Page 17 of The Red Room
He grins, his teeth becoming visible. “Because you aren’t like them.”
I glance down at my dress, seeing the parts of my stomach I’d normally suck in to keep hidden. “I know.” I’ve always known. It didn’t matter how many crash diets I did, or the times I’d feign starvation just for a smaller waist. Nothing ever worked, and the depression that followed only created a new spiral for me to claw my way out of on some therapist’s couch.
Nik must see the way I look at myself and lifts my chin back to his intense gaze. “Small things break easy, Natalia.” He brushes his lips against my ear, his whisper leaving a trail of goose bumps on my arms. “And I’d rather not break you.”
I slam my eyes shut.Christ.How I continue to balance, even sway to the music, will be the scientific discovery of the century. This man, this thing created in a lab, holds me. Caresses me in no way I’ve ever been touched. The warmth at my core spreads like wildfire, reaching the spots of my body I didn’t know were cold until the heat takes its place.
He slides his palm to the side of my neck, grazing his thumb against my cheek. “Open your eyes.”
Part of me squeezes them tighter. There’s something else, though. A more obedient Natalie that would do everything possible to please him. Through my lashes, the lights reflecting the granite countertops shimmer, and when I open them another inch, Nik’s unmistakable eyes become clear.
When our gazes meet, he curls a loose strand of hair behind my ear. “You are beautiful.” He says nothing else. There’snothing else to say really. He said the only thing that’ll ring in my ears for weeks to come.You are beautiful.Him, the handsome and successful one percent, and me? Someone doing their best to get by. It doesn’t matter, though. Not anymore. All I need is for him to take the first step. To know with complete certainty this is what he truly wants as well.
“Do I scare you, Natalia?” he asks, his voice rough.
I meet his eyes and move closer. “Not tonight you don’t.” My voice is soft, barely a whisper above the music in the background.
Nik’s smile curves into a prominent grin as if the entire night hinged on this question. More importantly, my response. No, he doesn’t scare me. To be honest, I’ve never felt safer than when I’m with him. Even now, tangled together, I am certain this man would sooner light someone on fire than let anything happen to me.
He lets out a deep breath and says, “Good.”
“Good,” I mimic his voice, slowly moving forward.
Before I close my eyes again, the last thing I see are his lips on a collision course for mine, ready to give me the taste I’m so desperate for.This is it.No more questions. No more of my second-guessing. This is the moment I’ve waited for since I put on this dress. The scenario I’ve played over and over in my head. Nik is about to kiss me, and unless there’s a knock on his hatch door, nothing is going to get in the way this time.
He closes the small gap between us.Three inches.No one knocks.Two inches.No calls out to him.One.There’s only him and me, standing in silence as the song ends. He hesitates for a moment, mouth practically grazing mine.If he pulls away now, I swear to Christ I will—
Nik kisses me.
In an instant, all thoughts erase from my mental chalkboard like his mouth activated some Natalie kill switch.When our lips touch, electricity sparks from one side of my body to the next. There’s a storm brewing inside me, a hurricane ripping apart everything I’ve worked so hard to keep grounded. This is where I completely fall apart.
Another kiss. And when our lips part this time, I graze my tongue on his.
Nik moans into me. “Fuck,” he rasps.
Fuck is right. Actually, I don’t know if another word will do the feeling at my center justice. Every bit of me aches for him. My stiffening spine. My burning hip bones. The spot absolutely dripping just from his touch. I’m losing any ounce of control I have. And to be honest, for once, I don’t fucking care.
I bite his lower lip and squeeze the soft skin between my teeth. Another growl escapes him.
“Careful, Natalia. I will fucking devour you.”
I stare up at him defiantly. “Prove it.”
His hands to my sides, he lifts me off the ground with ease, and my legs have nowhere else to go but around his waist. He takes two large steps forward and pins me against the window, the cold glass cooling my scalding neck and back. He kisses me again, harder and faster than before, an insatiable craving in each stroke of his tongue. And when our lips no longer cut it, he sinks his teeth into the base of my neck. It hurts in the best way possible. Do I care if he breaks the skin?No.Will I care if the expensive dress he bought me is dotted with my blood after tonight? The answer is also a firm, unquestionableno.
Nibbling from my collarbone to my shoulder, he swirls his tongue around the newly raised marks, making sure each one is given the attention they deserve. Carnal bliss takes hold, and I arch my head back with a moan. It doesn’t feel good. It feels fucking otherworldly. I do little else than tilt my head to the side and let this man continue sending convulsions throughout my entire body. He wasn’t lying, he really is devouring me, and I’dsooner rest over the dining table and let him feast on my flesh than have him stop.
But he does.
My chest deflates. My heart shudders. The desire doing somersaults in my stomach dissipates, and when I open my eyes, he’s no longer looking at me. No, his focus is on the few hundred people beneath us. He’s not watching them, it’s almost like he’slisteningto them. That doesn’t make sense, though. I can’t hear a thing downstairs, not even the music. Another small beat passes between us, and he keeps his head in the same position. The more I stare at him, the longer he keeps his ear trained to the window.
The club lights flip on, raining fluorescents down to the disoriented crowd.
“What … what’s happening?” I ask, eyes widening in confusion.
Nik lowers me to the ground carefully, scanning every area visible from his loft. “I’m not sure.”
The steady hum coming through the floor cuts off in an instant. Screams barely make it through the door with more locks than I can count. Nik peers out of the other windows, concentrating solely on the bar toward the back of Völk.