by Kay Loren
“Anything I should know?” Nikolai asked taking his seat at the oak desk.
“Nothing new,” Alek shook his head. “That stubborn shithead Gino is days away from death. Vladimir is, well you know how Vladimir gets his information…”
Vladimir was the craziest Russian he knew. He was in the Soviet army and seen things that even had Nikolai turning away. Nikolai didn’t like the idea of unnecessary torture but he could give two fucks where Gino was concerned. He could not get the image out of his head where Gino drugged Audrina.
And Gino was letting them know everything. Everything that could get the Mancini crime family wiped off the face of the earth. Nikolai did not know why or how long Michael had been getting away with everything. It was all going to end soon.
“Our guy on the other side said that Michael is fuming over the disappearance of Audrina but will not tell anyone he does not have her. As far as everyone knows she is still with him happy, in love and pregnant,” Alek added.
Nikolai laughed. It was just like Michael to save face. It was a good thing too, since everyone was calm now after learning of Audrina’s pregnancy with Michael. No one dared make a move in fear of the power they had all assumed Michael had over them.
“Did she wake up?” Nikolai asked.
“Yeah,” he nodded. “She woke up around noon. Svetlana showed Nikki and her around the house and then they ate dinner and she went up stairs while they watched a movie.”
Nikolai frowned, “Did she not want to see a movie?”
“When I came back down I asked Svetlana why she went to bed during the sweepings and she said Audrina was really tired,” Alek shrugged. “I’m sorry I had to lie and say you put me in charge of looking out for her, but she had caught me when I was making sure her room was safe.”
Nikolai’s heart dropped. He knew Audrina would get suspicious had she seen a lot of guards around the house. She might have been reminded of Michael.
“How did she react?”
“She was scared at first, but then I told her who I was and she seemed to understand,” he replied and then broke out into a smile. “That girl is something else.”
Nikolai narrowed his eyes at Alek. Alek and Audrina were the same age and the thought of Alek and Audrina together infuriated Nikolai.
Alek shook his head quickly with a laugh. “Not in that way boss! No! I mean she was asking me weird questions.”
“Like what?”
“How long I worked for you and then something about beating someone up for you but I think she meant something else,” Alek said.
“Beating someone up?”
It didn’t take long for Nikolai to realize that Audrina was trying to find out what he did for a living. He ran a hand through his hair. That was the last thing he wanted. Her finding out who he truly was. He knew she was going to find out sooner or later but not before he finally had a chance to admit it to her.
“I doubt she worked it out,” Alek added.
Nikolai was not so sure. Audrina was smarter than she let on and Nikolai had always known this about her. He stood up.
“I’m going to bed,” he announced. “Do not bother me for anything other than an emergency.”
“Not even if the D’Amuri head calls?” Alek asked.
“Not even if someone calls to say he is dead,” he replied over his shoulder leaving Alek to laugh at his comment.
As soon as Nikolai reached the top step of the staircase he looked around for Valdik, who usually waited for him on the small rug atop of the staircase. He was no where to be found. Nikolai called out for him in a hushed voice, but the dog who usually ran up to him joyfully did not respond. Nikolai found himself in front of Audrina’s door, slowly turning the knob and then opening the door.
He heard the growl of Valdik and then the joyful bark when the dog realized it was Nikolai. Nikolai shushed him as to not wake Audrina but he noticed she was not in bed. He panicked. He walked further into the room and saw that she was on the terrace, her back to the railing as she watched him walk further into the room.
She looked stunning. Her long hair cascaded over her shoulders making her look like a goddess in her pale sweater and her eyes looked larger and filled with wonder as she continued to gaze at him. They stayed gazing at one another in the cold night’s chill, neither moving or saying a word.
Finally she lunged at him and wrapped her arms around him tightly. Nikolai did not expect that. Slowly, he brought his arms around her and held her close. He thought she would have had an angry reaction towards him and he did not know how he would react as well. But they way they held each other close… there was no love lost between them two.
She looked up at him, tears pooled in her eyes and she whispered, “I’m sorry.”
Nikolai’s heart clenched. “For what?”
“For everything,” she said. “For leaving you hanging when I said I was going to leave Michael… Then just leaving you, flat out cold leaving you and then this whole stupid thing with Gino… I’m sorry for everything.”
Nikolai wiped her tears and held her face up. “I understand.”
“No you don’t,” she shook her head. “You’ve been nothing but good to me and I’ve treated you like crap.”
“Audrina,” Nikolai whispered her name to get her to calm down. “It does not matter.”
“But it does!” she cried.
He soothed her with the gentle movements of his thumbs on her cheeks. “What matters is right now, this moment… and this.”
He pressed one hand on her stomach.
She tensed feeling his warm hand on her stomach. She had not expected him to know. She let out a shaky breath. “You know?”
“I’ve known for a while,” he smiled. “Wonderful news.”
She let out another sob. “I don’t know.”
“You don’t know what?”
She stayed silent and looked down at the ground.
“I don’t know if you or Michael is the father,” she whispered after a while. “It could be either you or him.”
It had never occurred to Nikolai that there was a possibility he could be the father of her baby. Whenever they had sex, he never used condoms. He always did with other women -when he used to sleep around- but he never thought to use one once with Audrina. He knew for about two months she was only sleeping with him due to her and Michael being on the outs.
It’s a slight possibility.
“I know it’s so confusing and a shock to you,” she began. “I know… but I don’t know… all I know is that I’m having a baby… and I’m scared, uncertain and excited all in one. I guess I won’t know anything until the baby is born.”
Nikolai gazed down at her. Her wide expression and the mesmerizing shade of her honey eyes were more beautiful than he had ever seen them before. He pressed a kiss to her forehead. “We will not know until the baby is born, yes… but if you let me, I want to be excited, scared and uncertain with you.”
Audrina giggled in between a sob. She was a complete mess but did not care. “Really?”
“Yes,” he nodded with the utmost sincerity that put her at ease. He hugged her close to his body, savoring the serene feeling of her arms wrapped around him.
“If I ask you something, do you promise to be completely honest with me?” she whispered as she pulled away.
Nikolai knew what was coming. “Of course.”
“I don’t care the answer. I will still love you no matter what.”
Nikolai braced himself. He did not even hear when she said ‘still love you’. He could only hear the rapid beat of his heart in his ears.
“Are you in the same kind of business as Michael?” she asked the question he was always fearful of being asked by her. “The whole mob business?”
Nikolai stayed silent for a long while just gazing at her. What would she think of him if he told her?
“Please,” she whispered. “I just have to know.”
He sighed, pressing his forehead against hers. “I wante
d to tell you a long time ago but I was scared of your reaction.”
She moved her head to study his face. He eyes were cast down at the ground behind her.
“I was born and brought up in the mafia… back home… it’s all I know,” he rushed to say. “I wanted to tell you so many times but I could never. I thought you would want nothing to do with me after I told you.”
Audrina watched him with furrowed brows. Nikolai could not quite gauge her reaction. She stayed silent just waiting for him to continue.
“Yes I am,” he sighed. “It’s who I am.”
Audrina looked down at his hands that were intertwined with her own. She looked up at him after a while. “I remember the first night I ever met you… remember? In my dressing room?”
He nodded, his expression wide and fearful. Of course he remembered.
“You introduced yourself… Nikolai Stratauv,” she said. “It barely occurred to me after a whole fucking year, but I heard your name on the news that morning. The head of the Russian mafia… the Sherriff announced he was going to take you down… I knew all along but it never occurred to me.”
Nikolai let out a deep sigh. The look on her face was one of dread. He didn’t know what to expect. “I can’t change who I am.”
Slowly, her hand slipped out of his and fell at her side. She looked down at her feet and let out a deep sigh. “And I can’t change my situation,” she whispered. “Or how I feel about you.”
Nikolai gazed at her silently waiting for her to go on.
“I love you,” she confessed after a deep breath. “I have been in love with you for a long time.”
Nikolai could not believe his ears! She was in love with him and she was admitting it now! After all these months and the two of them sneaking around. She finally admitted that she had loved him all along!
He swooped her up into his arms and pressed his mouth to hers. She opened her lips and felt the minty, whiskey tinged taste of his tongue as he explored her mouth once again. Their passion renewed in that moment and all past hurt feelings vanished.
“Ya lyublyu tebya vsey dushoy,” he whispered against her lips when he pulled away.
“What does that mean?”
“It means I love you with all of my soul,” he replied.
Audrina continued kissing him, giving him sweet pecks over and over again on his mouth as he walked backwards back inside. He didn’t stop until he felt the back of his legs hit the bed. He sat on the bed and she stood in between his legs, grasping his face and kissing him deeply.
“I never thought I’d kiss you again,” she whispered close to his lips.
He placed his hands on her hips. “I didn’t know what to think after you called me. I thought I’d never see you again.”
“I’m sorry,” she said lowly.
“No more sorry,” he kissed the tip of her nose. “You’re here with me now and I’m not letting you go ever again.”
“I never want to go.”
Nikolai glanced at Valdik who was snoring softly on the bed. He turned back to Audrina with a smile. “He doesn’t just go with anyone.”
“I doubt that. He’s very friendly,” she replied.
“I mean to sleep,” He clarified. “He only sleeps with me. He must really like you.”
Just then, Valdik woke up and jumped off the bed. He ran over to the balcony and sat with his eyes looking out.
She kissed him on his forehead. “I love you.”
“I love you,” he smiled. The words had an effect on him that he had not known he could feel. It was a different kind of feeling. He wrapped his arms around her, not caring that his shoulder where he was shot, was throbbing again.
Nikolai noticed that her face had fallen and she was deep in her own thoughts.
“What is it?” he whispered.
“I’m scared.”
“About what?”
Audrina bit her lip and her brows furrowed before she said, “Michael… What if he knows I’m here with you and he comes and breaks in and hurts you because of me? He has this scary temper when he gets mad and he goes off.”
Nikolai knew all to well of Michael and his temper. The memory of him slapping the stripper back in the club angered him. He wondered if he ever tried or was almost close to hurting Audrina in the same way.
Nikolai stilled. “Did he hurt you?”
“Never!” she swore when she saw Nikolai tense up. “But he is scary. Especially when he is mad.”
“Let me worry about Michael. It would be a big mistake if he tries anything here in my home.”
“You can’t expect me not to worry. Especially when I know who he is and what he is capable of.”
Nikolai shook his head, hoping to calm her fears. “Nothing is going to happen. I won’t let anything happen to you.”
“It’s not me I’m worried about,” she whispered.
Nikolai was pained to hear her worried about him more than her own well being. He took her face into his hands and looked her in the eyes. “Look at me… Nothing is going to happen to me. I will never let anything happen to you. I don’t want you to worry about a thing.”
“But what if someone is following you?” she said frantically. “He had Gino follow me and what will stop him from doing the same to you? You saved me from his men… he must know something.”
It was a possibility he had known about for a while. Someone had followed him and Sergei earlier in the night and they killed him for it. But that is for me to worry about, he thought. He didn’t want her to worry about a thing.
“No more,” he said more sternly than he had intended. He kissed the corner of her mouth. “I don’t want you to worry yourself over nothing. Tonight, you are here with me. Let us enjoy each other’s company. We are safe now.”
She frowned, taking his words into consideration. He kissed the corner of her mouth again and then the other side- repeating the small pecks over and over until she smiled.
All he wanted in this moment was to forget everything going on- forget the world- and lose himself in her. He grabbed her by the hips and waited for her permission as he studied her with his gaze. When she smiled with a nod, he peeled her pants slowly down her legs and helped her step out of them. Then, he gently laid her down onto the bed and climbed on top of her careful not to put his weight on her stomach.
She helped him undo the belt around his slacks and push them down as far as she could. With gentle fingers, he reached between her legs, warming her with his skilled touch. She moaned, arching her back and biting her lip. He sucked in a hiss of breath when he felt her soft flesh moist at his fingers. He hovered over her a short while before he entered her slowly, igniting a long moan from her. He groaned, his face in her neck as he relished in the feel of her once again after many weeks.
Quickly he thrusted into her, one stroke after another. He had wanted her badly. She moaned, fisting her hand into the slicked back part of his hair before letting it fall onto his shoulder. He panted and groaned with each blissful thrust inside of her.
She moved her hips up to meet his thrusts - grabbing him by the collar of his shirt- taking him deeply into her. It didn’t take long for her body to begin to quiver- tightening around him- and then find her release with a loud mewl. He followed soon after burying his face into her neck, stilling and then rolling off of her.
Nikolai stared up at the canopy above the bed. The long awaited release his body craved for weeks soothed his nerves and steadied his temper. He had his woman next to him at last.
Audrina sat up and took off the sweater she was still wearing. The bra she still had on was uncomfortable and she took that off too freeing her tender breasts.
“Your breasts have changed,” Nikolai commented with a grin after his breath had calmed. Her breasts were more fuller and rounder than he remembered.
She chuckled and laid back down on her side facing him. “They hurt.”
Nikolai placed a hand over her naked stomach. “Everything on your body is going to change.”
“Yes it is,” she smiled and placed her hand over his. “Soon my belly will be this big,” she gestured with a hand showing how big her belly would get.
He smiled, stroking the side of her belly. “I missed this… Us laying together in bed.”
She smiled shyly. “Me too,” she snuggled into the crook of his arm, stroking his covered chest softly. “I wish we could just stay like this forever.”
He kissed her forehead and watched as she drifted off to sleep in his arms. He swore to enjoy the moment whole heartedly before things got serious. They were in their own world. Nothing could have stopped their peace in that moment.
Chapter Twenty- Nine
Audrina woke up with a startle. She looked over at Nikolai who was quietly asleep next to her with Valdik nestled in between them. He looked peaceful. She ran her hands through her hair as she recalled her nightmare just before she woke up.
Michael had gotten ahold of her in the dream, pulling her out of bed after he had killed Nikolai. She tried hard to fight him off but no matter how many times she had hit him, it made no difference. A chill ran up her spine as she remembered trying to get to Nikolai who laid motionless on the marbled floor in a pool of his own blood. She did not want to think about that part.
She looked over at Nikolai again who moved slightly, causing the sheet that covered him to pull down and expose his chest. Audrina noticed a large bandage covering his shoulder where blood seeped through the middle. What happened to him? She shook her head before she gave it more thought.
The only way I am going to wrap my head about this whole mafia thing is if I do not know anything about his ‘work’, she concluded. She did not want to know. Nothing would change her perception of him, especially after last night, but the idea of the mafia scared her. She had always thought the mafia life was all danger and death with no way out for anyone involved.
Bile rose up to her throat. She clamped her hand over her mouth and quickly scrambled out of the bed and into the bathroom, dragging the sheet along with her.
“What’s wrong?” Nikolai asked appearing quickly at her side as she had her head in the toilet. He smoothed her hair and held it back in his hand so she would not mess it up.