Page 28 of Nikolai

"Nikolai. How's it going?"

"Jake." The tone in my voice alerts him.

"Talk to me."

"Word is there's someone in town asking questions about Leah Winters."

"Fuck. I'll get the men on it," Jake says, and I have no doubts. That man knows almost everyone in this town. The club will find the fucker who's nosing around.

"When you find the son of a bitch…"

"You'll be the first to know, brother." Jake ends the call at the exact moment, Leah steps into the living room, wearing a knee length summer dress. "Everything okay?"

"It will be." I'm honest with her without divulging anything. She hesitates for a moment like she wants to ask more but doesn't. "Ready?" I ask.

"Ready."

Twenty minutes later, we're back at my place unpacking the items Leah needed for dinner. Crossing the kitchen, she peers out of the large window at the trees bending from the strong winds outside. "Looks like a nasty summer storm is moving in."

The storm threatening to move in hours ago has finally made its appearance with a vengeance. "I should get home before the weather gets worse." Leah tosses the couch pillow she's holding on her lap to the side and stands. No way in hell she's driving anywhere tonight.

"You'll stay here."

Her eyes widen. "Nikolai. I'm not taking your bed from you again. I need to go home."

I stand. "I'm not letting you drive in that." I point outside just as lighting lights the night sky, thunder follows, rattling the glass window panes.

"I'll drive slow and take my time." Leah looks anywhere but at my face while fidgeting with her glasses. She is so fucking adorable.

"Do I make you uncomfortable?" I take a step forward, looking down at her.

"A little."

At least she's honest.

I run my finger along the side of her cheek, tracing her jawline, then lift her face, bringing her eyes to meet mine. The sweet scent of the strawberry ice cream she just finished still lingers on her breath. "I have no issues with you sleeping in my bed, Malyshka." The way she nervously chews on her bottom lip has the act going straight to my cock. Damn. I want her so bad it hurts.

"Nikolai, I…" Leah's words are breathy from the effect I'm having on her. The woman has no idea she is my undoing. Reining in my desire to claim every inch of Leah's body, I take a step back, giving us both the space we need. "You can stay in the guestroom down the hall from mine if it puts you at ease, but you will be staying."

"If you don't mind, I think I'll turn in for the night."

Grabbing the remote from the coffee table, I turn off the TV. "I'll show you to your room." I take her hand, lacing her fingers with mine. Once upstairs, I lead her past my bedroom. Opening the door, I guide her inside the guest room, which looks much like mine but smaller. "You have a bathroom to yourself," I tell her, and she glances around the space. "Wait here."

Leaving Leah, I stride to my room, go into my closet, and snag a clean t-shirt, and sweat pants from one of the shelves. When I get back to her room, I find Leah staring out of the window overlooking the lake. She peers back at me over her shoulder. "There's something peaceful about stormy nights."

"I agree." I cross the room toward her, spellbound as I listen.

Leah hugs herself as she continues to watch the rainfall. "Wild winds and heavy rain. It feels like a reflection of myself and the chaos I feel inside. But, it's the wrinkle in time after lightning strikes. Just before the thunder?" Leah sighs, sounding a bit emotional. "I wait for those moments of peace. Not the calm before the storm, but the calm within it." Suddenly, Leah stops talking and faces me. "I'm sorry," she apologizes, and I don't understand why.

"Sorry for what?"

"I don't know." Her eyes fall to the floor.

"Don't do that again."

Leah's head jerks up. "Do what?" her eyes widen.

"Don't ever apologize for being who you are. You just shared something beautiful about yourself and how you feel. That is never something you are to be sorry for, Malyshka."

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