Page 46 of Malevolent King

The feeling of eyes on me.

“Luca, what was the guy’s name? The one who threw the party?” I whispered, every hair on my body standing up on end, every instinct in my head screaming at me to run.

“Nicolas? Nicola? I don’t remember,” Luca said, pulling me toward him before pressing me against the wall.

“Nikolai?” I whispered.

“Who cares? Now, come on. Let’s have some fun before your bodyguard finds us,” Luca muttered.

It was the last thing he said before slapping a hand over his neck and cursing. The flash of the needle was nearly too fast to see, but I could guess what had happened as Luca slumped to the floor bonelessly.

Nikolai stood in his place, putting the cap back on the syringe in his hand. He had on a black dress shirt, rolled to the elbows, showcasing his strong inked forearms. Black slacks and dress shoes made up his outfit. He looked like the future leader of a powerful bratva. He was utterly captivating and terrifying all at once.

I stared at him in horror, my thoughts colliding in a jumble.“Did you—” I couldn’t finish the question as I stared down at Luca.

“Kill him? I thought about it. He was planning on bringing you in here and fucking you, whether or not you wanted him to,” Nikolai said, looking impassively down at him.

“And what do you plan?”

Niko looked up and grinned at me. My heart lurched. I hadn’t seen him in weeks, but I’d thought of him nearly constantly. It felt odd to see him in the flesh after imagining so much. He looked even more deadly and alluring than I remembered.

“I want what’s mine, Sofia,” he said softly. Using his boot, he rolled Luca’s inert body away.

“Is he—dead?”

“Depends what was in the syringe, I suppose,” Nikolai said, and tossed it into a corner. “He asked me to stash it in here for him to use on you.”

My disbelief must have radiated off me in waves, because Niko laughed. “Sweet, innocent Sofia, when are you going to understand that the bad guy doesn’t always wear a sign? They don’t always look like me,lastochka. You should be more careful who you hang out with.”

“So, you’re trying to make me think you’re not the bad guy? You cut my cousin’s fucking hand off for going back on his poker bet!”

Nikolai approached me, with Luca out of the way on the floor, and caged me with his arms. I should run, or scream, or do something, but I was frozen, like a deer in headlights. I couldn’t look away from his gray gaze.

“I never said I’m not a bad guy. I wouldn’t lie to you like that. And yes, I cut your idiot cousin’s hand off, not because of the game, but because he touched my prize. He’s lucky I let him live.”

My breath caught in my chest. “How do you know Silvio touched me?”

The memory of that day in the changing rooms was seared into my mind. My cousin backing me against a mirror and slipping his hand inside my robe, squeezing my lace-covered breast and then dipping lower before I could smack his hand away. I’d felt dirty for days after.

“I know everything about you, Sofia. I always know everything about that which is mine,” Niko said in a deep purr. One of his hands drifted to my neck. He circled the velvet choker with his hand. “Pretty, but it needs a leash on the end.”

I tried to knock his hand away, and he caught my wrist with ease, pinning it to the wall beside me.

“What are you going to do to me? Cut parts off if I don’t let you do what you want?” I was proud of how strong my voice sounded. It was nothing like the terror inside me.

Niko tutted. “What good owner would cut parts off his own belongings? I’m going to take care of you,lastochka. You’re mine.”

“I don’t want you,” I whispered back.

His face was so close now, and his body was pressing into mine.

Nikolai’s mouth stretched in a brief grin. “I don’t care.” His hand slid along the sash around my chest. “My sweet little prom queen, with the barbed tongue and knife skills. My prom queen who hates the world and everyone in it. I see you, Sofia.”

Then, before I could argue with that outrageous statement, he kissed me.

Kissed would be a generous term for what he did.

He devoured me.

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