by Sam Crescent
This was no ordinary man, she reminded herself. This was Nikolai, and Nikolai was in a very different league altogether compared to all the others she’d gone out with. The boys who pretended they were men.
“Very sweet,” he said, making her blush. “Angel, if you’re going to be mine, we need to set some rules.”
“Rules?” Her mind felt hazy. Not because of the drug John put into her drink. Then again, being with Nikolai felt like a different kind of drug. Intoxicating. Tempting.
“Yes.” Nikolai reached out to tuck a stray auburn curl behind one ear. He held out one finger. “I don’t share, and two, you must do what I say. Always.”
“Always? Are you into BDSM or something?”
Nikolai looked amused. He trailed his fingers down her cheek, her neck, leaving the barest of touches over her chest. He slipped his hand lower, to cup her right breast, then thumbed the hard nipple there. Gave it a pinch.
She groaned, wanting to rub up against him again, but would that make her seem desperate, needy?
“No,” he finally answered her. “But I can be very possessive, especially when it comes to you. I nearly killed a man right in front of you.”
A chill went down her spine, but she dared to meet his eyes. “I don’t care,” she finally said. “Do you think that would scare me?”
“I’m just letting you know what kind of man I am.”
“I do know. I’ve lived with you for years. I know your habits, what you like or dislike,” Risa stated. “And what you do off the record. That doesn’t matter to me. I want you, all of you.”
“Dangerous. Then again, I’ve always known that. You’re a living force of nature, Risa.” He nibbled at her ear, making her shiver. Nikolai still had his hand on her breast, still hadn’t let go. “And I finally understand I’m the only one capable of taming you.”
“Yes,” she murmured. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment.”
“You agree to my rules?”
“Do you even have to ask that question?”
Nikolai withdrew his hand, his mouth from her ear. “Very good. Then we’ll continue this another time.”
“Wait. Why?” she blurted.
“We’ve arrived home.”
Nikolai opened the door and stepped out. He offered her his hand. Risa stared at it for a few seconds. Frustrating man. Sometimes, she didn’t get him at all. Fine. She’d play along. She let him help her from the car and followed him back to the house.
“You didn’t answer my question,” she reminded him.
At this time of the night, the entire mansion was silent. The staff had all retired, leaving only the two of them in the foyer.
“You’ve been through a lot tonight,” Nikolai said. He slid a hand over her shoulders, leading her up the flight of stairs and back into her bedroom. This time, he didn’t leave. Not yet. Risa considered that an improvement.
“What does tonight have to do with anything?” she asked him.
“You promised me to obey me, didn’t you?”
He did make a point. Risa never took any bullshit, and had never thought she’d like a man giving her orders. All the men she’d dated in the past, even the older ones, told her she was too much. That her personality needed tweaking. With Nikolai, she’d make an exception.
“Bathroom,” he said. She went inside stopped as he stood in front of her and began unbuttoning his coat, which she still wore. Just one searing look and he seemed capable of undressing her with his eyes.
Risa stood still, letting him peel the dress off her. She stared at his bruised knuckles, still coated with John’s blood. For a man who was familiar with violence, he touched her with the utmost care. He handled her as if she was something breakable.
“I’m not fragile,” she said, stepping out of her ruined dress.
She took off her heels, all too aware of how she was completely bared to him. No secrets to hide. Nikolai didn’t turn away, didn’t excuse himself. He took stock of her, looking at her like he already owned her.
Nikolai walked over to the tub and turned the tap on.
“We can save water if we bathe together.”
Nikolai laughed. “Another night, angel. Tonight, I take care of you.”
Knowing she’d lost this fight, she sank into the bathtub once the water was filled. Nikolai folded up the sleeves of his shirt and sat on the edge of the tub. The moment he speared his fingers into her hair to massage her scalp, she moaned.
“Feels good?” he asked her, beginning to shampoo her hair.
She didn’t know why, but letting him wash her hair felt as intimate as the moment he slipped his hand up her thigh in the car.
“Oh yes,” she answered. “So I’m guessing sex is off the table tonight?”
After all, he’d managed to resist her this entire night.
“Tonight,” he agreed. “You need your rest.”
Risa turned her head to look up at him. “Yeah?”
“Because very soon,” he said, voice warm against her ear. “I intend to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk.”
She gasped when he slid one hand to give her breast another squeeze. Risa had no words for him. She still wondered if this was all some wonderful dream she didn’t want to wake up from.
“I’m a virgin.” She didn’t know why she blurted that without thinking. Risa wanted him to know the truth. She might have gone on many dates, but she didn’t let any of those men get close. It felt wrong to her, giving any part of herself to anyone but Nikolai.
Nikolai removed his hand from her breast. “What?”
She blushed. “I saved myself. For you.”
Nikolai pressed a kiss on the side of his neck, right over her pulse point. “I accept your gift, and I’ll take very good care of you.”
Chapter Five
Ripe for the taking. Risa was all his. She’d kept her virginity intact all these years, knowing she wanted to offer it to him. Her gift to him.
His Risa had no idea how much self-control it took for Nikolai to not take her up on her offer right now. Virgin. That word kept flashing in his head. She saved herself for him. Him alone. That thought brought up the primitive side of him that wanted to throw her on the bed he’d bought her. Ravish her there.
Once Nikolai claimed her, no one else would dare put their grubby hands on her. Focus, he reminded himself. Risa had been through a nightmarish ordeal tonight. Nikolai promised himself and her, that he’d wait.
“Careful,” he said, offering her his hand. She stepped out of the tub. Nikolai had a hard time tearing his gaze from her scrumptious body. He grabbed the towel from the rack, wrapping her in it.
How often had he imagined running his hands down those tempting curves of hers? Putting his mouth to those luscious breasts? Would they bounce for him while he rode her, sinking his dick deep into the pink folds of her sweet pussy?
“I’ll take it from here,” she said.
Nikolai stepped back as she finished toweling herself off and grabbed a shirt from one of the cabinets near the door. He flared his nostrils, seeing what she picked after her nightmare. A big, oversized shirt, the words across the chest peeling, faded over. One of his.
She slipped the thin cotton fabric over her head.
“You kept that rag,” he commented.
“I love this shirt,” she said. “It still smells of you even after many washes.”
The soft sound of her voice made his blood quicken. She kept every little trinket he gave her, even the ticket stubs of the movies and plays they’d seen together. Nikolai knew she kept a journal and pasted all those moments there. Although sorely tempted to take a peek at them, he’d respected her privacy.
Risa was unlike any other woman he’d ever met. Five years. Before she entered his life, Nikolai was able to think about other women, but they meant nothing to him. Women threw themselves at his feet all the time, but he never thought about having a real relationship with any of them.
After Risa came o
f age, no other woman existed for him. She was it for him.
What he felt for Risa wasn’t just pure, male lust. It was something more. Maybe he’d been falling a little bit in love her over the past few years. Nikolai rejected the notion, telling himself he was a monster for wanting her ever since she turned eighteen.
Dan wouldn’t approve of his only daughter falling for a man like him, but Nikolai couldn’t picture Risa with another male. Tonight proved that. Risa told him she didn’t care what he did. To her, his sins didn’t matter. She didn’t know those words meant the world to him.
They exited the bathroom. She slipped into bed, and he raised the covers over her body. There. All covered up.
“Goodnight, Risa.” Nikolai hesitated, then bent down to kiss her on the mouth. A monumental mistake. She slid her hand on his unshaven cheek and kissed him back. This is what heaven tastes like, he thought. Nikolai had trouble pulling away.
“Behave,” he chided.
She pouted at him. Nikolai began to move away, but she grabbed his arm.
“Please stay the night. You don’t have to be in the same bed as me.” She shivered. Genuine fear crept into her voice, making him see red again. “I don’t think I can sleep alone in this big room.”
Risa wasn’t faking it. Nikolai could always tell when she lied. She wasn’t. Not this time. He reached for her hand, squeezed them.
“I’ll be right here, angel.” The bed looked tempting. He bet she wouldn’t mind if he joined her, but he settled for sitting on the armchair next to the bed.
“Thanks,” she said. Risa turned on her side to face him.
She flashed him a grateful smile. He touched his lips when she finally closed her eyes. That kiss felt like he’d swallowed a dollop of sunshine. Then again, even when he was having a bad day, he’d cheer up just knowing she waited for him at home.
Nikolai had a mind to pay John Stevenson a personal visit in jail. Finish the job. The police would look away. He paid them well enough. Nikolai could stage John’s death as a suicide. It could easily be all arranged.
Then his Risa would be able to sleep soundly at night next to him. Tonight, Nikolai mused, would be the last time she slept in this bed. Come tomorrow, everything would change.
Nikolai had promised he’d stay the night, so he would. As for Stevenson, he’d convince her that getting rid of him was the best option for everyone. He never liked having loose threads, and a dead man wouldn’t be able to hurt his Risa—or any woman—again.
Risa snored. Good. He watched her for a few moments. Minutes, hours maybe. She began to tremble, talk in her sleep. When she started tossing and turning, he rose from the seat.
Nikolai put a hand on her shoulder and shook her gently. “Angel, you’re having a bad dream. It’s all right. I’m here.”
She opened bleary eyes at him, then gripped his fingers hard.
“Stay,” she whispered. “Please.”
Another tug on his hand and before Nikolai knew it, he slipped into bed with her. Sex was the last thing on his mind. He brought her close to him. Risa was a perfect fit in his arms, just as he expected.
She cuddled close to him, a special bundle of warmth. Nikolai wanted to stay like this forever. To wake up every morning like this, with his precious angel in his arms. She was the one good in his life, and he never intended to let her go.
“Dream of more pleasant things, angel,” he said, pressing a kiss to the side of her neck.
Risa expelled a sigh. He groaned when she rubbed that perfect rounded ass of hers against his groin.
The next day, he reminded himself. That didn’t stop him from resting his hands on her sides or throwing one leg over her thigh. So soft and warm. He buried his face into the curve of her neck, memorizing her scent.
She always smelled of vanilla to him. Of home.
“Nikolai,” she murmured his name in her sleep. “Don’t leave me.”
“Never again,” he promised. “Because once tomorrow arrives, you’ll be mine in every sense of the word.”
Chapter Six
Feeling the warm sun on her face, Risa woke up. She opened her eyes, expecting to see Nikolai next to her. Gone. She sighed, sat up, and did her morning stretches. Was last night a wonderful dream after all?
No. She slid a hand on the back of her neck. Risa could remember the press of his mouth over that particular spot, the promise he’d made. Last night, he’d slept next to her. That happened because she wouldn’t be able to sleep so well otherwise. She went to the bathroom and splashed some water on her face.
Risa stared at the tub, remembering the feel of his fingers, gently massaging her scalp. The hungry look in his eyes when he toweled her off. She took a quick shower and brushed her teeth. Risa wore what she usually did at home. Another of Nikolai’s old shirts, which she’d stolen, and a pair of cut-off jeans. Since his shirt was two sizes too big for her, she tied a knot at the front. There. She looked a little more fashionable and less sloppy.
She waltzed out of her room. Nikolai must be somewhere in the house, or had he gone to work? She tracked down Matthew on the first floor. Matthew had been working for Nikolai for a long time. He’d know where he was.
“Master Nikolai’s in his office. He mentioned he’s not heading to the office today,” Matthew told her. The butler seemed to pause, considering his next words. “He hasn’t eaten any breakfast.”
She grinned. “Thanks.”
Risa’s next stop was the kitchen. Jean, the head cook, had made French toast for breakfast. She asked for two plates with plenty of cream, syrup, and strawberries. Jean handed them to her. She made her way to Nikolai’s home office on the second floor. Risa overhead him arguing on the phone with someone.
“Take care of the fucker. Make it look like an accident.”
Why did Risa have a feeling Nikolai was talking about John Stevenson? Risa still had a hard time believing John was capable of doing something like that to her. Then again, she and John weren’t friends. Just ex-schoolmates who happened to bump to each other at events. Thinking back, maybe it was too much of a coincidence that their paths kept crossing.
Risa wanted to move past last night. Knowing John was finally gone, unable to hurt anyone again, gave her a measure of relief.
Using her shoulder, she opened the door. Nikolai looked up from his desk. She always loved his office. Mahogany furniture everywhere. Shelves full of books lined the sides of the room, and Nikolai positioned his big desk right in front of the window.
“Get it done,” Nikolai said to the phone, before putting it down. Even if today was his day off, Nikolai still wore a suit. He had his jacket slung over his chair. It didn’t escape her notice that he wore the maroon-striped tie she’d given him for his last birthday.
“Was that about John?” she asked, setting the two plates in front of his desk.
Nikolai seemed to consider her for a few moments, before moving his gaze from her face to the rest of her. “How many of my shirts have you secretly stolen?”
“Don’t ignore the question.”
Feeling bold thanks to last night, she moved around his desk. Nikolai seemed to sense her intentions because he moved his swivel chair a little further back from the desk. Heart thumping, she slid into his lap, like it was the most natural thing in the world.
He didn’t comment when she settled her arms on his shoulders.
“Scum like that shouldn’t be allowed to walk freely. Even prison won’t be able to rehabilitate him,” Nikolai answered her. He reached out, undoing the knot on her shirt. The fabric fell loosely around her. Had he noticed she didn’t bother with a bra?
“Angel,” Nikolai finally said, resting one hand on her left thigh. “Stevenson deserves to die. I’ve got his file from the police. This isn’t his first rodeo.”
Risa blinked, cleared away the dirty thoughts lingering in her head. “You mean he’s done this to someone else?”
“He’s been arrested for rape before, but his family paid off the victim. Tho
se with money think they can get away with anything. But he made a mistake in targeting my woman.”
“You’re right. He deserves whatever’s coming to him.” The calm way she delivered those words chilled her a little. However, after finding out the truth about Stevenson, Risa believed eliminating scum like him would make the world a better place.
Risa quirked her lips to a smile. “Am I your woman?”
Nikolai moved his hand further up her thigh. He undid the button of her shorts, unzipping her.
“You’re not wearing any panties either.” Nikolai pressed a kiss to the side of her neck, the shell of her ear. “Bad girl.”
A thrill went down her spine at those two words. The touch of his lips on her bare skin felt electric. She wanted more, for him to finally take what was rightfully his.
“Are you going to hold yourself back again today?” she asked him.
He answered her by placing his mouth over hers for a sharp, deep kiss that left her gasping after.
“No.” Nikolai reached for the hem of her shirt.
Risa lifted her arms so he could take it off. That left her breasts exposed. He lowered his mouth, took her left nipple between his lips, and sucked. She dug her nails into his biceps as he bit down, leaving his bite mark there. She gasped at the slight flare of pain before he lapped at the hard nipple. Nikolai did the same with her right.
After he was done, she looked at the perfect imprint of his teeth on both her tits. She got wet just from that, and he hadn’t even fucked her yet.
“Very nice,” he said, nuzzling the side of her neck. Nikolai left another hickey there before putting his hand on her waist.
“Are you going to leave plenty of souvenirs all over my body?” she asked him. Risa gasped when he easily lifted her and planted her ass on his desk.
“Any objections?” he asked, pushing away his laptop and other papers.
“Nope. I had a fantasy of you doing this to me once,” Risa confessed.