* * *
“Stop it. Your mother is going to think we went to France to grab the bottles of wine she asked you to bring up to the party.”
“Oh, come on, one more kiss. You can’t deny a starved man.”
“Nikolaj, you’ve been eating like a king.” I smile.
“Yeah, but since I agreed we’d stay with my parents for a few days to allow them to get to know you better, I haven’t been able to fuck you,” he says with his signature smile and I’m instantly wet.
“One more kiss and I’m cutting you off,” I concede, unable to say no to him.
“Oh, baby, I can never get enough of your tits.” Nikolaj has his hands deeply lodged between my boobs and he’s squeezing them to the point where I’m seriously considering begging him to take me before we go back upstairs. He’s unbuttoned my black silk shirt to my waist, exposing my lacy black bra, and we’re making out like teenagers in the wine cellar of his parents’ home.
A voice to the side startles us.
“Brother, how long do you expect the guests to wait? Why don’t you take your little girl upstairs to a room? The two of you might be more comfortable.”
Nikolaj’s brother Jakob has entered the room and Nikolaj immediately steps in front of me to hide my partially naked body.
Shit, this is not a good start to meeting his family. I told him to behave.
Most of Nikolaj’s family has been a dream, but his older brother is an asshole. The man is what I call a soul-crusher. He takes pleasure in seeing other people suffer and he likes being the one administering the punishment.
“I’ve got to hand it to you, little brother, you scored big time with your new American beauty. She’s hot and I do understand why it’s so hard to keep your hands off of her. I don’t know what she sees in you… but I guess to each his or her own.”
Although I’ve buttoned up my shirt, I’m still hiding behind Nikolaj to avoid any eye contact with his creep of a brother.
“Jakob, don’t go there. It’s best for your sake to change your tone when talking about Ciara.”
“What are you going to do? Throw your billions around and find someone to scare me or force me to shut up?” Jakob spits those words out with such disdain, I can only imagine his expression.
“You can’t get over the fact I’m far more successful than you’ll ever be and I built my fortune from the ground up. I didn’t leech off Dad’s hard work.”
“No need to get hasty. It’s not as if I’m after your lovely little Ciara.”
“Of course not. You’d prefer to go after the women I’ve dated in the past. Inviting Marna as your date is classic, Jakob.”
Oh, God, this is about to get ugly.
When he speaks her name, Nikolaj grabs my hands to comfort me, knowing it’s a touchy subject.
“It’s been eating at you since lunchtime, hasn’t it? It pisses you off she might have discovered I’m the bigger and better man.”
“I only saw her for a couple of weeks. If you want to fuck her, be my guest.”
I’ve known Nikolaj long enough to sense he’s raging inside at what his brother’s pulled.
“Marna happened to be single when I bumped into her and we hit it off. What’s it to you since you’re into this American siren hiding behind you?”
Idiot. His words piss me off so much I take a step to the right to face this man who spews venom every time he opens his mouth.
“I’m not hiding, Jakob,” I lie.
“Oh, really? You could have fooled me.”
“I don’t know what dirty little game you’re playing, but I’m going to figure it out, Jakob,” Nikolaj says.
“Why are you so worked up, Nikolaj? Were you planning on fucking both women at the same time? Then again, you do have the reputation of a playboy and you’ve never been good at anything long-term. I guess your new girlfriend must be real good for you to react this way,” Jakob says, grabbing his crotch.
Fucking piece of shit.
Nikolaj lowers his jaw to his chest and looks up at Jakob like a bull ready to charge. He grabs my hand before speaking to his brother.
“Dear brother, perhaps fuck off might be too kind,” he hisses between clenched teeth. “You can disrespect Marna as much as you want since she chose to be with you, but the next time you speak about my girlfriend with such disregard, you’ll lose your teeth. Come on, Ciara. Let’s get out of here. Obviously my brother has decided to don his usual asshole suit.”
He drags me to the door leading upstairs and only stops to grab the case of wine his mother asked him to bring to the party. When we get back to the kitchen, he drops off the case with the servers and drags me to the foyer.
“Put on your coat and let’s go for a walk,” he commands without looking at me.
“Honey, it’s cold outside and I’m wearing stockings and heels.”
“Oh, shit. I’m sorry, baby.” It’s as if he’s finally snapped out of his foul mood. “Let’s go inside my father’s office. I want to talk to you about this latest heated discussion you’ve just witnessed.”
“Nikolaj, you’ve already explained who Marna is. I’m fine. I’m fully aware you had a life before me.”
“No, it’s not enough, Ciara. You deserve to understand the dynamic between my brother and I. Come on. It will only be a few minutes, but it will help me deal with things.”
The day had started very early. Mrs. Nicoline Silje von Henningsen had planned a birthday bash to end all birthday bashes for her loving husband Jonas. Nikolaj and I had arrived three days before and it was enough time to allow me to become fast friends with Nicoline. Thankfully, we’ve immediately clicked and I can’t believe how well I get along with Nikolaj’s three sisters—Clara, Katrine, Emma.
I’m grateful Nikolaj warned his mom, sisters and father about my tabloid scandal in order to avoid any drama.
I spent the morning helping the family get the house ready for the festivities. Everything seemed to be going smashingly until Jakob arrived an hour after most guests had arrived, accompanied by a short, stocky blonde woman. When Nikolaj’s big brother waltzed in, we were having a lovely time talking and laughing with Martin, his best friend, but the second Nikolaj caught a glimpse of the couple arriving, his expression immediately changed and his blue gaze turned dark grey as his body tensed at the sight of the mysterious woman. If only looks could kill, we’d be standing at Jakob’s funeral right now. It was only after Nikolaj had greeted all the guests and made sure everyone was enjoying themselves that he revealed the identity of the woman glued to his brother’s side.
“As I shared earlier with you, Marna and I saw each other for only a few weeks right before I made the decision to move to Toronto to focus on the North American market. Her full name is Marna Bylund and she’s Swedish. She’s been living here for about five years now. She wasn’t my type,” Nikolaj blurts out.
“I’m okay, honey,” I say, caressing his cheek in an attempt to calm down his flaring temper over the matter of his ex. “You don’t have to go into all these details.”
“Ciara, you need to know this. Please. I love you and I don’t want to keep anything from you.”
“I love you, Nikolaj. I feel very secure with what we have, but I’m willing to listen.”
He looks so aggravated it’s hard not to see how much this is troubling him. “Marna was one of the directors at the PR company Jakob used to use to handle our events. My brother tried his best to catch her attention, but it took me much less effort to convince her to go out for a drink. Jakob hated my guts for sweeping the blonde from right under his nose.”
“We all have a past. As you know, the men in my life have been colliding lately and it hasn’t always been pretty.”
“Point taken, but Marna is a handful.”
“How so?”
“Once I discovered more of her personality, I wanted to run away from her. I hate helpless women who think I’m a bank machine. She was so needy, I couldn’t stand it.”
My God,
this story is upsetting him more than it is me.
“Jakob has the nasty habit of trying to one-up me. It’s so tacky to introduce her at my father’s birthday party. As if he couldn’t have done it before. He’s such a drama king. Not to mention, he loves coming into a desperate woman’s life and pretending he’s a knight on a crusade to save her. I can see why the two of them would get along so well.”
“Nikolaj, you have to calm down. There’s nothing you can do now. He seems to enjoy her company and she looks at him as if he’s a god.”
“I want you to understand I only saw her for a few weeks.”
“I understand, honey.”
“I don’t like putting you in this situation, baby.”
“There is no situation. I’ve merely said hello to her. She’s keeping her distance and I’d rather sweep the pavement with my tongue than engage in a conversation with your brother—it’s all good.”
“Jakob is a weasel. There’s more to why this woman is here, but I can’t put my finger on it. He’s playing it smooth, but he’s notorious for creating a diversion over here while he strikes over there.” Nikolaj’s gestures only enhance how pissed off he is. Marna hasn’t bothered me at all. She’s a short woman who is quiet and reserved and she seems to take her cues from Jakob. I’m not sure if it’s because she’s in love or he’s such a great lover, but she seems totally taken by him and she has a glow about her I can’t explain. “She looks so different.”
“In what sense?”
“I’m not sure how to word it without sounding gauche, but she looks like she’s put on a lot of weight. My brother is a superficial bastard who has only dated models, starlets and any beautiful woman as long as she was thin and willing to be impressed by his father’s fortune. My father nearly knocked him out after my sister gave birth to her second child. Jakob kept asking Katrine when she’d get back to her pre-baby weight and his constant pestering got her terribly upset.”
“Your brother is a monster.”
“More like an idiot. Seeing Marna reminded me of my sister.”
“Maybe she’s taking medication and it’s causing her to swell up,” I add in an attempt to make sense of things.
“It’s a possibility, I guess.” He frowns, trying to solve an impossible puzzle.
“Come on, your parents are going to think we ditched the party to have sex. Let’s go back,” I say, hugging him.
“Are you sure this is not upsetting you?”
“It’s not. She hasn’t spoken to me and she’s not made any moves on you. Trust me, I see her anywhere near you and the New Yorker in me is coming out all over her,” I say with a menacing look.
“You win. Let’s go back to the party.” He laughs aloud.
Surprisingly, when we join the party, Nikolaj’s sister Emma joyfully announces Jakob has disappeared with his girlfriend in tow. It seems Marna was feeling slightly ill and needed to leave. I can’t say I’m disappointed.
Thank God for small favors. Not having an arrogant prick around will allow me to enjoy the rest of the party and get closer to Nikolaj’s family.
I think Martin must have sensed something is up because the second Emma walks away, he comes over to find out why his best friend looks so pissed off. Once Nikolaj shares the unpleasant interaction, Martin simply smiles.
“Don’t you see what your big brother is doing? He’s trying to upset you on an important day for you—you’re presenting your girlfriend to your family and friends. You’ve never brought a woman to meet your family. Obviously, Ciara is very important to you and a blind man can see how you look at her. It’s not as if Jakob can find a woman of your girlfriend’s caliber, so he digs up Marna knowing it will cause a fight. I can’t believe you walked right into his trap, Nikolaj.”
Once Martin is done calming the gorgeous man standing by my side, he turns his attention to me and grabs both my hands in his. He frowns and looks at me with so much seriousness, I’m apprehensive about what he’s about to share.
“You’re so exquisite you’ve turned my best friend into a monogamous fool and you’ve fueled a long-time rivalry between two brothers who already despise each other. Nikolaj has been right about you all along, Ciara.”
“Oh,” I manage, taken aback by his words.
“You were worth travelling across the planet for,” he adds with a wicked smile. “I’ve never seen this one over there,” he says, pointing at Nikolaj with his chin, “so taken by anyone—or so protective. Bravo, my dear!”
BOOK 5—SINFUL DESIRES
Chapter Seven
We’re both getting ready for Nikolaj’s father’s big company function in his Copenhagen abode. After spending five days at his parents’ massive home, we retreated to Nikolaj’s place because neither of us could go on much longer without ravishing each other.
When I walked into Nikolaj’s home, I immediately had flashbacks of the place he rented in Toronto. His Danish home is as sleek, modern and stylish as the one I visited during the first weekend I met him. The only difference is his four-story waterfront house is a renovated elongated home located in Christianshavn. This compact district across the water from downtown Copenhagen is one of the city’s most charming and exclusive neighborhoods. Although I had an incredible time at his parents’ mansion, I must admit I’m so happy we’ve found refuge here and we can finally give in to our burning passion for each other without risking any faux pas.
Nikolaj had tried his best to corrupt me by begging me to allow him to fuck me at his parents’ place, but we’re both so loud, I knew it was no way of making a good impression. Nikolaj used me as a way out by claiming I had forgotten my dress and shoes for the party at his house and it was easiest for us to stay there instead of making a trip back to the parental home.
“You realize men will lose their minds when they lay eyes on you?”
“Thank you for the compliment. It means a lot to me because I’ve been a bit nervous about tonight.”
“Why would you be nervous, love?”
“Oh, I don’t know. Maybe because it’s a big deal for your family’s business and there will be hundreds of people wondering about the woman hanging from the owner’s youngest son’s arm.”
“You always look delicious, baby.”
I think I must have tried everything in my wardrobe before selecting this showstopper of a dress. I wanted to look great tonight because it’s an important night for him. “Thanks, but I want to make the right impression.”
“Honey, you could be wearing an orange plastic bag and you’d look breathtaking, but this dress is off the charts. The way it hugs your curves and showcases your breasts… wow,” he says, tracing my body with his fingers. “Had I known, I would have hired a bodyguard to stand by your side. I have a feeling I’m going to have to beat men down with a stick.”
“Wow, you like this dress a lot.”
“I like you in the dress.”
Given his reaction, I’m pretty proud of myself for having listened to my instincts on this one. Harley was pushing me to go with something very flashy and way too form-fitting, but I went for elegant and spectacular. This dress makes me feel like a belle on her way to a ball. Everything about it screams amazing—the original smoky bronze color, the embroidered sequins that cover the breasts and cascade down the front of the dress, and the deep inviting V-neck. I’ve paired the magnificent gown with four-inch-high gold strappy sandals, simple drop diamond earrings and, of course, the dazzling diamond bracelet Nikolaj gave me last month when he asked me to be his girlfriend.
“I have an outrageous request,” he says, tracing my face with his finger. “There’s something I want you to do for me, love.”
“What?” I ask.
“Don’t wear any panties tonight,” he begs.
“Are you mad?”
“What? You did it in Barcelona.” There’s glee in his eyes.
“Yes, but this is very different.”
“How so?”
“I didn’t have to impress your f
amily and there was no danger of your family walking in on us. If I walk around panty-less we’ll end up in a closet fucking each other’s brains out. We so can’t go there.”
“Okay, I promise to behave. I won’t do anything inappropriate, but please remove the panties. It will be our dirty little secret,” he suggests with hungry eyes.
I hold his gaze. Can I can trust him to behave like a gentleman or will he pounce on me at the first occasion?
“Okay, you win,” I say, narrowing my eyes and shaking my finger. “But you have to promise not to try anything.”
“Promise,” he says, slapping my ass. “Come on, remove them. I’m watching.” He takes a step back before crossing his arms nonchalantly over his chest and pretending to whistle.
I bend over and grab hold of my evening dress and slowly drag it up my body. I’m about to pull down my panties when he stops me.
“Allow me,” he says as he strides towards me. “You look more beautiful tonight than I’ve ever seen you, Ciara,” he says, kissing my legs.
“Nikolaj, please don’t start. I have to look presentable when I walk through the doors of the party tonight,” I plead. “If you fuck me now, I’ll look like a hot mess.” I smile. I’m as turned on as he is and I’m in desperate need of his cock, but not at the risk of me looking like a woman who’s just been fucked.
“I’m not doing anything wrong. I’m merely kissing your thighs,” he says, yanking down my matching bronze lace panties.
“Ah.” My juices slide down my legs as he pushes my panties to the floor.
“Step out,” he commands and I balance myself on his shoulder in order not to lose my footing in these high heels.
He’s inches away from my hungry pussy and he’s blowing warm kisses. Bastard, he’s torturing me. “You’re not playing fair.”
“I wouldn’t dream of putting you in a compromising position, but when we get back to my place, you’re going to get it since we haven’t been able to do much in the past five days,” he says, sliding a finger into my wetness.
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