Predator | 36

Later the same day, after Nikolaj had finished slurping the soup and eating the rice she had prepared for him, April took care of the dishes. They spent the rest of the day with each other and talked through the day. She didn't want to leave him all alone, knowing for sure that he would be drowning himself in a sorrow mood.

Other than that, she made sure to check up on his wound every now and then, which Nikolaj found unnecessary, as he told her. But April didn't listen to him, and she knew that he wasn't alright even when he told her a several times by now that he was feeling fine.

If the sight of his wound didn't tell much already, then it was his expression that always scrunched up whenever he moved too fast and add too much pressure to the wound, hurting himself in the process.

When it got late, Nikolaj insisted her to leave and have a rest, reasoning that she had already done enough for him. April however answered with a stubborn shake of her head, telling him that she don't want to leave him alone.

But Nikolaj was just as stubborn as her and in the end April begrudgingly gave in and made her way back to the apartment.

Worry was constantly nagging in the back of her head, but she tried to seize it down. Nikolaj was a grown man, he certainly will be careful not to do something reckless while having the wound. And, it's just for one night that he will have to be alone.

Once back at home, she drew herself a hot bath in the tub. It's been a while since she had a bath and looked forward to it. April let her tense muscles relax in the hot water, trying to ease her mind at the same time. But, easing her mind wasn't as simple as easing her tense body.

Her thoughts were still a disjointed mess. As much as she didn't want to think about all these things that occurred lately, she still couldn't help but worrying. That's all she was doing lately- worrying nonstop.

April sighed and eyed her skin. She had been too long in the water and her skin was al wrinkled. The water was lukewarm by the time she decided to excite the bathtub. She dried her skin and pulled her wet hair into a ponytail, putting her clothes on afterwards.

She strolled into the living room to Eric, who had both eyebrows arched up high, surprised to see her back home this late.

"I didn't expect you to come back," he stated, his voice laced in genuine interest. "How is he?"

April huffed audibly and let herself fall on the couch. "Not better than before, I guess. He's still in pain, even though he doesn't want to admit it."

Eric chuckled to himself. "Sounds like him. He hates to come off as weak."

April scoffed at that, crossing her arms over her chest. "I don't think it's time sulking around because of his scratched ego. It's ridiculous."

Eric raised his hands in mocked surrender. "Don't tell me that, tell it him."

"I did, once or twice."

Eric nodded. "I'm going to sleep, it's late. You should do the same if you want to be fit for tomorrow to play nurse to your loverboy," he said amused and stretched his arms over his head, a yawn falling from his lips. "Goodnight," he adds before leaving to his room.

"Night," April replied with an eye-roll and a small smile. She went to her bedroom to catch some sleep. It wasn't until the moment when she was tugged underneath the covers in her bed, when she realized how exhausted and tired she actually was.

Nik and Eric were right, she really needed the rest. Though she wasn't sure if it was because she took care of him the whole day until now, or if it was because her mind had kept her worrying the whole time.

The hot bath had helped her to ease her muscles, but nothing felt as good as the feeling when she finally drifted off to sleep.

--

The next few days, April spent the days over at Nikolaj's place and was sent back home at night. He did not want her to be exhausted, he told her. As much as she appreciated him worrying and caring about her, he was overreacting, April thought.

She was feeling well. It was he who had to rest well, not her. But he wasn't having any of it and wouldn't listen to her.

His health had improved, although it his wound was healing slowly. When she changed his bandage, she noticed that the wound wasn't looking as bad as before anymore.

It would take two or three weeks until he was fully healed. Nikolaj, however, was in the impression that he was already fully healed. Barely three days after he got attacked, he was moving around his place like he had absolutely no worries in the world.

April nearly chocked on her own spit when she arrived at his cottage and saw him moving around so carelessly. He had his arm reached out to one of the shelves and if he wouldn't be careful, he might add pressure on his wound and the wound might open and start bleeding again. She couldn't believe how reckless he was acting!

"Nik!" She exclaimed, but it sounded more like he was scolding him. "You should be resting and not running around. Are you crazy?"

Nikolaj watched her perplexed, not understanding her concern at all. His arm slowly fell limb at his side. "I'm fine," he explained as if it was the most obvious fact in the world.

"How can you even say that?" She asked dubiously. "Your wound might open again. I don't think it's wise to move around too much."

"Sorry. I did not want to worry you," he apologized in his usual accented voice.

April sighed. "Be careful, please. That's all I'm asking."

A warm smile appeared on his face. "No one worried about me like you do."

April smiled back at him, even though her heart sank a little when he admitted this. He already told her a little bit about his past, how he had been living on the streets back in Russia and that he was an orphan at a very young age.

Still, having him admit that no one cared about him, not even the slightest bit, made her heart sink. Nikolaj didn't deserve to be neglected. No one did.

April felt two large hands cupping her face. She lifted her eyes, eyeing Nikolaj curiously. He had a warm glint to his green eyes, a small smile playing on his lips. He looked content.

"You worry too much," he whispered, pulling her face closer to his. His breath was fanning against her cheeks. "You alway rub your finger on your forehead every time you do."

"Oh.." she muttered with a frown. "I didn't know that."

He pulled her face closer, closer until his lips were pressed against her. For brief moments, he did noticing, neither did she, and they were just captured in the moment together.

It was after approximately ten seconds when his lips slowly moved against hers, like a slow dance moving together in a sync.

April was hesitant to deepen the kiss, afraid that she might take one wrong move and hurt him. Her arms slowly crept up his arms to his neck, softly pulling him closer to her without hurting him.

His fingers moved against the skin of her cheek in a soft and featherlight caress. April made sure that he wouldn't pull her body closer to his, or rather closer to his wound.

Nikolaj was too lost in the exquisite taste of her lips. He didn't get to kiss her in the past few days, since the opportunity never came up. Until now, that is.

Eventually, they pulled away, trying to catch their breaths. Or better say, it was April who was out of her breath. Nikolaj was just perfectly fine, his breath evenly fanning against her skin.

His eyes, however, seemed to be a shade darker than usual. They were slightly narrowed as he watched. April gulped, she knew that look.

It was whenever he lured her to bed. She smiled at him shakily, stepping backwards to add more space between them. She knew where this would end up if they continued.

At least, she wasn't as worried and concerned as before anymore. Instead, her mind was dazed from the heated kiss she shared with him. Nikolaj's sly plan had actually helped. He was good at distracting, that much she had to admit.

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Hope you liked the chapter! Thank you for all the lovely comments on the previous chapter and as always, thank you for reading.