Page 40 of Cruel Promise

I just go for it. “How did you get your scar?”

He straightens, and instantly, I can tell he’s shutting down and pulling away. “A bad man gave it to me. He betrayed me. No more questions,” he adds before I can ask more. “Take off your clothes for me. All of it this time.”

I stand rigid. Before, Nikolai only saw me half-naked in my bra and underwear. I’ve never been fully naked before a man.

If I said no, I don’t think he’d force me to do it. I could yell at him and make him feel horrible for having his guards follow me.

But a man like Nikolai doesn’t think he’s in the wrong. He has power, and he’s used to wielding it. He admitted he would’ve killed those men for harassing me.

Nikolai is not someone I want to test. But maybe I need to.

“If you want me to get naked, why don’t you make me?” I ask.

Once more, he gives me that intense stare that makes my body tingle. There’s that flutter between my legs again. None of it makes sense. I hate this man. I can’t feel anything else for him.

“I could make you,” he admits. “But I want you to do it yourself.”

“Why though? Why is it so important that I’m the one to do it?”

“Because you need to know how it feels. To make yourself vulnerable before me.”

My heart begins to beat faster. “Why?”

He steps closer to me, making me look up at him. This close, I can feel the heat coming from his body. I want to step closer to it. “You’re like a kid—always asking ‘why’.”

“But I’m not a child. I’m a woman.”

His eyes look me over in that dark way of his. It’s both terrifying and strangely intoxicating. “I know you’re a woman. Which is why I want to see all of you. Are you brave enough to take all your clothes off?”

“Only if you do it, too,” I whisper. If I’m going to make myself vulnerable, I want Nikolai to do it as well. Tit for tat and all that.

“I’m in charge here.”

“Are you?”

His eyes narrow. “I’m always in charge, Ava.”

“Then force me to take my clothes off.” I need to know how far he’ll go. I need to know if he’ll truly stick to hiscode.

A sharp inhale of breath. Never before have I seen Nikolai look so surprised. What other emotions does he have?

His fingers skim the straps of my dress, but he doesn’t push it down. With one last look at me, he drops his hands and backs away.

I let out a long breath. feeling slightly disappointed. If Nikolai had forced me, I could have hated him. But by stepping away, I’m only left more confused. Maybe he is a man who sticks by his code.

“Just don’t leave again,” he mutters then walks out of the room, shutting my door behind him.

My legs are unable to hold me up, and I collapse onto the bed.

What is Nikolai making me feel? And how do I stop it?

A man shows up at the house.

A handsome man, I’ll admit. Dark hair, easygoing smile, strong build. He’s like the poster boy for every school girl crush.

And Nikolai is not happy to see him here.

“Dimitri, I told you to never come here.”

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