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I put on some baggy jeans, a crop top that looks more like a bra, and some beat-up gray Vans with holes all over them. I don’t care about my appearance right now, in fact, one would even say it’s stylish.
Leaving the house, I unlock my car and get in, then drive away from my cursed house. My father is going to find a way to punish Leo, yet he won’t put an end to the marriage arrangement? It’s bullshit. I know he could if he wanted to. How could he still want me to marry the man who got my brother killed?
I speed the entire way to Nik’s apartment, knowing he will be there since I told him to wait for me before returning to theD’yavolohouse. Parking in the small lot I get out of my car and lock it, then open the front door of the apartment as if I own it. I guess soon enough I will. Kind of.
“Nik!” I call out when I don’t see him, silence greeting me. “I’m here!” I look around and see his shoes by the couch, which tells me he’s here. From what I've seen, he’s not a slob, so he probably just took them off a few minutes ago.
I lock the front door just in case Leo gets even more pissed off about the talk with my father and decides to come take it out on me. It really bothers me that he knows where Nik’s apartment is. This is our little safe space, and I don’t appreciate it being tainted. I can’t let go of it or ask him to move, however, the beach feels intimate now.Ours.
Walking through the small apartment, I marvel at the space. I didn’t have the time to appreciate it fully the last day I was here. Although it’s extremely small, it’s also kind of luxurious with its dark hardwood floors and two-piece leather sectional. It’s definitely manly, although I like the touch of masculinity in the decor. I wonder if he hired someone to do it or if he did it himself.
The open floor plan has the dining room right across from the living room, and the most miniature glass round table for two graces the space. The legs are black metal, and so are the chairs, bistro style. There’s nothing on top of the table at all, but I like how tidy it looks and how minimalistic it is. It feels like him…
White cabinets with glass fronts are the main attraction in the kitchen. Marble countertops and stainless steel appliances show just how much he probably spent on it, but it still looks simplistic.
Another detail is that all the walls have giant, vertical photographs. Pictures of the beach right outside of this apartment, random images of other scenery, and one picture of…. me. One from my audition.
“Like what you see?” Nik asks in a soft tone. The moment I look at him, his eyes are heated. It sends a shiver down my spine.
“I didn’t know you had this picture of me on your wall…”
“And how would you know that, princess?” He smirks. “Last time you were here, you were not paying attention to anything.”
He has a point. “So how long has it been there?”
“Since the day after I took it.”
“Why?” I ask him with a smile.
“Because you’re a masterpiece.”
I’m stunned into silence, but he just grins widely. My gaze falls down his body slowly, just now noticing that he’s only wearing a towel. Fuck, he’s so damn…hot. Capped shoulders, sculpted chest, a six-pack leading right to a defined Adonis belt.
Lord have mercy.
I shake my head out of my lust-induced intrusive thoughts, and he snickers. “I’m actually here to—” I clear my throat, my hoarse voice giving me away completely. He raises an eyebrow. “Talk.”
“That’s too bad, princess.” He gets closer, then tucks stray strands of hair behind my ear. “I had something else in mind for us.”
“So get it out of your head.” Rolling my eyes, I walk to the dining table and sit down. “Weneedto talk.”
“I’m all ears.”
Nikolai sits next to me at the small dining table, his towel parting down the middle slightly, giving me a view of defined legs, thick thighs, and… oh God.
My eyes snap up to his and he smirks knowingly. I seriously need to focus. Get it the hell together, Camilla.
“I—” I lick my lips. “Said yes…to your proposal last night,” I say slowly. “But we never talked about what happens after. So I guess I’m here to find out where we stand.”
“What do you mean?” His brows furrow. “Obviously, you’d be my wife. Everything happens after. You come here and move in with me, and we tell your family and mine about what we did. We will have to convince them to make an arrangement where we can maintain the peace.”
I gulp. Nikolai underestimates my father. He will never get on board with this. He might just make me annul the marriage. “He—my father—won’t stand for it. You know that, right?”
“He won’t have a choice.”
“Why is that?”
Nikolai’s smile reaches his eyes just as he grabs my hand and brings it to his lips, kissing me softly. “Because we will get married at Atlantic U,” he says, and I’m trying to process his words, but why would we do that? “Technically, on its grounds. At my house.”
