Page 69 of Bound By Revenge

And, of course, the sight of him in those black Wayfarers is devastating. It takes every ounce of self-restraint not to ask him to pull over so I can jump his bones right there. Somehow, I manage. Barely.

Instead, I say, “Maybe you haven’t noticed, but I’m not exactly great with surprises. I’m not a go-with-the-flow kind of girl.”

He glances at me, his smirk deepening. “I don’t know about that. You’ve been going with the flow just fine. But I can’t say I’d be shocked to learn you’re a bit of a control freak.”

I scoff, outraged by his hypocrisy. “Me? A control freak? Please. Look who’s talking.”

He laughs again, and the sound is infuriatingly lovely. The urge to throw myself at him is almost unbearable.

“Kat, you’re literally trying to control me through sex,” he teases, shooting me a side glance.

“I’m just making the most of what I’ve got,” I retort, shrugging. “It’s not like I can ignore the tools at my disposal.”

Over the rim of his sunglasses, he gives me a slow, deliberate once-over, his gaze so thorough I feel naked. He lets out a sigh, the corner of his mouth twitching. “I know exactly how you feel. I have a hard time ignoring your... tools myself. No pun intended.”

I blink, completely thrown. Grumpy Nik, I could handle. But smirking, flirty Nik? He’s a whole different beast, and way more than I signed up for.

“Listen,” I huff, trying to regain some dignity. “This is your fault, too. If you weren’t so damn bossy, I wouldn’t feel the need to wrestle some of the control back.”

“Bossy?” He flashes me another devastating grin. “I’m not bossy. I’m the boss. Of you, at least.”

My heart does a somersault as I roll my eyes, trying to act unimpressed. He laughs again, and damn it, I could really get used to that sound.

After a few minutes of comfortable silence, I start to feel restless. He seems perfectly content just sitting there, driving, and looking unfairly gorgeous, while I’m fidgeting like a kid who’s had too much sugar.

“Hey, shotgun picks the music, right?” I ask, desperate for a distraction.

He glances at me, his lips curving into a faint smile. “Sure. Knock yourself out.”

I connect my phone to the car’s sound system and spend the rest of the drive curating a playlist—keeping it neutral. Nothing too romantic. Nothing too sexy.

Eventually, he turns onto a gravel road, slowing down as we approach an open field. I glance around from my seat, trying to make sense of the surroundings. There’s a stretch of asphalt ahead, flanked by an expanse of grass. Not much else.

After parking, he comes around to my side, opening my door and offering his hand.

“Where are we?” I ask, taking his hand as he helps me out of the car. The moment the words leave my mouth, it clicks. I stare at the asphalt in front of us, suddenly realizing what it is. “Wait... is that a runway?”

He smirks. “Something like that. I used to come here all the time.” He tugs me gently away from the car, leading me toward a small airplane parked nearby.

The bright red-and-white colors of the plane grab my attention, so much so that I don’t notice the man walking toward us until he’s close.

“Mr. Stefanovich,” the man greets, smiling warmly. “Good to see you. It’s been a while.”

“Yuri.” Nik shakes his hand firmly. Then he gestures toward me. “This is Kat. Kat, this is Yuri—our pilot for today.”

“Ourpilot?” I repeat, my voice shooting up an octave as I dart a glance between the two of them. “Wait... you’re telling me we’re going up in that thing?”

“Yep.” Nik flashes a grin, clearly enjoying my reaction. “It’ll be fun. Trust me.” He turns back to Yuri. “Ready?”

“Whenever you are,” Yuri replies cheerfully.

I cross my arms, digging my heels into the gravel. “Yeah, no. I’m not getting in that thing,” I say, my voice firm as I glare at Nik.

“Oh, come on, it’ll be fun. You’ll enjoy yourself, I promise.” He laughs softly, clearly amused by my hesitation.

“No, I won’t,” I snap, glaring at him. “I’m not going to enjoy plummeting to my death when that paper plane falls apart mid-air.”

He chuckles, tugging me closer to the aircraft. “It’s safe, Kat. I swear.”

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