Czar

by Julia Sykes

  “Dimitri, I-”

  “Quiet now, myshka,” he ordered gently. “Just let yourself feel.”

  He cupped my breast and squeezed. At first, the pressure was light, and my nipples pebbled in response. Then his grip turned harsher, his fingertips digging into my flesh. Pain flared, and my eyes flew wide. Before I could protest, he pinched my hardened nipple.

  A sharp, shocked cry left my chest as unfamiliar sensation assailed me. He did the same to my other nipple, rolling it between his thumb and forefinger. Sharp discomfort turned to delicious heat, and my sex began to pulse for him the way it did when he touched my clit.

  “What are you doing?” I asked shakily.

  “I am giving you what you need.” He took my mouth, nipping my lower lip at the same time as he pinched my nipple. My hips rotated, my sex seeking stimulation against his hard thigh. My behavior was inexcusably wanton, but Dimitri always managed to make me forget myself.

  When he was certain my desire for him burned hot enough to destroy my lingering self-consciousness, he finally released me. My hands flew back to his shirt, fumbling in my haste to finish what I had started. I tugged it down his arms, finally revealing his perfectly chiseled torso. A sigh of feminine admiration left my lips, and he laughed as he began to unbuckle his belt.

  I didn’t help him with that part. I was too nervous about what would be revealed to me. I had never seen a man fully naked before, but I desperately wanted to see all of Dimitri. My eyes were greedy as I drank him in, and my tongue darted out to wet my kiss-swollen lips when his slacks dropped to the floor. When he eased off his boxers, I couldn’t do more than stare in slack-jawed fascination. He was long and thick, and I wondered what it would feel like if I touched him.

  My fingers extended towards him, and I stopped myself just in time. Embarrassed, I pulled my hand away.

  He caught my wrist and tugged it back toward him.

  “It’s all right. Touch me.”

  “I don’t know how,” I admitted nervously.

  “I will show you.” He hissed in a breath at the first brush of my fingertips across his shaft. He was hard and somehow velvety soft. “You are so innocent, Alicia,” he said raggedly. “I like that.”

  He took my hand and wrapped it around him, closing his fist around mine. He pumped up and down slowly, then stopped with a groan.

  “Did I do something wrong?” I asked.

  He buried his face in my hair, breathing me in. “No. I need to stop or I will come in your hand. I don’t want that.”

  Fear crackled across the intimate moment. “I can’t have sex with you, Dimitri. I’m sorry.” He had given me so much pleasure, but I had nothing to offer him in return.

  He pressed his forehead against mine, his breath fanning over my face in hot, short bursts.

  “It’s okay,” he said as calmly as he could manage. “I want to see more of you.”

  He carefully pulled my hand away from him. He was still hard and dark with intense arousal, but he wouldn’t allow me to touch him again.

  “Thank you,” I whispered, deeply touched that such a perfect man would forgo his own pleasure. To my amazement, he seemed content just to look at me, to see to my pleasure. I couldn’t imagine another man being so selfless.

  He just gave me a short nod of acknowledgement, his eyes fixating on my embarrassingly utilitarian underwear. His thumbs hooked through the elastic on either side of my hips and he slowly pulled them down my legs, all the while staring at my sex. When I was finally bare, he stood back and simply studied my body for long, silent moments, as though he was drinking in the sight of me. I was far too flattered to feel any shame under his scrutiny. He made me feel beautiful.

  He started kissing me again, his mouth hungry on mine. There was an edge of aggression to his movements that might have alarmed me if I didn’t trust him so completely. We were naked together, and he didn’t expect me to so much as touch him, much less have sex with him.

  His attention returned to my breasts, and I forgot all my concerns about his physical needs when he began pinching and pulling at my nipples. The small shocks of pain made my clit throb, and I whimpered against his lips in need. He growled into my mouth and touched me where I desired it most. I came apart under his hands, and he kissed me through my orgasm.

  Not long after, I fell asleep in his arms, sated and completely comfortable with my nakedness.

  Chapter 6

  Over the next week, I became accustomed to sleeping in Dimitri’s arms, our naked bodies pressed close together throughout the night. True to his word, he never pushed me to go further than we had that first time. He gave me so much, and I craved to pamper him in return.

  But in that moment, I couldn’t think about what more I could give him; all I could focus on was the ecstasy coursing through me as his thick fingers pumped in and out of me, finding that amazing spot at the front of my inner walls that always made me come undone. I screamed out my climax, clinging to him through the rush of bliss.

  Emotion swelled within me along with pleasure, welling up until it dripped from my eyes. My hot tears fell on his bare chest, and he pulled back from me. His eyes were creased with confusion.

  “What’s wrong, myshka?” He stroked sweat-dampened hair back off my forehead. The tender gesture made my heart twist. The truth I had been trying my hardest to ignore finally came crashing down on me.

  “I’m- I’m leaving in a few days,” I forced out tremulously. “I’m afraid I’ll never see you again.” I drew in a shaky breath, no longer able to contain my painfully intense feelings for him. “I… I love you, Dimitri.”

  Although I had never been in love before, my soul recognized it. I loved him so much it made my chest ache. I trusted him with my body as I had never trusted another man. Surely I would never again find this kind of connection.

  Soon, my love would be five thousand miles away. I didn’t think my heart could bear it.

  He went utterly still, save for the widening of his gorgeous eyes. Silence stretched between us, and pain gripped my gut.

  “Please say something,” I managed to whisper.

  “I won’t let you go.” It was a solemn promise.

  I breathed again, hope expanding within me. “You mean… We can have a long distance relationship? You would do that for me?”

  His thumb traced the outline of my parted lips. “You’re mine now, Alicia. There’s no going back.”

  Fresh tears spilled, but they were tears of joy this time. He hadn’t said he loved me, but his possessive declaration assured me that he felt the same as I did.

  Dimitri and I were going to be together. I wasn’t sure how it would all work out, but it would. I knew I would never want any man the way I wanted him.

  I brought my face close to his. “I want you, Dimitri,” I breathed across his lips. “I want you to make love to me.”

  He didn’t ask if I was certain; he didn’t give me a chance to change my mind. His body settled over mine, his weight pinning me against the mattress. His hardness pressed against my thigh, so close to my sex…

  Nervousness flooded my system as the reality of what I had just asked for sank in, and I tensed beneath him.

  His hand stroked through my hair in a calming motion, but he didn’t move away. Instead, he kissed me. His tongue slid along mine, coaxing out my lust for him. When I shuddered and relaxed, he began to take my mouth more hungrily. I fell hopelessly into him. I couldn’t resist what was between us, and I no longer wanted to.

  My core throbbed, aching to be filled in a way I had never known. My hips rocked up against him of their own accord, my body craving his penetration. He had spoken so possessively, and I yearned for him to brand every inch of me with his touch. He had promised that I was his, that he would never let me go.

  I wasn’t going anywhere. Not now. Not ever. We were going to be together.

  That knowledge erased any lingering doubts over giving him my innocence.

  He broke our kiss and cupped my face
in both hands. His deep, dark eyes swallowed me whole. I threw myself into them willingly, giving him everything.

  “This will hurt,” he warned me, his jaw tight from the effort of holding himself back. “But I’ll make you feel good. You will like it.”

  The last was a command, and I didn’t even think of denying him. I trusted him to make this special for me.

  All my senses sharpened, drinking in every detail of his physical perfection, of the feel of his hard body against mine. His unique ability to bring out such intense emotion in me would imprint this memory on my psyche for the rest of my life. In that moment, the world fell away; Dimitri was the sole reason for my existence.

  This was true love. It resonated deep in my soul.

  He shifted his weight, reaching for the nightstand. Within seconds, he managed to retrieve a condom, tear open the wrapper, and roll it on. I had been so lost in him that I hadn’t even thought of protection, and I was immensely grateful for the care he was taking with me.

  Once he was sheathed, he lined up with my opening. This was it. My body was wet and waiting for him, and I spread my legs in silent invitation.

  He pressed in, breaching me slowly. I gasped at the burning pain of being stretched so ruthlessly.

  “You’re too big,” I protested. Only an inch of him penetrated me, and already I felt unbearably full.

  “You can take me,” he informed me steadily. He didn’t slow his progress.

  The burning sensation flared hotter, but it wasn’t the lustful heat he usually awoke within me. My hands pressed against his chest as panic engulfed me.

  “Wait!” I cried out, desperate for the pain to stop. This wasn’t at all what I had imagined it would be like between us.

  He caught my wrists in one hand and pinned them above my head. He pressed in another inch. My panic spiked. Why was he hurting me like this?

  “Breathe through the pain,” he said evenly.

  The calm order left no room for debate, and he had conditioned me to comply with his demands over our time together. I sucked in a shuddering breath.

  “That’s it,” he encouraged.

  Then he surged forward, entering me in one thrust.

  I screamed at the pain, and stars popped across my vision. Hot tears leaked from the corners of my eyes, and I tried to twist away from him. His fingers tightened around my wrists, holding me down with his firm grip and his muscular body.

  “You’re okay,” he assured me. “The worst is over.”

  Was that supposed to be a comfort to me? I felt violated rather than cherished. He assaulted my body mercilessly, claiming my virginity almost violently.

  But he did have some small mercy for me, because he paused, remaining fully seated within me. My inner muscles squeezed in an effort to force him out, and he groaned.

  “You’re so tight,” he hissed, gritting his teeth. I realized he was holding himself back.

  Maybe he wasn’t being cruel. Maybe he only wanted to get me through the pain quickly.

  My trust in him flickered back to life when his head dipped to my breasts, and his hot mouth engulfed my nipple. He sucked and teased the tip with his tongue until the little bud began to stiffen for him. Pleasure blossomed in response to his stimulation, and the unpleasant burning lessened as I began to relax around him.

  His teeth sank into my nipple, but this time my cry of pain was huskier. An answering line of ecstasy shot straight from my breast to my sex, making my clit throb. I still didn’t understand how this new pain could elicit pleasure from other areas of my body, but I eagerly embraced it.

  He released me and stroked the pang away with his tongue. I shivered and relaxed further, my core easing its grip on him.

  He finally moved again, pulling out in a slow slide as he continued to tease and torment my breasts. The nerve endings inside my sheath crackled at the friction of his gently thrusting cock. The burning morphed into the familiar lustful heat only he could awaken within me.

  He bit down on my other nipple, and this time when my core convulsed around him, it was to draw him in rather than push him out.

  “You’re perfect, Alicia,” he ground out against my breast. “And you’re all mine.”

  I moaned, unable to form a coherent response.

  With his free hand, he reached between us to tweak my clit in just the way I liked. At the same time, he altered the angle of his hips, finding that special spot inside me.

  My scream was one of pleasure, and an orgasm more powerful than any other he had ever given me ripped through my body. There was still lingering pain, but that only seemed to heighten the pleasure that gripped me.

  My bliss increased when his cock pulsed, and a ragged shout left his lips. The sight of the naked ecstasy lighting up his gorgeous features took me to a state of rapture.

  I moved against him, mindlessly drawing out the last drops of our mutual pleasure. Emotion consumed me, and my vision blurred.

  “I love you,” I sobbed, overtaken by visceral joy.

  He answered me with a searing, possessive kiss.

  “You sure are happy,” Christine remarked as we stepped out of Russian class the following day. “I thought you would be bummed about leaving Dimitri soon. I know I’ll miss Roman.”

  I couldn’t suppress my grin. “Dimitri and I are going to keep dating.”

  Her jaw dropped. “Are you serious? Mr. Gorgeous is going to settle down into a long distance relationship?”

  I frowned at her, a bit affronted. “He cares about me. And I love him.” I said the last almost defiantly. Dimitri and I were going to make it, no matter how far apart we were in the world.

  “Wow.” A broad smile spread across my friend’s face. “Oh my god, you really are in love. That is so freaking romantic! Did he say he loves you back?”

  “No,” I admitted. “But he was really intense about staying together. I know he cares a lot. He’s just not the type to admit his feelings.”

  “I’m sure he does,” she agreed fervently. “He’s been so into you since the very beginning. And you stay with him every night. Even if you aren’t having sex, I know that means something’s going on.”

  I couldn’t hold back my furious blush, and her eyes immediately searched my hand for my purity ring. I had removed it that morning.

  “You had sex with him!” She read me easily. “You banged the Russian god!” She practically bounced on the balls of her feet.

  I winced. “Don’t shout it out like that.”

  “Oh, come on, Alicia. We have to celebrate. Let’s go get a drink.”

  “It’s not even dark yet, Christine. That’s-”

  Before I could tell her how ridiculous it was to celebrate losing my virginity, I was interrupted by the sound of tires squealing against the pavement. I jumped back with a startled yelp when the huge black SUV came to an abrupt stop right in front of us. The back door flew open, close enough to almost collide with my body.

  A man vaulted from the car, coming straight at me. A black ski mask concealed his features. Fear barely had time to blossom before his hand closed around my upper arm.

  “Alicia!” Christine cried out. I felt her grip my wrist, trying to pull me back, but I was ripped from her grasp in an instant.

  The man who held me tugged me up against him, his hands bracing around my waist to fling me into the back of the SUV. Another man caught me, pulling me into the dim interior of the car. A scream finally ripped its way up my throat when terror overtook me with vicious force. The sound was punctuated by the slamming of the door and the peal of the tires as we pulled away.

  I struggled, but the man who had caught me held my arms fast against my sides. My other assailant grabbed a fistful of my hair and yanked my head back. I barely had time to register the sight of the syringe before the needle plunged into my exposed neck. My next scream faltered as lethargy sapped my muscles. My vision tunneled, and within seconds I was lost to darkness.

  Chapter 7

  My tongue scraped the inside of
my mouth like sandpaper, and my head ached at the slightest movement. I recognized the symptoms of a hangover, even though I had only experienced it once before.

  Dang it¸ Christine. My friend must have convinced me to imbibe too much vodka. She had talked about celebrating something…

  Losing my virginity.

  My groan was one of embarrassment and discomfort. I squeezed my eyes shut, hoping to fall back asleep and remain unconscious until the pounding in my skull dissipated.

  Unconscious. The memory of the needle plunging in my neck slammed into me, and terror engulfed me. My eyes snapped open. The world spun and my stomach churned. I forced myself to blink until my vision sharpened. I tried to sit up, but something tugged at my wrists, holding me down. My head twisted back, and my fear increased when I took in the black leather cuffs that encircled my wrists. Short lengths of rope secured them to the carved mahogany bedposts.

  I began to jerk wildly against my restraints as reality set in. I was strapped down to a bed in an unfamiliar room. I had been drugged and brought here against my will.

  My mind didn’t quite recognize the unspeakably perverse nature of my situation until I registered the way the sheet that covered me brushed against my writhing body.

  I was naked.

  A scream tore up my throat, and my struggles became more desperate. There was only one reason I would be stripped and tied to a bed. My gut clenched, and my scream ended when my throat convulsed. I swallowed hard against the bile that burned at the back of my mouth.

  The sound of a lock clicking back stopped my breathing entirely. My body went rigid with paralytic terror.

  Then my savior stepped through the door, and I heaved out a relieved sob.

  “Dimitri!” I choked on his name.

  His lips quirked up in his self-assured smile. He had never looked more beautiful.

  “Hello, myshka,” he said softly.

  I didn’t understand why he wasn’t rushing to my side. Instead, he ambled toward me as though he didn’t have a care in the world.