Page 16 of Diamond Don

“Oh, yes, I am. I don’t mean to dine and dash, but I really have to go.”

His eyes widen. “Dine and dash? You’re out of your mind if you think you’re just walking out of here after saying that to my face.”

“No need to be offended, Nik. This was some fine, three Michelin stars dining. Trust me—ten out of ten. Now, what do you say we part as friends?”

He stares at me as if what I said is something so nonsensical that he can’t decide whether to feel outraged or shocked. “I don’t know whether to throttle you or fuck you senseless.”

I nod in commiseration. “I often have that effect on men. Or so I’ve been told.”

His expression turns dark. Clearly, it was the wrong thing to say.

“Is that why you’re in such a rush to leave? Do you have another man waiting for you at home? If you’re hungry for more, I’m happy to oblige. No need to leave. As a matter of fact, I’ll have to insist. I don’t share. Ever. So, whatever plans you had with him are officially canceled. Indefinitely. You’ll be spending the night with me.”

Unfortunately for Nik, he doesn’t know me well enough to know that is likely the worst thing he could say to me. After being at the stronzo’s beck and call for countless months, the last thing I need is another man who thinks he is entitled to me or who believes he can control me.

Nik was the lay of the century. Truly. He is good enough to eat, and the orgasm he gave me was just what I needed after the trials and tribulations I have been through this year. But I will be damned if that gives him the right to act possessive or controlling over me. Hell will freeze over before I allow another man to dictate what I do with my life.

If we had enough time, I would have let him bend me over and spank me. Or fuck me. Hopefully, spank me and fuck me. But just because I would allow a man to have his way with me sexually, it doesn’t mean he gets to control me. On the contrary, I’m experienced enough to know that a sexually confident woman is often the one with all the power when it comes to men and sex.

Just because I play the part of a submissive between the sheets, it doesn’t follow that I will submit to him—or to anyone else—in any true sense. I never will—not to him, not to anybody. I love being my own mistress. The entire purpose of tonight is to get the diamond and rectify things in my world so I can be my own woman again.

If Nik thinks he will bend me to his will, I can’t get away from him fast enough.

In the end, it doesn’t even matter, anyway. I need to untangle myself from him and cut all ties with anything and anyone even remotely related to this party. The risk is too great, and it certainly isn’t worth the reward. Any lasting connections could land me in jail—or, even worse, dead.

That is why I physically push him away—forcefully. Until now, I have been as soft as a kitten, practically purring in his arms, so my sudden move catches him by surprise and I manage to extricate myself from him.

“Whether I have a man—or a hundred—waiting for me at home is none of your business,” I say.

My change in demeanor catches him off guard, and he doesn’t move to grab me again.

“Maybe not. But maybe you made it my business when you begged me to make you come earlier,” he says in the same tone.

“I wouldn’t worry about it if I were you. Like I said, why don’t we part as friends?”

He studies me for a moment, searching for something. His almost irresistible pull works over me as our eyes connect again, but I manage to break away from his gaze for the first time tonight.

“Very well,” he says, his tone distant again. “We’ll part as friends. Will you at least tell me your name?”

For a second, I think I see his dark brown eyes glimmer with some unidentified emotion.

A practical woman with a purpose. I remember.

Without answering, I glance at Nikolai one final time before walking away.

6

NIK

She storms out of the room, leaving me more confused than I can ever remember.

The woman went from practically purring in my arms to cold and distant in a split second.

It is clear that she didn’t appreciate my offhand remark about her hypothetical boyfriend.

I can’t even pretend to understand how such an inconspicuous question provoked such a sudden and intense reaction from her. I may have been curious about whether there was a man in her life, but my intent was to charm her and convince her to spend the night with me.

Evidently, my flirting skills could use some work.

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