Antichrist

“Change of plans.” I push past him and make my way up the stairs until I’m down the right wing of the house and heading straight for the room I know Meraki is in. She’s sitting on the edge of the bed, squeezing the mattress.

Her eyes come to mine. “What?”

Slowly, I make my way farther into the bedroom until I’m standing in front of her. I curl my fingers around her chin, tilting her head up to face mine. “I’m real fucking sorry about this, baby.”

She swipes a tear that falls down her cheek. “For what?”

The edges of my mouth turn, wanting to grin smugly. Slipping the tip of my thumb between her lips, I whisper, “For what I’m about to do.”

Her eyes widen up at me before I lean down and grab her by the backs of her thighs, swinging her over my shoulder.

She bangs on my back. “Niko! Put me fucking down!”

“Sorry, baby, can’t.” I hike her up farther with one hand while reaching for the door with the other. She’s so fucking small I can fling her around the place with my fucking pinkie.

She screams loudly as Mal follows us down the stairs and through the long hallway that leads to my office. Her body turns limp before I reach the door, and it’s not until I place her back onto the floor that she shoves me in my chest.

“What the fuck, Niko!”

Mal closes the door behind himself, shutting the rest of the house out.

She looks between the both of us. “What is going on?”

I watch as she finally takes in the space. No bookshelves in here. The entirety of the wall beside my desk is lined with weaponry. Guns, arrows, bullets, grenades. I lower myself down onto my chair, watching her reaction.

“Nik…”

I study her closely. The way her eyes fly around the room and her teeth chew on her bottom lip. She slowly starts backing up, her face draining of color.

“Who are you?”

I lean back, keeping my eyes on hers. “Ah, isn’t that the question both you and Luca would just love to know?”

I watch as her slender throat bobs when she swallows. She spins around to run but crashes into Mal’s wall of steel.

“Fuck!” she screams, her arms flying around the place. “I’m so fucking sick of men! How? How did I manage to not just screw up with one man, but two?”

That defiance that Meraki has always used as a shield glistens against the slight sun that’s setting through the open window behind my desk. Ah, but Meraki has always been strong willed. Stubborn isn’t a tough enough word to explain the barbed wire she twisted around her heart. She doesn’t mean to use it as a shield, it’s just who she is.

“Two?” I reach for the cigarette packet on my desk, tapping the end on my palm before biting one out. I light the end and take a deep inhale, grinning against the orange lip. “It’s about to be three.”

“What?” She glares at me, folding her arms in front of herself.

I should feel bad. The girl has had a shit run with her psycho boyfriend, Luca, but that ain’t on me. I didn’t fucking force her into his arms. I’d go as far as to say that I tried everything in my fucking power to snatch her right out of them, but no. She was so blinded by jealousy and the tricks we played that she did the opposite of that, and where’d that land her? Naked and bruised on the threshold of the very fucking place she despised. And aside from all of that, I’ll never feel anything but resentment toward her, despite how much my cock loves her particular brand of crazy.

“What is happening!”

I flick the loose ash off the end of my smoke, blowing out a cloud while keeping my eyes on hers. “I’m not who you think I am. That much is obvious.”

“Nik, I have to get back to Halsin. I have a school to run, and fucking Luca to deal with. Please tell me what is going on.”

I hold her eyes. “You’re not going back to Halsin. At least not yet.”

She glares at me, her mouth wide. “Care to explain why?”

“Do you know who I am?” I tilt my head to the side slightly, enough to urge her to test me. Do it. Like the old days.

She narrows her green eyes, lowering herself onto the leather chair opposite me. “Nikolai Davis.”

“Try again.” The corner of my mouth curves, my eyes turning heavy.

She crosses one leg over the other and the T-shirt she’s wearing slips up her tanned thigh. “Antichrist.”

That smirk deepens. “Getting warmer, and yeah, I am, but also…” I push up from my chair and slowly round the table until I’m standing directly above her. My fingers itch to be around her throat, watching the color drain from her face.