Nikolai can hear the footsteps getting closer, but he’s not worried in the slightest. He keeps grinding against me, his lips against my ear as he murmurs in a soft whisper, “Shhh... be quiet, now. You don’t want her to find out about us now, do you?”

I shake my head to answer him, and I  can see Nikolai seems to be even more excited than terrified.

He bites back a smile as he keeps grinding against me, his touch becoming more desperate, more needy as he whispers in a low, sultry tone. “Good... just be quiet. She will leave soon and we’ll have all the time in the world.”

I look at the door as I see her silhouette walking into the kitchen, and she looks around in the dark. I can see her because my eyes are accustomed to the dark kitchen by now. Nikolai’s too. But the girl doesn’t seem to see us.

“Nik?” she calls out for her husband again.

Nikolai doesn’t stop grinding against me, but he does feign a yawn as he speaks out to her in a bored tone.

“Yes, my wife? Why are you up so late?”

I turn to look at Nikolai in surprise wondering why he would even answer her.

“Why are you in the kitchen, in the dark, at midnight?” Meredith asks.

‎“Jesus Christ!” I exclaim, shock fizzling into something more complicated beneath the surface.

‎She chuckles at my exclamation, fingers tracing over my lips, silencing me with a gesture that feels both intimate and forbidden. She presses a finger gently to my lips. “No, Sister," she whispers. “Don’t bring Him into this. This is just between you and me. No God, no higher powers… just us, in this moment.”