by Mayburn, Ann
“Easy, my Gia. It is the hilt of the knife. Smooth and cold gold pressing against my sweet pussy.”
Then he pressed the hilt into her and she shuddered, hard.
“Close your eyes. Let go. You can’t control this, I will do to your body as I wish. You are mine to torment and pleasure, Gia. Only mine, and I protect what is mine.”
He added the last remark as a warning to those witnessing their scene. If anyone touched Gia he would bring down his wrath on them in biblical proportions. Considering his mother’s family ran one of the oldest criminal networks in Russia, and on his father’s side he came from a long line of KGB agents and politicians, Ivan had connections for pretty much anything he needed. But he’d never considered using those resources to protect the woman in his life, until now. He would do anything to make sure no one ever harmed her.
With a start, he realized he’d break his own personal moral code to keep her safe. A surprisingly strong possessive streak went through him and he withdrew the knife from her gripping cunt, fighting her strong pussy muscles to pull it out. His dick wanted inside of her, now, but he needed to free her first.
Kissing his way up her stomach, licking the clean, ocean salt sweat from her skin, he took his time tormenting her breasts. Sucking hard on each aroused nub in turn, he growled low in his throat as Gia rocked her pelvis against his cock. It would be so easy to slip into her welcoming heat, but he wanted all of her passion right now.
By the time he’d licked and sucked his way up to her mouth she was grinding hard against him, lifting her pelvis against his by wrapping her strong legs around his waist. She snarled at him when he went to kiss her and he smiled against her lips.
“Feeling a little feral, my Gia?”
She tried to nip his lips and he frowned at her. “Bad girl.”
Anger and frustration burned hot in her gaze and she bared her teeth at him. He loved it when she let go like this, when she let her primal instincts drive her. This woman would never be truly tamed. He would have to seduce her into submission every time and the challenge of it, the energy that drove him higher until his mind entered that crystal clear realization of Top space. The best description of the feeling was that he was like a predator looking at his prey, watching her body, waiting for her to try to flee or strike.
Before she could react, he grabbed her by the throat and held her tight. When she continued to struggle, he tightened his grip, nowhere near enough to hurt her but just enough so she would feel collard by him. She swallowed and abruptly the fight went out of her. Not trusting her to remain passive, he removed the pins from her hair with his free hand until spread around her in a silken veil of honey brown waves.
So beautiful with her deeply tanned skin and dark golden hair. He released her throat and she leaned up, licking his chest while he caressed her wrists, her cuffs still in place. His erection slid against her arousal soaked sex and he gripped a handful of her hair, stretching her neck open to him. When he bit her hard in the sensitive place where her neck and shoulder met beneath the pearls, she shivered and began to lick and suck his nipple.
He lifted his head and looked over at one of his friends watching them. “Get me a couch with a blanket.”
Gia ran her nails lightly down his back, then gripped his ass. The happy, purring sound she made had his dick twitching against her pussy. After he unhooked her arms from the chain holding her to the table, he brought her wrists, still cuffed together, to his mouth and kissed both her palms. She gave a beautiful whimper that went straight to his cock, driving his urgency to truly possess her higher.
He scooped his arm beneath her ass and threw her over his shoulder. She let out a little shriek that he found exquisitely feminine. Giving her hip a smack, he walked them over to the couch his friend had secured for them. He almost stumbled when she began to lick his lower back, and he bit her hip.
Little minx.
When he reached the couch he slid her off his shoulder and made sure she was okay to stand on her own before he sat. A soft, thick red blanket had been placed over the couch to protect it from body fluids and with Gia he would need it. No doubt she would soak his balls with her orgasm. The way she got so wet for him had him pulling her forward until she straddled his lap with an eager growl.
“Ride me. I want you to come all over my dick.”
She practically jumped him and he found himself with an armful of hot, aroused, squirmy girl on his lap. Without preamble she lined his cock up with her slit and began to slowly lower herself on him. She adjusted her stance so her legs were better situated outside of his. As she eased him into her ever so tight little pussy, she met his gaze and now it was his turn to shiver.
The intense emotions he saw there made his chest hurt. She looked at him like she loved him and he found it impossible to keep his feelings hidden from her. With one look she stripped away all the formidable walls he kept in place around his emotions and made them vanish like dew on a hot summer morning. Pleasure arced through his nervous system and the need to own her completely overwhelmed him.
He could never let her go.
She had to stay.
He would die without her.
She was riding him, her face tensing as she neared her orgasm. He tilted her hips, the delicious slide of his dick in and out of her clenching cunt made his vision dim. Not wanting any distance between them, he pulled her close and began to kiss her. She gasped against his mouth and began to grind her amazing pussy against his lap. Feeling how close she was, he gripped her ass hard, awakening the still bruised flesh.
She jerked back enough to almost break his hold and screamed, her back arching as she ran her nails down his chest hard enough to draw blood. When the first milking contraction of her orgasm hit, Ivan slammed himself into her, drawing out her orgasm as he raced towards his own. Ecstasy exploded in his veins and he roared as the blinding climax ripped through him.
Through it all, Gia kissed his neck, whispering how amazing he was, how good he made her feel, and how much she adored him. As the last staggering blast of his release faded he held her to his chest and whispered to her in Russian how important she was to him, how much better his life was with her, and how he was never letting her go. Then he leaned in even closer and whispered low enough so that no one could hear him confess his love for her, how his life goals now included having her with him as his wife, the mother of his children, and how he wanted to grow old with her at his side.
They continued to cuddle and pet each other for a long, blissful time. Someone put a blanket over Gia’s shoulders and Ivan looked up to find Nico watching him closely. Before he could say anything, Nico handed him a damp towel and said in Russian, “Don’t let her go, Ivan. She loves you.”
He moved his girl enough to dab at the blood seeping from the scratch marks on his chest.
She looked groggily at his motions and made a soft, pained noise. “I hurt you.”
“No, miliy, you marked me with your passion.”
He handed the towel to an attendant wearing latex gloves who stood nearby. Another club submissive handed Ivan a container of baby wipes. Moving Gia as little as possible, he cleaned her sore pussy, then used more wipes and cleaned his blood from her chest where it had smeared while she rode him. Once that was taken care of, another attendant handed him a clean towel and he laid it on his chest before pulling Gia back against him without the risk of getting more of his blood on her.
Gia snuggled against him making sleepy humming sounds. Contentment, peace, and happiness warmed him almost as much as the way Gia was nuzzling his neck with her lips. He nodded at the attendants to signal that he didn’t need anything else then stroked Gia’s hair, trying to figure out how he was going to possibly convince this fiery, stubborn, smart, amazing woman to leave behind everything and everyone she knew to live with him in Russia. No matter how hard he tried, he couldn’t think of a way to prove to her that he was sincere.
Looking at it from a logical point, he could hardly blame h
er. They’d known each other for a handful of days. Asking her to give up her life and her family, and move to a totally unfamiliar country thousands of miles away because he loved her only worked in fairy tales. He would have to compromise with her and figure out what kind of offer she wouldn’t be able to refuse. While it would have been nice to just be able to buy her some expensive jewelry to get her to stay, he knew that wouldn’t work with Gia.
One of the things he loved about Gia was her appreciation of the luxuries of life. She wasn’t someone who believed they were entitled to things. And she definitely wasn’t the kind of woman who would enjoy being a housewife. She needed something to sink her teeth into, a job where she would have a chance to work and grow as an artist. And she was an artist, one of the most talented he’d ever seen. Her work had a beautiful flow and symmetry to it with a distinct style that was all her own. Some people might look at her blue prints and find them boring, but he looked at the homes she’d changed and had been in awe of her skills.
A plan began to form, a compromise that would change his world forever, but in a good way. The idea was by no means rational, but he hadn’t been acting rationally since the moment he saw her on the stage at the auction, trembling with fear, and everything inside of him roared out to possess her, because she was his. When he’d claimed her after the auction and she looked up at him with those big, dark eyes, he had the insane thought that this was her, the woman he’d been waiting for. The time they’d spent together since then only reinforced that notion, and after the way she looked at him tonight, he knew his affection wasn’t one-sided.
It was time for him to begin a new phase of his life. He’d done his empire building and had amassed a large enough fortune that neither he, nor his future children and grandchildren would ever have to worry about having a place to live and food to eat. He would protect her, love her, and cherish her. For a brief moment he tried to imagine what his and Gia’s child would look like and his heart gave a heavy thud.
They would make beautiful babies.
Gia was soon in a deep sleep on his chest. He motioned to one of the submissives who worked at the club to bring him his bag. The employees had already cleaned the stations and put the equipment back in place. A middle-aged male sub with short blond hair placed Ivan’s bag next to him on the couch and left.
Taking care not to move Gia too much, he pulled his cell phone from his bag then began to text his Uncle Petrov. If Petrov couldn’t assist Ivan in convincing Gia stay with him, no one could. What Ivan had in mind wasn’t easy. He would need his family connections to smooth the way for Gia. There were a number of people in Russia who wouldn’t work with Americans, and he didn’t want their ignorance to touch his woman. She couldn’t know he was behind her job because he knew she wouldn’t accept anything handed to her. Gia had to work hard to get where she was and she deserved a chance to really show the world what she could do.
That would never happen for her at the small firm where she currently worked. Ivan had looked into it and the top earners of the firm were all related. Gia’s chance of advancing within that company was next to nothing no matter how hard she worked. The thought of her getting screwed over like that made him angry for her and even more determined to convince her that her place in the world was at his side.
Chapter Eighteen
Gia looked around Ivan’s unfamiliar kitchen and realized she had no idea what half the products were. She’d normally use her cell phone to take a picture and do an Internet search, but the battery was dead and she didn’t have a European charger. Ivan had a computer in his study, but it was set up in Cyrillic and she had no clue how to do anything on it. He was having a new laptop delivered to her tomorrow so she could video chat with her friends and family back in the States. Her cousins had been thrilled that she was in Russia and bought her excuse of being here for business. She’d felt bad lying to them about it, but the last thing she needed when she came home was being interrogated by her well-meaning, but nosy relatives, not to mention her girlfriends who would probably smack her on the back of her head for leaving Ivan.
Her heart constricted and nausea gripped her at the thought of never seeing him again. Placing a hand to her stomach, she tried to close her emotions off, something she’d been able to do effectively in the past, but for some reason right now, all she could do was try and hold herself together enough to keep from crying. A need to connect with Ivan swept through her and she placed her hand on the wall next to the gas range. This was his home, she was here right now, so she was going to make the absolute best of it.
Turning to her right, she looked out the floor to ceiling tinted windows that revealed a breathtaking view of Moscow. To her delight, Ivan also had a large patio outside of the kitchen that was tastefully decorated with comfortable lawn furniture that encouraged one to sit and relax. There were also a great variety of potted plants that lent a softness to the clean, ultra-modern lines of his kitchen.
When she’d arrived at Ivan’s apartment a few days ago, she had been so stunned by the size of the place she didn’t really hear half of what Ivan had said. She picked the apartment near the American embassy because Ivan said there were lots of ex-pats in the neighborhood. He also said it had a good deal of culture and she would get to see a different side of Russia.
Her stomach rumbled, reminding her that she’d promised her man a home cooked meal.
Turning back to the cupboard, she mused that she was seeing a different side of Russia all right, the one where she had no idea what the hell the boxes in the pantry held. Her first thought had been to do a good spaghetti dinner. It was a stick-to-the-ribs food that every man she’d made it for appreciated. While it wasn’t one of the gourmet meals he constantly delighted her with, it was home cooking, and her aunts had taught her well. Ivan had given his personal chef the night off at her request and she didn’t want to let him down. Some primitive female part of her psyche got a great satisfaction from the idea of feeding and caring for Ivan.
Now she was trying to figure out which can had SpagettiO’s in it.
“Pardon me, do you happen to know where my nephew might be?” It was the voice of an older man who spoke in lightly accented English.
Gia jumped back with a small scream looking for the phone, then remembered the emergency button beneath the edge of the countertop that would summon security. The man staring back at her with one eyebrow raised didn’t appear threatening, but he had a dangerous vibe that she couldn’t ignore. His gaze was just…cold. But he’d called Ivan his nephew.
“He’s at work.” Internally wincing at her blunder, she said, “I mean, he’s upstairs. He’ll be down any second. Why don’t I go get him?”
She tried to slow her breathing as he walked closer and slowly closed the cupboard.
Leaning on the black marble counter, Ivan’s supposed uncle studied her. He still cut a trim figure in his heavy grey sweater and had only a touch of silver in his dark hair. Overall, he had the same powerful, almost deadly vibe as Ivan and she swallowed hard. For all she knew, he could be one of those kidnappers.
She darted a glance to the security button beneath the table. “I’m sure he’ll be down any second.”
The man almost smiled, and he did have the same expressive eyes Ivan did, but in a colder shade of blue. She studied Petrov’s features and could see the physical similarities that clearly marked him as being related to Ivan. Her tension dissipated and she gave him a hesitant smile.
He tilted his head and watched her intently. “Gia, my name is Petrov. Ivan called me last night to let me know he was back home and I wanted to stop by to visit with him. I mean you no harm. If you like I can call him and you can speak to him so you can verify who I am. Or you can call security and ask one of them to come up and stay with us while I’m here.”
“No, no that’s okay. You just startled me. I didn’t expect anyone to be here and you must walk like a cat because I didn’t hear you at all. Ivan’s at work right now, but he said he would
be home in time for dinner.”
Flushing, she pulled at the edges of the ultra-comfy top of her pink cashmere lounge clothes. The shirt was a cute, tight racer back tank top. She hadn’t worn a bra expecting only Ivan later tonight. Now she was standing in front of his uncle and her nipples were hard from the adrenaline rushing through her system and the bumps of her piercings were clearly visible.
Trying to casually cross her arms to hide her breasts, she cleared her throat. “It’s very nice to meet you.”
“And you.” His look was more curious than aggressive now. “So, Ivan tells me you’re an architect? That you restore old buildings?”
Pleased that Ivan had mentioned her profession, she nodded. “Yes. Though I mostly gut the interiors, renovate all the electricity, plumbing, take out asbestos, clean out any bats from the attic, replace old toilets, take care of any mold or water issues, and I usually put in central air and heating. Oh, and last month I installed my first solar grid. Then I put the house back together again better than before so you can hardly tell it was even touched.”
He gave her a surprised look with a slight raising of the eyebrows. “It sounds like you’re a busy woman.”
She laughed nervously, “Usually I am. But I’m afraid your nephew is trying to spoil me with a life of leisure on my week’s vacation here.”
His gaze sharpened and the lines around his mouth deepened. “Only a week?”
She tilted her head and looked closer at him. Something about the way he said that, the genuine surprise in his voice, made her inner alarms go off. “Yes. Just a week. Why?”
He gave her a charming smile much like Ivan’s when he was going to try to sweet talk her, or manipulate her, or both. “I am trying to imagine all the wonders of Moscow and seeing them in a week. Is my nephew boring?”
To her surprise, he actually sounded offended. Like she’d insulted him somehow. “Oh, no. It’s not that. Ivan is wonderful. It’s just that I don’t have any more vacation time at work. I need to get back and start on a bunch of projects.”