CHAPTER 68: - WHO ARE YOU? -

Viviana stared fearfully. How could... someone even be that big? A single hand wasn’t even enough to cover him and—

"Yeah, just like that. Good girl. Mhm, yes, you’re doing good."

She quickly looked at his face at the praise, now stroking him even more without thinking. If anything had her attention, it was the look on his face. She’d never seen him like this, at least not last night when she herself was a mess. His face was heavily flushed, his teeth clenched as he had his eyes tightly shut as if the pleasure itself was painful.

And she wasn’t sure why that made her chest swell.

Had other women seen him like this? And had they been able to make him this way?

The idea turned her expression sour, and she mindlessly stroked him faster. The man crumbled, dropping his head to bury his face in her neck. "Fuck, you trying to stroke my soul away?"

"Shut up," she gritted out, pissed off. "Do you...feel good?"

Nikolas groaned with a smile, biting into her neck with just his teeth. "What do you think?"

Viviana hissed, but she didn’t stop him. Maybe she liked it. Like when he kissed her, when he looked at her with those eyes and when he bit her like this, leaving these crazy hickeys all over her.

The sound of his strained grunts were the indication she got that he was close. And somehow that only fueled her to go faster despite her aching wrist.

"Dammit, Viviana. Are you trying to kill me, girl?" Nikolas groaned deeply.

In response, she grabbed a good chunk of his hair, yanking his face down to smash their lips together.

The kiss was rough, biting and devouring.

And Nikolas was close.

So close that he felt the intensity gnaw at the base of his spine. And he was cursing at his own self.

Viviana took the opportunity to breathe when he broke the kiss to come down from the high of his release, panting and grunting.

Nikolas could barely breathe, barely processing what in the world kind of pleasure he’d just felt. He met her gaze. Viviana was biting her lip. He cocked a brow. "Liked what you saw, huh?"

"W-what are you saying? I didn’t—"

"I must say, you’ve got magic hands," he hummed as he rolled over into the bed, running his fingers through his hair. "We’ve made a mess."

Viviana flickered her eyes. Her hands slowly ran up to her chest, the mental image of his face, how he’d looked for her being something she didn’t think she could ever forget or possibly get from another man.

She wanted to see that face again, to make him make that face that looked as if she was the only woman who’d ever brought him to the peak height of such intense pleasure.

He’s mine. No, he belongs to me. He’s completely mine.

"Now, what are you thinking so hard about?" Nikolas asked, having left the bed to pick her up over his shoulder.

She furrowed her brows. "Put me down, Nikolas."

"Relax. I’m trying to reward you."

"With what?"

"Well, we’re going to go out to eat whatever you want right after I wash you up."

"That’s not a reward," she bit out.

He chuckled. "Then what do you want? Want me to spend quality time with you? Cuddle up to you all day?"

"Shut up." She glared behind him.

That further made him grin. "Or maybe, we can even—"

A phone vibrated loudly on the mini table close to the bed. They both glanced over. It was Nikolas’s phone.

He slowly put Viviana down to her feet, but he didn’t let her go, holding her by the waist.

"What are you doing?" She met his eyes. "Let go."

Nikolas didn’t answer. Instead, he bit down into her shoulder, taking a big inhale of her scent. "Wait for me. Let me just answer this call, all right?"

He let go. She blinked at him, and reluctantly turned, walking off into the bathroom.

Nikolas moved over and picked up the phone. His brow cocked. It was York calling.

——

York stared at the woman seated at the table in her office, legs crossed.

"What did you say again?" He fixed the glasses on the bridge of his nose.

The woman shrugged, tilting her head with a knowing smile on her face. The fine red strands of her hair poured to the side, washing down her shoulder. "I said that I can help your boss. He’s looking for his mate, isn’t he? And if he recalls what she looks like, he can find her, no?"

"And why should I believe that you can help him get his memories back?"

She rose to her feet, stepped out from behind her desk, and approached him. Every step she took, York watched with narrowed eyes. "What are you doing, Caterina?"

The woman Caterina stood only but an inch away from him. She stared up at him. He gazed down at her, watching as she crept her hands from his chest to his neck, lingering to caress the skin softly.

York cocked a brow.

She went on her tippy toes, pressing her lips to his cheek. York didn’t react to the kiss, but he wondered what she was doing, furrowing his brows when her voice dripped into his ear, "Tell your boss that I can help him. It’s up to him if he wants it or not. As for you, it’d be nice if you stop doubting me. It won’t end well for you."

He scoffed, "Crazy woman."

"And that’s what makes me charming, my angel of a man," her chuckle, soft and soothing, bubbled into his head.

But it irritated him.

He smacked her touch off and left, slamming the door shut on his way out. He hurried down the stairs and plucked out his phone as he walked down the road.

The dial went through.

[York?] Nikolas’s voice resounded on the other side of the phone.

"Boss," he glanced from his left to right. Someone was following. But the problem was, it smelled like a human. Why would any human be tailing him? "I found someone that can help."

[What do you mean?]

"We haven’t made progress with finding your mate. I thought the best option was to find a way to get your memories of her back. If you did, it’d be easier to find her."

But no response came from Nikolas. He was awfully quiet as if he didn’t know what to do. And somehow, York felt he knew why.

He added, "I found someone who can help. She said she can help you get your memories back, so should I invite her over?"

Again he was met with the kind of silence that made him peek at his phone, just to be sure Nikolas hadn’t hung up on him.

But the call was still ongoing.

"Sir?"

[I’ll give you a call.] That was all he got as a response, and before he could say another word, Nikolas ended the call.

York blinked, perplexed.

Was something going on with Nikolas? Normally, Nikolas would have been more than happy to take this opportunity, but he rather seemed conflicted.

Why?

’It couldn’t be because of the human, could it?’ he thought. ’Does he have no intention of finding his mate anymore?’

His eyes narrowed. But he had to bury his thought, because the person following him seemed to be doing it carefully. And it was irritating him.

Balling his gloved hands, he took a corner down the dark alley, erased his presence, because well, he was half a vampire, and this was a specialty.

The person rushed into the alley, and stopped, not going in any further. It was a woman, which made him frown.

"What the..." she grunted. "Where did he go? I was more than sure that I just saw him take a turn." She was muttering to herself, turning to look around and glance up.

York took that moment, grabbing her and spinning her on her feet to slam her against the wall. He pulled a knife to her throat.

"Who the fuck are you?"