Chapter 42
Nina’s POV
My lips still burned.
I sat frozen in the cream leather seat, fingers pressed to my mouth as if I could trap the memory there. The kiss replayed behind my eyes in slow, searing flashes: Nikolai’s hand fisting my hair, the rough scrape of his stubble against my chin, the way his tongue had claimed every inch like he owned it. Heat pooled low in my belly even now, traitorous and unwelcome.
I could still taste him—smoke, metal, something darker that made my pulse stutter. My cheeks flamed hotter every time I replayed the moment his teeth grazed my lip, drawing that tiny gasp I hated myself for making.
I had kissed back. Just for a second. Enough to feel the wildfire catch. Then Isabela’s “eww” had shattered it, and I jerked away like I had been electrocuted. Bl
