13. His deadly obsession

The whole way home, Nikolai didn't say a single word. He just drove toward my hell, gripping the steering wheel so tightly that I am sure his knuckles turned white under the blood of those bastards.

I stayed silent too, looking anywhere but at him. My body was as stiff as a board, my mind racing with millions of thoughts.

The car came to a halt in front of his mansion, and before I could even collect my thoughts, he was already out of the car. The next thing I knew was that my side of the door yanked open, and he pulled me out of the car roughly yet cautiously.

I kept my head down as we passed the servants. Their eyes were heavy with sympathy, and I hated it. That look. That pity. It only added to the humiliation burning in my veins.

Without a single word, Nikolai shoved me inside the room and locked the door. I turned around to face him. He kicked off his shoes and I braced myself for his rage. For him to lash out, scream, or worse, beat me.

But nothing like that happened.

Instead, he grabbed my wrist and dragged me toward the bathroom.

“Let me go!” I struggled, but his grip tightened, leaving no room for escape.

What exactly is he planning?

Before I knew or could ask him anything, he turned on the shower. A shiver ran down my spine as cold water hit my body, soaking me completely.

My arms wrapped around my trembling body, but I had no time to process the shock. My eyes widened in horror when I saw him unbuttoning his shirt, one button at a time, his gaze burning into mine.

I shivered, pressing my back harder against the glass wall. I wanted it to break so I could run, but deep down, I knew I didn't have any escape from this monster. Not at least now.

"What are you doing, Nikolai?" I asked. I was relieved that my voice didn't tremble despite the dread pooling in my stomach.

But instead of replying to me, he moved his shoulders to slide off the shirt from his body and throw it away.

I straightened up when he stepped toward me.

His bare chest was now in my line of sight. Most of his skin was tattooed. My eyes grew wide and my breath hitched when my eyes landed on a single letter above his heart—A.

A shiver ran down my spine.

My father told me that he wanted me to take his revenge, so why had he tattooed my initials on his heart?

No!

I am overthinking. 'A' is not only my initials. He might have an ex or something.

I barely had time to process it before his hands reached for the hem of my shirt.

My body instantly went into defensive mode. I clutched his wrists so tightly that my nails dug sharply into his skin, drawing blood. "Don't you dare!" I seethed.

But that had no effect on him.

"What the hell are you doing, Nikolai?" I shouted

He tried to remove the t-shirt calmly, but when he realized I was not going to give up easily, he tugged on it sharply, tearing it apart from the middle.

I gasped aloud.

He removed the tattered piece of cloth from my body without wasting a single moment.

All of my efforts were futile, as he also removed my jeans with ease. I writhed like a fish out of water, but it had no impact on him.

Tears stung the back of my eyes at how helpless I felt.

No, Alessia. You can't cry.

This monster is trying to break you. You cannot shatter and become a puppet in his hands.

“No! Stop—STOP!” I screamed, thrashing against him, kicking, scratching—anything to push him away.

"SHUT UP!" He shouted.

I flinched. The glass walls of the bathroom vibrated. Silence spread.

The only sound that could be heard was that of the shower and my pounding heart.

Lub dub.

Lub dub.

Lub dub.

"Don't make me rip the rest of your clothes off and fuck you right here, against this wall!" His gaze was pure fire, dark and consuming.

A violent shudder wrecked my body. Goosebumps rose along my damp skin.

His eyes were wide and bloodshot, his jaw tightly clenched, indicating that he meant every word he said.

The flicker of amusement that had danced in his eyes earlier when he took me out of that room in his arms was now completely gone.

My body trembled and it became difficult for me to stand on my own feet. I remained in my place as he turned around and returned with a loofah and body wash.

His dark eyes didn't leave mine for a moment as he stood in front of me. He squeezed a generous amount of body wash on it before stepping closer.

I can't move. I can't breathe.

My body was betraying me, shaking uncontrollably as the warmth of his body enveloped me.

My legs turned to jelly as he held me captive under his intense gaze. I couldn't even look away from him even as my brain screamed at me to run.

His eyes dared me to follow the command of my mind.

He was relishing the control he had over me.

He held my shoulder with one hand and started scrubbing the loofah on my body. There was nothing gentle in the way he rubbed it against my skin. He was brutal. Possessive.

The rough texture scraped against my flesh with a brutal force, as if he wanted to scrub away the touch of those bastards with his own hands.

His dark eyes followed his hand, and he didn't leave a single inch of my skin untouched. His gaze was intense. He appeared to be a completely different man, filled with the desire to claim me and mark his territory.

“How dare they touch you? How dare they touch what’s mine?” He muttered repeatedly, like a dark prayer, as he scrubbed my body as if it were made of steel.

A yelp filled with pain passed my lips when he brushed it against the sensitive part of my body.

His jaw twitched. His gaze shifted to me as if he had suddenly come to his senses.

My whole body was shuddering; my skin had turned crimson red from the brutality of the monster standing in front of me, but I didn't shed a tear.

Suddenly he dropped the loofah and leaned down to press a kiss on my forehead.

I knew this wasn't mercy. This was his way of showing his ownership over me.

Madness, need, and obsession danced in his eyes as he pulled back slightly.

My knees buckled beneath me as everything became too much for me to handle. But before I could collapse, Nikolai's arms caught me. He lifted me effortlessly and wrapped my legs around his torso as if I weighed nothing.

A gasp escaped my lips when he pressed my back against the glass wall and a feeling of déjà vu hit me.

But before I could think more about it, I felt his growing need in between my legs.

His lips moved down to my shoulder, pressing a soft and deep kiss as if he hadn't just manhandled me. His breath was ragged and uneven as if he were barely holding himself back.

I gasped again when he pressed himself more in between my legs and I felt his hard erection brushing against my core through the fabric of his pants and my underwear.

“You feel it, don’t you?” He murmured against my damp skin. His voice was grave with hunger.

Biting my lower lip in between my teeth, I shook my head, ignoring the molten heat pooling in between my legs with every friction. He tilted my chin up, forcing me to meet his eyes. His thumb pulled down my lower lip from the clasp of my teeth.

“Liar,” he whispered, bringing his lips just above mine. “Even your body knows it belongs to me.”

And with that, his mouth crashed against mine, stealing not only my breath but also the logical part of my brain.

And I melted, not knowing where it all was going...

~~~~~

Kindly re-read the previous chapter (12) again. Earlier it was only half updated due to some technical glitch.

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Thank you.