It’s what I should do.
I need to figure out a way to stop being so fucking weak around this woman. But also… I can’t.
Twisting my fingers in the sequined top she’s wearing, I drag her forward, crashing her body against mine.
“One chance,” I growl down at her. “This is your one chance to walk away.”
A smirk curls at one side of her mouth.
“Have I given you any indication that I’m scared of you yet?” she asks.
Now it’s my turn to smirk.
Prior to Brianna, I became somewhat used to seeing that flicker of fear in a girl’s eyes. Almost all the girls I fucked knew who I was and what I was capable of. I used to thrive on that power.
But Brianna has never shown it. She’s matched my brutality with a brand of her own and she has never revealed any kind of weakness.
There is a part of me that craves it. I want to see that flicker of hesitation, of fear in her eyes. I want to push her right to the edge until she has no choice to look at me like the girls of my past.
But there is another part that loves that it’s not there. That she’s willing to go up against me, no matter what I throw at her. She stands there and willingly takes it all before throwing most of it back.
If anything, I think I’m more scared of her than she is of me.
“Fuck you, Brianna Andrews,” I growl, wrapping my fingers around her throat and forcing her backward out of the lift.
A feral grin spreads across her lips as her eyes continue to darken with need.
“No, Nico. Fuck you,” she spits.
“We’ll see.”
All the air leaves her lungs as I slam her back against my front door. Pressing my hand to the scanner, I push the handle down and let her fall for a few seconds before I sweep her into my arms and carry her through my flat and launch her onto the bed.
She lands with a squeal as I drag my shirt over my head and reach for the abandoned bottle of vodka on my bedside table.
“No,” Bri booms, making my movements pause.
“Excuse me?”
“I said no.” She pushes to her feet and places her hands on her hips. “You want me, you say good night to that. I’m not putting up with a wasted, limp-dicked subpar fuck tonight. You can forget it.”
I can’t help but laugh. “Baby, even off my head you know I can deliver the goods.” My eyes drop down her sinful body. Why is she still clothed?
“I’m not willing to risk it. Either I’m your main focus, or that bottle is. Choose.”
Silence fills the room. Only the sound of our rapid breathing can be heard as I stand there frozen in the middle of an ultimatum.
I’m not sure anyone has offered me one before.
Especially one that involved sex.
Ripping my eyes from hers, I stare down at the bottle in my hand, my mouth watering for that burn, that promise of nothing it offers me.
But then I look back at her.
Alcohol might promise me nothing, but she promises me oblivion.
The bottle hits the floor with a solid thud and I rush for her.