28. Skye
SKYE
A fter Nikola released our sex tape, we went back out for a stroll through the French Quarter. We admired a street performer playing the banjo and stopped to grab warm beignets from a food truck, and he never once let go of my hand.
The restlessness grew within me with every passing minute, knowing what awaited us when we got back to the Nikolaev manor.
We rounded the corner at St. Charles Avenue and I turned to face Nikola.
“ Are you nervous ?”
He chuckled. “Isn’t it a bit late for that?” When I remained quiet, he asked, “Are you regretting it?”
I shook my head and relief passed his expression. “ I’m just worried about Papa’s and Sasha’s tempers. ”
“Leave them to me,” he stated matter-of-factly.
“ Just don’t get killed, ” I signed. “ I would never forgive you .”
He grinned like a shark. “I always knew you cared about me too much.”
I rolled my eyes. “ It’s not exactly a secret .”
We passed a store, eyeing the paintings for sale. It was one of my favorite things about New Orleans. The Crescent City boasted an attitude unlike any other city I had ever visited. Its vibrant colors always made it seem like it was a carnival season.
The smell of jambalaya and a crawfish boil mixed with alcohol fragranced the air as we aimlessly wandered around, in and out of stores.
The street painters filled the square. There were paintings of the French Quarter in a multitude of bright colors, the Garden District, and the New Orleans skyline.
My eye caught on a woman facing the St. Louis Cathedral, the oldest cathedral in North America, but her professional-looking Canon camera was aimed at us, which surprised me. I tripped, and Nikola caught me.
“You okay?”
My eyes darted back to the spot where the woman stood, but she was nowhere to be seen. My brow furrowed, glancing around, but there wasn’t any sign of her.
I waved my hand, dismissing my strange reaction. “ Yeah, just daydreaming .”
“As long as it’s about me, you’re allowed. Because that’s all I’ve been doing lately, zayka .”
My stomach fluttered and I grinned happily. I couldn’t control how my heart raced around him or this longing for his touch and hushed whispers. He was the great epiphany of my life.
“ I never pegged you for a daydreamer .”
“I’m not,” he grumbled. “Better keep that as our little secret.”
I mimed locking my lips and throwing away the key.
“ Nobody will know. ” As if drawn by a force, my eyes darted around in search of the photographer. “ You’re going to think I’m crazy, but I think I saw a woman taking our picture. ”
He stiffened, a somber alertness entering his expression. “What did she look like?”
I shrugged. “ I couldn’t really see. The camera was covering her face and she was wearing a headscarf .”
He surveyed our surroundings, then gently urged me to turn around with a nudge on my lower back.
“Let’s get back home and deal with our parents.” I shot him a confused look. “Or I can throw you over my shoulder and carry you to the car.”
My cheeks heated and my heart fluttered. The sexual tension between us sizzled and the whole world faded away, leaving me with the world’s most intense male specimen.
“ That would make quite the scene for the locals, don’t you think? ”
He must have taken it as a challenge, because he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder as I squealed in surprise. I wanted to tell him I was joking, but as I wiggled, all I managed to earn was a slap on my ass.
And damn if it didn’t turn me on.