Page 12 of The Monster

“We are. Do you regret it, Nina?”

“No!” Frustration fills me, and I yank my hair. “Why do you always think of the worst about me?”

“I don’t, but I know I’m not who you pictured getting married to.”

His voice is so calm, and it angers me. It has been building for weeks, the slow burn in my chest, the mounting pressure in my skull.

This is the last straw. That comment tips me over the edge. I am so tired of everyone telling me what to feel and how to react and dictating how I should live my life.

The fire smoldering within bursts into flames. “You think I’m suffering each day I’m married to you, is that it?”

“Are you?”

“Do not answer a question with another question!” I shove my chair back, the wooden legs scraping against the floor. I have never raised my voice at anyone, but I need to get this out of my chest, or else I will go mad.

Nikolai watches me pace back and forth, his eyes following my movements with a quiet calm. “I’m sorry, Nina. What do you want me to do or say?”

My words spill out in a heated rush. “That’s exactly the issue, Nikolai. I want you to stop tiptoeing around me. You don’t do that with Dario or Elsa or Wilma, so why are you doing that to me?”

“You’re my wife, Nina.” He says it so low that I strain to hear it.

“Nikolai, you’re too careful and considerate. Yes, I deeply appreciate that, more than you’ll ever know. I want to know what you think, what you feel. I don’t want you to hold back just because you’re worried how I’ll react.” I swipe a hand across my forehead. “I want you to say what you want to say and do what you want to do. I will not think of you any less, I promise.”

Nikolai’s eyes darken, the muscle beneath his jaw tensing as he rests his chin on his fist. “You don’t want that, Nina.”

“Why? What do you want, Nikolai?”

He stays quiet, and the tension is so thick I can taste it on my tongue. I don’t know where I got this sudden burst of courage, but I step closer to him, fully aware that I’m provoking a bear—something I didn’t even dare back home. “Nikolai, I asked you a question. What do you want?”

His nostrils flare, and he lets out a low growl before standing abruptly, his sheer size making me step back on instinct. “You, Nina. I want you. But I promised I would not go to your bed or touch you unless you want me to, and I’ve been doing my damnedest to keep those promises.”

“Nikolai…”

His gaze turns dark and possessive, his breath growing heavier. “I lie awake at night, long after you’re asleep, wondering how you’d feel under my hands and my mouth, how many sounds you’d make as I bury myself inside you…”

Dear God. My heart drums against my ribs, pleasure singing through my nerves. He braces both hands on the table on either side of me, trapping me. My body throbs with raw need as I raise my gaze to him, his eyes going hazy with lust.

“Now, I ask you, Nina.” He lowers his head and whispers in my ear, his hot breath making me wetter. “What do you want?”

Quick, ragged breaths escape me, fire plunging down my body and settling in my core. “Fuck me, Nikolai.”

We’re both breathing hard, and I see the moment he snaps. One second, we’re staring at each other, and the next, we’re moving at the same time, crushing our mouths together.

And the world around us disappears.

10

NIKOLAI

Ibreak the kiss only long enough to sweep a hand across the table in one motion. Plates, cutleries, glasses, and dishes crash to the floor. It’s a lot to clean up, and I will have to pay my staff double, but none of that matters right now.

My breath stutters, my heart beating wildly against my chest, like someone is pounding a drum inside of me. Nina gave me permission to fuck her, and that’s exactly what I’ll do. Fuck her so good and well, she’ll ask me for more and never want anyone else.

I lift Nina to the table, thankful for the loose dress she’s wearing, which I hike up over her thighs. My hands graze the expanse of smooth skin from her ankles to her calves, and, laying her slowly on the table, I press a kiss on the inside of her thigh, enjoying the way she sucks in a sharp breath.

“Please. I need you inside me.” It’s the begging coupled with the look of longing in her eyes that undo me. Holding her gaze, I unbuckle my pants and let them drop to the floor.

Nina chews on her bottom lip as she watches me take out my cock and wrap a hand around it. “Tell me you want this, little wife.”

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