Born into Sin: An Age Gap Dark Mafia Romance (Devils Will Rise: Melnikov Legacy Book 1)

9. Dominic

Ilook down at Natalya’s post-orgasm face—flushed cheeks, glassy eyes, messy hair—fully aware that this isn’t going at all how I’d planned. I’d thought I could control myself around her, that I could keep her here, safe and untouched, but I’d been so fucking wrong, because I can’t keep my damn hands off her. She feels like she’s mine, and every instinct I have is telling me to grab onto her and never let go.

I’d shoved my cum into her for fuck’s sake, and I’d very nearly fucked her, taking her virginity on my desk like a goddamn animal.

“Dominic, I need to talk to you!”

I groan at the loud string of Italian Alessandro is yelling at me through the door. Cupping Natalya’s face, I kiss her one last time. I’m completely addicted to her taste. Her tongue, her pussy, her skin—I can’t get enough of her, and I want it all for myself.

“I’m sorry. I have to let him in. He might have some news.”

“I understand,” she whispers, looking up at me with the warmest expression on her beautiful face. No one looks at me the way she does, so open and trusting and guileless. Her innocence draws me to her, and it’s not just that she’s a virgin, although I’d be lying if I said I didn’t fucking love the fact that I’m the only man to ever touch her, it’s more than that. It’s a natural sweetness that I’ve never found in anyone else, and I crave it like my next breath of air.

Pulling back, I tuck my cock back in my pants and straighten my shirt. Natalya quickly puts her panties back on and goes to sit in one of the leather chairs in front of my desk right before I tell Sandro he can come in. The door opens a second later. He walks in, looking irritated at having to wait in the hall, but as soon as he sees Natalya, his mouth lifts in a grin and he shoots me a very amused look.

“Natalya, this is my cousin Alessandro, but we all call him Sandro. He and his brother, Dario, came back with me from Italy to help me run things.”

She stands and gives him a smile, holding her hand out so they can shake. “It’s nice to meet you.”

Sandro’s grin widens. “It’s very nice to meet you too.” His eyes take in the messy desk and the files and paperweight that I’d forgotten to pick up. “I hope I’m not interrupting anything.”

Natalya’s cheeks turn a deeper shade of red, and as adorable as she is when she’s embarrassed, I quickly come to her rescue and tell my cousin, “Of course not. Did you have something to tell me, or did you just decide to knock on my door for no reason?” When he hesitates, I say in Italian, “Sandro, spit it out and then get the fuck out.”

He laughs and looks between the two of us. Sticking with Italian, he says, “You sure this is a good idea, boss? She’s a Melnikov.” He gives another small laugh. “And really fucking young.”

“I didn’t bring you over here for relationship advice. Now tell me what the fuck is going on.”

The amused glint stays in his eyes, but he finally starts talking. “Dario and a few men caught a lead. They’re looking into it now, but he’s pretty confident they’re going to have someone to question soon.”

“Why the fuck didn’t anyone tell me?”

Natalya jumps at the sound of my angry Italian, but I give her a quick smile that Sandro doesn’t miss to let her know everything’s okay.

He lets out another soft laugh. “I texted you several times. Seems you were distracted and missed it.”

Fuck.

I grab my phone from the desk and see all the messages I’d missed. I’d been so focused on Natalya’s sweet pussy that I hadn’t even heard them come in. Now more than ever, I need to get my focus back where it should be. If something happens to her because I’m not doing my job properly, I’ll never forgive myself.

“I want to know as soon as you hear anything. Do you know where Dario is at?”

“He’s on our side of the city, and no one’s said a word to anyone else.”

I know he’s telling me that the Russians don’t know yet, so I give him a nod and say, “Let’s keep it that way for now. I want to see what we’re dealing with first.”

The Alessi family has a good working relationship with the Bratva, but that doesn’t mean I tell them every damn detail. I run my mafia how I want to, and I don’t want them involved in this until I know for sure what we’re dealing with. Plus, I know that if I were to mention it, all the Melnikov brothers would be over here, insisting they get to question him first, and I can’t have that. I want to see this fucker first.

Sandro nods his agreement and then gives Natalya another smile before walking out and shutting the door behind him. With a sigh, I scoop her into my arms and take the seat she was just sitting in. She nestles up against me, her small body fitting perfectly in my lap. Her head rests on my shoulder while her fingers softly play with the back of my hair. I’ve gone my entire life keeping women at arm’s length and being perfectly fine with it, but there’s something about Natalya that makes it impossible for me to keep any distance between us. When I see her, I want to touch her. When she’s close to me, I can’t keep my goddamn hands off her.

“What did he say?”

I kiss her forehead and run my fingers through her long, dark hair. “Nothing that you need to worry about.”

She blows out a heavy breath against my neck. “So it’s going to be like that?”

I smile at her tone. “Like what?”

“Like you not telling me what’s going on and keeping secrets from me. My dad and uncles do the same thing, and I hate it.”

“Do you think maybe they do it to keep you safe?”

“I know that’s why they do it, but I still hate it. How am I supposed to keep myself safe if I don’t know what in the hell is going on?”

“I’ll make you a deal, principessa. I’ll always tell you as much as I safely can. How about that?”

“So what can you tell me now?”

My fingers keep working through her hair while my other hand rests on her thigh with my thumb lightly stroking her soft, bare skin. “Dario and some of my men are following up on a lead, and it’s possible we might be able to question someone soon.”

At first I think she’s going to demand more information, information that I’m not willing to give, but instead she leans closer and presses her lips to my neck, giving me a soft kiss before whispering, “Thank you, Dominic.”

Jesus, she has no idea the power she has over me. One look from her, one whispered plea, one touch of her lips against my skin, and I fucking melt.

“I never expected to feel this way about anyone,” I admit.

She lifts her head, studying me with her blue eyes. “Feel what exactly?”

I drag a finger along her jaw, taking in the sight of her, memorizing every detail so I’ll never forget it.

“Like I’ll never be able to let you go.”

Her beautiful mouth lifts into a stunning grin, and I can’t help but return it.

“You just had to be Lev’s daughter, though, didn’t you? Jesus Christ.”

She laughs at the exaggerated groan I give and cups my face so she can run her fingers through my light beard, something I’ve noticed she loves to do. “Is it true my dad shot you the first day he met you?”

My shoulder aches at the memory. The bullet had done a lot of damage, and it had taken months of physical therapy to get myself back to where I wanted to be. I’d been so fucking pissed at him.

“It’s true. Your dad and Danil thought I was trying to take Simona, but then they found out that I wanted the same thing they did—to find the bastards who were running the sex-trafficking ring. Long story short, we started working together.” I give a small shrug. “They’ve grown on me over the years.”

“Why did you want to find them?”

I raise a brow at her. “They didn’t tell you?”

“They don’t tell me anything. I thought we’d already established that.”

I can’t help but smile at her tone. She keeps stroking my cheek while she says, “I know my Aunt Alina was taken and that it nearly killed my Uncle Matvey. I know my dad and uncles spent two years searching for her, and I know whatever happened was really terrible. She has a phoenix tattoo on her wrist, and it’s covering some deep scars, kind of like how my Uncle Matvey’s tattoos cover his burn marks, but I don’t know where hers came from. When I ask her, she just smiles and says it’s a reminder that our pain doesn’t have to define us and that beauty can still come from the ashes.”

Her hand stills as her eyes meet mine. “What does all that have to do with you?”

If anyone else were asking, I’d tell them to fuck off, but this is Natalya, the woman I’ve already fallen so fucking hard for, and I can’t deny her anything, including the truth, even if that means breaking my heart to give it to her.

“I had an older sister. Her name was Isabella, and I loved her very much. She was kidnapped while on vacation in Italy, and then her beaten body was found in the North Sea.”

She brings her other hand to my cheek, cupping my face so gently while bringing her forehead to mine. “I’m so sorry, Dominic. I had no idea.”

“You remind me of her a little bit. You share her stubbornness and refusal to listen to me.”

Natalya gives a soft laugh, and she’s so close I can feel the heat of it against my lips.

“What happened? Did you find the man who took her?”

“Danil found him for me.”

She hesitates before whispering, “What did you do?”

Gently fisting the back of her hair, I pull her back so she can see my face. “I killed him very slowly, principessa, because that’s the kind of man I am. He killed someone I loved, and I made sure he regretted that before he took his last breath, just like I’m going to make the man who shot at you pay for what he tried to do. Someone hurt you, and they will die a painful death for it. It’s as simple as that.”

I want her to see the truth of what I’m saying. I need her to know the kind of man I am, because if she wants to run screaming from me, now’s the fucking time.

“No one hurts what’s mine, principessa.”

Instead of jumping off my lap and running away in horror, she gives me the sexiest smile, reminding me whose daughter she is when she leans in closer and gives my bottom lip a soft suck before whispering against my mouth, “What’s yours, huh?”

“Yes, what’s mine.” I run my tongue along her top lip, the one I’ll never be able to get enough of and say, “I don’t know how in the hell I’m going to keep you, but I’m going to find a way.”

“You better,” she whispers back.

“Your dad’s going to try to shoot me again.”

I say it as a joke, but we both know it’s true. Lev is not going to take this news lightly. He’s going to want to kill me, and I can’t say I blame him. If he knew half the things I want to do to his sweet daughter, he’d make sure the next time he shoots me is a headshot.

“I’ll stand in front of you. You’re not the only one who protects what’s theirs.”

Her words shock the hell out of me. She’s crazy if she ever thinks there will come a day when I will allow her to put herself in danger for me, but I can tell she’s deadly serious. She’d park her tiny five-foot-nothing body right in front of me and risk her life for mine, not because she’s forced to, but because she wants to. It’s the kind of sacrifice that most aren’t willing to make, but I know she means it.

“You are never to put yourself in danger for me, principessa. Never.” I tighten my grip on her hair and kiss her softly. “But it’s so goddamn sweet that you want to.”

I feel her smile against my lips as one of her hands runs up my forearm. Looking down, she gently traces the octopus that covers a large part of my inner arm, like she instinctively knows there’s something personal about this one, something that goes deeper than the rest of the art that covers me.

Her finger traces one long tentacle. “What made you decide to get this?”

“Isabella loved the sea. She always talked about how she wanted to be a marine biologist, but because of who her family is, she never had the freedom to pursue her dreams. Octopuses were her favorite. She was always telling me about how intelligent they are. I got this tattoo after her death. It helps me to remember the happier times I had with her instead of the rage that I still feel every time I think about how she was taken from us.”

“It’s very beautiful.” She lifts her face so our eyes meet again. “I’m so sorry for what happened to her.”

“Her death hurt like nothing else ever has, and I was lost to my pain for a very long time, but I’m slowly learning how to be happy again.” I pull her closer and kiss her again. “I’m happy when I’m with you, principessa.”

Her smile lights up her whole face. “I’m happy when I’m with you, too.”

I’m just about to kiss her again when my phone buzzes. Knowing what’s going on with Dario, there’s no way I can ignore it. I give her one quick kiss anyway before I read the message.

Got him. We’ll be there in five minutes.

Natalya feels my body tense and her first instinct is to cup the back of my neck and ask, “Are you okay?”

The tension leaves her face when she sees me smile. “Everything’s fine. Stop worrying about me, principessa. That’s my job, not yours. I do need to take care of something, though.” I kiss her again, needing to taste her once more, and she softens against me, kissing me back with a hunger that surprises me. She’d come hard, I’d made sure of that, but it’s obvious she’s not even close to being satisfied. It hurts my pride to leave her like this, but there’s no way in hell I can resist questioning the man they’re bringing me. I want to know who’s behind this and why they’re targeting Natalya. I want a fucking name, and when I get my hands on that fucker, I’m going to make sure he knows that he made the biggest mistake of his life when he put a target on my girl’s head.

Giving her tongue one last suck, I pull back and groan at how swollen her lips are, the top one even more plump than usual.

“God, you have the sexiest mouth I’ve ever seen.” I run my thumb over it, wishing she was on her knees again. “I’ll be as quick as I can, but this might take a while. Why don’t you call your dad back, and then maybe you can visit with Lucia in the kitchen? I know she’d love the company. She’ll also make sure you get some lunch.”

“I can’t stay with you?”

“No, sweetheart, not for this.”

She nods, but I can tell she doesn’t like to be excluded. There’s no way she can be involved in this part of my life, though. It’s not safe for her, and I’ll never do anything that puts her life at risk, so with a heavy sigh, I lift her sweet ass off my lap and set her down. She watches me stand, eyeing the erection that’s pressing against my pants with a hungry look in her eyes. I give her a wink and readjust myself.

I cup her face and kiss her forehead. “I’ll come and find you as soon as I’m done.”

“Okay.”

Forcing myself to let her go, I leave my office and head down the hall. I have a room set up in the basement for situations like this, and I know that’s where Dario is going to bring him. Sandro meets up with me by the basement door and gives another small laugh.

“You ready?”

“Of course,” I tell him. “Let’s get some fucking answers.”

He opens the door, letting me go first, and I take the stairs quickly, eager to get my answers. The basement is nice. It’s not some damp, concrete room like in a horror movie. It’s actually too nice. The plush carpet and cozy, leather furniture didn’t lend itself to interrogation. Lucia was sick of getting blood stains out of the carpet, and there wasn’t anything to muffle their screams except the door at the top of the stairs. I’d had to get creative and transform one of the rooms into something more appropriate. The carpet was ripped out, and soundproof padding was added to help block out the noise.

That’s the room I’m headed towards when the door opens and I hear a man yelling in Russian. Dario steps out, shutting it behind him, muffling the screams as he gives an annoyed sigh.

“He won’t shut the fuck up, and I’m pretty sure he doesn’t speak a goddamn word of English.”

“Fuck,” I mutter, scrubbing a hand over my jaw. I don’t want to bring the Melnikov brothers into this yet. I’m not ready to hand everything over. I’m not ready to hand Natalya over. “I’m sure with enough motivation, he’ll remember his English.”

I’m all set to carve this fucker up, forcing him to remember the English he learned all the way back in grammar school when Sandro says in Italian, “Your girl is curious, Dominic.”

I look over my shoulder, seeing a flash of pink dress before she disappears around the corner. This is not what we agreed on when I left her in my office, nice and safe and far away from the dangerous Russian who may have very recently tried to kill her.

“Principessa,” I holler out to her, letting her hear the displeasure in my voice. I’m not a man who likes to be disobeyed, and the fact that she’s the one who’s done it is the only thing that’s keeping my temper in check. I round the corner and catch her right as she’s about to bolt back up the stairs. Hooking an arm around her waist, I pull her back against me.

“This isn’t what we agreed on,” I remind her in case she’s forgotten the conversation we had less than five minutes ago.

“I’m sorry. I was curious, and then I heard him yell that he was going to kill you all.”

“So you heard that and thought getting closer was the smartest option?”

She turns her head so she can glare up at me. I still have her in a tight grip, and the fire in her eyes is quickly making me hard again.

“I thought I could help, and I can help, Dominic.”

“No, you can’t, and I don’t want you anywhere near him. It’s not safe.”

“So I suppose you’ve learned Russian since the last time I saw you?”

I raise a brow at her sarcasm.

“Yeah, I didn’t think so. Let me translate for you. I can help.”

“He might be the man who tried to kill you, and he doesn’t know you’re here, and I’m damn well going to keep it that way. He doesn’t get to look at you, principessa. I know what I’ll see in his eyes if he does, and then I’m going to end up killing him, and if I do that, then I can’t question him.”

She wiggles around so we’re chest to chest, and instead of being intimidated by the anger that’s radiating off me, she reaches her hands up and cups my face so she can pull me closer. Smiling, she gives me a soft kiss.

“Then blindfold him.”

I laugh at the easygoing way she says it, like it’s a no-brainer and something I probably should’ve already thought of.

“He’ll hear your voice when you translate,” I remind her, “and I don’t want him to know you’re here. I’m pretty confident this man will never see the light of day again, but what if he does? It might be a one-in-a-million chance, but it’s still a chance I’m not willing to take, not with your life, not fucking ever.”

Pulling me even closer, she turns her head and brings her lips to my ear. “Then I’ll whisper so only you can hear me. Please, Dominic. Let me help you.”

When I hesitate, she brushes a soft kiss against the shell of my ear, and I swear I feel her smile when she hears me let out a resigned sigh.

I give her ass a soft smack. “You’re not very good at obeying rules, are you, principessa?”

She shrugs and pulls back with a smile. “It depends on if I agree with the rule.”

“Jesus, you’re going to have a very sore ass, sweetheart.” Her eyes widen at my words, but before she can say anything, I holler out to Dario in Italian. “Blindfold him!”

I ignore the soft laugh Sandro gives and wait for Dario to tell me it’s done. When he does, I cup Natalya’s face so she can see how serious I am.

“Not a word. Do you understand? You will stay with me, and if at anytime I feel like it’s not safe for you to be there, I’m going to have one of my men take you from the room. I don’t care if you kick and scream the whole goddamn way.”

“I understand,” she whispers. “I agree, so you don’t have to worry about me disobeying you.”

“How fortunate for me. I’m so happy you agree, Natalya.”

This time she’s the one lifting a brow at my sarcasm. I pick her up because I’m not about to spend the next hour hunched over so she can reach my ear. She wraps her arms and legs around me while I rest an arm under her ass, keeping her dress tucked in so no one else gets a view of her. No one sees this body but me.

When we pass Sandro, I give him a look that screams Don’t you dare say a fucking word. He smiles and nods at Natalya. She gives him a small wave but remembers to not say anything because the door ahead is open, and apparently because she agrees with me, she’s going to listen. How the hell I’ve started taking orders from an eighteen-year-old, I’ll never know, but I carry her ass into the room to where the blindfolded Russian is waiting for us. He’s sitting in a black, metal folding chair with his hands tied behind his back. Dark tattoos cover his arms and neck, and the T-shirt that’s straining against his chest makes it clear he keeps himself in shape. He might be low-level, but he takes his job seriously. Whether or not he’s serious enough to endure torture for his Bratva remains to be seen.

He hears us walk in and turns his head at the noise, no doubt trying to picture what’s going on in his mind and trying like hell to figure a way out of the mess he’s landed himself in. Looking over at Dario and Sandro, I give them a nod and they immediately walk to stand on either side of the man. I see his body stiffen when he hears their footsteps draw near. He says something in Russian, and Natalya presses her mouth to my ear.

“He said you fucking Italians are going to die for interfering in Bratva business.”

I ignore his threat and ask him in English, “Do you speak English?” When he doesn’t answer, I switch to Italian and ask if he understands that. He makes no attempt to answer and shows no signs of having understood anything.

When he hisses out another long string of Russian, Natalya says, “He’s saying that he doesn’t understand a word you’re saying and that you can kiss his ass.” She presses a soft kiss to my ear. “I’m going to speak very slowly, and I need you to repeat after me.”

I cup the back of her head and whisper in her ear, “What are you doing?”

She whispers back, “We’re going to get some information from him,” and the heat of her breath hitting the shell of my ear sends a shiver down my spine. This side of her shouldn’t turn me on as much as it is. I like that she snuck out and came looking for me, not that I’ll ever tell her disobedient ass that, but I like her courage, her fearless attitude when it involves me. It scares me that she’ll put herself in danger one day, but I can’t help but get turned on by it, too.

When I give a soft nod, she very slowly whispers words to me in Russian that I do my best to imitate. They don’t sound near as good coming out of my mouth as they do hers, but the man jerks his head up, surprised but obviously understanding me.

“You just asked him what Bratva he works for,” Natalya explains.

I give her ass a soft pat to let her know I appreciate her help, and I feel her smile against my cheek.

When the man answers, she whispers, “He just told you to fuck off and then insulted your mom.”

I bring my mouth to her ear. “Things are about to get loud and unpleasant. Are you sure you want to stay?”

“Yes,” she quickly whispers back. “I want to help.”

“Don’t turn around, principessa,” I tell her before looking at my cousins and telling them in Italian what’s been said. Her fingers play with the back of my hair, and it’s the oddest interrogation I’ve ever been involved in. Holding something precious in my arms while looking at a man I’d very much like to rip apart piece by piece is making my damn head spin.

Dario gives the guy a hard enough punch to loosen some teeth, and Natalya flinches at the sound of it. After several more punches, he spits out a glob of blood and a few teeth. It narrowly misses Sandro’s nice shoes, which only earns him another hard hit to the jaw. The man lets out a pain-filled groan while I repeat the question in Russian. This time when he mutters something, Natalya whispers, “He says they’ll kill him if he says anything.”

I cup the back of her head and run my thumb along the nape of her neck. “Tell me how to ask why they’re specifically targeting you.”

Like before, she whispers the words slowly in Russian while I say them out loud. The man groans and opens his mouth, stretching out the stiffness before answering the question.

“He said it’s because I’m Lev’s daughter.”

We continue the very slow process of me whispering to her what I want to say and then her telling me the words I need to speak and then translating his answer. Every once in a while I stop and fill my cousins in on what’s going on. I stick to Italian when speaking to them since I’m guessing this guy probably knows a little bit of English, even if it’s not enough for him to actually speak it.

When it’s obvious the man is still not telling me everything, Dario steps in, delivering a few well-placed punches that leave the man gasping for air, and if his hands weren’t tied behind his back, he’d be clutching his broken ribs right now. Natalya burrows her face against my neck and hugs me tighter. Our bodies are pressed together so tightly that I feel the rapid beat of her heart against my chest. It’s a wild rhythm that makes it hard to concentrate on anything other than her.

As soon as he can speak again, he tells me what I want to know. Natalya slowly translates, and the story begins to unfold. Lev rarely does any underground fighting anymore, but a few months ago, he’d stepped in the ring and won. Not unusual considering Lev is undefeated, but he’d unknowingly beat and humiliated Alexei Zolotov, son of Adrian Zolotov—Pakhan of the Zolotov Bratva. They want revenge, and rightly assumed that killing his daughter would hurt Lev far worse than shooting him.

“How do I ask him if they know where you are now?” I whisper in Natalya’s ear. She tells me, and I repeat it. I see the man shake his head before he says, “Nyet, nyet.” I don’t need her to translate his no, and I let out a relieved breath at knowing that at least they don’t know where she’s at right now. If he’s lying, Lev and his brothers will get the truth out of him, but for now, I have the information I came in here to get.

“Thank you,” I whisper against her ear.

Her reply is a slow lick of her tongue along my earlobe before giving me a soft suck. When I feel her teeth graze my skin, I squeeze her tighter and whisper, “Behave, principessa.”

She doesn’t laugh, but I swear I can feel how badly she wants to. Looking to my cousins, I tell them to watch him while I call the Melnikov Bratva to come pick him up. Sandro’s eyes run over the way I’m still cupping Natalya’s ass, and his smirk is undeniable.

“Not a fucking word,” I tell them both, even though I know I don’t need to. Their loyalty is to me and the Alessi family. They would never tell an outsider about anything that takes place within these walls or within our organization.

I carry Natalya out of the room and back upstairs, not stopping until we’re standing outside the guest room she was supposed to stay in last night. She lets out a soft moan of pleasure when I open the door and she sees the bed.

“About time,” she says, making me laugh.

“I’m sorry to disappoint you, but it’s not what you think. You can’t be in my room when your dad comes here. He needs to focus on getting rid of this threat and not on trying to kill me for touching his daughter.”

I set her down on the bed, and she quickly gets on her knees so her face is close to mine. “You can’t keep putting me off, Dominic.”

“You don’t think so?”

Her eyes narrow but then soften when I slowly slide my hands up her dress so I can cup her ass and pull her closer. Cupping her cheeks, I give her a good squeeze and then slide my palm down the crack of her ass until I’m cupping her pussy from behind in a possessive grip that screams ownership. I know she can feel it. I know she understands that I’m claiming her sweet pussy as mine before I’ve even touched her with my cock. It’s mine, even now, even completely untouched, it’s fucking mine.

“You’re making it very difficult for me to behave, Dominic.”

I smile when she rocks her hips, trying like hell to grind against my hand. I squeeze her tighter, letting her feel a few seconds of pleasure before pulling back and smacking one round ass cheek.

Meeting her surprised eyes, I give her a wink. “I’m not your daddy, principessa, but that doesn’t mean I won’t spank your sweet ass like I am if you disobey me.”

The soft moan she gives almost makes me lose control. She has no idea how badly I want her, no fucking clue how many times she’s been mere seconds away from me bending her over and ripping her panties aside before burying myself inside her. I wonder if she’d be so brazen if she knew the dark thoughts that constantly run through my mind when she’s near. Studying her sweet, hungry face, I let out a soft laugh, because of course she would be. There’s a sweet innocence to Natalya, but there’s also a fire inside her, a stubborn streak that comes out when she really wants something, and right now that something is my cock.

“Stay here and be a good girl. I need to call your dad and let him know what’s going on. I’d also like to have a chance to get rid of this hard-on that his beautiful daughter caused before I have to see him.”

Her mouth curves up in a sexy grin while she snakes a hand between us, palming my length and giving me a squeeze that has me biting back a groan.

“I could help you out with that.”

“That’s very kind of you, but I’m pretty sure it’ll go away once I leave this room.”

She drags a nail along my head, and even through my pants, I feel every part of her touch. When she starts to massage my dick, I groan and fist the back of her hair tight enough to sting.

“You are a very stubborn woman,” I whisper against her lips. “Do you want me to be hard when I talk to your dad? Is this how you want him to find out about us?”

“No.” She ghosts her lips over mine. “I want you to let me take care of it before you talk to my dad.”

Her offer is tempting, damn tempting, but I know we don’t have time. Lev needs to know what’s going on, and if Natalya gets me off, then I’m going to get her off and one time won’t be enough and soon it’ll be the middle of the night and nothing will have been done about the threat we’re facing. I can’t let that happen. Not now anyway.

Unable to resist her completely, I soften my grip on her hair and cup the back of her head, pulling her against me so I can kiss her. I could lose myself so easily in her lips. She softens against me, opening her mouth and submitting completely, and fuck do I love it. One of her hands cups my face while the other continues to tease my cock with a mix of featherlight touches and a firm kneading of my shaft that has me rocking my hips for more.

“Why is it so goddamn hard to let you go?” I murmur the question against her lips in between kisses. “What the hell have you done to me, principessa?”

She smiles and nips at my bottom lip. “The same thing you’ve done to me,” she whispers. “Hurry up and do what you need to do, Dominic, and then come back to me.”

“I’m not a man who’s used to taking orders, sweetheart.” Grazing the backs of my knuckles along her chin, I memorize every detail of her face. “But I find myself wanting to do every damn thing you ask of me.”

“In that case, get naked and give me what I want.”

I laugh, enjoying this lively side that’s starting to come out, and give her ass another smack. “I said I want to do everything you ask, not that I will.”

She sighs and gives my cock one last squeeze. “At least you want to, I guess. That’s got to count for something.”

“It counts for a lot,” I tell her, meaning every word. “You have a power over me that no one else has ever had.” I let out a soft laugh and caresses her jaw. “I’m still not sure how I feel about that.”

Her smile spreads across her beautiful face. “You’ll learn to love it.”

Laughing, I give her one more kiss before finally letting her go. “I’m going to call your dad, and then I’m guessing he’ll be here in a few minutes with his brothers. I’ll send him up here before he leaves so he can see for himself that you’re okay.”

I lightly drag the pad of my thumb over her kiss-swollen lips. “I’m going to leave so we can both calm down, because if your dad or uncles see us right now, there’s no way in hell they won’t be able to tell we were just making out like a couple of teenagers.”

She lifts a brow at me and smiles. “I am a teenager.”

“Jesus Christ.” I shake my head at the reminder that she’s only fucking eighteen years old. It’s so easy to forget when we’re together. She doesn’t act her age. There’s a maturity about her that makes it very easy to forget how young she is. I feel drawn to her, and I know at this point I couldn’t stay away from her even if I wanted to. The truth is I’ve fallen hard for Lev Melnikov’s daughter, and I won’t be letting her go.

I kiss her forehead and then force myself to back away. “Stay in here, principessa. I’ll be back soon.”

Her sweet smile is the last thing I see before I shut the door and walk away, putting some much-needed distance between us. I wasn’t kidding about not wanting to greet her dad with a hard-on. It’s going to be difficult enough to face him now that I know what his daughter’s pussy tastes like.

Sending him a text while I walk, I tell him I have someone and to get over here as quickly as possible. His response is immediate.

We’ll be there in twenty.

With the Melnikov Bratva on their way, I alert my guards at the gate, letting them know to expect them soon before I head back downstairs to check on my cousins, pushing Natalya from my mind as best I can. I need to keep her safe, and I can’t do that if my head is in the goddamn clouds. I’ve always been calm, cold, and in control, but the second she called me for help, all that went to shit. In the last twenty-four hours my men have seen me lose my composure and run out of the house to meet Natalya, scared to death that she was hurt, hold her and comfort her like she means something to me, and carry her to my bedroom.

They may not know exactly what’s going on, but they know something has changed. They know she means something to me, and it’s a reminder that one day others will know. Dangerous men who want me dead will know that hurting her is the way to hurt me, and just the thought of her being on their radar sends an icy chill down my spine.

I can’t let anything happen to her. I won’t fucking allow it. Keeping Natalya safe has just become my number one priority. My sweet principessa thinks her dad is strict, but it’s nothing compared to the rules I’m going to have in place.