“You would do that for me?” I asked. My reaction was one of surprise. Surprise that he would help like this. Extending out his hand in kindness further squashing the seeds of doubt in the back of my mind that maybe, just maybe, not all men were like Max.
“I’m here for you, Raine. I’ll do whatever it takes to get you safely away from him. You’re not alone anymore,” he whispered.
His words made my heart skip a beat, and I exhaled shakily when his head bowed to my level and he kissed me softly, repeatedly. He pulled back but I wasn’t ready for this kiss to be over with. I pulled my hand free from his and grabbed the nape of his neck, forcing him back to me.
He chuckled lowly but didn’t fight me when I kissed him deeper and firmer, brutalizing my lips in the process and setting my chest in flames, the passion between us only seemed to intensify with each kiss we shared.
Was this what I was missing, what I needed? Raw passion. I allowed the titillating sensations of his kiss to overcome my body, and once again I found myself asking, was Nikoli the key?
CHAPTER NINETEEN.
“Let’s talk over your plan, again.” Nikoli sighed. I could tell he wanted to leave nothing to chance when the time came for me to escape the clutches of Max. He wanted to leave no room for error.
“The night of the We Are People benefit gala is when I’ll make my escape,” I replied, wistfully.
“I’m not sure that night is a good time to do it,” he replied unconvinced as he stood running his hand back and forth across his jaw.
“It’s the perfect time, Nikoli. He will be too busy mingling and inflating his damned ego to notice I’ve slipped away. You’ll just need to make sure you’re outside with the car ready.”
“I’ll be there all right, Raine. There’s no way I won’t be.”
I sank back into the comfort of his couch again and closed my eyes. Today had been a long day and all this talking and planning was beginning to leave me feel drained. Nikoli brought my eyes open again when I heard the loud snapping of his fingers.
“Attention, Myshka!” He ordered.
I pulled my lips into my mouth to hide the smile that threatened to slip onto my face. Now I had told him I was leaving Max, Nikoli had made himself the head of this one-man mission and was planning this operation with military precision, the more in depth he discussed it, the more convinced I became that he thought he was leading an invasion into another country.
“Why are you looking at me like that?” He asked, cocking his head to one side.
“Like what?” I retorted, feigning hurt at the suspicious look he had pinned my way.
“Like you want to burst out laughing?”
A childish giggle danced around the room when my mouth gave in and let it free, and once I started, I couldn’t stop myself. The longer Nikoli glared at me unamused, the harder my laugh came.
“You know, Raine I’m so glad you’re finding this a laughing matter. This is serious!” I clamped my mouth shut and sat upright, trying my hardest to force the laughter back down inside of myself. My body still shook and trembled as I watched him pace around the lounge area in exasperation.
“If this goes wrong on the night, will you be laughing then?” He asked in a clipped tone. His jaw set firm and his eyes swirled with impatience and annoyance, the second my eyes caught them and I held his gaze, my laughter completely died. He looked mightily pissed off, but unlike when Max was annoyed or angry with me, I found it was causing a dull throb between my legs. I shuffled myself towards the edge of my seat hoping that the friction between the couch and the seam of my leggings would kill the ache.
Unfortunately, it only seemed to increase, leaving me feeling more than uncomfortable. I quickly jumped to my feet and walked to one of the large windows, then peered down to the sidewalk, concentrating on the people below as they went about their business. I sensed him behind me when the heat of his breath gently tickled the skin on the side of my face. “I’m sorry for getting irate,?
? he whispered.
My eyes closed when his fingers lightly brushed up my arms causing my skin to bristle with goose bumps and I shuddered. “Are you cold?” He asked. I felt him move closer, his chest grazed against my back and his lips kissed the delicate skin just under my ear.
“No,” I whispered. His lips lingered momentarily, his hands slid down the outline of my back and came forward to settle at the top of my hips, then he jerked me backwards so his groin was nestled against my behind. With Nikoli tracing the tip of his tongue along the contour of my ear, his breath gently blowing in it, his growing erection prodding into me as his fingers drew imaginary patterns on my hips, the dull throb between my legs intensified until it felt like it was about to explode, like a bomb.
I lurched away from him and walked back towards the couch. “Every dance lesson I attend I’ll add some extra clothes into my bag and leave them with you at the end of the lesson,” I said, forcing myself back to the conversation at hand.
“Won’t he notice clothes missing?”
I shrugged unsure. Max couldn’t possibly know every item of clothing I owned surely? “I’ll just take the essentials, underwear, leggings, a few plain and simple tops. The more extravagant clothes and jewelry I’ll leave, he will bound to notice those things missing.”
“Okay. The money?” He questioned.
I blew out a deep sigh, reverberating my lips together in the process as I mulled over how I was going to empty the safe. “I will check out the safe when he is at work, see what’s in there. I know he keeps a lot of rolls of cash in it along with important paperwork, but until I can access it, I’ve no idea for sure.”
“I meant how will you empty it?” He asked with a raised eyebrow taking a seat next to me.