Skye had no idea how she fell asleep that night, the anxiety over the situation she had been put in could not allow for any peace of mind, and yet rays of light shining through the unfamiliar curtains confirmed that it was indeed morning, and at some point during the night, she had fallen into a slumber of sorts. The weight of Nickolas' arm also destroyed any hope that last night was merely a bad dream and that she wasn't indentured to him inevitably.
She had managed to slip from underneath his arm and off of the bed without waking him.
Skye needed to get out.
Nickolas had agreed to give her three days to decide, not that she needed them. She would do anything to keep her mother from seeing that tape, she realized as she quietly put on her clothes and slipped out of the bedroom door.
She just needed to get away and clear her head.
Skye had no more than closed the door behind her before turning into a solid, shirtless body. Muscled arms enveloped her keeping Skye upright. She choked on the screech that was making its way out of her throat. Remembering Nickolas was still sleeping, she didn't want to risk waking him.
Glancing up, Skye had every intention of saying a quick thank you, since whoever this was had kept her from falling, and then proceed to take off, to the nearest exit, out of this mansion of terror, until she looked at who she had bumped into.
She had to quickly reopen the door that she just left out of to make sure she wasn't crazy.
There Nickolas was sleeping soundly, she turned back to the doppelgΓ€nger in front of her, remembering to quietly close the door in front of her. She was fairly certain Nickolas Asante did not have a twin and yet the man in front of her was his spitting image.
It was his eyes that confirmed it. This guy's was blue, an icy blue. She didn't have time to ponder this. Time being of the essence and all.
"Sorry. I thought you were someone else."
Her words rushed past her lips in a forced whisper. The stranger wearing Nickolas' face smiled.
"I assume it's whoever is in that room."
His voice was low, soft, and playful. It belied the proximity of what his body meant as he slowly approached her. Skye looked into blue of his eyes and could tell there was a twinkle of interest behind them. She felt her back hit the door behind her when she backed away from him. The same door that held the reason for her need to escape.
This stranger was right in his assessment. The door she was currently pinned to did hold her reason for such a hasty exit.
A squeak burst from Skye's mouth as the solid door frame gave way and the support of her weight was lost, her bare back connecting with Nickolas' equally exposed chest breaking her fall.
Powerful arms encircled her waist pulling her body more securely against his and Skye could feel his chin resting atop her head.
"Daniel." The vibrations resonated in her back and chest when Nickolas spoke his name. It surrounded her, his voice, somehow lulling her into a more submissive state.
He seemed calm enough and Skye was sure they made the perfect image of a doting couple in the moment with how he held her.
"Hey Nick." Daniel's voice was a little to cherry for her liking
"So this was who you were trying to get away from."
Daniel's eyes moved back to Skye's as he addressed her. it wasn't a question and when their eyes connected, the mischief and humor behind them confirmed that he knew good and damn well who she was trying to get away from. When the arms around her flexed, she began to wonder if he had held her up, just long enough to give Nickolas time to get her himself.
She glared at Daniel as Nickolas dismissed him and pulled the her back into the room, her hopes of escaping, without him further infiltrating her mind, vanishing as the door closed in front of her, Daniel's smiling face also disappearing behind it.
"I never took you for the love 'em and leave 'em type."
She could her shuffling after Nickolas had moved away from her.
She refused to look at him.
"That's funny, I never took you for the blackmailing type, but here we are learning all sorts of things we didn't know about each other."
The agitation in Skye's voice was evident and Nickolas was thrilled that he could get under her skin in more than one way. The fact that she had yet to turn from the door and face him was just another sign of her passive-aggression. The space between their bodies diminished and Skye felt the heat of his breath on her neck. The urge to rest against him growing with breath. And Skye herself was confused with her own responses to him.
She stood strong.
"I'll come to you in three days, like we agreed. Just give me space until then."
Opening the door Skye stepped away from a smiling Nickolas and walked home.
*****
Three days had gone by pretty quickly for Skye with little to no interaction from Nickolas.
True to his word he gave her space. He definitely meant what he said and was a man of follow through. But for all the space he gave her physically, Skye was still unable to escape him in her thoughts, and if she were being 100%, she was excited for what was in store for her at his hands.
She had always been a good girl, doing what she was told in fear of displeasing her mother. Not that this was much different. She could only imagine the displeasure on her mother's face if she ever saw that tape.
But there was more to it.
She had always been curious about sex. A topic which her mother was a strictly wait until marriage type. No ifs ands or buts about it.
Now, she was in the middle of the if, the and, and the but.
She wasn't a willing participant in her deflowering and now, with being blackmailed and all, she was being coerced into becoming an active participant in this. She may as well find a way to enjoy it.
She was completely distracted in her studies, catching herself staring at Nickolas in the classes that they did share. If they didn't have a class together she was thinking about him, remembering his hands on her skin, his lips on hers, the sensation of him filling her so completely.
There had been more than one occasion where she had been called out for not paying attention.
By the third day, Skye was more than ready to get this over with. The wait, the anticipation was really starting to get to her. So when she was finally released from school and completed her task at the shop, she found herself outside of Nickolas' door waiting for him to respond to her knock.
Her mother was closing the shop today after she told her she had a study group. She had to close it a little earlier than normal, in order to make her night shift on time. The walk to Nickolas' allowed for more than enough time for Skye to ponder her guilt at lying to her mother.
A man she didn't recognize answered her knock and ushered her into the grand foyer to await the person she came for.
She had never seen such opulence. As she stood in complete silence, the awe of her situation, the surrealism, and contrasting reality set in.
The decadence in which these people lived provided the means for someone like her to be used. Wealth, such as what was on display before her, was not gathered over night and surely not by luck. This was gained by power and influence, a world of games and intrigue Skye knew nothing of.
Once again Nickolas' presence overwhelmed her. She never thought he could seem anymore overpowering, but watching him descend the grand staircase, in his own home, completely shattered that misconceived thought.
His hand was placed on the small of her back when he reached her and he guided her through his home. Could it even be called a home? Skye was unsure as they walked past rare paintings, artifacts, and costly furnishings that gave her the impression of walking through a museum. She could hear her mother's voice from her early years.
"Do you have any money? No. Then don't touch nothing, cuz if you break it, I'm gonna have to buy it and the change is coming outta yo' ass. Get it. Got it. Good."
Skye consciously brought her hands closer to her sides. She knew with her job there was no way she could afford anything she broke here , no matter how small.
"I'm surprised you found the place so easily. We haven't spoken since the party so I didn't give you my address..."
His question brought her from her past memories. "The school directory. Everyone's address is listed."
They stopped at the pool house. Nickolas stated this was the most private area on the property and she barely had time to notice the building's exterior, before being pulled inside and being pushed against the wall.
Fingers roughly became entangled in her coils nearly becoming painful and Skye moaned her hands reaching for Nickolas' to relieve the pressure he was causing. Body on body they were flushed against each other and her head was pulled back further before his lips crashed against hers.