Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(35)

“Fifteen, why?”

“Three,” she said smugly. “Trust me when I say I can handle a stick better than you.”

She had to be the sexiest woman he’d ever met. “Hmm…you can handle a stick better than me, can you, Lily Bells?”

Her eyes widened, and he watched the blush work its way up her neck to bloom onto her cheeks. The blush started under her neckline. He was going to have fun discovering where it started, and soon.

“I didn’t mean it that way, and you know it!” she spluttered.

“Oh, Milaya, the things you could do to my stick…”

Lily’s eyes widened when Nikoli started to prowl closer to her, his body conveying his intent. She backed away slowly, but soon hit the closet door. Nikoli kept coming. He stopped a bare inch away from her. Her pulse sped up, and she glanced everywhere but at his face.

“Eyes up, Lily.” His voice sounded firm, hard, a command, and she automatically looked up. His black eyes burned with a deep, lazy fire that stole the air from her lungs. His warm breath feathered over her face. “Are you okay?”

Lily nodded, surprised he’d asked her. More surprising was the fact she was okay. The panic was there, but it was manageable. Instead, different sensations assaulted her. Her breath was a little shallow, butterflies fluttered in her stomach, and she felt her own blood begin to burn with something that she didn’t recognize. It didn’t scare her, exactly. She felt…excited. Her hands moved restlessly, and she started to fidget.

“Stay still,” Nikoli barked, his voice stern. “Don’t move, dushka.”

“I said not to…”

Nikoli put a finger to her lips, but it was gone before she could even process it fully. “Hush, Milaya. It’s hard enough not to touch you. If you start talking, I will kiss you.”

DEFCON five started flashing in her head, but her body refused to listen to her. It wanted him to touch her, to kiss her. In this moment, she’d never wanted something as badly as she wanted him to touch her.

He must have seen it in her eyes, because his own breathing came out a little more labored. “Do you want me to touch you, Milaya?”

“Yes,” she whispered, “but I’m afraid.”

“I know,” he said, his voice soft, “but I’m very proud of you, Lily. You’ve come a long way in just a day. You truly are magnificent.”

Lily took a shaky breath, his praise washing through her. Nikoli’s voice was like velvet, wrapping around her, making her feel things in places she shouldn’t. How could just his voice make her want to clench her thighs? Dear God, she was starting to understand how so many women abandoned their clothes because of that Russian accent of his. It could make you imagine all sorts of naughty things.

“Lily…”

Nikoli and Lily both turned to see Adam standing in the doorway, staring in shock at the two of them. It only took a moment for his expression to turn to one of fury. “What the hell are you doing here?”

“Came to pick up my keys,” Nikoli replied, turning so Lily was behind him. “No one teach you to knock?”

Adam growled, coming into the room. Nikoli rolled his shoulders, preparing for a fight. He’d like nothing better than to shove his fist in Boy Wonder’s face after that shit he’d pulled on Lily last night.

Lily sidestepped Nikoli, and he turned baleful eyes upon her. Didn’t the woman know when to stay put?

“Adam, what do you want?” she said, resigned.

“I came to talk to you, to apologize, but I see you are busy doing…”

“Don’t,” Nikoli said softly.

“You need to get the f*ck out,” Adam snarled. “I came to talk to Lily, not you.”

“But I’m not ready to talk to you, Adam.” Lily walked over to the door and motioned for Adam to leave. “What you did…I can’t just forget it. At least not yet. I need you to leave.”

“Lily, please,” Adam begged. “We can’t leave it like this…”

“You should have thought of that before you decided to be an ass,” Nikoli told him. “Now get out.”

“Lily, you can’t trust him.” Adam begged her with his eyes.

“Right now, I trust him more than I do you.”

Adam’s face paled, but he nodded. “I’m sorry, Lils, for everything. I’ll make this right.” He started to leave, but stopped in front of her. “I swear to you I will.” He gave her a quick hug, looking sad when her entire body flinched.

Nikoli noticed the flinch. She’d been around him all day and hadn’t flinched once. His plan was working. The longer she was around him, and the more he forced her to get used to his touch, the less it scared her. Odd that Adam scared her, though. They’d been around each other since they were little kids. She had to know the feel of him better than anyone else. She even admitted that Adam had tried to help her in the beginning. Maybe the key was she hadn’t wanted to be helped back then. She wanted help now. Either way, it was a win-win for him.

Lily was pale when she closed the door. Nikoli had wanted to try to push her a little farther, but he knew that was probably out of the question now. “You want to come over for a while? Luther would love to hear all the details of how you kicked my ass today.”