Page 19 of The Payback

Thinking of my new wife, I lick my lips, remembering her taste.

More than anything right now, I want to take her in my arms and fuck her until she’s a trembling mess. But all at once, the complications come tearing through my mind. There’s too much at stake to let emotion and sex cloud my thinking.

I’d expected her to baulk or shy away when I cut the dress off her body like it was a grave offence. But instead, she’d fallen to her knees and worshipped my cock as she got herself off.

Before I can convince myself that fucking wouldn’t be much more complicated than what we’d done last night, I force myself to get out of bed. I shouldn’t have stayed up so late after she went to bed, but I needed an outlet.

I notice a droplet of crimson on my forearm and try to wipe it away on my duvet, but it’s dried already.

There are some things Elsa doesn’t need to know.

Shielding my arm as she stirs on the other side of the bed, wearing one of my shirts and looking sleep-rumpled and satisfied, I murmur, “It’s still early. Go back to sleep, Sabre.”

She snuggles more deeply into the covers and sighs, sending a tendril of hair fluttering around her face. I like thinking of her as my sword,my sabre, the weapon I will use to cut myself out of this life.

There are things to attend to before she wakes up, so I get moving. If I fuck her, I don’t think I’ll ever be able to stop, and I need control.Especiallyright now.

Showered, shaved, and dressed, I exit the suite and head down the stairs. I smell coffee, and the sounds of the machine create a morning ambience that simply can’t be replicated.

Nik is sitting at the kitchen island, hunched over a coffee cup, tendrils of steam rising around his head, and a cigarette tucked behind his ear.

“Morning, D,” he says without looking up. “Have a good night?”

“You’d know if you’d stayed longer,” I retort. “I saw you last night. My wife’s thighs framed your reflection in the window so nicely.”

Nik grunts. “I thought you were murdering her. Had to make sure you didn’t fuck up the new floors.”

“If a satisfied woman sounds the same as murder screams to you, then you’re doing it wrong.”

“Or so,soright.” He smirks and raises the coffee cup to his lips.

I pour myself a cup and turn, facing Nik from the other side of the island. My phone dings with a notification, and Nik smirks as my glare slides away. It’s the lift, and before I can even pull the device from my pocket, Nik clicks his phone where it sits on the counter.

“Sergei is here,” he comments, and I hear the telltale sound of him accepting the request from the app.

“It’s barely nine,” I gripe. “What if we were still fucking?”

“Oh, D, you know I don’t see you like that, man,” he says, deliberately misinterpreting my words.

“Fuck off.”

I take a deep drink from my mug and close my eyes as the bitter taste washes over my tongue, regretting that it’s washing away the essence of Elsa.

The doors slide open, and my uncle’s voice comes from the foyer. “Did you put an heir in her belly yet?”

Now I’m closing my eyes for another reason.

The idea sounds crass coming from Sergei, but didn’t I imagine the same thing last night as I fucked my new wife? I shove the thought out of my head, refusing to acknowledge that our goals are, for once, aligned—no matter how impossible and off-limits they are.

Frustration simmers in my veins at the thought, and I tighten my hold on the mug. The handle snaps under my punishing grip, cutting my palm as it splinters. I send the whole thing crashing into the sink, splashing the clean countertop. It looks remarkably similar to the mess I’d made last night after Elsa went to sleep.

Nik chuckles at my misfortune just as Sergei strides into the kitchen.

“So, where is she?” Sergei asks.

“Still sleeping,” Nik answers for me as I wipe up the spill and run water over my hand, biting back my hiss as the icy water touches the gash on my palm.

Sergei makes a satisfied grunt, and his hands rest on his narrow hips. “Kept her up late, huh?” he teases.

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