Page 35 of Nicoli

I hate this. I hate myself. But it is what it is.

Tonight…everything changes.

* * *

Mira

My heart is beating impossibly fast.I’ve had too much champagne, spent too long walking down memory lane, and am way too optimistic after getting Nicoli’s message. He wants to speak to me, requesting that I meet him in his bedroom.

There are tiny flutters of nerves in my stomach, and then there’s my tongue sticking to the roof of my mouth because I’m fucking parched. That might be from the lingering effects of drinking too much champagne. Or that might be because I have no idea what Nicoli could possibly want to speak to me about.

Nicoli spends ninety-nine percent of his day ignoring me, so hearing he wants to see me in his bedroom is both shocking and nerve-wracking.

After our encounter in the hallway, when my towel decided to betray me, letting me drop into an ice-cold bucket of embarrassment, I have no idea what to expect from him. I’m not blind. I’m not naive. I’m not dense. I felt the connection between us crackle with electricity, how the air around us became palpable and laden with sexually charged energy. And when he crouched in front of me, the sound of him inhaling deep, the tip of his nose brushing against my sex…God.I reach the top of the stairs and grab hold of the rail, steadying myself, forcing oxygen into my lungs. Just thinking about it is enough to make me drench my panties.

I glance down the corridor, knowing Nicoli’s bedroom is just around the far-end corner. What if…what if he’s finally ready to talk about…us?

The question hangs in the air as I take a tentative step forward, but my nerves are jangling, and I find it hard to get myself to move quicker. My palms are clammy, and the air seems to thicken the closer I get to his room. Am I even ready for this? Whatever this is?

Good God, Mira. Pull your shit together.

I reach the corner and inhale deeply as I close my eyes, imagining the air filling my lungs in elegantly flowing circles. It’s all I need to grab hold of the calm demeanor I’ve mastered so well, even though my insides are utter mayhem.

“You can do this,” I mutter to myself, then lift my chin and square my shoulders, taking those few steps around the corner and up to his bedroom door.

I come to an abrupt stop, the ground beneath my feet suddenly falling to pieces. For a moment, everything is hazy, surreal, until the scene in front of me comes into focus.

A strained gasp moves past my lips, and he looks up, his ocean-blue eyes staring straight into mine…right before my gaze falls to her.

ChapterThirteen

NICOLI

“Li? Where are you? Li?”

“I’m here.” I toss a stone out in front of me as I lean against the tree, watching it disappear into the thick grass.

“Where is here?”

“Try to find me,” I call, breathing in deeply, the breeze carrying the subtle smell of wildflowers and earth.

Mira’s little blonde head pops out from around the tree trunk. “Found you.” Her smile is infectious. “You should really try harder if you want to play hide and seek.”

I cock a brow as she plops down beside me, the fabric of her soft yellow dress brushing along the green grass. “Who says I’m playing hide and seek?”

“Why else would you sit here behind a tree so far from the house?”

“Maybe I just want to get away from you,” I tease, pulling the white ribbon from her hair and ruffling my hand through her wild curls.

“Stop.” She tries to grab the ribbon, but I yank it away. “And I know that’s not true,” she says, scrunching up her dainty nose.

“And how do you know that?” I put an arm around her shoulders and pull her back, ensuring her feet are covered with the shade of the oak tree. The last thing she needs is to get her fair skin sunburned.

“Because you’re the only one who doesn’t complain when I’m around.”

“That’s not true.”

“Is too. Have you heard Alexius scream at me to get out of his room?”

---