Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(57)
Oh, damn.
He parked and then got out to open her door. She took his hand and let him help her from the car before following him to the elevator that led to the penthouse apartment. The ride up was quiet, and when the bell chimed their arrival, she jumped. Nikoli only smiled and led her out of the elevator and into the apartment. Her eyebrows shot up. New furniture decorated the main room, and she saw he’d even gotten a new kitchen table. He’d kept his word. A small smile flirted with her lips.
“Do the furnishings meet your approval?” he asked, his voice almost formal.
She nodded, not trusting her voice yet. The furniture was modern and done in softer tones than he’d had before. It was as if he’d shopped with her in mind, which was ridiculous. He wouldn’t decorate this place just for her.
“Have a seat, and I’ll get us something to drink.” He motioned toward the couch, much as he had the first time he’d brought her here. She didn’t see another option, so she took a seat, tugging her dress as far down as it would go, which wasn’t saying much. She felt exposed, naked in this skimpy little black dress.
“Take your shoes off,” he said, his voice casual, and Lily glanced up to see him surveying the contents of the fridge. She frowned, but unbuckled the strappy heels. Her feet were killing her. It’d been a while since she’d worn six inch heels.
Nikoli came over and dropped down on the other end, handing her a bottle of water. Lily took it and massaged her aching feet with the other hand. Nikoli brushed her hand away and pulled her feet into his lap. His fingers began to massage the bottom of first one foot and then the other, working out the tense muscles. He didn’t say anything while he did this, and Lily watched him. He hummed to himself, and she grinned. She didn’t think he even realized he was humming. He did it sometimes when he was very relaxed. Lily loved to watch him at times like these, when he was peaceful and carefree.
His smile was soft, and his black eyes glowed with contentment. His humming calmed her rising panic, and she slumped back against the couch cushion, a low moan of pleasure slipping out of her lips. This was nice, and she loved it when he was sweet like this. She was starting to love a lot of things about him, and it worried her. Nikoli didn’t do girlfriends. Sure, for the sake of the bet, he’d called her his girlfriend earlier, but she knew he didn’t really think like that. He may be helping her, but he had his own reasons for it. She had to remind herself of that. Daily. Hourly, really.
The problem was, that little reminder stopped working weeks ago, and she wasn’t sure how to stop herself from falling for the manwhore. She admitted she may have already fallen for him and was just too stubborn to admit it. Either way, she was in deep trouble. Her heart was bound to suffer an epic heartbreak by the end of all this. Of that, she was certain.
Nikoli watched her from underneath his lashes. Her face was pensive. He wasn’t sure what she was thinking about, but her body was completely relaxed. It was exactly what he needed her to be. His fingers worked their way around to the top of her feet and up her ankles, slowly massaging the muscles. She was so relaxed she wasn’t even paying attention to his wandering fingers, and he smiled as he moved higher to her calves. He kneaded the muscles and chuckled at her little sigh of pleasure.
He made it all the way to her knees before she realized what was going on. She bolted upright and stared at him, her eyes a little wild. He simply stared back for a moment, and then continued his gentle massage around the back side of her knees and then up to her thighs. He slowed his pace, but increased the pressure of his fingers, soothing and kneading away the tension. She let out a little moan, but still he didn’t look up.
Her hand grabbed his when he got to her upper thighs, right below her hemline of her dress. She tugged, and he refused to stop. When he looked up, her eyes were overflowing with several emotions. He could see fear and panic, but there was also curiosity and lust. He needed her to focus on the latter two.
“Lily, I am going to take your dress off.”
“No.”
He did look up then, his eyes stern. “Yes, Milaya. You need to learn to feel my hands on your bare flesh. It’s time to push you just a bit further. You know I’m not going to hurt you.”
“I…I…Nikoli…”
“Shh, Milaya,” he crooned. “You are fine. You can do this. I know you can. Do you trust me?” He reached his hand out to her and waited. She looked at it like it was the hand of the devil, but he didn’t grow impatient. He simply waited for her to decide she was going to trust him.
It took her a good five minutes, but she finally whispered, “Yes.”
She put her hand in his and he sat up, pulling her toward him. She landed in his lap, her legs straddling his own. Her blue eyes were so dark they were almost black. He saw her fear and forced himself to stay calm, to go slowly with her.
“Easy,” he murmured, placing his hands on her thighs, where the bottom of her dress had bunched up higher. She gasped and put her hands on top of his to stop him, and he let her, knowing she needed to feel more in control.
She looked into his eyes and took a deep, steadying breath. “I don’t know if I can do this, Nikoli. I don’t know if I’m ready.”
“How can you know, though, if you don’t try, Lily?”
Her gaze swept down to where her hands lay on top of his. He could feel the tremor in them. He understood she was scared, maybe even terrified, but that was the point of all this. She needed to stop being afraid, and that wouldn’t happen if she refused to push herself.