Viviana walked out into the living room, popping close the buttons of her tailored dress shirt.
Nikolas, who was seated on one of the one-man sitting sofas, sat, watching her with a cup of coffee in his hand. She turned and looked at him with furrowed brows.
"What?"
"Co," he asked, setting the coffee aside on the near table and uncrossing his legs.
Viviana eyed him for a few seconds before she walked up to him. She tilted her head at him, blinking when he grabbed her hand, pulling her down to settle her on his laps. "What are you doing?"
Nikolas didn’t respond. Instead he grabbed the shirt that had only three of its buttons closed and proceeded to pop them open.
"Nikolas..." she mumbled. "I have to go to work."
"I know you do," he said breathlessly, burying his face into the crook of her neck. He peppered kissed all the way down to her shoulder, his hands coming to rest at her waist.
Viviana weaved her fingers into his hair, breathing unsteadily at the touch of his lips, at the deliberate movents of his hands. "Niko... I really need to go to work."
"Do you?"
She nodded. "I’m still going to co, you know. Won’t you wait for ?"
Nikolas lifted his head. He t her eyes and trailed his hand up her shoulder to her neck before cupping her cheek. The look in his eyes made her worried. It almost felt like sothing was not right with him. Well, he’d been this way since the day before. Clinging more to her than usual. Not wanting her out of his sight.
"Niko?"
"Can’t you stay today?" He asked.
She blinked at him. "Nikolas, I—"
"You can stay ho with . You don’t have to go today and there is still tomorrow, so... Please stay." He wrapped his arms around her, nuzzling his face into her shoulder.
Her eyes flickered. She didn’t know what to do. Why was he being like this? Was sothing wrong? Sothing he wasn’t telling her. "Nikolas, is everything okay?"
He wouldn’t answer her.
"Nikolas—"
"I have no clue, Viviana," he said. "I just... It’s like a feeling. I don’t want you to go. I don’t feel good. I’ve been feeling this sense of paranoia since I woke up this morning and it’s not a feeling I’m accustod to. So won’t you stay?"
Viviana wasn’t sure what it was, but to hear him sounding this way, it twisted so sort of painful string in chest. She’d stay if she could, but her father... Today was the last day of planning the stupid event, and there was a day left before the event.
Lifting her hands, she pald his cheek, lifting his gaze to make him look at her. "I have to complete an event for my father. But... how about I co back on ti? Will that be enough?" She asked, smiling at him, hoping to ease the tension. "I can’t stay back as much as I’d like to. But I can co back early for you. What do you think?"
Nikolas breathed out, lifting his hand to tuck her hair behind her hair. "Call . I’ll pick you up myself."
"Deal!" Her teeth was in display as she smiled widely at him, leaning in to kiss his forehead, then his lips, before trying to push off him.
But Nikolas didn’t let her. Instead he grabbed her shirt, buttoning it up for her. He unzipped her pants, tucked them in properly and zipped it back up. Then he grabbed the tie hanging around her shoulder, proceeding to knot it for her.
All the while, she was just watching him. Every part of her wanted to stay. She felt as though if she walked out of this place, sothing awful would happen. If she went to work, would she co back to this penthouse empty?
She quickly shook her head, dismissing the idea.
Nikolas would never leave her. He loved her, and he’d rather gum himself to her than be a distance away from her.
A few minutes after finally getting him to let her go, Viviana took the elevator down to the last floor. She proceeded to leave, but paused, turning to gaze at thee elevator. Every part of her wanted to go back there and stay with him.
Why in the world was she feeling this way?
It wasn’t like anything bad was going to happen.
She ran her fingers through her hair, shaking her head. "No, stop overthinking, Viviana. Everything is fine. And if sothing was wrong, Nikolas would’ve told ," she assured herself, deciding to use a cab for work since he would pick her up anyway.
———
Nikolas stood at the floor length window, staring at the sun with bags under his eyes. He would pace back and forth for a while before stopping again to gaze at nothing.
He was a vampire, soone with more heightened senses than a human. Even his instincts weren’t sothing to joke with.
Since he’d t Caterina that day, he’d been having this tugging feeling at his chest that sothing was about to go wrong. Caterina had made it clear that being with the woman who wasn’t his mate was going to attract one too many troubles.
The problem was, this feeling, was he the one in danger or was it Viviana?
This right here frustrated him. If he was the one in potential danger, that’s more than fine. He could handle it. But Viviana. He needed her to be in his sight twenty four seven if he was to protect heer, and that ant, finding out if the danger was her.
Turning back, he snatched his phone off the table, dialing a number. It rang for a few tis before it was answered.
[Nikolas?]
"Caterina," Nikolas balled his hands. "How long do I have before sothing goes wrong?"
[Hm? I don’t really know. I’m not a ti witch, therefore I can’t tell. What’s wrong?]
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