Chapter 3 3

CHAPTER THREE

NIKOLAI

Beneath my rage, there’s satisfaction.

I am going to turn him inside out and make him beg.

I haven’t seen him since the night he left me on the roof. He stopped mattering years ago, so who cares how he looks now, how taller and broader he is, how he has bags under his eyes, how he seems restless, and twitching. None of that matters. Nothing matters except my vengeance. 

He follows me like a lost puppy, like he always did before. Things are different now. That much is clear, but I have to remind him who’s boss.

“What are we doing here?” He demands, and I stop walking.

I realise I’ve brought us to his bedroom. I didn’t even think. I was too caught up in my thoughts to realise where my feet had brought us. Reluctantly, I step in, and he follows me.

Images flash, and memories explode. Memories I have shoved deep down come crawling out. The first few times we snuck in here. Our first times. Our first ‘I-love-yous’, our plans, all the stolen kisses that ended up being nothing. He played me, and then, he left me.

I turn to him and say calmly, “I am marrying Stella.”

His face is red immediately, “Over my dead body.”

“That can be arranged.” I shrug, zero fucks given.

“What the fuck is your problem? You want to punish someone? Then, punish me. You want to hit me? You want to break me apart? Is that what this is about? You wanted to lure me home. Well, I’m home.” His words break apart at the edges, but I don’t care.

“This is not about you. This is about the future of the Brtava and the La Cosa Nostra. It’s about family and sacrifices. The world doesn’t revolve around you anymore, Clark, and you need to wake up. A lot has changed since you’ve been gone, and for fucks sake, you have no right to call this place your home. This is my city. I built it from the ground up. I fixed it while you ran like the bitch you are. Remember your place and stay there. Do not fucking piss me off.” I bark at him, keeping my distance.

“You expect me to believe there’s no part of you that’s glad about this? What the fuck happened to you? You watched Stella grow up, and now, you want to marry her? You fucking bastard!” He roars and shoves me backwards.

I am caught off guard and almost lose my footing.

The madness in me snaps, and I swing my fist.

It connects to his jaw, and he gasps, jerking backwards.

This is the first time we’re seeing each other in ten years, and we’re fighting.

He lunges at me, fists swinging, but I dodge every punch. Unlike him, I have not been stuck behind an office all the time; I work out. I fight constantly. His punches are light work. I don’t hold back. I slam my fist in his face, then punch him hard in the gut.

He doesn’t back down or give up.

“Look at you, Nik. You’re a fucking monster, and you’re never touching my sister.” He wipes blood from his mouth furiously.

So, I let the monster out.

I slam his face into the wall hard enough to crack it. 

He buries his elbow in my gut, and I jerk backwards, pain blooming through me, then he punches me hard in the face. Blood fills my mouth in seconds.

“Look at what you’ve become. Where’s the boy I knew?” He pants hard.

“You left him on the roof. He waited five hours for you, only to find out you left him.” The fight drains out of me.

I try to push it away, but it’s a deep pit I cannot escape from.

“I … I did it to protect you. I did it to keep you safe, Nik.” He stammers, eyes shining with tears.

“Too late for that.” I shake my head, not believing his stupid lies.

“I didn’t need you to keep me safe. I am Nikolai Petrov. I am what people run from. I am what people fear, so fuck off with your lies. I am going to marry your sister, and you might as well die now, because nothing will stop it.” I smile bitterly, feeling the blood in my mouth.

I try to walk past him, and his hand find the exact spot he used to hold me at sixteen.

He slams his mouth over mine, and I turn to stone.

He threads his fingers through my hair and kisses me harder.

My heart pounds hard. My head bangs. My thoughts disintegrate and turn to shambles. He kisses me as if he still owns me, and I allow him. All I am, all I have, has disappeared. All I know is the taste of his tongue on mine. I fight it for as long as I can.

Then, I’m kissing him harder, our blood mixing, a thicker bond than any certificate.

I push him against the door, wrap my hand around his throat and shove my tongue deep down his throat.

He trembles, pushing his knee against my cock, grinding hard.

Blood rushes downwards, and my knees buckle. If he keeps this up, I am going to cum hard, but I can’t, not now. He has to work for every inch of me he gets.

I step back from him and wipe blood from my mouth.

“Don’t, please, Nikolai, don’t marry her.” He begs, defeated.

“Who, then, should I marry? You?” I scoff, amused, and walk past him, “See you at the wedding, brother-in-law.”

I walk out of the house without a backward glance. My whole body is still thrumming. Maxim is wise enough to be silent. We are driven to the ring, and I get ready to spill blood. I close my eyes as I put on the gloves, haunted not only by his touch, but by the version of me that waited on a roof for five hours.

I am going to make him bleed, and he’ll like it.