Page 110 of Tarnished Queen

“Sending you away isn’t what I imagined, but it’s what is right.” Nikolai grits his jaw and starts pushing me back down the hall. I try to fight, but it’s hopeless. He’s so much bigger than I am.

“I’ll be on a plane back to you the moment this one lands,” I snap feistily.

He growls. “Then I’ll put you on the next one.”

“And we’ll do that forever?” I snap. “Doesn’t sound like a good use of time.”

“Thisisn’t a good use of time.”

“Says the guy who was standing by the window watching planes take off! Were you going to stay there until we left?”

The way his jaw tightens tells me I’m not far from the truth.

I press my hands flat against his chest. “Nikolai… please.”

“You’ll be safer there.”

“But I’ll be happier here,” I say softly. “Doesn’t that mean anything?”

He doesn’t respond, his eyes focused just over my shoulder. I grab his chin and force his eyes to mine. “Tell me you don’t want me here. Tell me you’d rather I be in Iceland, and I’ll get on that plane and I’ll leave. If you don’t want me here, I’ll go. But if there’s even a single part of you that wants me to stay… then I’m staying.”

We stare at each other for no more than a few seconds, but it feels like a lifetime. The anticipation nearly kills me dead.

Then Nikolai picks me up by the waist and hauls me against his body. I slide down his front, my arms settling over his broad shoulders as he leans his face back to look at me. “I want you here,moya zhena.”

“You do?” I ask, failing to hide the goofy grin on my face.

He nods solemnly. “Of course I do. Every single part of me wants you to stay right here with me.”

I slide a bit further down his body. When I feel a steel rod somewhere south of his belt, I get an idea of which part of him in particular is most excited for me to stay. Warmth zips through my spine, and I hug him close.

“Then it’s settled. I’m staying.”

He grabs my suitcase and takes my hand. “Stubborn woman,” he growls darkly.

But he smiles all the way to the car.

32

NIKOLAI

I’m normally loath to reward disobedience. But Belle’s palm is warm on my upper thigh, and I’m not sure how much longer I can control myself. She knows how close I am to yielding, too—she’s been inching her hand higher and higher up my leg since we left the airport. The fact I haven’t pulled over and taken matters into my own hands is a miracle.

“You better not be writing a check you can’t cash,” I murmur.

She has the audacity to look over at me, her lips parted in innocent obliviousness. “Huh?”

I rest my hand over hers, dragging it even higher.

She smiles. “Oh.”

“Oh,” I mimic. “As if you didn’t know.”

“I’m sorry. I’m just happy to be with you.”

I arch an eyebrow. “How happy?”

Her cheeks flush, and I want to make her entire body do that. I want to undress her and watch as that blush blooms across her skin.

---