Chapter 8
Nikolai
The estate felt too bright. Sunlight poured through the massive windows of my office, cutting across the dark floor in sharp gold lines while distant voices echoed faintly somewhere downstairs.
Men moved through the estate like they always did, armed and alert, business continuing without pause, but every sound grated against my skull today.
Although, my head was nowhere near the fucking business.
It was upstairs. Wrapped in blonde hair, sharp blue eyes, and a mouth that had somehow become the most dangerous thing in my life.
‘I stood near the window with a glass of whiskey loose in my hand while the memory hit me again with brutal precision. Emerald beneath me. Breathless. Flushed. Clinging to me like she didn’t know whether she wanted to pull me closer or shove me away. Christ.
Heat slid low through my bloodstream instantly because I could still feel her. Still feel the way her body reacted to mine, the way she trembled beneath my hands when restraint finally snapped somewhere inside me .
I lost control, completely. The thought should of have filled me with regret. Instead, dark satisfaction curled viciously inside me.
There was no undoing what happened No pretending it hadn’t happened. Emerald was mine now in a way that changed everything. The tension in my face harden as I dragged a hand slowly over it.
What the fuck was wrong with me?
I should have stopped. Should have remembered who I was before touching her the way I did, but the second she looked at me with those eyes and flushed cheeks while saying my name like it meant something, every rational thought inside my head disappeared.
And worse? I didn’t regret it. I regretted wanting more.
The memory slammed into me again without mercy. The sounds she made against my mouth. The way her nails dug into my shoulders. The feeling of her wrapped around me while every ounce of control I’d built over the years shattered piece by fucking piece.
My eyes closed briefly as another thought hit me hard enough to tighten my grip around the whiskey glass. I could still taste her on my lips. Sweet. Warm. Addicting in a way that made my pulse turn dangerous.
The faint memory of her arousal still lingered in my mouth no matter how many hours had passed, and that alone nearly dragged a dark smirk onto my face before irritation crushed it .
Mine. The possessive thought arrived instantly.
Violently. I hated how natural it felt now.
Because Emerald wanted things I could never give her.
A normal life, safety, a future untouched by blood…
someone good. Someone who didn’t wake up every morning prepared to kill if necessary.
Instead, she got me. A man built from violence and bad decisions.
I stared out over the grounds silently while men trained below in the afternoon heat, weapons flashing beneath sunlight as they moved through drills with brutal precision.
This was my world. Blood. Power. Fear. Not soft blonde hair spread across my pillow while a woman slept against my chest like she belonged there.
Something dark twisted beneath my ribs at the thought because despite knowing exactly how dangerous this had become…I still couldn’t let her go.
The idea of another man touching her now made something murderous move beneath my skin. Another man hearing her laugh. Watching her roll her eyes. Feeling her beneath him the way I had. No. Absolutely fucking not.
I drained the whiskey in one swallow before setting the glass down harder than necessary against the desk. Pathetic. That was what this was becoming. Pathetic fucking weakness wrapped in blonde hair and sharp sarcasm.
A knock sounded against the office door before Viktor stepped inside without waiting for permission, though his attention shifted toward me almost immediately.
I ignored him, pouring another glass of whiskey while my focus stayed half on the paperwork scattered across the desk and half on the faint sounds carrying through the estate.
Somewhere upstairs, a door opened. Then Emerald’s voice drifted faintly through the halls.
“…if this coffee tastes burnt, I’m blaming all of you personally.”
Viktor snorted. “She’s loud as hell.”
I said nothing. Another muffled voice answered her upstairs before Emerald immediately responded with something sharp enough to make one of the guards downstairs cough like he was trying not to laugh. Viktor shook his head slowly.
“You know,” he muttered casually, “the entire house heard her this morning, too.”
Everything inside me went still. The amusement vanished from my expression instantly. Viktor noticed immediately. Unfortunately for him, that only made the bastard grin wider.
“I’m just saying,” he continued lazily, “those walls are definitely thinner than you think.”
A dangerous feeling slid through my chest so quickly it nearly turned violent, because the second the words registered, another thought followed right behind them.
Other men hearing her. Hearing the sounds she made for me.
Hearing her moan my name. The possessive instinct hit with brutal force, dark and immediate and irrational enough to piss me off.
Viktor’s grin faded slightly as he watched the shift happen across my face.
“Oh,” he said slowly. “That really bothers you.”
“Choose your next words carefully .”
The warning came low and deadly calm. Instead of looking intimidated, Viktor looked horrified in a completely different way.
“You’re serious,” he muttered. “Jesus Christ.”
I turned toward the window again before I actually broke something.
The thought kept replaying now. The guards downstairs hearing Emerald.
Another man imagining her beneath me. The sounds she made.
The way she said my name against my mouth.
I didn’t share. After last night, the idea of another man even thinking about her felt enough to set my teeth on edge.
Behind me, Viktor let out a rough breath. “You are so completely fucked.”
I ignored him. Mostly because if I acknowledged how accurate that statement was, I’d have to confront exactly how dangerous this situation had become. I already knew. The problem was that knowing didn’t seem to matter anymore.
Upstairs, another burst of Emerald’s voice drifted faintly through the estate before one of the guards muttered something too low to hear in response. Then came her laugh. Soft. Real. Completely fucking unguarded .
Viktor noticed my response. His expression shifted slightly, amusement fading into something more observant as he watched me stare toward the window like I was trying to physically restrain my own thoughts.
“You need to get your head straight before Malrik gets here,” he said finally.
The mention of Malrik immediately killed whatever remained of the lighter mood.
“When is he arriving?”
“Ten minutes.”
I reached for the whiskey bottle again before stopping myself halfway through the motion.
Malrik Drax was not someone you met while distracted.
The man practically fed off weakness. He walked into rooms already searching for fractures in people before they even spoke.
And lately? I had far too many fractures where Emerald was concerned.
Viktor pushed away from the doorway slowly, studying me carefully. “I’m serious, Nikolai.”
“I know.”
His eyes narrowed slightly. “You don’t sound convincing.”
Annoyance flickered beneath my skin instantly. “I don’t remember asking for your fucking opinion. ”
“No,” Viktor replied calmly, “but I’m giving it anyway.”
Outside the window, men continued moving through drills beneath the afternoon sun while guards rotated positions around the estate. Business continued. The world kept turning like nothing had changed. Meanwhile everything inside my head felt completely fucking different.
Emerald wasn’t supposed to matter this much. She was supposed to be temporary. A complication left behind after Lucien’s death. Someone I protected long enough to stabilize the situation before handing her back to Roman and moving on with my life.
That had been the plan. Then she climbed into my bed. Then she looked at me like she saw something beneath all the violence. Then she touched me like she wasn’t afraid. Now I couldn’t separate any of it anymore.
Viktor exhaled slowly through his nose before shaking his head once. “You know what the worst part is?”
I didn’t answer.
“You look calmer now than you have in years.”
Unfortunately, the bastard was right.
A knock echoed downstairs somewhere before footsteps moved through the foyer beneath the office. Viktor’s expression darkened slightly.
“That’ll be him. ”
Immediately irritation settled beneath my skin again.
Malrik Drax had always carried himself like a man who believed rules existed for other people.
Even before Lucien died, the man had a way of walking into rooms and making the atmosphere feel dirtier just from his presence alone.
Cold. Calculated. Sadistic beneath expensive suits and calm smiles.
Recently he’d become far too interested in territory that no longer concerned him.
Viktor glanced toward the office door before looking back at me one last time. “Try not to kill him immediately.”
“No promises.”
“That’s what worries me.”
Then he stepped out of the office just as heavy footsteps approached from down the hallway. A second later the door opened without so much as a courtesy knock. Of course.
Malrik walked inside like he owned the estate, expensive black suit perfectly tailored against his broad frame while silver rings glinted against tattooed fingers.
The man looked polished on the surface, but there was something deeply rotten beneath it all.
You could see it in his eyes. Predatory. Like violence entertained him.
His gaze swept across the office once before landing on me near the window.
“Nikolai,” he greeted smoothly .
“Malrik.”