Right now, he wanted nothing more than to release his cock and stroke and pleasure himself to the same rhythm Daisy was pleasuring herself with. To pump his hot cum over her, and then rub that cum all over her body, claiming her with his musk. Just like some fucking prehistoric caveman—
Daisy gave a low and breathy groan, eyes closing as she began to climax, her back arched, hips thrust up, the juices flowing over her labia and fingers. She continued to stroke herself until the last shudders of pleasure had claimed her body.
Her eyes were dark as she held her hand out to him. “Now I’m ready.”
He was a man, not a saint. And Daisy was ready. More than ready.
And I fucking want her to the point of madness!
He surely would go mad if he didn’t soon get inside her.
Now.
Right fucking now!
His feet came out of his shoes, socks next, before he unfastened his jeans and pushed them down his thighs to step out of them, breathing a sigh of relief as he stood up and his cock was finally free of all restraint.
He reached for the hand Daisy held out to him, holding her gaze as he lifted that hand to his mouth, taking each of her fingers into his mouth in turn as he meticulously licked them clean of the musk of her juices.
“May I?” She picked the condom up from where she had dropped it on the bed.
Nikolai moved up and forward until he knelt on the bed between her parted legs, cock jutting forward invitingly. “If I hurt you—”
“You won’t,” Daisy assured him. She ripped open the packet before rolling the condom onto and then down the long length of his engorged cock.
And if Nikolai did hurt Daisy, she wasn’t going to tell him.
She had known Nikolai only a matter of days, and yet it felt as if she had wanted him forever. As if it was him she had been waiting for all along, without knowing it. She was glad now that she’d waited, knew that no matter what happened between the two of them in the future, she would always have this. Always know that Nikolai was her first.
She put her hand between her thighs, dipping her fingers into her channel, making them slick again with her juices, before rubbing that moisture along the length of the condom as extra lubrication.
It thrilled and excited her to know Nikolai was watching her every move, eyes pale and glittering in the pallor of his face, blond hair tousled about his face and shoulders. “Come here and kiss me.” She held her arms up to him invitingly.
“You’re becoming very demanding,” he murmured ruefully as he carefully lay down on top of her, his face now only inches away from her own, his cock nestled snugly against the softness between her parted thighs.
She smiled as her arms moved about his waist, hands caressing the taut length of his back. “A kiss would not only be nice, but it has the added advantage of silencing me too,” she teased softly.
Nikolai laughed, that chuckle turning to a frown as he realized he could never remember laughing in bed with a woman before. Hell, he could no longer remember there ever having been any other woman in his life before Daisy. The combination of her sass and her innocence had taken possession of all his memories, past, present, future—
Present.
They only had the present.
There was, never could be, any future between himself and Daisy.
“You think too much, Nikolai.” Her hand moved up between them as her fingers smoothed the frown lines from his brow. “My training also means I know a dozen moves that would have you lying flat on your back and at my mercy in just five seconds,” she added conversationally.
Nikolai didn’t doubt her for a moment. Daisy might be small and weigh half as much as he did, but she had the courage and determination of an Amazon warrior.
“That won’t be necessary.” His hands moved up to cup each side of her face as he slowly lowered his head and claimed her lips with his own.
Slow and languid kisses, tongues tasting, teeth gently biting. Until passion took over and they allowed their hunger full rein, those kisses deepening, hands caressing, seeking each and every pleasure spot that they had discovered during those hours they spent together at his apartment. Daisy came twice more as they continued to explore and pleasure each other.
It seemed the most natural thing in the world for Nikolai to hold her gaze with his as he took his weight on his arms to press the head of his cock against her slick entrance.
“Please.” Daisy arched up against him. “Oh please, Nikolai.”
He took the weight of his chest on his elbows as his hands framed her heart-shaped face. “There are things you should know about me.” His face was stark with remembered pain. “Things that may make you change your mind about wanting this—”
“Nothing you could tell me would do that,” Daisy assured him firmly. “Nothing, Nikolai,” she repeated with feeling, her hands against the warmth of his chest allowing her to feel the rapid beat of his heart.
She was young and inexperienced, but she wasn’t naïve. She could only guess at his early life living with his prostitute mother, and the way he must have survived before and after her death. Ways that would have been harsh and cruel for someone as handsome as Nikolai.
“Not that,” Nikolai bit out abruptly as he seemed to read some of her thoughts. “I never resorted to selling my own body. But… My mother was quite old when she had me. By the time I was ten, she had lost most of her looks and could no longer… I would help her to lure unsuspecting men into dark alleys, and then we would rob them—”
Daisy’s fingers over his lips stopped him from continuing.
Tears stung her eyes as she looked up at this proud and self-contained man. “You did what you had to do in order to survive.”
In comparison, she knew her own life, as the only daughter of a country doctor, completely coddled and protected by her parents and two older brothers, had been idyllic. She promised herself there and then that she would go home the first weekend she had free and tell them that.
She gazed up at him unblinkingly. “That inner strength is such a part of you, Nikolai. It’s made you who and what you are.”
“And what’s that?” he bit out. “A selfish bastard who doesn’t know how to feel? How to love?”
That did sadden her, but she had known it all along and never deluded herself into thinking that Nikolai would ever fall in love with her.
“Oh, I think certain parts of you know exactly how to feel,” she teased him to conceal that sadness.
He studied her for several long seconds before giving a barely perceptible nod. “If I hurt you, bite me.”
She chuckled softly. “I could just pretend it hurt me and bite you anyway.”
“I think I’d like that—” He broke off as a knock sounded on the bedroom door. “No, no, fucking no!” he muttered desperately.
“I think you’ll have to answer,” she whispered as there was a second knock, accompanied by Gregori calling Nikolai’s name.
“What the fuck do you want?” he answered the other man impatiently.
There was a brief silence before Gregori replied. “I’ll come back later.”
“Much later,” Nikolai snapped, and was answered with silence, the other man obviously having left to return to his own suite.
“Let’s not waste any more time, hm?” Daisy teased. “Seth and Jonas might decide to visit next,” she added as an added spur when she saw Nikolai’s expression of uncertainty.
He bared his teeth in a totally wolfish smile. “Ready?”
“I’ve been ready for— Oh God…!” Daisy groaned, fingers digging into his shoulders as Nikolai thrust gently inside her, the pain so brief as to be negligible as he slowly filled her. “That feels so good, Nikolai. So good. So good. So, so good.” The litany became a breathless chant as his slow and steady thrusts stroked along that knot of nerves inside her.
Her orgasm hit her hard and fast. She barely had time to catch her breath before she was thrown into yet another one. Nikolai’s thrusts
became harder, faster, his jaw clenched, teeth bared, as his cock swelled and he finally gave in to his own climax.
“Wow.”
“Ditto.” Daisy gave a self-conscious chuckle as she snuggled against Nikolai’s shoulder. He had left her very briefly to go to the bathroom and dispose of the condom, coming back to place a soothing cloth between her legs before taking that back to the bathroom too. The two of them were now snuggled on the bed together in the aftermath of their lovemaking.
His arms tightened about her. “When this is over—” He broke off to swear audibly under his breath as another knock sounded on the bedroom door. “If that’s Seth or Jonas…!”
“It’s me again.” Gregori sounded no more happy at this second interruption than Nikolai did. “I thought you should know Petrov will be here within the hour.”
“Fuck,” Nikolai grated fiercely. “Fuck, fuck, fuck!”
How the hell had he managed to forget the danger Boris Petrov represented to there ever being a “when this is over”?
He had forgotten because of Daisy. Because she robbed him of every other thought but her and giving her pleasure when the two of them were together like this. Hell, Petrov could have entered the hotel suite, this bedroom, and personally put a gun to the back of Nikolai’s head, and he doubted he would have noticed until he heard the click of the trigger.
And he would have died a happy man.
Which would be of no fucking use to anyone.
“I’ll be with you in five minutes,” he answered Gregori grimly, not speaking again as he untangled himself from Daisy’s arms and legs before moving to the edge of the bed and standing up, his back toward her as he crossed the bedroom to enter the bathroom and close the door behind him.
Another intimate interlude over, Daisy guessed ruefully as she moved more slowly to sit on the side of the bed, her body aching pleasurably.
Every time the two of them made love, she felt closer to Nikolai, and then that closeness was inevitably ripped away from them as, for one reason or another, he once again became the cold and distant Nikolai Volkov. The lone wolf.
But each time he was a little less cold and a little less distant.
Would there be a next time?
Daisy’s stomach gave a sickening lurch as she remembered Boris Petrov was very shortly going to be here at the hotel. The man who wanted Nikolai dead.
If Nikolai had hoped their lovemaking would have distracted her, then he was going to be disappointed. She had every intention of being present when Boris Petrov arrived.
She made use of Nikolai’s absence by showering in the second bathroom off the lounge area. She had dressed and collected Nikolai’s discarded clothes and put them neatly folded on a chair by the time he emerged from the bathroom wearing only a towel wrapped around his waist. His hair was still damp from the shower, droplets of water visible on his wide shoulders.
Nikolai’s eyes narrowed as he took in the fact Daisy was wearing one of the formal trouser suits and a crisp white blouse, her usual attire when working. The graze on her neck and the fresh dressing on her temple were stark reminders of how close she had come to suffering a fatal wound in the past few days.
His jaw hardened. “You needn’t have bothered to dress, because you aren’t going anywhere,” he informed her tersely as he moved to the wardrobe to take out a suit and shirt.
“Don’t be misled into thinking the intimacy between us now allows you to stop me from doing my job.”
Nikolai turned to face her. “You almost died this morning doing your job.”
“And now I want to see the man responsible for almost having me killed.”
“Not happening.”
Her gaze moved over him, from the dampness of his hair to his naked feet. “I don’t think you’re in any position to stop me.”
“I don’t need to be wearing clothes to stop you,” he assured her mockingly.
“I can’t, I won’t allow it.”
“You are the most stubborn woman—” He broke off in frustration. “The doctor said you need to rest.”
“And I need to see the bastard for myself, to look into the eyes of the man who’s trying to kill you.”
Nikolai had thought long and hard during the ten minutes he stood under the punishing cold spray of the shower, and knew that this—whatever this was between him and Daisy—had to stop.
For all that she was as brave as any warrior, Daisy also had a soft and caring heart. A heart that could so easily be broken if she fell in love with the wrong man.
Nikolai knew, despite their lovemaking, he was the wrong man.
He hadn’t told Daisy everything about his childhood in Moscow, let alone the years since he came to England. He’d done things during those years he couldn’t even begin to expect her to understand, let alone accept.
As for her family…
It was obvious to him that, much as it might irk her at times, Daisy came from a close-knit and protective family. The Redmond family, father and mother, those two protective older brothers, would be horrified at the thought of their beloved Daisy anywhere near a man like Nikolai Volkov. A man who lived in a world of violence on a day-to-day basis.
Which meant that, no matter how much Nikolai might wish it could be otherwise, he had to push her away from him now. Emotionally, if not physically.
“Don’t let your romantic little heart run away with you in regard to what just happened, Daisy.” His top lip curled back derisively. “Taking into account the novelty value, you were a reasonably good fuck. Not the best I’ve ever had, but pretty good. A little more practice and you’ll be better than just good.” He turned away to pull on his boxers and suit trousers.
So that he didn’t give in to the ache he felt to take back those hateful, hurtful words. To tell Daisy that making love with her, each and every time, had been like nothing he had ever known in his life before.
That it had been so much more than just sex.
Than a reasonably good fuck.
There had been tenderness.
Shared laughter.
And mind-shattering pleasure.
All of them things, unfamiliar things, that left Nikolai feeling vulnerable, exposed.
His fingers were shaking as he attempted to fasten the buttons on his formal shirt, Daisy’s silence, following the deliberate cruelty of his dismissal, starting to get to him.
What the hell was she thinking right now? What was she feeling? Did she hate him, as he had intended she should? Did she want to get as far away from him as she possibly could?
Amazing how much it hurt him to think that might be the case.
And how much her silence now was slowly killing something inside him.
So much so that Nikolai couldn’t stand the tension another moment longer and turned to face her.
Only to find she was no longer there.
Which answered all his questions.
Chapter 13
Daisy didn’t so much as glance in Nikolai’s direction as she stood at the back of the sitting room in Gregori’s suite, Seth and Jonas beside her.
The room was crowded, considering two of Nikolai’s own men were also in the room, along with the four men who had accompanied Boris Petrov.
How on earth Gregori and Nikolai thought they were going to persuade the younger man to go outside with them so they could dangle him over the balcony, she had no idea.
Petrov was a much younger man than she had imagined him to be, possibly aged in his late twenties or early thirties. Perhaps that youth was the reason he was having such a problem maintaining his position as the new head of the powerful Orlov family?
No, that couldn’t be it. Gregori was only a few years older, and she doubted there had ever been a moment when he wasn’t in complete control of the Markovic family empire.
A little under six feet tall, Boris Petrov not only lacked Gregori’s height but also his charisma. He certainly lacked that quality in Nikolai that made men wary and caused women to become fascinated b
y the challenge he represented.
Including Daisy.
She knew exactly what Nikolai had been doing in the bedroom earlier when he spoke to her so disparagingly. Knew that she was getting too close, and he had decided to deliberately push her away.
Which hadn’t stopped his words from hurting her anyway.
He had obviously been furious at her abrupt disappearance when he strode into Gregori’s suite a short time ago, glittering silver gaze fixed on her questioningly. Luckily, Gregori had chosen that moment—deliberately?—to distract Nikolai by talking of Petrov’s imminent arrival, the two men then strolling out onto the balcony together for a private discussion.
Quite what plan the two men had decided upon, or if they had just decided to wing it, she had no idea. Neither Seth nor Jonas had any idea either. Which meant the three of them were standing here completely in the dark about what happened next.
She wasn’t quite as surprised as the two men beside her when Gregori announced that, as it was such a nice day, he and Petrov would be eating lunch outside on the balcony. He dismissed Petrov’s protests by pointing out that neither one of them would take any of their men outside with them. That they would talk together “man to man.”
A definite challenge to the young man if ever Daisy had heard one.
Her stomach did give a nervous lurch once Boris had reluctantly agreed to the suggestion. He might be young, but he was also heavily muscled beneath his tailored suit and, more importantly, desperate to prove himself. Of course, there was the added possibility—certainty—he might not leave the hotel alive if anything were to happen to Gregori, but the odds—and bodyguards—were pretty evenly matched in number, meaning the outcome of any confrontation was questionable.
Except Gregori had Nikolai on his side. And Daisy would pick Nikolai as the winner in any sort of fight that might ensue. Fists. Knives. Guns.
Lovemaking.
No matter how much Nikolai might wish to deny it, to her their time together had been magical. A meeting of emotions as well as bodies. Which was no doubt one of the reasons Nikolai was now so determined to push her away. He didn’t do emotions. Not other people’s, and certainly not his own. The gentleness and care he had taken when making love with her earlier was a side of himself he preferred not to feel, let alone show. Because he saw both those things as a weakness not a strength. And Nikolai Volkov didn’t allow himself to have weaknesses.
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