Page 102 of Nemesis

I look down at him, allowing my lips to slide into a cruel smile. His brows pinch down in irritation.

“Dmitri, could you wait outside, please?” Octavia finally says with a sigh, ending the standoff.

“But—I’m supposed to…” he starts, looking past me to my girl. I should break off an arm for that offense alone.

“I’ll be fine. Wait outside,” she repeats, this time with a hardened edge to her voice.

I lift my hand in a teasing wave as he turns.

“Vas!”

My hand drops immediately, burned by her boring maturity.

Finally, the guy opens the booth door and slips through. I practically glow with victory as it clicks shut behind him. But then I’m shoved into the wall.

“Why are you acting like this?” she asks, glaring up at me.

“That guy wants to fuck you.”

She gasps at my crude words, pulling her hand from my chest. I immediately miss the contact.

“He does not!”

“Yes. He does,” I say slowly. “And he needs to learn his place. Which is preferably on his knees with a chain around his neck.”

I don’t think Octavia notices the way her father’s soldiers gaze at her, or how the men practically drool when she walks down the halls. It’s irritating, but ultimately unsurprising. She’s absolutely perfect, after all. Who wouldn’t sell their soul to exist in her shadow?

“He works for Dad, Vas. That’s the only reason he’s here. No need to send him running out the door with his tail between his legs.”

I smirk. “Actually, I think you were the one to send him on his way. Probably saved his life, too, because I’d have maimed the kid if he flashed those desperate eyes your way one more time.”

“You are being ridiculous,” she seethes, unloading her handgun and setting the cartridge on the side table. The sight of her handling the weapon does something incredibly inappropriate to my system. Huh. New kink unlocked?

“Believe what you want. I’ll be here to scare off every one of them into a mandatory fifteen-foot radius.”

“You have nothing to worry about.”

Ha. Sure.

I step forward, crowding her space. “I have everything to worry about. There isn’t a single person in this world who wouldn’t kill for the opportunity to stand by your side.”

“No,” she says, stepping forward until we’re face to face. “You have nothing to worry about because I don’t want any of them. The only person I want that stuff with is you.”

My blood heats.

“And what stuff are you talking about?” I ask, bringing my hand up to push back her soft, red hair.

Her breaths grow faster. Heavier. Then her tongue swipes out, mindlessly wetting her lips. It might be the hottest thing I’ve seen in my entire life.

“Don’t,” I whisper, failing to avert my gaze.

“Why not?”

I pull a hand over my face and take a step back. “Because we agreed to go slow, and you deserve someone who honors that request.”

A finger taps my jaw, brushing the freshly shaven skin with a reverence that sends my heart into overdrive. “We did slow, Vas,” she says softly. “I’m tired of slow. You can’t just keep kissing me like you do, leaving me drenched and on edge for hours.”

“Octavia,” I hedge, trying to reel myself in.