like a war drum. I claimed her. Marked her. Made her scream my name until her voice broke.

And this piece of shit thinks he can touch her?

I’m on Viktor before his fingers leave her skin. My hand closes around his wrist and snaps bone. He swears, tries to pull away, but I hold him fast.

“I said shut your mouth,” I growl.

Viktor's face goes pale, but he's too stupid to back down. “Jesus, Nik, calm down. I was just?—”

I twist his wrist. Hard.

“You were just what?” I lean closer, voice dropping to a whisper that carries more threat than a shout. “Just disrespecting a woman who's doing her job? Just treating her like a piece of meat? Just being the kind of pathetic excuse for a man that gives the rest of us a bad name?”

“Nikolai—” Lilly starts, but I cut her off with a look.

“Stay back.”

Viktor tries to stand, tries to use his free hand to push me away.

Big mistake.

I grab him by the throat. My fingers close around his windpipe just tight enough to make breathing interesting.

“You apologize,” I tell him. “Right now. To the lady.”

“Are you insane?” Viktor gasps. “Over some waitress? She's just?—”

My fist punches his jaw hard enough to lift him off his feet. He goes sprawling across the floor.

The entire VIP section goes silent. Every conversation stops. Every head turns.

Perfect.

Viktor tries to scramble away, blood streaming from his nose, but I'm already moving. I grab him by his shirt and haul him upright.

Then I hit him again.

This time in the ribs. He doubles over, wheezing.

“Nikolai, stop!” Lilly's voice cuts through the red haze in my brain, but I'm too far gone.

I walk over, drive my knee into his stomach the minute he rises. He crumples to his knees like wet paper.

“You want to know what she is?” I grab a fistful of his hair and force him to look at Lilly. “A woman doing her job. And if you ever look at her again, if you ever speak to her again, if you even think about her again, I will bury you so deep they'll need fucking archaeologists to find your bones.”

Viktor nods frantically, blood and saliva dripping from his mouth.

I release him and he falls back onto the floor. Then I turn to face the crowd of shocked onlookers.

“Anyone else have something to say?”

Silence.

I smooth back my hair and walk to Lilly. She's standing frozen by the table, tray still clutched in her hands, eyes wide with shock.

“We need to talk,” I tell her.

She shakes her head. “I can't. I'm working. I'll get fired if?—”

“Twenty-fifth floor. One hour.”

“No.” Her voice is stronger now, more certain. “I'm not doing this again. Whatever this is, whatever you think happened between us?—”

“What happened,” I interrupt, “is that you came apart in my arms three times and begged me for more.”

Her cheeks flush pink, but she doesn't back down. “That was one night. It doesn't mean anything.”

“It means enough.”

“I have to get back to work,” she says, but she hasn't moved. Hasn't stepped away from me.

“One hour,” I repeat. “Or I'll come find you.”

It's not a threat.

It's a promise.

She stares at me for a long moment, and I can see the war playing out behind her eyes.

Fear battling desire.

Logic fighting instinct.

Finally, she nods. Just once. Barely perceptible.

But it's enough.

“Good girl,” I murmur, and watch her pupils dilate at the praise.