004

~Katya

I wasn't scared of Niklaus, but him not realizing I had just fucked some random guy in his building would definitely save me a massive headache.

After sneaking away in his oversized button-down shirt and a pair of trousers I grabbed from the bed edge, I managed to slip into the penthouse suite on the 8th floor unnoticed.

I settled into the lavish master room they had assigned to me. I looked around, running a hand over the immaculate silk sheets. Woah, they really went all out preparing this place.

Suddenly, the heavy double doors were slammed open with a deafening bang.

"Katherine!!!" a voice growled from the doorway, dark and lethal.

I turned around to see two men standing in the entryway. My eyes widened slightly, it was Julian, the driver from the airport, and right beside him was the broad-shouldered, dangerous man I had just left breathless in the 5th-floor bed.

He was fully dressed now, looking broad, powerful, and utterly murderous, his jaw clenching so hard a muscle twitched violently in his cheek.

A slow, playful smirk pulled at my lips as I took a deliberate step toward him. "You know my name? Well, I'll prefer Katya to Katherine."

He didn't answer me. His dark amber eyes burned into mine with a terrifying, suffocating heat that made my skin prickle.

"Excuse us, Julian," he growled angrily, his voice dropping into a low, iron edged whisper that left no room for debate.

Julian hesitated for half a second, his eyes darting nervously between the two of us, before bowing his head, stepping backward into the hallway, and pulling the heavy doors shut.

The sharp click of the lock sounded like a trap snapping shut.

Niklaus took two slow, predatory steps into the room, closing the distance between us until his towering frame completely blocked out the light.

"You think this is funny, Katya or whatever you are?" he asked, his voice dangerously soft, heavy with a mixture of raw rage and disbelief.

"You show up after eight years, slip into a random room, and..." He trailed off, his jaw tightening as his eyes dropped to my breast once again but he quickly retrieved it.

I tilted my head back, looking him right in the face without flinching. "I didn't know whose room it was, you just came and called me a slut and I didn't know what to do next. And honestly, Sir, you didn't seem to mind when your face was between my legs."

He began pacing back and forth across the plush carpet, running a broad hand through his dark hair, muttering under his breath like a man unraveling. "What have I done... Fuck, what have I done..."

I leaned against the edge of the bed, crossing my arms over my chest, watching his mini-breakdown with a smirk.

"Look, if you're this panicked about it, why don't we just keep it between us?" I offered lightly, raising an eyebrow at his sheer agitation. "Does Niklaus have eyes everywhere in this building or something? Are you related to him, or maybe his right-hand man? Is that why you're this angry?"

He stopped dead in his tracks.

The room went deathly silent. He turned slowly, his broad shoulders tensing as he took two heavy, deliberate steps toward me, closing the space until his towering body completely blocked out the light.

"I'm Niklaus, you spoiled brat," he growled, his voice a low, terrifying roar that vibrated right through my chest. "You fool!"

My mouth opened, then closed. The words died in my throat, my smirk instantly vaporizing into thin air.

My heart did a violent, sickening freefall into my stomach. My mind scrambled, trying to process the absolute insanity of what he had just spat at me.

I fucked... WHO?

I stared at him, my mind wildly spinning, trying to connect the dangerous, gorgeous man who had just taken me in that room to the arrogant monster who had exiled me seven years ago.

"You're... Niklaus?" I finally managed to whisper, my voice barely carrying across the room.

"Yes, Katya," he spat, his amber eyes burning into mine with a terrifying intensity.

He stepped closer, towering over me until I was forced to tilt my head all the way back just to meet his gaze. "Your stepfather. The man whose house you just walked into, whose rules you immediately broke, and whose bed you just..."

He stopped himself, clamping his jaw shut so hard I heard his teeth click. A thick vein pulsed at his temple as he ran a hand through his dark hair, dragging it down his face.

I swallowed hard, the shock finally giving way to a sudden, prickling sense of absurdity.

"Well," I muttered, my voice trembling slightly despite my best efforts to sound composed, "you certainly didn't look like my stepfather when you were on your knees."

"Shut up," Niklaus growled, his hand shooting out to grab my chin, forcing me to look directly into his eyes.

His grip was firm, hot against my skin, sending an unwanted jolt straight down my spine. "You don't get to speak right now. You don't get to joke about this."

"I'm not joking!" I yanked my head back out of his grip, taking a quick step away from him. "How was I supposed to know? You shipped me away when I was thirteen! I haven't seen your face in eight years, Niklaus, or should I call you Daddy, like your driver suggested?"

His eyes flashed dark and lethal at the word. "Don't push me, Katya. You knew you were on my floor. You knew that room wasn't yours."

"I was looking for my room!" I shot back, my voice rising as my defense mechanism kicked in. "The elevator broke on the fifth floor! I saw an open door, I went inside, and then some broad-shouldered asshole stripped off his shirt and asked if I was the slut for today!"

Niklaus froze, a flicker of something raw and unreadable crossing his expression before his features hardened back into stone.

"You didn't say no," he said quietly, his voice dropping into a low, dangerous register.

"Neither did you," I countered, crossing my arms over my chest, ignoring the way my heart was hammering against my ribs. "You were the one who broke your own rules. You kissed me. You touched me. You didn't give a damn who I was until probably your guard walked in with your actual appointment."

He stared at me in absolute silence, his chest heaving under his dark suit jacket.

"This never happened," Niklaus said abruptly, his voice turning ice-cold. "Do you understand me? You never went into that room. I never touched you. If a single word of this leaves this room, I will make sure you spend the rest of your life locked away somewhere far worse than that boarding school."

"Are you threatening me?" I sneered, stepping right back into his space, refusing to back down.

"I'm telling you how it is," he replied, his gaze dropping to my lips for a bit of a second before snapping back to my eyes. "Get dressed in your own clothes. Julian will bring up your luggage. You stay in this room until I decide what to do with you."

He turned on his heel and strode toward the heavy doors, grabbing the handle before pausing. Without looking back, his voice echoed darkly through the room. "And Katya... change out of my shirt.”