A happy smile curves my lips until I wonder if the guards found out I snuck away from them.
I’m sure Nikolas would’ve been breathing down my neck, so I’m probably in the clear.
“Tess, I thought we could go shopping next Saturday? Do you have time?” Athina asks.
The Sunday lunch isn’t too bad. Nikolas is grumpy as hell, but at least he hasn’t bitten my head off.
Smiling at Athina, I nod. “Sure. Let me know what time suits you.”
When we went shopping for a dress on Friday, it turned out to be a pleasant experience. I’m still getting to know Athina, but I like her and Basil.
“Nine o’clock,” she replies. “The earlier we start, the better. Afterward, we can grab some lunch.”
“Sounds great. I’m looking forward to it.” I glance at Nikolas, who’s hardly touched his food. There’s a storm cloud brewing on his face, and he seems to be deep in thought about something that’s clearly upsetting him as he twirls the tumbler of whiskey around and around.
It must be hard carrying the weight of the mafia on his shoulders.
There’s a glimmer of pity in my heart before I focus on the plate of food in front of me. As the lunch draws to a close, the air keeps tensing, Nikolas’ expression growing grimmer.
The second the servers clear the table, I get up. With a smile around my lips, I say, “Enjoy the rest of your day.”
I rush out of the dining room, and I almost make it to the front door before Nikolas grabs hold of my arm, and I’m dragged to his study.
Shit.
Did he find out I escaped the guards? Damn, maybe he found out I donated the bulk of the funds he gave me to charity?
Ugh, just my luck.
As soon as I’m shoved into the study and the door slams shut, my heart lurches to my throat.
Oh, God. I’m in deep trouble.
Turning to face Nikolas, terrifying brutality lurks in his eyes. It makes my lips go dry, and I nervously lick them.
Shit. Shit. Shit.
Tilting his head, his eyes lock on my face with the intensity of a nuclear bomb. “Do you think this is a game, Theresa?” The thinly veiled rage lowers his voice, so it’s deep and predatory.
A shiver races down my spine. I quickly shake my head, and assuming the confrontation is related to yesterday’s great escape, I try to explain, “I just needed some alone time. It’s not like I’m in any kind of danger. The guards are really unne–”
My sentence cuts off when Nikolas darts forward like a lightning bolt. His fingers wrap around my throat, and my head is forced back to look up at him. Seeing the full potency of his rage darkening his eyes to midnight black, I almost whimper.
My anxiety spikes dangerously high, which it hasn’t done since the wedding. Nikolas has been taking it easy on me, and it let me lower my guard. My right hand clutches my bag holding my calming pills, and my left darts up to wrap around his wrist.
“I’m the one who fucking decides whether you’re in danger or not!” he snaps. There’s no control over his rage, telling me just how volatile the situation is.
I pushed too hard.
God.
“I’m sorry,” I whimper.
“You’re linked to me, Theresa. It makes you a target by default. My enemies will use any of my loved ones against me. Do you fucking get it?”
But I’m not really family. I’m not a loved one.
Then again, when it comes to the mafia, it doesn’t matter how I feel about things.
“I understand,” I whisper, my mouth too dry to say anything else.
Nikolas keeps staring at me as if he’s going to kill me any second. My fear amps up, anxiety tightening my stomach into a hard knot.
‘Dead bitches can’t snitch,’ Irene’s voice haunts me, making everything a million times worse because Nikolas can kill me. Just like Irene, he can hurt me.
He leans down, his breath skimming over my jaw until it’s hot on my ear. “What did I say about disobeying me?”
“T-that t-there will be c-consequences,” I stammer, unable to hide how much he scares me right now.
There’s a rumble deep in his chest, the sound sending shivers racing over my skin.
For the most unnerving minute of my life, Nikolas keeps perfectly still, his breath warming my ear, his fingers imprinting themselves around my throat. Just when the tension becomes unbearable, and a sob builds in my chest, he moves.
“You fucking drive me insane,” he growls. It's fast, and nothing could prepare me as his mouth slams down on mine. My brain seizes all activity, my lungs unable to function, my heart slamming to a dead stop.
Nikolas brings his other hand to the side of my head, his fingers gripping a fistful of my hair to keep me in place. His tongue breaches my lips, and then all I can do is feel as he brands me with a cruel and searing kiss.