Page 51 of The Payback

“Because you’re married. Because what we had is in the past.”Lie.

More words spill from my lips because I want to hurt her as badly as I hurt inside. I want her splayed out and cut open from navel to neck like I am. “I used you. And yet here you are, following me to New York, hoping for what? Another ride on my dick?”

Her face morphs to shock as my words land, but I’m far from done. “It was nothing, Ellie. If you need a cock that badly, hop on your husband’s.”

Her mouth curls into something confident as the final words land. “Is that what this is, then? Jealousy is causing you to lash out?”

“Cut the bullshit,Elsa,” I say, using her new name. Or is it her old name? Fuck knows what the truth is anymore.

“Just as I suspected... jealousy.”

I scoff, but she cuts it off.

“Oh, Nik. I don’t need either of your cocks that badly. I fuck who I want when I want. It’s never been a problem for me in the past, and it’s certainly not one now. All that’s changed these past few years are my tastes. Who knew I liked to be choked? Who knew I wanted to be fucked into the mattress so hard I see stars as my orgasm barrels through me?” She lets out a little laugh, like discovering this side of herself is just as intriguing to her as it is to me. My knuckles must be white with how hard I’m gripping the knife and envisioning jamming it into Dimitri’s chest so she’ll turn to me for the fucking she’s looking for. “It’s not my fault you couldn’t deliver that night.”

“Bullshit,” I seethe. Looking over my shoulder, I see Anya entirely engrossed in her sandwich and almost done with the first. I walk over, place a second on her plate, and return to the kitchen, looking to fight someone—anyone—after seeing how terrified Anya was when we found her.

Instead of putting my supplies away, I cage Ellie against the counter. One arm on either side of her body, I press closer, and her breath stutters. “I left you sated and thoroughly fucked. It’s not my fault you give off these good girl vibes. If I’d fucked you the way I wanted, I’d have sent you screaming for the hills. I couldn’t have that when so many other things were happening that night.”

“Yeah?” she asks, licking her lower lip as we go toe to toe. “How would you have fucked me?”

I step closer, wedging a thigh between her legs and letting her feel my arousal pressed against her hip. She peeks down and drags her eyes up my body until she reaches my lips and stops there.

“Without restraint.”

I meet those dark, fathomless eyes, and I watch as the fantasy I have in mind somehow flashes across hers. I pick up a lock of her hair and rub it between two fingers, then take a bigger piece and wind it around my fist. Using my grip on her, I tilt her head back and step closer, running my nose along the column of her throat. “You follow the rules too much, Ellie. I would break those rules with you. Bend them until they snap under our writhing bodies. I saw how you looked at me when we were partners. You were subtle, but not subtle enough. You wanted to bite off more than you could chew, Ellie. And now I want to give it to you until you choke on it.”

She squirms under me, her body rocking on my thigh as her skin flushes with a pinkish hue. “That’s right, baby. Ride me and get yourself there. You have to fucking earn it.”

Ellie groans low in her throat, and I dip my head to that sensitive spot behind her ear which drove her wild that night we were together.

“I’m not fucking you,” she says, steel in her tone. The way it was when she recited our agency’s rules or the protocols I was so fond of bending.

“Never said you were. Why are you here?” I ask, changing tactics and using distraction as my weapon of choice.

“In my home?” she counters breathlessly.

“Inmyhome. Dimitri’s home. It’s not yours, no matter how often you work that magic pussy on his cock.”

“Careful, Nik. Green is not your colour.”

I smirk against her skin, thrusting against her and drawing a rattling breath from her lungs. “What do I have to be jealous of? You’re riding my thigh right now, not his. You can’t keep your eyes off me when I’m around. I know because I’m always watching you, Ellie.”

“And I’m the one getting off. Pretty sure I’m the one winning in this scenario. Whyareyou watching me?”

No matter how hard I fight it, I can’t stop the following words from spilling. “Because we’re not done, Ellie. We’re like a pair of books someone ripped the last pages out of. Neither of us got the conclusion we wanted, and now you’re here. We can write that new ending.”

She shudders against me, throwing her head back, and my hand in her hair stops her from smashing it against a cabinet. I cradle it with my big palm and lick a stripe up her neck as she convulses in my arms. “That’s right, baby. Fucking let go and let me in.”

My words do something to her, like a bucket of ice water thrown on us. She shoves against my chest, pushing me away from her, and I come away with strands of her hair still tangled between my fingers. “Get the fuck off of me.”

She smoothes her clothes, still looking rumpled and wrinkled despite her best efforts.

“I willneverlet you in, Nikita Lenkov. And do you know why?” Ellie doesn’t pause, her words coming fierce and harsh. “Because you use people for your own gain. Because being burned once was more than enough for me. And most importantly, you. Do. Not. Deserve. Me.”

There’s something final about her words, and the beast in my chest raises its head in consideration, watching as it stalks from within. She’s fucking delusional. Hot and cold and unsure of what she wants. Something about my words flipped everything on its head just in fucking time. Luckily, or unluckily, my phone chimes to signal the lift and Dimitri’s arrival.

Ellie and I don’t move for a second; our gazes are still tangled together as we glare at one another, neither willing to back down. This is a dangerous game the two of us are playing, especially with her husband just seconds away from finding her still riding my thigh and my hands penning her in against the counter. Endless seconds tick by, and we’re pulled out of our intense standoff when Anya yelps. The lift doors slide open, and Ellie rushes past me to assure the little lioness that everything is okay.

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