My Rival, My Temptation - Chapter 17: Chapter 17

Katherine’s POV
I plastered on my sweetest smile and raised my mimosa in another mock toast. Nikolai didn’t move. Didn’t blink. Just stood there, radiating quiet rage in a way that made my heart race for reasons I refused to unpack.
I watched as he pushed off the railing and disappeared back inside. My stomach flipped.
“Well,” Bianca said, floating up beside me. “That was intense.”
I downed the rest of my mimosa and reached for another one, before entering the pool and resting my back against the wall. “You have no idea.”
I barely had time to brace myself before the villa doors slammed open. Nikolai stalked toward me, each step slow and deliberate, his eyes burning with a promise of retribution.
People parted for him instinctively, as if sensing the danger that came wrapped in muscle and a deadly smile.
I tensed when he reached the pool deck. He still hadn’t said a word. Just knelt in front of me, wearing that sweet, lazy smile that made my stomach churn because I knew it was a trap.
“Enjoying yourself, solnishka?”
I didn’t even get to open my mouth to respond before he plucked my drink from my hand and downed the rest in one long sip. setting it softly against the ground when he finished.
Then he stepped into the pool.
Oh no.
I backed up slowly, the water sloshing around my thighs as he prowled toward me, the heat in his gaze melting any illusions that I might escape. He moved like a predator who already knew his prey was cornered. I kept moving until my back hit the pool’s edge, and my breath hitched as he crowded into my space, his arms bracing on either side of me.
Shit.
His eyes gleamed as his chest brushed mine, caging me in with his arms. The water lapped softly around us, the party fading into the background until all I could feel was the heat of his body wrapping around me like a blanket.
“It appears I underestimated how resourceful you can be.” His voice was low, smooth, a quiet thread of danger that curled around my spine and squeezed.
I tilted my chin up, ignoring the way my pulse kicked. “You never said I couldn’t throw my own party now, did you?”
He hummed, eyes dark and unreadable. “No,” he murmured. “I didn’t.”
The water rippled as he shifted even closer, close enough that I could feel every breath he took. From the outside, anyone watching would think we were sharing some romantic, intimate moment. They couldn’t see the razor-sharp tension that filled the space between us, the struggle for dominance.
His gaze dipped to my lips. “But I’d still like to know…why throw a party at seven in the morning?” He leaned in, his breath ghosting over my ear. “With over a hundred people?”
I swallowed, trying to ignore the way his voice slid over my skin. “Sixty three people actually, including myself. And it’s because I felt like it.”
He chuckled, low and dark, the sound curling around my throat like a rope. “Of course you did.”
His hand moved beneath the water, slow and deliberate, fingers trailing up my thigh. I tensed, my heart skipping as his fingertips danced along the edge of my bikini bottoms.
“What are you doing?” My voice came out sharp, but I hated that it shook at the end.
Nikolai smiled. “Proving a point.”
Before I could stop him, his hand slipped beneath the thin fabric. My body jolted, a sharp gasp escaping my lips as his fingers brushed over my clit, featherlight and teasing.
“Still feeling defiant, milaya?” he murmured, his mouth so close to my ear that his breath sent shivers down my neck. “Or are you ready to surrender?”
My nails dug into the pool’s ledge, every nerve ending in my body sparking to life. “I’m not surrendering anything.”
“No?” His fingers circled slowly, coaxing pleasure from me in maddening, deliberate strokes. My head fell back against the stone, eyes fluttering shut as my body betrayed me, arching into his touch.
I hated that the thought that someone might be watching us; that we were doing something so dangerous out in the open only fueled my desire instead of dousing it.
“You’re trembling,” he whispered, dragging his nose along the curve of my neck. “I wonder…is that from anger?” He pressed a little harder, making me bite back a moan. “Or something else?”
I squeezed my eyes shut, refusing to give him the satisfaction. “I hate you.”
He chuckled, the sound rumbling through me. “I know, solnishka. You think I’m the spawn of Satan. But your body… oh your body doesn’t seem to share the same sentiment.”
My breath hitched as he slid a finger inside me, his thumb still circling my clit. Pleasure coiled low in my belly, heat pooling between my thighs as he worked me closer and closer to the edge. My thighs trembled, nails scraping against the poolside as I struggled to hold myself up.
“Look at me,” he commanded softly.
I clenched my jaw, shaking my head.
“Look at me.” His voice dropped lower, a velvet whip across my skin. “I want to see your eyes when you fall apart.”
Somehow, I found the strength to glare at him, wanting to prove to him that there was no falling apart happening here if I could help it, but the bastard smiled, dark and satisfied, and I hated how beautiful he looked. Hated how much I wanted him.
“Ready to give up yet?” he murmured, his lips brushing against mine, a breath away from a kiss.
“Never.”
He chuckled, low and wicked, and his fingers moved faster, pushing me higher and higher. My body tightened, heat spiraling out of control as I teetered on the edge. So close. Just a little more…
And then he stopped.
I choked on a strangled noise, half a whimper, half a curse, as he pulled his hand away and stepped back, leaving me shaking and desperate.
“The battle line,” he whispered with a wicked grin, “has been drawn.”
I was still gasping when he climbed out of the pool, water sluicing down his broad shoulders and the hard ridges of his back, where now I was paying attention had what looked like scars that were fading. My heart pounded, my body thrumming with unsatisfied need as I watched him grab a towel and turn to the crowd.
“Regrettably,” Nikolai announced, flashing a charming smile, “my darling wife and I have a meeting to attend.” His tone was all smooth politeness, but his eyes glowed with wicked amusement as they found mine. “The party is over.”
A chorus of groans filled the air, but I barely heard them. My eyes burned holes into his back, hatred and frustration boiling over.
He clapped Viktor on the shoulder. “Shut it down.”
“Yes, Boss.” Viktor responded and I flipped him the bird.
Nikolai glanced back at me, giving me a slow, deliberate wink before disappearing inside.
Ugh, I wanted to drown him.
Instead, I sank into the water, my entire body burning with rage as I wondered if what just happened was his payback, or if there was even more.
Knowing Nikolai, it was most definitely the latter.
Shit.