Silvia grimaced and forced herself to say the real reason she had come, "Angelo asked for you, I can’t get him to change his mind." She added, not hiding the fact that she disapproved of Nikolai.
Nikolai’s dark expression softened into something she didn’t expect to see on his face, it made Silvia sigh in resignation. "I hate to do this but please consider it, I don’t like seeing Angelo hurt."
Nikolai seemed to be struggling with himself and Silvia didn’t think she ever would, but right then, she understood the Mafia King. She was also dealing with an internal struggle herself.
"Then it’s not so smart to ask me. I’ll hurt him." Nikolai said calmly.
Silvia took a step back so that she didn’t do anything she would come to regret, like kick him in the balls. It almost felt like Nikolai was taunting her, or himself.
Because something had stood out when she found Angelo in the bathtub. The water had still been warm, so it meant that Nikolai had been painstakingly regulating the temperature, although it must have been torturous to be in the same room as Angelo.
"If Angelo asked for you, I think he would be fine with that," Silvia mumbled, looking away.
Besides Nikolai already threatened to kill anyone else so there weren’t a lot of options to begin with, she didn’t doubt that the Mafia King wouldn’t keep to his words.
Nikolai felt like he was standing at the edge of a steep cliff. No one ever wanted him, no one would willingly ask for him, and he was perfectly fine with that— or he thought he was.
Maybe he had lost his head after spending so much time around Asher and Davian, who were obsessed with their mates, but it was really nice to have someone pick him.
Whether he realized it or not, his choice had already been made when Silvia mentioned that she was searching for someone for Angelo. Thinking of the assassin as his wasn’t strange, but he had already let the assassin go, he no longer had any claim over him.
But the thought of anyone else so much as seeing Angelo in heat made him want to hose the parking lot down with blood.
Silvia could practically see Nikolai’s thought process on his face, and mentally sighed about this unexpected outcome. "I’m going back to him, when you’ve made your decision, you can come, or leave."
Nikolai stopped her with a hand around her wrist as she turned to leave, "Stay out."
Silvia glared at him and pulled her hand away, "Don’t even think about it."
Nikolai was already shrugging off his overcoat, "Stay out or I’ll keep you out."
That shut Silvia up quickly, not about to find out how Nikolai planned to keep her out. "Don’t hurt him too much," She pleaded, black eyes glassy.
She already tried to offer her company’s secrets in exchange for Angelo, she didn’t have any reason to keep an image in front of Mafia King Nikolai. He didn’t spare her a glance, walking past her with his overcoat slung over a shoulder.
Silvia put her hands in her hair and ruffled it, not relieved despite getting Nikolai to agree with Angelo’s request. With Nikolai’s intervention, the duration of his heat would be reduced, but not by much, she probably wouldn’t get to see Angelo until the next day.
Nikolai prided himself on being decisive but even as he made his way back to Angelo’s room, he found that he couldn’t make up his mind. If he went through with this, things would never remain the same.
He wouldn’t delude himself that he could feel love, but he was attracted to Angelo, and the assassin’s presence was pleasant. It couldn’t possibly get better than that— it couldn’t hurt to keep the assassin around for a little while longer.
As someone who didn’t doubt that his enemies and actions would catch up with him sooner rather than later, what better person to spend the short time he had with than someone who was suicidal?
Angelo couldn’t die before him though, he wouldn’t allow that.
Nikolai stepped into the bedroom, and stopped at the door— he really wanted to turn around and leave.
It wasn’t because he was skittish about the sex, it was Angelo. He was an empty husk, he wasn’t made for love, he didn’t know how to care for people.
Angelo’s soft, dark scent enveloped him, he could taste the cherries on the tip of his tongue, it pulled him closer.
The assassin uncurled on the bed, sitting up slightly. "You came?" He murmured, his disbelief clear to see.
Nikolai froze mid-way through the room, "Did you ask for me because you knew I wouldn’t come?"
Angelo shook his head, a painful expression on his face. Nikolai was the only Alpha that didn’t trigger his freeze or flight instincts, he wasn’t sure why. At first, he had convinced himself that it was because the Mafia King wasn’t interested in men.
But Nikolai had shown up, hadn’t he? So what did that mean?
"It’s fine..." He swallowed slowly, "It’s fine if it’s you."
Nikolai felt like he was struck by lightning, his gaze was focused on Angelo, whose eyes drooped like it was taking a lot out of him to keep them open. He leaned his weight against an elbow to prop himself up, his hair splayed over his shoulders and upper body like a curtain.
"You don’t have to," Angelo kept speaking after a short break, his voice strained. "But could I bother you for some red wine?"
Nikolai’s thoughts spun— decisions, decisions— Angelo had given him a way out, he could just give the assassin a drugged glass of wine and he would sleep right through his heat.
He took a step forward and another, Angelo had also said it was fine, it was fine if it was him.
If felt like he was seeing the room in technicolor, clarity struck him as he made his decision. Nikolai tossed his overcoat to the side and closed the distance between them, moving on instinct. He pushed Angelo up against the headboard and claimed his lips, more surprised than the assassin by his actions.