Page 62 of Tarnished Tyrant (Zhukova Bratva 1)

“Oh. Umm… hmm.” I twist my lips to the side, weighing the many pros against the single con. “It would make my life so much simpler. But Elise would never forgive me if she found out.”

"She won't find out."

I smile. "You're always so certain of yourself."

"I have a good track record."

I snort. "Well, I have a shit track record. So I'll stick with building trust over a long period of time of being there for her. And hopefully, that will start paying dividends sooner rather than later."

Nikolai slides the phone to the center of the island and then walks around to my side, slowly drawing closer. "Sounds like hard work."

"It is. Very hard."

He nods. "I bet you could use a break from all that hard work. Maybe a distraction. A way to… turn your brain off."

His words are like a soft caress, a stroke sending shocks of awareness straight between my legs. I press my thighs together.

"Everyone needs a break," he continues. "I could give you one. Or two, or three."

The promise he whispered in my ear last night comes back to me. And the way he touched me this morning.

I’ll drive you mad for me, beautiful Belle.

A moan slips from between my lips.

Nikolai jerks me against him, and I feel his hard length against my thigh. I slide against him, and a groan rumbles through his chest.

"I would've fucked you in the middle of that dance floor," he whispers. The stubble along his cheek brushes against my skin.

I slide my hand between us and cup the front of his pants. "I would have let you."

He bites his lip in the sexiest smile I've ever seen and then leans forward. I let my eyes flutter closed and press into my tip toes, ready to close the gap between us…

When an alarm slices through the air and severs the moment.

13

NIKOLAI

I assigned Giorgos Simatou a short, shrill, irritating ringtone. It reminds me of Xena, for obvious reasons. So I know exactly who is cock-blocking me when my phone starts to ring in my pocket.

Belle pulls back, her lips still puckered but her eyes open. “What is it?”

“A call,” I grit out.

I’m hard. Painfully hard. This woman has been driving me to the edge all fucking night, and I need this release like I need my next breath.

“Do you have to get it?”

Beneath her breathy question, I hear what she’s actually saying.

Stay. Ignore it. Fuck me.

And damn it, I want to do all of those things.

But maybe this is for the best. My priority is to make sure Belle completes the audit and leaves without saying a word to anyone else. Not to babysit her little sister and wipe away her tears.

The deeper I get in with her, the messier this gets.

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