HIRAETH

08. "𝐋𝐨𝐯𝐞."

" reckless behavior
A place that is so pure, so dirty and raw
In the bed all day, bed all day, bed all day."
👀
____
Althea

I expect Nikolai to open the door for me, but that moment never comes. What was I thinking? He doesn't even have an ounce of gallantry. Not with me, anyway.

I opened the door and sat down in his Mustang, and a smell of leather and newness immediately invaded me. Everything was clean, too clean for a guy. It was as if he'd committed a murder and tried to hide it afterward.

I wouldn't be surprised, given his bipolar personality: one day he's telling me he's sure to see me again, with a smile that's far too perfect for my taste, the next he's staring at me and today he's angry with me.

I'm even beginning to doubt that he's a man, mood swings like that are only brought on by menstruation. Or mental illness.

In any case, if there was one thing I was pretty sure of, it was that my future boss was psychotic and maniac; and I hoped deep down that Father had called to tell me to lay off Nikolai. I was well aware that I wouldn't be able to keep my cool with a man like him.

I knew little, if anything, about him. But he had given me so much to dislike, that I already knew it was going to be even harder to live with him 24 hours a day.

It's often said that you shouldn't judge a book by its cover, but my instincts have never deceived me until now.

When I saw Nikolai for the first time, he was too perfect, exactly my type. That was what scared me, I was scared to fall for his looks and forget about how unattractive personality-wise he was. But with the world being against me, he had to have some connection with my father. And with my sister.

Every look we shared during the past days was filled with tension, it was like there was no one else in the room once our gaze connected. And I ask myself daily if he felt it too and if that is why he stopped looking my way.

It's stupid really, that after my failed relationship I still run after someone to love and care for me although I really can't see myself with him. From what he seemed like, our personalities were complete opposites, and not in a good way.

But the truth is, he brings me the urge to loosen up my tongue and we've not talked that much yet. I've never had somebody consuming my thought the way he is. It's both intoxicating and infuriating. And that scared me, I've always been the quiet one, the one who never said exactly what was on her mind and I didn't know if it was the alcohol or the man itself but I felt like I wouldn't hold back tonight.

Especially after he tried to murder me with his car.

Out of the corner of my eye, I saw the devil enter the car. The atmosphere cooled immediately. The car was too silent, too compressed, and the seats were too close together. The man's energy filled the air with a toxic tension, and I felt the urge to open the window.

It took me half a second to realize what was happening.

I felt an imminent warmth invade my body, a gentle but demanding warmth. Nikolai had leaned towards me, showing me his back, and his hand was holding mine back from pressing the button. His body was in front of my face, close. Too close.

So close that his scent almost suffocated me. The scent wasn't powerful, but clean and rich, like the man who wore it.

I try to move my hand but his grip tightens on me and his touch ignites even more. He, a mere stranger, was holding me like I was his to touch.