Page 68 of Diamond Don

“Fuck John. Fuck Sheila, too,” he says in a scarily calm tone.

Nik yanks the front door open before pushing me through the doorway. His relentless grip on my arm never wavers as he makes us halt in front of the house. A second later, his black limousine pulls over to where we stand.

The driver quickly exits the car, but Nik waves him away impatiently. Without a word, he opens the car’s door, motioning for me to get in. I resist him.

“What’s your problem?” I ask, making all my frustration clear.

“Kat. Get in the car,” he orders in that eerie tone again.

“Not until you tell me what’s wrong with you. I did everything you asked of me,” I say, struggling against his hold on my arm.

“Oh, I know you did. Trust me. I’m so fucking aware you did everything I asked,” Nik says, raising his voice.

“Then I’ll ask again. What the hell is your problem? What else do you want from me?”

Nik pulls me flush against his body, leaning forward until his forehead touches mine. In that deadly calm tone of his, he says, eyes ablaze, “I want you not to go within a mile of that vermin ever again. I want to break every finger in his repulsive hands so he knows better than to touch you. I want you to never smile like that again at any other man but me. What I really want,” he rasps, a mere inch away from my lips, “is to bend you over and fuck you into submission until you accept you belong to me.”

I hold his gaze with mine unflinchingly. My heart is racing, and my breath comes out in erratic pants, but I don’t shy away from his stare. I raise my chin as I correct him, “No. What you really want is me.”

Nik’s deep brown eyes darken at my words, and he opens his mouth, his challenging intent unmistakable in every bit of him. But a heartbeat later, almost miraculously, something different flickers over his expression. He closes his mouth. And then he opens it again.

“God help me, I do,” Nik says under his breath. His admission is undeniable. Unshakable.

My eyes never leave his as I say, “Then fucking have me.”

Before my mind even registers his movements, Nik yanks the limousine’s door open, dragging me inside.

25

NIK

I warned her.

Over and over again, I told Kat it was a bad idea for her to play these foolish mind games with me.

As usual, Kat didn’t listen. Even worse, she kept pushing and pressing my buttons, trying to get me to surrender all control in the hopes of having me eating out of the palm of her hand—just like she promised she would do with McGuire.

Fucking have me, Kat dared me.

If only it were that simple.

So I drag her into the back of the car with me, kicking and screaming.

I do what I have to do. I refuse to give her the satisfaction of seeing me completely snap, losing all semblance of discipline and control. After witnessing her with McGuire, I’m dangerously close to it.

I won’t let her win this battle of wills. No matter what, I can’t afford to let her wrestle the control over our status quo from me.

Clearly, Kat won’t accept defeat easily. As I toss her on the front-facing car seat and take the one across from her, she gives me a piece of her mind. The bane of my existence goes on and on and on about how she’s so freaking done with mobsters, that we will be the death of her, and that I’m the worst of them all. After huffing and puffing, Kat complains that she’s damned if she does and damned if she doesn’t, as far as I’m concerned.

As I’ve known for a while, the woman has a flair for the dramatic, which explains why she won’t give up on her tirade. As I silently listen, Kat tells me that Mother Theresa herself would’ve had a hard time putting up with my mood swings and poor communication skills.

“For the love of God, just shut up,” I groan, tapping the partition between us and the driver, indicating that he should start driving.

“Why don’t you come over here and make me?” she asks me, her flirtatious words in high contrast with her sharp tone.

I lean forward, resting my forearms on my bent knees. “I want you to listen to me, and I want you to listen very carefully,” I say as calmly as I can manage. “I strongly advise you to tread very carefully right now. I’ve been very tolerant with you so far, but you have no idea how on edge I feel right now. My self-control is within an inch of snapping, and you won’t like me very much if that happens.”

The look Kat shoots in my direction makes my blood boil.

---