Chapter 10 - Vera
I barely slept all night. Every time I closed my eyes, I saw Nico’s face from the night before, filled with shock and disbelief. I could picture the way every ounce of certainty had been ripped out from under him when I told him the truth.
I have never cheated on you.
The words had been hanging between us ever since.
I had expected anger and accusations. I had expected him to kick my door down, demanding answers.
Instead, there had been silence, and somehow that was worse.
He hadn’t once tried to talk to me all night, as if he was trying to give me space or perhaps did not even know what to say to me.
A part of me knew he might still be angry with me, and I could not blame him for it.
My confession had been heavy, but so had been his actions.
The house felt different the next morning. It was the sort of quiet that weighed on you.
I stood in the kitchen wearing one of the oversized shirts I had stolen from his closet days ago and a pair of shorts.
I had contemplated staying in my room the entire day, determined to avoid him, but it felt ridiculous.
I had taken the actions, and now I needed to face the music that came with them.
The coffee machine hummed softly while sunlight spilled across the marble counters.
For the first time since arriving here, I was completely alone.
Or so I thought. I was spreading jam across a piece of toast when the atmosphere suddenly shifted.
Nothing moved. Nothing even made a sound. But despite that, I felt him. My hand stilled in anticipation before I had to force myself to keep going.
God.
Even after everything, I still knew exactly when Nico Romanov entered a room. I kept my eyes on the toast.
“Good morning, Vera,” he said, my name rolling off his tongue as if it belonged there.
His voice was rough and lower than usual.
Either he had been awake all night as well, or he had a very fine sleep after what I had just told him.
Only that satisfied his silence during the past few hours.
I hated how my pulse reacted immediately, and I set the knife down.
“Morning.”
The silence stretched for a few seconds, but then he spoke again. “We need to talk.”
I laughed softly. Not because it was funny, but because it was absurd.
“We’ve needed to talk for months.”
His jaw tightened. When I finally looked up, I almost wished I hadn’t.
He looked exhausted. I could see the dark shadows lingering beneath his eyes.
His stubble was heavier than usual, but despite everything, he was still devastatingly handsome.
The realization annoyed me more than it should have.
Every time I decided I needed to get over Nico Romanov, the world gave me a rude awakening, reminding me I loved him.
“You weren’t lying.”
It wasn’t a question. I folded my arms across my chest and sighed deeply. I could not avoid this conversation forever.
“No, I wasn’t.”
His gaze sharpened. “So you have never cheated on me. Everything you said in my office that day was a lie.”
“Yes.”
The muscle in his jaw flexed. “Why?”
There it was. The question that had destroyed both of our lives. I looked away first because I couldn’t tell him. Not yet. Not when I still didn’t know what my father was doing. Not when I still wasn’t sure how much danger Nico was in.
“I thought it would be easier to do things this way. It would be easier for you to let me go if I somehow made you hate me.”
His laugh was cold. “Easier, hunh.”
I nodded, and his expression darkened instantly.
“Don’t.”
I frowned. “Don’t what?”
“Don’t stand there and tell me you destroyed us for my benefit.”
I felt irritation flare. “I’m telling you exactly what happened.”
“No.”
He took a step forward. “You’re telling me half of what happened.”
“I don’t owe you the rest.”
The second the words left my mouth, I regretted them. His eyes went completely flat.
“After everything you’ve put me through, you think you don’t owe me answers?”
My temper finally snapped. “Oh, we’re talking about what I’ve put you through?”
His brows lifted dangerously as if in a challenge. “Go ahead and challenge that if you can, my love.”
There it was. That damned nickname again. I laughed, but the sound came out sharp.
“You kidnapped me from my own fucking wedding, Nico.”
“You were marrying another man.”
“You stalked me and locked me in this house!”
His expression didn’t change. “You aren’t exactly chained to a wall.”
I stared at him. “Are you serious right now?”
“No.” His voice dropped. “I’m actually being generous.”
The arrogance of him. The absolute arrogance. I shoved away from the counter.
“Generous?”
“Compared to what I wanted to do when I first found you, yes.”
I stopped moving because I believed him. Every word. Something dark flickered through his expression before disappearing. We spoke over one another, neither willing to back down or surrender. Months of hurt were finally erupting out of both of us, and I could see it happen.
“Do you know what it felt like watching you marry him?”
The question hit harder than I expected, and for a second, neither of us spoke.
Because I knew. God help me. I knew. The memory of seeing him in that dressing room surfaced immediately.
The look in his eyes was filled with fury, devastation, betrayal, hurt, and everything awful all at once.
He looked away first. Only for a second. But it was enough.
And suddenly I wasn’t angry anymore.
Just tired. So incredibly tired.
“You could have asked me.”
His laugh was bitter. “When?”
I swallowed.
“Nico—”
“When, Vera?”
His voice rose. “The day you told me I meant nothing?”
I looked down.
“The day you told me you never loved me?”
Each sentence landed like a punch because I had said those things. Every single one of them, and I would never forgive myself for it. The kitchen became impossibly quiet. When he spoke again, his voice was lower. More dangerous.
“You don’t get to be angry about the women I have brought here after you ended us.”
“You practically paraded them in front of me.”
“And you told me you cheated on me.”
“That doesn’t mean I wanted to watch you climb all over strangers.”
“You don’t get a vote to leave me and come back claiming that you are jealous.”
My pulse was completely out of control. I hated it. I hated him. I hated that standing this close to him still felt like standing near a live wire.
“I didn’t come back of my own free will!”
His gaze dropped briefly to my mouth. “Yet you are here.”
The room suddenly felt smaller and the air much thicker around us. Neither of us moved or looked away. Every memory came flooding back. Every date. Every laugh. Every night. Every promise. Everything we’d lost. Everything we’d destroyed.
“When I left your office on that day, for one second, I was sure you were going to hate me forever.”
Something raw appeared in his eyes. Something a little too vulnerable and definitely familiar. Nico was excellent at hiding his emotions, and yet he was letting me see him. Fully and completely.
“I tried so hard to hate you, Vera. Trust me.”
The confession was barely audible, and yet it made my chest hurt. I could see I had broken him in ways no one deserved to be broken. If there was a monster in this situation, it was me. It had always been me. I inched forward and reached for him, just a small movement. A simple touch.
My fingers brushed his wrist warmly, and that was all we needed.
The reaction was immediate. His entire body went rigid, just like mine. The electricity between us was instant; neither of us pulled away.
“Nico.”
My voice came out soft, almost a whisper.
He closed his eyes briefly as if he was savoring every single second.
Like hearing his name from me physically hurt.
When he looked at me again, all restraint was gone, and the distance between us disappeared.
One second we were standing apart, and the very next second he was there.
His hand cupped my jaw, and my breath caught.
His eyes searched mine. Looking for something.
Permission. Forgiveness. A reason not to do what I knew he was about to do. What I wanted him to do.
“I hate you sometimes,” I whispered.
A rough laugh escaped him.
“I know.”
“I mean it.”
“I know.”
His thumb brushed my cheek, and that was finally my undoing.
I had wanted Nico with a desperation since the moment he had set foot in my bridal suite, and I could not deny myself that any longer.
Months of separation stood between us. Months of grief and pretending and anger and betrayal, but the moment I stepped forward and slid my arms over his shoulders, everything was gone.
I stepped over all of it and kissed him.
The reaction was immediate. Explosive. Like a match finally finding gasoline. His arms wrapped around me instantly, pulling me against him with a force that I knew could crush me. Nico was so strong, yet he had never been anything but gentle with me. Except the kiss was anything but gentle.
It wasn’t careful. It was anger, relief, and heartbreak colliding all at once.
Everything we’d been holding back crashed between us.
My lips felt as if they had returned home the moment they connected with his, and within seconds, he was invading my mouth with his tongue, exploring places he had explored countless times before. I kissed him just as passionately, just as hungrily, as if my life depended on it.
“God, Vera, I have missed this,” he whispered, his forehead against mine as he looked at me.
“Me too, Nico,” I whispered back.
My hands were already sliding underneath his shirt, unable to hold myself back much longer.
He took the hint and began kissing me again.
The hunger in his body was exactly what I needed.
With one quick turn, Nico lifted me in his arms and perched me on the kitchen counter, pushing everything out of our way.
“Take off your shirt,” he ordered, his tone only managing to turn me on even more.
I complied, sliding out of the oversized t-shirt I had been wearing. I was completely naked underneath, except for shorts. The appreciation in his gaze told me he liked that. He stood there for two seconds, just looking at me.
“Will you fuck me already?” The words sounded crude, but I didn’t care.
I needed exactly that. To be fucked. By none other than Nico Romanov.
“Gladly,” he chuckled.
His hands circled my naked waist, and I held the hem of his shirt, swiping it away from his body in one quick motion. His sculpted body came into view, reminding me how much I used to admire him. Calling him hot would be an understatement.
“You clearly haven’t lost your good looks.” I raised an eyebrow, my hands running over his abs as he sucked in a sharp breath.
“I will never lose them, my love,” he winked, only making me wetter.
Before I could reply, his mouth landed over one hardened nipple while his hands kneaded my breasts. I had always been very sensitive up there, and within seconds, I was already moaning his name, asking him to keep going.
“Do you like that, Vera?” he asked. I nodded, incapable of saying much else.
He trailed his other hand over my stomach, sliding it inside my shorts and slowly rubbing his fingers over my pubic area. Nico knew exactly how to play me until I was begging on my knees in front of him.
“Nico, please,” I whispered, aching for his touch.
“Please what, my love?”
“I… I want your fingers…inside me,” I whispered in between moans as his thumb rubbed over my clitoris in slow circles.
“Like this?” he asked, sliding one finger inside. I was so wet, I could smell my arousal.
“Oh my god, yes!” I cried out, pleasure filling me in ways I could have never anticipated. “Yes, please, please, please.”
“Please what? Ask nicely, my love,” he coaxed. He had added two more fingers to the administrations on my pussy and was skillfully fucking me with all of them while his thumb still stroked my clit. I had never known pleasure like this before. It felt as if I was losing my mind.
“Please…” I trailed off, my back arching as I felt I was nearing climax.
“Please what, Vera?” he asked, his pace slowing down. “I will simply stop if you don’t ask nicely.”
He bent down in front of me and took off my shorts, revealing my pussy right in front of his face.
“Please make me come, Nico,” I cried, wanting nothing more than the pleasure of sweet, sweet release.
That was all he needed. He added his tongue to the mix while his fingers continued fucking me, and his tongue ran over my swollen and aching clit until I knew I would not be able to hold it anymore.
Within seconds, I was bursting all over his face while he looked at me, breaking under the spell he knew so damned well how to cast.
“Good girl,” he said, standing up, his eyes boring into mine. “Mind if we continue this inside?”
“Yes, please,” I whispered.
I wanted nothing more than to spend the day fucking Nico Romanov like there was no tomorrow.