Page 14 of Tarnished Queen

I shake my head. “I’m fine. Really. It’s a miracle I wasn’t thrown from the car, actually.”

“A miracle?” He lifts his brow, his face twisted in an expression I don’t understand. Is he teasing me?

I nod. “I don’t know how it happened. It just did. A miracle.”

I lower my mouth to his neck, kissing along the column of his throat, pressing my lips to his pulse. When the familiar deep rumble of pleasure moves through him, I press a hand to his chest to catch the vibrations.

Then I let that hand slide lower, trailing over the hard muscle of his chest and the flat plane of his stomach. But when I drive my fingers under the hem of his shirt, I feel the rough edge of a bandage.

Nikolai doesn’t move as I pull back and yank his shirt up in growing horror. The bandage is wide, covering most of his side. I can see blood oozing through the wrappings.

“Wh… what happened?” I breathe, not even sure if I want to know. I’m not sure I can handle finding out how close to death he may have been. How close he may still be.

“You don’t know?”

“How would I know?” I ask, confused. “I didn’t even know where you were.”

He pulls his shirt back down. Suddenly, it feels like an uncrossable barrier between us.

This isn’t what I thought our reunion would be. I imagined heated touches over slick skin. Murmured cries of gratitude and pleasure that we were together again.

I want that. Doesn’t he?

“Are you okay?” I ask.

He nods. “I’m fine.”

He’s never been so unresponsive to me or so blunt. Even when things between us were beyond complicated,thisnever was. Our bodies always knew what to do.

But it feels like Nikolai has forgotten.

“I can’t wait,” I whine, circling my hands around his neck. “I need you. I need you to help me forget.”

I sound desperate to my own ears, but it’s accurate. I am desperate. For this. For a moment of normalcy after hours of uncertainty and terror. For Nikolai to make me feel deliriously good and for me to do the same for him.

His body is still tight and tense beneath me, and I’m not sure he’s going to give in. For the first time, Nikolai might set me aside.

And in that brief window, panic rises up. Has he realized he made a mistake? It would have been easier to marry Xena and leave me behind. Less complicated. Maybe he realizes I’m not worth all of the drama.

But before I can gather up the scraps of my dignity, Nikolai’s large hands grip my waist. He pulls me into his lap and drags my aching center over him with a primal growl.

I moan, already lost to the sensation. “I want you inside of me,” I whimper.

Nikolai shakes his head. “Not now. Finish yourself like this.”

I should feel disappointed. Grinding myself against him like we’re teenagers in a backseat shouldn’t feel this good. But it does.

Everything with Nikolai feels good. Better than anything else.

“What about you?” I moan, shifting down so I can stroke the entire length of him from root to tip and back again. “Is this good for you?”

“This is about you.”

The words are sweet, but his voice is still detached. I want to investigate more, but I can’t focus on anything except the ache between my legs.

I grab Nikolai’s hands and place them over my chest. The warmth of his fingers palming me drives me faster.

“How did you end up in Xena’s car?” Nikolai asks.

---