It’s a big room, almost the size of our living room. There are buckets of water, and a table lined with all kinds of knives and pliers. There are also crates… are those jumper cables attached to a battery?
Horror threatens to ripple through me at the sight of all the equipment that’s clearly here for torture.
Then my gaze locks on Irene, where she has a noose around her neck, her toes barely perched on a crate.
HOLY SHIT.
God.
I come to a dead stop, taking in her worn state. Her hair’s no longer styled but hangs disheveled in her face. Her skin’s pale, almost gray, her lips cracked. The orange satin dress she wore to the party is stained with… God, I don’t want to know.
She looks like shit.
Her eyes lift, and the second they lock on me, she starts to cry. “Theresa, help! You have to help me.”
Nikolas lets go of my hand, and I watch as he slowly stalks around Irene, who starts to squirm with fear. He looks like a predator stalking his prey.
Just like Irene looked whenever she hurt me.
I lift my chin higher, reminding myself of the monster she is.
She laughed while I bled.
She relished in my pain when she broke my bones.
When I cried for my dad, mourning his death, she was there to make it a million times worse.
When I fell in love for the first time, Irene taunted me until I believed I’d never be good enough for anyone.
Every time I tried to build myself up, she would slam me back down. She shattered me every chance she got.
My hatred flares up, suffocating the life out of the fear I always felt for her.
I take a step closer and let my gaze drift over Irene. I feel Nikolas’ power become a second heartbeat in my chest.
“You tortured me.” My voice is low and deadly as my husband comes to stand next to me. It’s only then I realize how stupid Irene is. She actually believed she could get away with hurting Nikolas Stathoulis’ wife.
Insane.
Nikolas pulls a gun from behind his back and trains it on Irene. His fingers are firm around the weapon, his hold steady.
She instantly starts to sob, her always smug and hateful face crumbling.
Where are the sneers now? Where’s the evil gleam I used to see before pain followed?
“Untie her,” I order.
One of the guards looks at Nikolas to see if he should obey, and it has me snapping, “I said untie her!”
He moves quickly, another guard joining in to help him.
“God,” Irene sighs with relief as the noose is removed from her neck and she’s helped off the crate.
“Kneel,” I demand. “Kneel and admit what you did to me.”
“What?” she blinks at me, clearly caught off guard.
“Kneel.” My tone is low and deadly, just like I’ve heard Nikolas’ voice many times before.
Hesitantly, she lowers to her knees, and when she looks up at me, I remind her, “Admit what you did.”
“I-I hurt you.”
“Why?”
“I don’t –”
Nikolas takes the safety off his gun, and it has Irene changing her mind about lying. “I… it made me feel powerful.”
I just stare at her, thinking I went through so much hell so she could feel better about herself.
Bitch.
Rage and hatred swirl in my chest, making me crave vengeance for the first time in my life. “Beg me to spare you.”
“Please, There –”
Shaking my head, I begin to smirk.
“I’m so sorry. Please don’t do this. I’m sorry. I didn’t mean…”
I turn my head, looking at Nikolas, then nod.
Without hesitation, the shot rings in the air, making me jerk. There’s a sharp wounded sound from Irene.
Not sparing her another glance, I turn and walk out of the room. More shots sound up, and I don’t know how many are in a clip, but it’s clear Nikolas is emptying his gun.
It’s done.
It’s over.
Intense relief wars with the guilt rearing up.
It had to be done.
I find an empty office, and digging in my handbag, I search for the bottle of Xanax. I struggle to open it as my breaths begin to speed up. Suddenly Nikolas appears in front of me, and taking the bottle from me, he shakes a pill out onto his palm. He offers it to me, but then I look up. Our eyes lock, and… I find strength in him.
Slowly, my breaths return to normal, my heartbeat finding its regular pace.
I keep eye contact with him until calmness washes through me, then I whisper, “I don’t need it.”
He’s so strong, not even my anxiety stands a chance against him.
Nikolas’ mouth curves into a smile, then his body hits mine. His lips take mine in a punishing kiss as I’m pushed back until I’m pressed against one of the walls.
Too soon, he frees my mouth, only to drop to his knees in front of me. Nikolas undoes my belt and strips my pants and panties down my legs. I barely manage to step out of the clothes, my heels still on, when he hauls my left leg over his shoulder, and his mouth finds my clit.
Oh, God.
I instantly reach for his hair, and gripping fistfuls, I hold on for dear life as he goes down on me. His tongue is punishing, his teeth brutal. He sucks so hard, I swear I see stars as my chin drops to my chest, my lips parting on moans and needy whimpers.
Then Nikolas looks up, his eyes burning with the intensity of his love and desire for me. I watch as he licks, bites, and sucks my clit until I’m swollen and aching for my release.
It’s so hot and downright dirty. A turn-on like I’ve never felt before.
“Make me come,” I try to demand, but every word is drowned in lust, and there’s zero authority.
He pushes his middle finger inside me, and when my hips start to swivel, he adds another finger. I clench around him, trying to suck his fingers deeper, and it makes him groan against my sensitive clit. I feel the vibrations all the way to my womb and move faster against his mouth and hand.
“Nikolas… God… yes,” I moan, my body already tensing with the impending release just out of my reach. “Yes, Nikolas… Yes.” I curl forward, my calf and foot pressing against his shoulder and back to hold him to me, my fingers digging harder in his hair, my lips forming a silent O. “Oh God, yes.”
Nikolas bites down on my clit, his fingers pumping mercilessly in and out of me.
I’m going to pass out if I don’t come soon. “Please,” I beg, the need brimming in the single word.
Instead of making me come, Nikolas lets go of my clit, pulls his fingers out, and rises to his full height.
“Noooo,” I groan, ready to force him back down so he can finish what he started.
Then he unbuckles his belt, the zipper goes down, and he frees his impressive length. He grabs hold of my butt, and I’m lifted against his body. He pins me to the wall, and eye to eye, and breathless as hell, he surges into me on one long and unforgiving thrust while I’m still trying to wrap my legs around his waist.
Yes. Yes. Yes.
I explode, my vision fading to black, my head spinning.
“That’s it, baby,” he groans. “Take every inch of me.”
He slams into me, deeper and harder, making my orgasm spiral out of control until I can only whimper from the all-consuming intensity of my release.
Nikolas presses his mouth to mine, breathing in my whimpers as they turn to sobs. His hips move at a relentless pace, his hard length creating a second heartbeat in my cervix and abdomen.
I feel every large inch of him, stretching me, stroking me, claiming me.
So good. Oh, God, so good.
I only manage to come down from the impossible high, all the strength flowing from my body, when Nikolas buries himself as deep as he can and shudders against me.
His arms form steel bands around me, and I’m crushed to his chest as he empties himself inside me. He lowers his head to the crook of my neck and takes greedy breaths of me.
In Nikolas’ arms, with him still buried deep inside me, I realize one thing – Nikolas isn’t the most powerful person any longer.
I am.
