Page 41 of His Forbidden Obsession

“As much as I’m loving Mr. Snooty Professor showing his unhinged side,” Rafe said, “Dante and I need to check out the cleanup operation and talk to the men we left outside.”

Damn. Once again, he was right. Where was my head?

Fantasizing about what you’ll do to Niko when you get him alone and how much you’ll make his father suffer once you capture him.

“Take care of things downstairs. I’m going to take Niko to my room while our cleanup crew does a temporary fix on the window here. I’ll get Remington to send some more men over, then you two should try to get some sleep. I don’t think Dimitri will be back tonight, and we’re going to need to be on full alert tomorrow.”

Rafe saluted me. “Take good care of Nikolai, or I’ll have to come show you how.”

I took a step toward him. “Niko is mine.”

I felt Niko tense beside me and realized what I’d actually said.

“Trust us. We know.” Dante’s satisfied smile had heat rushing to my face. Great, now I was letting them know too much and… Was I really fucking blushing?

They closed the door behind them, and silence descended.

I was nervous to meet Niko’s gaze. What was wrong with me?

You’re falling for him.

No. That wasn’t going to happen.

It already has. The boy is yours.

When I thought of anyone else touching him, kissing him, comforting him, I wanted to tear the world apart so it was just the two of us and no one else existed. Yeah, I was fucked.

He followed me across the hall to my bedroom. I watched as he looked around, letting his gaze linger on the king-size bed piled high with pillows. “So… um…”

I wanted to join him in my bed, but I would have to find some self-control. “Get some sleep. I’ll keep watch.”

He frowned. “Your brothers get to sleep, but you don’t?”

“You need sleep more than I do.”

He looked disappointed, maybe hurt. I fought the urge to pull him into my arms. “What’s wrong?”

“I owe you.”

“For protecting you? If I’d left you alone, you wouldn’t have been beaten, and your father wouldn’t have come here to shoot you tonight.

“But I’d be married and under Ivanov’s control because I wouldn’t have had anyone to rescue me.”

I studied him, trying to figure out where this was going. “How much do you owe me? What sort of price could we put on your life?”

He twisted his hands together and looked down at the floor. “You could ask my father.”

Horror made my stomach not. “No, Niko. I didn’t really mean that. I was teasing. Tell me what you’re proposing.”

He took a long, slow breath.

I pulled him to me and kissed the top of his head. To hell with not touching him. “I’m really sorry.”

“No one ever apologizes to me.”

“I will. If I do something to hurt you, I’ll do anything I can to make it right.”

“Then let me pay you for letting me stay here, and for… You made me come, and I didn’t… you didn’t get to… you had to stop.”