Heart of Stone - Stone and Fire #1 [17+] (REWRITING)

Chapter 41

MIKE TYSON LOST????

did anyone else feel bad when he tried to shake jake's hand but he left the poor man hanging. wtf. (im an empath)

Adriana's POV

"He didn't know his own son was a covert sexual offender?"

Shock grabbed a hold of my chest as I stared at Nikolas from my seat at the kitchen island. 

"No. Or if he did, he conveniently ignored it."

It made sense. Knowing the havoc the Pakhan's son caused would do nothing but damage his persona further- leading to the demise of the Bratva. And from what I'd rarely seen, the man provoked power in mass audiences. That meant no time for ants under his boot- a.k.a Petrov.

I watched as Nikolas plated up my definite addiction for the past few weeks- a heaping pile of chocolate chip pancakes, drizzled in syrup. 

Not only had he surprised me with his extensive knowledge in the kitchen, but he seemed to do it out of natural habit. 

Every. Single. Day. 

My eyes drifted down to his shirtless form, studying the way each tattoo became disfigured under a muscle.

I want him for breakfast instead.

He slid the plate to me, and I tried to hide my approval. He'd been urging me to leave the house, each refusal of mine putting tension in his nerves- I could see it, but I simply didn't want to. I had fresh air from the backyard door, and I fucking hated crowds of people. And, maybe he was doing it on purpose, but the longer I refused, the less he kissed me, and I was starting to understand what was happening.

If I didn't go outside, he wasn't going to touch me. It was a silent form of blackmail, one I now was consequently aware of.

Ugh.

"What else happened?" I prodded, taking a small bite of the pancakes.

He splayed two palms on the kitchen island, each tendon in his shoulder flexing. My eyes skipped to the waistline of his grey sweats, the band somehow lower than usual.

This can't really all be hormones, can it?

"He didn't offer any gratitude, if that's what you're asking. He was... conflicted, as a father would be to his own blood dying. And he wasn't pleased with the idea that anyone had taken matters into their own hands."

"But he didn't go further?"

"Not exactly," he said, his tone guarded. "He offered me respect. Made it clear that our marriage wasn't a mistake." His eyes held a glint of something steely, as though any misstep in his proximity to me was a risk he was willing to defy anyway.

Before he could return to his usual silence, I decided to keep him talking. "And you trust that?"

"Not for one goddamn second." His jaw tightened slightly. "But that doesn't matter."

He pushed off the counter, heading behind me to the kitchen table stacked with his paperwork. He seemed to do that everyday now- work behind me as I ate breakfast. And he never got up until I finished, but that was probably because he was on edge considering my terrors every night.

They hadn't faded, the nightmares, although Nikolas never once seemed to complain. Every time I woke up shivering, he would peel the blanket off my body, let me cower to the toilet, and hold my hair away from my face as I puked my guts out.