“Hey, this isn’t mom’s fault.” I wanted to defend her, but it felt strange. After everything that had happened, I wasn’t sure where I stood with either Rachel or Kaleb. But I knew that they didn’t deserve Ambrose turning on them.
And then Ambrose rounded on me again. “You don’t get to call her that!”
He stalked towards me, pointing, teeth bared. Finally, in range, I braced myself. His voice dropped, and he spoke quietly so that I was the only one able to hear him. “You’ll get what’s coming to you, bitch, mark my words.”
“Consider them marked,” I said, calmly as I stood my ground. “Now get out of my face.”
He stood there a moment longer, swaying on his feet, and I could have sworn he was going to hit me. But he didn’t. Instead, he turned on his heel and stomped down the hall to his bedroom, slamming the door behind him.
“Are you alright?” she asked quickly, searching my face. Rachel rushed up the stairs to me.
“I’m fine,” I said. “Just mad about what he said. Are you guys okay?”
She nodded and looked at me sadly, eyes red but still holding dry. “It’s not like him to be so aggressive… He’s been drinking more recently, and—”
“It’s fine, really,” I cut across her excuses for him. I didn’t know whether or not she was lying — to me or to herself — but either way, I didn’t want to hear it. I wanted to go to sleep, wake up and be whisked away by Nik. “I’m gonna head back to bed.”
I waited for her nod before I retreated back into the bedroom, closing the door gently after me. I had to get out of this house. But dammit, I wanted my revenge first.
I tossed and turned a little while in bed and then, frustrated, laid on my back and reached for my phone. I sent a quick text to Nikolai, half hoping that it didn’t wake him.
Are you awake? — A
I waited a few minutes, staring at the bright light of my phone. Then a message came through.
Need me to come back? x — N
He must have gone back to his hotel already. I supposed it was late… He needed sleep too, especially for what I had planned tomorrow. By the end of the day, he’d be sick of me.
No. Just having trouble sleeping. I’m looking forward to seeing you tomorrow x — A
I forwent telling him the truth, the horrible ruckus that Ambrose had just caused. Instead, I thought of tomorrow, smiled at the thought that in a few short hours, I’d be with him.
I had told Rachel and Kaleb that I wanted to go into town, by myself, to do a little pre-wedding shopping. Of course, I’d had to throw them off the scent by mentioning the wedding. They couldn’t know that I was meeting Nikolai.
Nikolai still hadn’t told me where we were going — he wanted it to be a surprise, apparently. I thought it was sweet, a side to him I hadn’t seen much of. But then again, I liked his gruff, bossy side. I never thought it would happen, but I’d actually come to miss his grumbling mood swings. It didn’t take me long to fall asleep as I thought of my Nikolai.
Checking the time, it was still early when I pulled up outside the Varela house. Call me eager, but I didn’t care - because I was. I literally couldn’t hold myself back any longer. I dropped Ana a quick text to let her know I had arrived and would wait for her around the corner.
I glanced at the cooler in the back of the truck. It holds some snacks for the road — I had planned us a little road trip to get her out of the city. I hadn’t told her where we were off to, I just wanted us to spend the day together. I wanted to make Anastasia happy, and I hoped that this would.
I didn’t have to wait long before I spotted Anastasia’s long brown hair flowing in the morning breeze, I felt my reaction to her so viscerally. My pulse quickened and I felt the heat of desire working it’s way up my neck. When she approached, I leaned over the cab and opened the passenger side door for her.
“Good morning,” Ana sang as she climbed into the cab of the truck.
“Morning,” I replied smiling at the sheer sight of her. After dropping her bag to the floor she leaned over to kiss me. It had been months, but I still wasn’t used to her being so comfortable around me, and it always shocked me when she offered herself up to me. Nevermind that, I took whatever she gave. Her lips felt like the sting of electricity. But it was a sizzling pain that left me wanting more.
I wanted to wrap my fingers in her hair, to pull her onto my lap and kiss her more deeply. But I had to wait. I pulled away, even though it was agonising, and started up the truck again. “How was your night?”
“It was fine. My nights will be a heck of a lot better once we’re back in Boston though…” she said, making me immediately question her words. I glanced over to find her already turned my way, giving me a coy look.
Oh. Yeah, we’re definitely on the same wavelength.
A smug smile crept across my face as I refocused my attention on the road. Yes, her nights would definitely be better once we were back in Boston. I was hanging on by a thread as I waited for those nights. Where I would be able to hold her and love her throughout the night. I’d learnt my lesson though, handcuffs would definitely be a regular in the bedroom. Once I got her back
