Page 122 of Cruel Promise

My body is spent and tired, but I need this. I need to know Nikolai cares for me. I need to know he’ll open up to me more. I need to know all of this so I can allow myself to fall in love with him.

Thrust. He groans, his hands slamming onto the desk. Thrust. I moan, my eyes fluttering shut. Thrust. We both let out soft sighs of contentment.

“Fuck,” he growls. “Ava, god. You …”

“Yes,” I gasp.

His pace becomes more frantic, wilder. I match it, letting myself get caught up in this indescribable moment.

“I need …” I trail off.

“I know.”

He grips my thighs tighter and thrusts once more into me, and it’s enough to make me come again. I arch my back, my hips rolling around. Nikolai quickly follows suit. He sets his face into the crook of my neck, groaning softly.

We both stay still, just holding onto each other.

And then he pulls out of me.

But this time, he doesn’t pull away. He continues to look at me. I know what he must see. Me, disheveled, smelling like sex. Never before in my life have I felt more like a true woman.

He pushes a piece of my hair behind my ear. “I want to be honest with you.”

“Ok.”

“Dimitri is coming for me.”

Those are not the words I expected. Honestly, I don’t know what I expected. “Oh.”

“He’s angry that I ruined our partnership.”

“Can’t you fix it?”

“Not without blood.”

An idea forms in my mind. “If Dimitri is causing problems for you, you could ask Maxim for help.”

He scoffs and stuffs his length back into his pants. “I’m not asking a fucking biker for help.”

“Why not?” I ask, fixing my own clothes. “Maxim wants peace. If Dimitri is trying to start a war, then Maxim won’t like it. Maybe this is your chance to truly restore peace with The Knights. You could cement them as allies in this fight. With Maxim on your side, maybe Dimitri would back off.”

He sighs and rubs his chin. “It’s not a bad idea.”

“I know. That’s why I came up with it.”

He offers me a small smile that quickly turns to a frown. “But I made peace with Maxim. I won’t drag him into another war. I can do this on my own.”

“Can you? Maybe you need to learn to trust again, Nikolai. Maybe this is your chance to put your trust in someone else.” It’s heavy-handed what I’m saying, but it cuts right to the chase. Nikolai needs to learn to trust again; it’s the only way he’ll ever truly open his heart up to me.

After a long moment, he laughs softly. “You’re good, you know? Too good.”

“I just want us to try, Nik. So, try … for us.”

“I guess I have a meeting with Maxim.”

“Make me proud.”

“I’m trying,” he admits. And I can tell he means it.

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