Oops! This image does not follow our content guidelines. To continue publishing, please remove it or upload a different image.
━━━━━━━━━━━━ 🦊 N I K O L A I 🦊 ━━━━━━━━━━━━
Nikolai woke up in an empty bed. His first thought was that he might have imagined the night with Teuta, but his doubts were gone when he found a note on his desk. She had excused herself for leaving but she had to ride to the mansion, there were a few contracts she needed to sign with locals and didn't want to wake him up in the early hours of the morning.
Her and Bassim were long gone when everybody arrived at breakfast and Alina said she wouldn't come back until the late evening. Nikolai did his duties throughout the day, but his mind always wandered back to the kiss on the balcony and what followed afterwards. He couldn't wait to see her again, to hold and kiss her. The riders came back while the others had dinner but appeared to have already eaten at the mansion, which was why Nikolai left the dinner as soon as he could.
He found her in the meeting room, her and the crew had discussed their next steps for the business. Teuta was studying the map of Novy Zem alone when he entered the room and closed the door behind himself. She was so focused on her thoughts and the map, she didn't even hear him approach but held her breath when Nikolai hugged her from behind. Just as he put his hands around her, her right hand shot to her side, where she must have hidden a knife in her traveling clothes.
"It's just me."
She relaxed in his arms when she heard his voice and took a deep breath, letting go off her coat and placed her hand over his. "You scared me."
"Sorry, I just wanted to see you – you're back later than I thought."
"Yes, we talked about the contracts what felt like ages." She leaned against his chest. "If things keep running this smoothly, everything I have in mind is settled after today."
"Meaning you don't have to leave early tomorrow morning?" He asked and gave her a peck on the neck.
"No, unfortunately I do, we're expecting builders tomorrow. The mansion needs some renovation, as you know."
"You can't just leave me like you did today," Nikolai pouted and put his chin on her right shoulder. "The bed was so cold when you were gone."
"I know, I didn't want to go, but with the property came duties." She sighed. "I promise you, we're at the finishing line – We only have to do a few things and then my idea can flourish on its own and then I can stay in bed with you."
"I have an idea as well," he told her. "But first, I need to know something from you."
Teuta turned around, smiling warmly at him. Oh, how much he had missed her. Every minute away from her was a wasted one. "Okay, what do you want to know?"
"Is there a possibility you would give up your life at sea?"
She raised her eyebrows, she had never expected this kind of question from him right now. "I, uhm, I don't know ... depends on the circumstances of the situation, I guess ... why ... are you asking?"
