Page 42 of His Hold

“Well, if we’re being honest,” Katya says, her tone sliding into something casual, even playful. “We’re stuck here in the snow, no way out until it clears up.”

“So?” I grunt.

“So.” She shifts closer, fingers tracing over my chest with a lazy sort of curiosity. “If all this is nothing, then we might as well enjoy it while it lasts.”

“Enjoy it how?” I ask, my eyes narrowing as she leans in.

“Like this.” She presses her palm flat against my chest, her touch deliberately slow, testing my patience. “You said it yourself. This isn’t about emotions or some twisted attempt at making things right. Just… distraction.”

“Distraction,” I repeat, tasting the word like it’s something bitter and sweet all at once.

“We’re trapped here.” She slides her fingers down, tracing the lines of my abs through the fabric of my shirt. “Might as well make the most of it.”

“You’re suggesting we just… screw each other until the snow melts?”

“You sure about that?” I tilt my head, letting my fingers brush her thigh, watching the way her breath catches. “Because if I take you up on this, I’m not playing it safe this time.”

“I wouldn’t expect you to. If you’re not holding back, then neither am I.”

“Is that right?” My hand slides over her thigh, gripping harder than necessary just to hear her little gasp. “Because I’ve got some ideas. And they’re going to make what we did before seem like child’s play.”

She shivers, but her gaze doesn’t falter. “You keep talking, Nikolai. But you haven’t shown me anything yet.” It’s a test. I can see that. She wants to prove something, to herself or to me—I can’t tell. But if she thinks I’m going to turn her down, she’s dead wrong.

I chuckle, letting my hand travel higher, fingers digging into her skin. “Careful what you ask for.”

“Why?” She leans in until her breath warms my neck. “You think I can’t handle whatever twisted thing you’ve got planned?”

I let my thumb graze the inside of her thigh. “I think you’ll beg me to stop. And then you’ll beg me to keep going.”

“Prove it,” she whispers, her lips grazing my ear.

My lips curve up. “Oh, I will. It will help you heal, in fact.”

Chapter 13

Katya

I don’t believe him when he says he has a new and better way of helping me heal. It’s so sudden, his proclamation, that it leaves me reeling. I shake my head at him and give him what I hope is a stern, resolved look.

“There’s no way I’m letting you tie my hands behind my back as a way of helping me heal, Nikolai.”

The corner of his mouth tugs upward in a lopsided grin, the kind that’s all knowing; a mystery waiting to be solved. “Well, you do want to leave here walking on both feet, don’t you?”

“I do.”

“Then, maybe, you shouldn’t be picky about the healing process.”

“I’m not dumb.” I laugh for the third time today, flapping my arms restlessly. He laughs too, and for a brief moment, time seems to stand still for both of us. Of course, he’s still my number one enemy but at least now, there’s a change in him; a rather dignified one, if I may. He’s calmer and maybe a little bit kinder, which makes no sense since he’s still clearly wary of me. “I know what you’re gonna do once my hands are tied behind my back.”

“Oh yeah? Tell me what you think I might do to you.” I watch him expertly remove the magazine of his gun to examine the chamber and to confirm that it’s completely empty. He cocks

what I guess is the slide and the trigger but glances up at me when I don’t answer him.

“What are you doing?” I stutter through the question. It’s not my finest moment but I have to ask.

He shrugs. “Listening for the firing pin to reset?” He begins assembling of his gun again. “Have you been around guns before?”

“No, just you. There’s no shortage around you.”

---