Then she peeked over her shoulder and smiled coyly. “You’re in my shot, pretty boy.”
Grin widening, I stepped to the left and out of her way. She snapped several pictures and did some more clicking on her phone. Finally, she handed the phone to me with a triumphant smile.
“There you go,” she said. “Apply some artsy-looking filters and the right hashtags and you’ve got a following.”
Curiosity piqued, I took the phone and was amazed at the image she created. I didn’t care for social media, so I didn’t know dick about filters or whatever the hell she was talking about, but this looked professional. She was smiling brightly in the photo, glass in hand with the Saluzzo Reserve logo facing the camera. I realized she wanted me to move to the left because I’d been standing in front of the giant Brooklyn Armor House sign hanging on the rock wall behind me, right in the center of the bar.
I was speechless.
“With a place like this,” she went on, glancing around the room, “in a city like this, social media is key. Love it or hate it, it’s the fastest way to spread the word these days. If you want that label to sell, get some people Instagramming and tweeting the hell out of it.”
Slapping her phone down on the bar, I hauled myself over it and onto her side. She squeaked adorably when I was suddenly right in front of her.
“Gorgeous and a fucking genius.” I stepped between the legs she opened just for me. “What the hell am I supposed to do with that?”
She hummed in consideration. “Fuck me on top of your sparkly new bar?”
I braced my hands on the bar, trapping her between my arms, shirt sleeves rolled up to my forearms. “How about on my sparkly new barstool?”
This time, she squealed with laughter as I picked her up, spun us around, and traded her places on the stool. She sat right on top of my steel rod dick, legs straddling, pussy inviting.
“Ready to take this baby for a spin, legs?”
Arousal inundated my body.
Feeling Nico’s mighty erection connect with my femininity sent liquid heat cascading over me like a waterfall. The moment was heady with anticipation. The air between our bodies snapped, crackled, and popped with urgent, impatient desire. It had been that way ever since he’d finally thrust inside me the night before. Nico was impatient when it came to slaking his lusts, and I hadn’t been faring much better.
I’d only made it worse by sleeping in my own bed after we’d returned home from the strip club. When he’d started dragging me off to his room, I’d panicked.
“I think we should take this slow,” I’d insisted as we’d stood outside our bedrooms.
He’d gaped at me in disbelief. “We’re already married. I’m not sure slow is even an option at this point.”
“You know what I mean. We might technically be married and living with each other, but this doesn’t have to be different than any other dating situation.”
His face had hardened, as if he hadn’t liked the comparison between him and others at all. “It is different than other situations. We’re different.”
I’d placed a light kiss on his lips, pulling back before he could take it deeper and change my mind. “Still. Let’s not move too fast, okay? Humor me.”
He’d released a heavy sigh. “Fine. So, we’re like, dating now?”
I’d been relieved when I hadn’t detected any fear or disgust in his voice. Again, just impatience.
“We don’t have to call it anything. Let’s just do what we’ve been doing—”
“Except I get to have you whenever I want now,” he’d cut in firmly. Vehemently.
“Yes. With the addition of that.”
“What if I want you now?”
“Then I ought to get it extra rough tomorrow.” I’d left him with one final kiss that was full of promise.
“Remember what I said to you last night?” I asked him as my mind drifted back to the present.
His pupils dilated. “You want it rough, legs?”
Biting my lower lip, I nodded.
“Show me where you want it rough, then.”
Adjusting my position on his lap, I spread my legs wider and lifted my dress. I was infinitely glad I’d opted for my knee-high socks rather than wool tights, as this allowed for much easier access. His hands went to my thighs to keep the dress hiked up, giving him a better view. He leaned back against the bar, jaw slackening as I nudged my panties out of the way and ran my finger along my opening.
“Is that where I go?” he murmured, attention focused on where I played with myself. As if he couldn’t stop himself, his thumb snaked out to help me rub my throbbing clit. “So tiny.”
My forehead bumped against his on a moan as he expertly worked me over. “Nico. Right there.”
His groan was pure masculine satisfaction. “Yeah, your man knows right where.”
My heart did a few cartwheels at his willingness to call himself mine. His eagerness. He was admitting he was just as desperate for this pleasure as I was. Already, I could see my climax on the horizon.
His index and middle fingers petted the small landing strip of light blond hair in the center of my mound. “Never get rid of this,” he growled.
When his thumb started moving more vigorously, my hips rocked in tandem. He shoved my chunky cardigan off my shoulder, and ripped the dress’s bodice down to reveal my lacy bra. Pulling my breast free of the cup, he took my nipple into his mouth. For a moment, he put all his concentration into sucking on it, like he was making love to it. The patience he displayed to give it such attention surprised me.
Then I understood his plan.
Clever man.
Now, I was the impatient one.
“You don’t have security cameras in here, do you?”
I opened his trousers and pulled out his length. It was so smooth and thick in my hands. Perfectly formed.
“They’re not turned on.” He wiggled his hips and helped me shove his pants down his thighs. “You think I’d ever allow anyone to see you like this? It annoys the fuck out of me that all those photos from your modeling days are still plastered all over the internet. Any man in the world has the ability to ogle my woman’s body. You have no idea how insane that drives me.”
I scrutinized his face. “Are you shaming me for how I made a living back then?”
He pulled out a condom and sheathed himself. “I don’t like other men staring at your legs in a short dress, let alone a Brazilian-cut bikini. It’s a man thing, not a controlling asshole thing.”
Satisfied with his sincere answer, I rose up and slid down onto him. His fingers curled into my hips, head tipping back, as he bottomed out inside me.
“Jesus Christ,” he breathed. “That’s my new happy place.”
Laughter slipped from my mouth as I tried to get a rhythm going, but our position was making it difficult to get enough friction into the mix. “Where was your happy place before?”
“The bottom of a whiskey bottle.”
My movements faltered as that familiar self-deprecating tone crept back into his voice. “This is sure to be much better for your health.”
He gnashed his teeth, his eyes squeezing shut. “You would think so. But my balls feel like they’re about to explode. That can’t be good for me.”
“Fortunately, I have the cure for what ails you.”
“Pretty sure I could be lying dead in a gutter and the magic of your body would bring me right back to life.”
I tried to prop my feet onto the bar, seeking more leverage, and groaned in frustration when it eluded me. As always, though, he was ridiculously in tune with my body’s needs. In the blink of an eye, he was on his feet behind me and bending me over the stool. Pushing my dress up to my waist, he plunged back inside me so hard it scooted the stool forward several inches.
“That better?” he growled. “My girl’s pussy just needed more to choke on, huh? Is this enough for you?”
My head dropped. “More.”
He chuckled darkly. “Whatever my
wife wants, my wife gets.”
With his hand clutching my shoulder, he pounded into me. The slapping of our bare skin was the only sound in the room, other than our harsh breaths. I felt my eyes water at the intensity of how deep I felt him inside. Just when I thought I couldn’t stand any more sensation, he reached around and put pressure on my clit.
The heat of his body pressed against my back. “Go insane for me, legs. Scream the fucking house down. Come until you’ve got nothing left.”
He commanded, my body obeyed.
My inner walls clamped down on him as I careened into ecstasy. I screamed his name, I screamed unintelligible words, I screamed until I was so hoarse my throat burned.
“Keep squeezing me just like that!” he bellowed. “Fuck!”
His hips relentlessly slammed forward until he achieved his release with a thunderous roar that I was surprised didn’t make the windows shake. “Lexi.”
All the energy in my legs drained out as his presence left me, leaving me to slump over the stool as I fought to catch my breath. When he returned, he lifted me into his arms and sat back down on the stool with me straddling him as before. I was so relaxed that I laid my head on his shoulder, feeling seconds away from sleep.
“I meant to talk to you about that, by the way,” he rasped, gently stroking my spine.
“Hmm?”
“The lack of a condom last night.”
I’d briefly considered it only after he’d pulled out of me in that darkened hallway. But I’d been so lost to the overwhelming moment that I’d brushed it off. It had been irresponsible of us, but I hadn’t wanted to ruin anything by freaking out.
I yawned. “I’m on birth control.”
Although I needed to find a doctor here and refill my prescription. I’d missed a day or two of taking my pill between leaving Moscow and arriving in Brooklyn. But that was the only time it had ever happened. And counting the days in my head—
“I’m pretty sure it’s not the right time anyway. We should be good.”
Oddly, the prospect of having Nico’s child didn’t send me into a crippling panic. That wasn’t to say I was ready to become a mother because I certainly wasn’t. But carrying Nico’s baby didn’t sound like the worst thing in the world.
In fact, it felt disturbingly…comfortable.
I evicted those thoughts from my mind. They were dangerous and impractical.
I wasn’t pregnant, and such a thing with Nico would never happen anyway. This marriage was temporary, not forever. Besides, it was clear he still wanted to avoid all aspects of permanence at all costs.
Which sucked.
Because I was pretty sure I was falling in love with the guy.
I adjusted my tuxedo one last time before the music changed and everyone rose to their feet for Jasmine’s entrance. I heard Cris’s breath hitch from his position beside me as he got his first glimpse of his bride.
And as beautiful as Jasmine was, she still wasn’t the most stunning woman at this wedding.
That honor belonged to my wife.
That word had been flying off my tongue more fluidly and less flippantly lately. I dared to say I was starting to really like the idea of being married to Lexi. I relished being able to say that she was off the market. Off-limits.
That she was taken—by me.
She sat in the second row of white chairs in my parents’ backyard, smiling ecstatically as she watched Jasmine walk down the aisle. Once Jasmine’s father gave her away to Cris, I caught Lexi’s eye.
She blew me an air kiss.
I winked back.
Jesus. It was like high school.
Only, I’d never done anything like this in high school. I’d never had a girlfriend, though not for the girls’ lack of trying. I’d just been too busy screwing them in the back of cars and on sofas right before their parents unexpectedly walked through the door. I was the boy mothers warned their daughters to stay away from and fathers threatened.
Now, I was making kissy faces at my wife like we were in homeroom.
I might as well pass her a note with a heart on it in the middle of this ceremony.
In a floor-length teal dress that made her ocean eyes pop, she stood out among the small gathering of wedding guests. Her blond hair was pulled up off her shoulders, one large hunk of it braided back. Her sleeves were long and see-through, the V-cut in the front was low, and the waist was high. She looked like some modern version of a Shakespearean maiden. All that was missing were flower blooms in her hair.
Since Cris wanted to keep the impromptu wedding lowkey, there was no better place to do it than Mom and Dad’s backyard. Thanks to Mom’s affinity for gardening, the entire space was a lush oasis, smack dab in the middle of Brooklyn. Cris, Jasmine, and the priest stood on a small walkway over the tiny pond that was glowing with floating lanterns. Luka, Rome, Ace, Kade, and myself stood to one side of the altar, while Sam, Roxy, Gia, and Giselle stood on the opposite side.
Canceling the big wedding had been the right call.
I’d never seen Jasmine glow like she had when she’d entered the backyard with her father. It was like the weight of the world had suddenly been lifted from her shoulders. Of course, Mom couldn’t have been happier either, getting everything ready for the occasion. Even if there were only about two dozen guests in attendance, she might as well have been hosting three hundred people for as frantically as she’d been scrambling around trying to make everything perfect.
As Cris and Jasmine recited the vows they’d written to each other, I recalled the vows Lexi and I had repeated to each other on the day of our wedding. Remembering how alarmed and horrified she’d looked in front of the priest, I felt a sharp pain in my chest. I’d done a better job of concealing my inner panic as I’d spoken my vows to her. I’d been losing my shit on the inside, but I hadn’t been about to let her know that.
Even if those vows hadn’t been said out of love, I was a man of my word. I’d made a promise to Sergei, and by extension, to Lexi. That day, I not only swore to protect her from harm, but to faithfully honor our agreement until the deal I’d made with Sergei was fulfilled.
Now, those vows took on a whole new meaning as I stared at my wife.
I take you as my wife, to be with you always.
I guess that was a partial lie. There had never been any expectation of forever. In fact, we’d both been hoping it would come to an end as soon as humanly possible.
Fast forward to today, I honestly couldn’t imagine giving Lexi up. Not without driving my fist into something hard. I knew the day would eventually come when we’d have to say goodbye to each other, but I couldn’t even process how that would go. Couldn’t wrap my brain around what my life would look like once she was no longer in it.
Exactly how it looked before she entered it.
In other words, empty and depressing.
In a remarkably short time, she’d filled it with life again and colored in all the muted black and white. She made me smile—really smile. Not the cocky, practiced ones I reserved for everyone else. She made me laugh with the adorable way she always messed up a saying or phrase. And that fiery haughtiness of hers had called out to me from the first words she’d ever uttered in my presence.
Wife or no wife, the way I was feeling right then, I didn’t care what she called herself as long as she stayed mine.
The rest of the vows flitted through my mind.
In wealth and in poverty.
In disease and in health.
In happiness and in grief.
From this day until death separates us.
Those last two lines really hit home.
I wanted—needed—to make Lexi happy. I used to think I wasn’t capable of that feat, but that had changed over the last few days. I was no prince, but no other man on the planet would ever be more determined to please this woman than I was. I’d catalogued every time I’d impressed her, every laugh I’d wrung from her, every contented sigh I’d been rewarded with. I’d stored all of those
moments away in my memory bank, so I could mimic those behaviors over and over again. I’d do it on a daily basis.
As long as she was happy, I’d be happy. I knew that with absolute certainty.
And God forbid anyone try to take her from me.
I didn’t know what the hell I was going to do when Sergei came calling. I was still working on how I was going to handle it the day he showed up to steal her back. I guess I’d just have to be straightforward and tell him.
There was no way in fuck I was annulling this marriage.
No one—not even death—was going to separate us.
I’d decimate any danger to her. I’d remove any threat. I’d murder in cold blood if it meant nothing evil ever touched her again. No one else would do a better job of protecting her, not even her own father. He might have wanted to keep her safe, but I needed to.
Shit.
Did all of this mean that I loved her?
As emotionally stunted as I was, I honestly didn’t know. Maybe?
I knew I was possessive as hell, so there was that. I definitely liked her, was in deep, deep lust with her. I very well could have been on the path to love, but I didn’t exactly know what that felt like. What it looked like? Sure. My parents, Cris and Jasmine, Ace and Roxy, Kade and Sam…that was all true love. I’d seen it from out an outsider’s perspective but never behind-the-scenes.
Either way, I wasn’t letting Lexi out of my sight until I figured it out.
I broke away from a conversation with Jasmine’s parents to shake Kade’s hand. We hadn’t had much time to catch up the other night at the bachelor party. Especially after I’d heard the words “male strip club” and “girls went to” in the same sentence.
“Good to see you again, man,” I told him, taking a pull of my drink.
I’d gifted Cris one of the most expensive bottles from my “booze bunker,” as Lexi so lovingly called it, which also happened to be one of his favorites. I only pulled out the Pappy Van Winkle Family Reserve bourbon on special occasions.
Booze and Bullets (Brooklyn Brothers #3) Page 23