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“Excuse me?”
“Why did you do that? Why would you separate Eli from me and make him work with horse shit? Is this some sort of punishment or something? You’re insecure? Having a power trip?”
Nik straightened in indignation. She was bold. He moved till his face was inches from hers and he could see the flecks in her eyes. She leaned back, but he leaned forward to maintain their proximity, so close he could breathe in her scent.
“Oh, Ali. If I was punishing you, you’d know it.”
He leaned back to take in her body language. She was frozen solid.
Sufficiently spooked. Good.
He walked around her, slow and threatening. “Are we going to have problems, Ali?” Her name tingled on his lips, ensnaring her and reeling her in.
Her shoulders tensed, and when she spoke, it was just above a whisper. “No. No problems here.”
“Perfect.”
He grazed his hand along her back as he headed back toward Sam and he felt her shiver beneath his fingertips.
Oh, yes, toying with her would be fun indeed.
He spent the next few hours pacing back and forth, taking extra time whenever he passed Ali. Sometimes she caught his eye and other times she ignored him. Either way, he felt her magnetic energy pulling him in.
They took a break around midday for lunch. Eli had rejoined the group and sat next to Ali. They chatted so naturally, like nothing had happened.
Nik felt a bit neglected, forgotten even. And he refused to be forgotten.
He handed out sandwiches to the other prisoners before stopping in front of Eli and Ali. He handed one sandwich to Eli, who grumbled, “Thanks.”
He extended his arm to hand Ali the other one, and right as she reached for it, he snapped it back. She rolled her eyes and huffed, agitated by Nik’s childish behavior. He didn’t care. He was having too much fun.
He extended it once more and this time let her grab it.
“You’re not going to say thank you?”
She took a big bite and purposefully ignored him.
“You’re welcome, babe.”
Ali’s face flushed, and Eli turned to her with a questioning look. Nik wandered away and left them to sort that one out.
The friendly chatter they enjoyed before now looked more like bickering. Nik smiled to himself. Annoying Ali and pushing Eli away at the same time? Two birds with one stone.
They finished lunch and Eli went his separate way again. Nik decided to follow him and see how his work was coming along. He was surprised to see he was almost done. When Eli caught him watching out of the corner of his eye, he scoffed.
“Is there something else I can help you with?”
“Nope. Just checking on how things are going over here.”
Eli hesitated. “You should leave Ali alone.” It was a threat, but a completely empty one. He had no power here.
“I’m afraid I can’t do that. It’s literally my job not to leave her alone.” Nik crossed his arms and focused on Ali, a few rows over. She was working diligently and wiped an arm across her sweaty brow. He was struck by how naturally beautiful she was, even covered in dirt and sweat. He couldn’t take his eyes off her.
Eli followed his gaze, clearly uneasy. It was so much fun getting under his skin.
“You see, the thing is, I’m kind of fascinated by her. I’m sure you understand. You seem to be quite fascinated as well. But Eli, I don’t share. And mark my words: I tend to get what I want.”
Eli rose to his full height and took a step forward. He was just slightly taller than Nik, but Nik didn’t back away. Eli clenched his fist but wavered, visibly struggling to reel in his anger. Getting into a fight on his first day outside a cell would be a terrible idea.
