Page 74 of Nikola

He raised his hand, drawing my attention to the matching ink on his ring finger.

“I’m not that much of a hypocrite, Skye. You and me,zayka.” I smiled, my chest glowing like a hundred-watt bulb. If that wasn’t a declaration of love, I didn’t know what was. “So what should we do now?”

“I’m not going back home.” I wasn’t ready to deal with my papa and the marriage he’d arranged on my behalf—against my will.

He flashed me a devilish grin. “Good. I was hoping you’d say that.”

I tilted my head, waiting for him to elaborate, but he remained silent. So I stepped toward him, placing my left hand on his chest. “Why is that?”

He shrugged, a playful glint entering his eyes that I hadn’t seen since we were children. “We could play Roblox.”

I pursed my lips. He hated that game. “I think we outgrew that game.”

A deep chuckle vibrated in his chest, pushing against the palm of my hand.

“I think you’re right,zayka.” He bent his head and pressed a kiss to my forehead before signing, “We could try something else.”

I decided to go for it. No more tiptoeing around each other. “We could play a different kind of game.”

His eyebrows shot up at my boldness. “Oh, yeah? Elaborate.”

“We could play strip poker? Strip Jenga?” Nikola stroked his chin as if he were seriously considering it.“Or strip twister,” I suggested, my cheeks flushing. “Every time we fall, we remove an article of clothing until we’re completely naked and…”

“And fucking,” he finished for me.

“Making love,” I corrected him, so full of love and infatuation for this man it wasn’t even funny. “I’m a red-blooded womanwith needs and desires, but I want more than just meaningless sex with you, Nikola.”

“Tell me exactly what you want,zayka.”

My heart lurched, urging me to go all in. He’d been my obsession for so long, I was terrified of doing something wrong.

“I want everything with you. I want to know what pleases you—”I paused. Over the years, I’d fallen in love with every piece of Nikola and I wasn’t afraid to show it, but he hadn’t echoed my sentiments. He said he wanted me, but did he love me? Suddenly, insecurity slithered through me. I tilted my chin up, adopting an indifferent expression, but my hands shook when I signed my next words. “I want to know how to please men in general.”

Yet, I knew the only person in my future was this pale-eyed devil. And there was no way in hell I would even attempt to please any other man, never mind Amadeo Marchetti.

“You won’t be pleasing any other men, so get that out of your head.” Nikola perched lazily on the doorframe and arched a light-blond eyebrow, but possessive heat burned brightly in his eyes. “Don’t you fucking dare even think those words, never mind say them, Skye.”

Relief settled in my chest at hearing the deepness and intensity in his voice while his gaze touched mine. The way he looked at me, the way he spoke to me, the way he wanted me… something about it all felt so undeniably right. It always did with Nikola.

My fingers didn’t shake when I signed my next words.

“Then touch me. Fuck me. Make love to me.Because I can’t live without you and I know—or at least I hope— you’ve been thinking about what happened between us as much as I have.”

My cheeks burned, but I refused to feel ashamed or intimidated. Ever since I’d gotten a taste of Nikola, it had beenall I could think about. I wanted him to see me as a woman.Hiswoman.

His silence made me even more reckless.

“Papa’s going to marry me off.” My hands signed the words before my brain could even process them, letting my despair bleed into every sign. “And I’m afraid this tattoo on my finger won’t be enough to stop anyone.”

“Over my dead body will you marry anyone else. I’ll never let anyone else touch you. Fucking ever.” His expression was cold, somewhat dousing my bravado. But then he ran a thumb across my cheek and my body melted. “I knew about the marriage contract from day one.”

My heart dropped. “What?”

“I’m not going to let it happen, Skye. You’re mine. I’ve tried talking to Uncle Sasha and your papa. I tried to convince them to let you marry me.” Hope flickered in my chest, but his next words extinguished them. “Both of them rejected the idea, but that won’t stop me. I’ve been trying to figure out a way to ensure that the marriage contract doesn’t happen.”

“So, you’ll help me, then?” It was hard to hide my hopeful expression; Nikola’s wry smile and knowing gaze told me as much.

“You’ll do exactly what I say,zayka.” I nodded enthusiastically while his gaze coasted down my body. “I’ll be gentle with your heart but rough with your body.”