Chapter 41 – NIKOLAI #2
"And you're wasting time," she counters, reaching down to pull Raven's shirt over her head. She's naked underneath, all soft curves and pale skin marked with fading bruises from our groping fingertips and greedy mouths. "The clock's ticking, Nikolai."
My brain short-circuits for a second, caught between outrage and arousal.
This woman.
This fucking woman.
"You freaky little psychopath," I growl, but I'm already moving, settling between her thighs.
She spreads wider for me, shameless, and I can see she's already wet. Whether from anticipation or leftover slick from last night, I don't know and don't care.
I lean down, running my tongue up her slit in one long stroke. She gasps, her hips bucking off the bed, and I have to hold her down with one hand splayed across her lower belly.
"Stay still," I command, and she whimpers.
I lick her again, slower this time, savoring the taste of her. My tongue finds her clit, circling it with just enough pressure to make her moan.
Once she's mewling, I slide two fingers inside her, and sure enough—
There.
I feel the smooth, hard surface of my glass eye, nestled deep inside her. The sensation makes her cry out, her inner walls clenching around my fingers.
"Found it," I mutter against her thigh, but I don't pull it out. Not yet.
Instead, I curl my fingers, using the eye to press against that spot inside her that makes her see stars. She keens, her hands flying to my hair, and I feel a savage satisfaction at reducing her to this.
"Nikolai," she gasps, her thighs trembling around my head. "Oh, fuck—"
I add my tongue to the mix, licking her clit while I finger-fuck her with my own godsdamned prosthetic eye. It's the most unhinged shit I've ever done and yet watching her come apart is worth every second of the utter absurdity.
Her orgasm hits hard, her pussy clamping down on my fingers as she comes with a sharp cry. I work her through it, drawing out every aftershock until she's boneless and panting.
Only then do I carefully extract my fingers—and my eye.
I hold it up between my fingers, the glass sphere coated in her slick, catching the morning light. "You know," I say conversationally, "this is supposed to be kept in a fucking case."
She's still catching her breath, flushed and satisfied and looking far too pleased with herself. "Where's the fun in that?"
I pocket the glass eye. "I'm getting revenge for this," I warn, but there's no heat in it.
She reaches up, cupping my face and pulling me down into a kiss.
Her thumb brushes the hair away from my empty eye socket, smooth skin sweeping over the rough scar tissue, but I flinch more than she does.
Actually, somehow, she doesn’t flinch at all.
"There you are," she murmurs, pressing a kiss to the scarred skin.
I practically cave in on myself in response and bury my face in her neck to suppress the weird wave of anxiety I’m not fucking used to. At all. "You're insane," I mutter into her hair, my lips ghosting over her soft flesh. "And I'm getting revenge."
"I can make it up to you," she murmurs, her hand sliding down my chest to the waistband of my pants.
My cock's already hard, straining against the fabric, and the promise in her voice makes it worse. I'm about to say fuck the others who are probably still waiting outside, fuck everything, and finally bury myself inside her when—
The door bangs open.
I'm moving before conscious thought kicks in, grabbing my gun from the holster on the floor where I left my pants last night and aiming toward the threat.
My finger's on the trigger, aimed at whoever just interrupted since the only other person besides Cosima I'm remotely averse to killing knows better than to just barge in. Then I register who it is.
Geo.
Standing in the doorway with his arms crossed, one eyebrow raised, looking far too amused for someone who has a gun pointed at his face.
"I should have blown your brains out a long time ago," I snarl, not lowering the weapon.
"Yeah, yeah," he says gruffly, waving me off, clearly completely unbothered by the threat. "You've tried, remember? Didn't go so well the last time."
"Third time's the charm."
"That all it's been?" He just smirks, leaning against the doorframe. "We need to go."
I lower the gun reluctantly, setting it aside.
"Go where?" Cosima asks pointedly, even though I know she knows.
"For the, uh..." He trails off, his gaze flicking to Cosima, who's pulled the sheet up to cover herself. There's uncertainty in his expression, which is rare enough to be concerning. "The… thing."
The exam.
The reason we're all tiptoeing around like we're defusing a bomb. Might as well be.
"She knows," I mutter, reaching for my pants.
Geo's eye widens slightly. "What does she know, exactly?"
Cosima sits up, the sheet falling to her waist in a way that's absolutely deliberate. Both Geo and I freeze, staring like idiots. She rolls those violet eyes.
"Not as much as I'd like," she says dryly.
"But I know you're all keeping something from me.
Something that could kill me if you told me.
And I know it has to do with whatever exam you're dragging me to.
" She pauses, her gaze sharpening. "And for some fucking reason, I'm putting up with it, but in the future, you could leave the mysterious bullshit to Azarel. He's the expert."
Geo actually chuckles, some of the tension bleeding out of his shoulders. "Fair enough." He clears his throat, looking almost... apologetic? On him, it's fucking weird. "Be ready in ten minutes. We'll be waiting outside."
He leaves, closing the door behind him with more care than I expected.
I turn back to Cosima, who's already sliding out of bed and heading for the closet where servants left fresh clothes last night. I should get dressed too, but I'm frozen, watching her move through the room with that unconscious grace.
She trusts us.
Despite everything—Azarel's lies, the secrets, the fact that we're about to let doctors poke and prod her head without telling her why first—she's choosing to trust us.
The weight of that trust sits heavy on my shoulders.
"Niko?" Her voice pulls me back. She's standing by the closet in nothing but her skin, holding up two dresses. "Which one?"
I blink, trying to focus on the question instead of the way the morning light makes her skin glow. "The blue one."
She nods, setting the other aside and pulling the dress on. It's simple compared to the elaborate robes from yesterday, just soft blue silk that clings to her curves and falls to mid-thigh. Practical. Easy to move in if shit goes sideways.
Which, knowing our luck, it probably will.
I force myself to move, pulling on my pants and fastening them. My shirt comes next, and I'm reaching for my boots when I remember.
My eye.
I rinse it quickly in the sink. The glass is cool and familiar in my palm as I pop it back into the empty socket, adjusting until it sits right. The relief is immediate, like putting on armor.
When I turn back, Cosima's watching me in the mirror.
Our eyes meet in the reflection, and something passes between us. Understanding, maybe. Or recognition of the masks we both wear.
"Ready?" I ask, keeping my voice neutral.
She nods, smoothing down the dress. "Yeah. Let's just get this over with."
There's nervousness in her voice, carefully hidden but there.
My hands itch to reach for her, to offer some kind of comfort, but I don't know how.
Don't know if she'd even want it from me.
Don't know if last night changed anything on her end, even if it solidified what I've known since the moment I met her.
I'm hers.
Everything I've built, everything I've fought for, everything I am is hers, and I'll kill every last motherfucker on this godsforsaken blue marble before I let anyone take her from me.
We step out into the sitting room together, and Knight's already there. Looming. Silent. Those burning blue eyes tracking us from behind his silver mask.
I can tell he knows exactly what happened last night.
The three of us. Together.
And he's not attacking, which I'm choosing to interpret as grudging approval. Or at least tolerance. With him, it's hard to tell the difference, even though he’s been slightly easier to read and predict lately.
Geo's there too, leaning against the wall with his arms crossed.
His gaze slides between me and Cosima, and I can practically see the question forming in his head as she goes over to Knight, talking softly enough that I can't make out what she's saying as she adjusts his mask and his hair around the straps. His head tilts slightly and she kisses the tip of his nose. Well. The mask’s nose.
"What exactly did you tell her?" Geo asks me, his voice low.
I shrug, trying to look more casual than I feel. "That she needs the exam. That I can't tell her why. That she needs to trust us."
Geo's eye widens slightly. "And that worked?"
"I was just as surprised as you are."
He opens his mouth like he's about to say something else, but then he goes still. His nostrils flare slightly, scenting the air, and I watch understanding dawn on his scarred face.
Fuck.
He can smell Raven on me.
Despite the shower, despite the soap and steam and scrubbing, there's enough of Raven's scent clinging to my skin that another alpha can detect it. The honey-sweet smell that's uniquely his, mixed with my own blood-and-steel and Cosima's moonlight.
Geo's jaw tightens, and something flashes in his one eye that looks dangerously close to jealousy.
Before he can say anything—before this can turn into yet another pissing contest or fistfight—Cosima opens the door leading out. "Are we doing this or not?"
She's nervous. I can see it in the way her hands twist together, the slight tremor in her fingers she's trying to hide.
Geo sees it too. His expression softens in a way I've never seen before, all that gruff hostility melting into something almost gentle.
"Hey," he says, moving toward her. "You'll be in good hands. The best doctors in Surhiira are going to be tending to you." He pauses, glancing at me and Knight. "And we won't leave you for a second."
She nods, but her throat works as she swallows. "I know."
She straightens her spine and lifts her chin, and just like that, the vulnerability is tucked behind that mask worthy of a queen. "Come on," she says, forcing brightness into her voice that doesn't quite reach her eyes. "Let's just get this over with."
She moves back toward the door, but stops to glance at Knight. "Did you eat?" she asks softly.
Knight's growl is low, rumbling. An affirmative.
What the fuck did he eat, exactly?
Do I even want to know?
I watch the exchange, fascinated despite myself. They have their own language, these two. A way of communicating that goes beyond words, beyond the barriers that keep the rest of us at arm's length.
"Good," Cosima murmurs, stroking the filigree etched on the cheek of his mask like she's petting a giant cat. "Hope you brushed your teeth with straight bleach after."
Knight's head tilts slightly, his burning blue eyes tightening with what might actually be a frown. It’s the first I’ve seen of an expression from him outside of total blankness. Even hidden behind the impassive features of his mask, he somehow manages to look confused.
"She's being sarcastic, big guy," Geo says, moving to clap Knight on his metal shoulder. The sound echoes through the room, and Knight's gaze swivels to him without his head turning away from Cosima, pupils blowing wide before shrinking to pinpricks.
There's a moment where I think he might take offense and tear Geo’s arm off. But instead, he just huffs. Almost like a laugh.
Shit. Cosima was right.
Progress.
Cosima leans up, pressing a final kiss to Knight's mask where his cheek would be, then turns toward the door. "Alright. Let's go before I lose my nerve."
We fall into formation around her without discussing it. Knight takes point, his massive frame clearing the way ahead. Geo flanks her left, I take the right, and we move through the palace corridors like a military escort.
Guess we are, in a sense.
The servants we pass all give us a wide berth, their eyes widening at the sight of Knight. Whispers follow in our wake, but I tune them out. All that matters is getting Cosima to the medical wing and making sure whatever happens there doesn't break her.
The walk feels longer than it should. Every step brings us closer to answers we might not want. Closer to truths that could shatter everything. Today is the first step to freeing Cosima from the hold her father has on her.
I just hope it's the right fucking one.
My mind keeps circling back to what Azarel said. The chip in her brain. The kill switch.
The thought makes rage burn hot in my gut.
I've done horrible shit in my life. Killed countless men who deserved it and plenty who probably didn't. Ran guns that ended up in the hands of warlords and tyrants. Built an empire on blood and chaos.
But I've never hurt an innocent. Let alone turned an innocent into a fucking puppet. The kind of monster who would do that...
Arthur Maybrecht needs to die.
Slowly. Painfully.
And I want to be the one holding the knife.