Chapter 29 Calli
CALLI
Ilead Niko out into the hall, my hand locked in his. It's quiet, almost like all that yelling didn't just happen. A staff member passes us and offers a polite smile. They have no idea what just happened in that room. No idea how close we came to bloodshed.
"Don't let go," I say, gripping his hand tighter.
"Never," he says.
We pass through the marble-floored foyer and out into the afternoon Chicago air. I pause at the edge of the front steps, glancing toward my house on the property. A part of me wants to take him there, to pretend none of this ever happened.
But we can't stay here. Not after everything. And the thought of being on Kastaris land, surrounded by my brothers' men, makes my skin crawl. Ares wouldn't hesitate to burst through my door, gun first.
"Where are you staying?" I ask, turning to face him.
"The Blackstone."
"Okay," I say, nodding. "Then that's where we're going."
We slip into the Audi and drive off the estate.
The drive is silent. I watch his hand on the steering wheel, knuckles still red from connecting with my brother's face. We're both lost in thought, replaying everything we just survived and everything we haven't even begun to process.
We pull up to the Blackstone twenty minutes later. The valet rushes to open my door, and Niko slips the keys into his palm without a word.
In the elevator, Niko pulls me against him, his arm around my shoulders holding me tight. I rest my head on his chest, listening to his heartbeat.
When the doors open, he leads me down a plush hallway to Penthouse No. 4 on the top floor. The suite opens to panoramic views of Lake Michigan, the water glittering in the afternoon sun. The décor is tasteful and expensive, with dark woods and cream-colored furnishings.
"I forgot how pretty this hotel is. It's historic, right?" I ask, trying to lighten the mood and help ease some of my tension.
Niko shuts the door behind us and tosses the keycard on the side table. "Yeah. Built in the twenties. All kinds of famous people have stayed here."
I turn, giving him a smile. "Well that's fancy."
Niko gives a light laugh, but his eyes are distant. He's thinking.
He walks to a bar cart, pours amber liquid into a crystal glass, and downs it in one swallow. His shoulders are tense, his jaw clenched. I've never seen him like this, brooding, silent, wound so tight he might snap.
I take a step toward him. "It was the right thing to do," I say, voice low. "Telling them. They needed to hear the truth."
He sets the glass down with a sharp click and turns to me. It's the first time I notice his red cheek and slightly swollen lip. Dimitri's work.
"Did they? Because from where I was standing, I'm not sure truth matters to them."
"Of course it matters," I insist, though my voice wavers. "Despite everything. They're my brothers. They love me, and they loved our father. They just don't know what to do with all of the information we just gave them."
"Theo might bend. Dimitri might. But Ares?" Niko laughs bitterly. "He'd rather die than let me breathe near you."
"Then we make him." I rub my belly gently. "He has to accept this. Accept us."
Something shifts in Niko's expression. The hardness melts away. He closes the distance between us, his hands framing my face.
"I still can't believe it," he says.
I smile. "Neither can I."
I tilt my head, looking up at him, and reach out to trail my fingers along his jaw. "It feels good, though. Having told you. Having told them. With everything out in the open."
"Even if you don't know what's going to happen?"
I nod. "Yes. Because I know it'll work out. I will do whatever it takes, even things I've never done before, to make it so."
Niko leans in, brushing his lips along my neck. "So will I, orea mou."
I bite my lip. "How I've missed you calling me that," I say, tilting my head to give him better access.
His mouth presses lower, hot against my collarbone. "How I've missed the feel of your skin on my lips. Your scent."
I press against him, feeling him harden against me. I slide my hand down his pants, teasing him through the fabric. "I like doing this to you."
His growl is immediate and deep. "You do a lot to me, Calli."
Niko's hand flies to my throat. His grip possessing me.
He steps into me, walking me backward until my spine hits the hotel wall, his eyes never leaving mine.
"You don't get to leave me now," he says. "Something like Rome never happens again."
I don't look away from him as I shake my head slowly. "No, never again."
He presses his muscled chest against mine, his cock already thick and pulsing against my stomach. "And if you do get any ideas, next time I won't come looking. I'll drag you back."
I look up at him with eyes that bare everything, and his mouth crashes down on mine in a kiss that's hot and demanding. I gasp against his lips, my body arching into his touch.
His free hand slides up my thigh, under my dress, finding the edge of my panties. I moan as his fingers brush against me, already wet and wanting.
"I need you, baby," I say against his mouth. "I need to feel you."
Niko's eyes lock with mine, dark with desire. "You'll have all of me."
He doesn't undress me gently.
He tears me open.
His fingers find the zipper at the back of my dress and yank it down so fast it jerks my body. The straps fall from my shoulders, and in seconds, he's stripping me bare. My bra unclasped. My panties down my thighs and onto the floor.
My back hits the wall again, and he comes at me with a devious smile. I slide his jacket off as he kisses and licks me, my hand in his hair as he ravages me.
I unbutton his shirt and he helps me get it off.
He runs his tongue down my neck and I feel his warm tongue swirl around my nipples, sucking them. I arch into him and his tongue slides across to my other breast, leaving nothing untouched by his fire.
My whole body is buzzing as I undo his belt and pants. He fists my hair and pushes me to my knees. I pull his boxer briefs down and he guides me forward, taking his beautiful cock in my mouth.
I swirl my tongue around his head, and slide it up and down his shaft as he thrusts into me, fucking my face like I deserve it.
I feel my throat stretch taking him in and he holds himself deep inside my mouth before pulling out. I gasp for air, saliva stretching from my lips to his cock. He does it again and I relax, taking all of him.
I moan as he fills my throat. I feel wetness between my thighs and I crave for him to be inside me.
I stroke and suck him with everything I've got, making him feel pure ecstasy.
Just when I think he's going to come in my mouth, he pulls me to my feet and kisses me.
He then lifts me like I weigh nothing and I wrap my legs around his waist as he slides into me.
"Jesus!" I yell as he suddenly fills me.
“That’s my good girl,” he says.
He braces me against the wall and starts thrusting, the burning stretch quickly turns to erotic pleasure. The way he stretches me, fills me with his cock, becomes something my body craves. I feel him pulsating in me and he begins to slam into me aggressively like he can't control himself.
"This is mine," he grits, his hand on my throat again. "This body. This pussy. This life."
"Yes," I cry out. "Yours."
He fucks me like he's branding me. Like if he goes deep enough, fast enough, hard enough, I'll never forget what I am.
His.
"Say it again."
"Yours."
"Louder."
"Yours, Niko! I’ll always be yours!" I scream.
His mouth crashes into mine again, and it's not sweet. It's savage.
I cry out as he hits the spot that makes my vision go white.
"That's it," he pants. "Come on my cock, orea mou. Come for me."
His pace increases, and he slides in and out powerfully. I hold him tight, my body feeling like it's on fire. It starts deep in me and works its way out. Being suspended in air makes it more intense and I feel everything.
My toes go numb, my body starts to shake before I feel it and then, I shatter.
Stars blind my vision and my grip around him loosens, and I feel myself go limp as he holds me, pumping everything out of me.
It's like cool heat and I shake, coming hard. Every thought washes away and pure bliss overtakes me. I smile, the sensitivity between my legs making me giggle.
"That's my girl," he says slowly as I twitch in his arms.
"Jesus, that was amazing," I say, my eyes still closed.
His pace only slows for a moment before I open my eyes and see the dark lust in his. He grips me tight and starts grinding into me again. I don't know how it's possible, but I feel as if his cock has gotten harder, bigger, and my inner walls clench around him.
His breath comes in shorter ragged bursts and he squeezes me like it's all he needs. I grind into him, feel a second orgasm coming.
He fucks me.
Faster.
Harder.
Deeper.
And with a final thrust that pushes me up the wall, we explode together. I shake as he spills his warm hot seed deep into me, filling me with his cum. I feel his cock twitch and I grind against him slowly, milking everything out of him.
He grunts as I squeeze him tighter into me, wanting all of him.
He leans into me, pressing me against the wall, breathing heavily. After a few moments he pulls out and I slide down to my feet.
I smile and pick up his dress shirt and smell it, loving his scent. "I'm wearing this," I say and put it on.
He smiles as he puts his pants back on.
"You don't need a shirt anyway," I say, buttoning a few buttons, looking at his delicious chiseled chest and stomach.
"That so?" he says, leaning down to kiss me. “Well you don’t need one either.”
"Niko!"
He picks me up with ease and I laugh as he carries me over to the couch and sets me down.
Niko sits next to me and I fall sideways, my head resting against his chest. I look up at him and smile.
I notice a dark bruise starting to form from where Dimitri struck him. I trace it gently with my fingertips.
"I'm sorry about that," I say.
Niko catches my hand, brings it to his lips. "Don't be. I'd take a hundred more if it meant keeping you safe."
We kiss.
"Speaking of that, is the baby okay when we do stuff like that?" he asks.
"The baby?"
"Yes," he says, genuinely looking concerned now.
I can't help but laugh.
"Yes," I assure him. "It's safe. The doctor said our sex life didn't need to stop. Though, I don't know if you'll be able to lift me like that soon."
He laughs and I can't help but stare at him.
"What?" he asks.
I smile and shake my head. "Nothing, I just love you so much, that's all."
"What was that?"
"I love you."
He squeezes me. "Say it again," he demands softly, his voice rough with emotion.
I shift, rising up to look directly into his eyes, my hands framing his face. "I love you, Niko Petrou. God help me, but I do."
He leans in and kisses me. "I love you too, Calli. More than anything in this world."
I rest my head back on his chest and we lie together on the couch, my body still humming with aftershocks, Niko's shirt hanging loosely from my frame.
"What should we name him?" he says, kissing the top of my head after a few moments of silence.
I pull back, eyebrows raised. "Who said it's going to be a him?"
Niko tilts his head and grins. "Let's hope it is. Otherwise I'll end up killing a lot of men protecting our daughter."
I roll my eyes, but can't help the smile spreading across my face. "Oh please. With how overprotective you are, I doubt anyone would dare look at her wrong."
"Damn right."
"You're already planning bloodshed and she's not even the size of a peach yet."
"Exactly." He smiles. "But if it's a boy—"
"Then he'll have your eyes. And my attitude."
"Terrifying."
I hit him playfully and we laugh together.
He pulls me tighter against him, and I settle back against his chest, feeling truly safe for the first time since I left Rome.
But reality has a way of intruding on even the most perfect moments. After several minutes of peaceful silence, I voice the question that's been hovering at the edges of both of our minds.
"So what do we do now?"
Niko sighs, his chest rising and falling beneath my cheek. "I don't know yet. But I need to tell my father."
I sit up sharply, alarm shooting through me. "About what he did?"
"No." His voice is hard. "Never reveal your hand. Not unless you're ready to act or lose everything."
"So what will you tell him?"
"About the baby. About you. About us."
The thought sends ice through my veins. Stavros Petrou, the man who murdered my father, learning about his grandchild. The idea is both terrifying and surreal.
"And what will he do?" I ask.
He sighs and sits up. "I don't know. My father doesn't react, he calculates. He's probably known we've been seeing each other longer than I know about. I'm sure he's already working out how to use it. Or how to erase it."
"He knows about us?"
"Yes, but I didn't think it mattered. Him just being upset to be upset. I didn't care, but with everything, now I do and now I know why he had an interest in it."
"No matter what, my brothers will still want him…" I trail off, unable to finish the sentence.
"I know. That's the part I haven't figured out yet.
But I will. I meant what I said. I hate him.
But he's dangerous, Calli. He'll have planned whatever this is for years.
And if your brothers go in blind," he pauses, "like I told Theo, he won't go down without taking as many people with him as he can. "
My eyes tear up. "My brothers will never stop coming for him. Especially Ares."
Niko immediately pulls me into his arms. "Hey, hey. Come here."
I bury my face against his neck as the first tears fall. "I'm scared, Niko. I'm so scared."
His arms tighten around me. "I know, orea mou. I know."
"What if it all goes wrong?" My voice breaks. "What if someone gets hurt? What if—"
"Shhh." His lips press against my head. "Don't think about the what-ifs. We'll deal with each problem as it comes."
I pull back just enough to look at him, wiping my tears with the back of my hand. "How can you be so calm?"
He shrugs. "Look, it won't be you," he says, rubbing my cheek. "Or me. Or your brothers. We're going to figure this out, even if I have to be the one who ends him myself."
I want to believe him. That this will just all be okay.
I really do.
But as I lay back down on him, wrapped in his arms, something dark twists inside me. A seed of certainty. An echo of the vow I made to Niko.
I'll do whatever it takes.
Even things I've never done before.
Even things I swore I couldn't do.
And maybe, in order to keep everyone safe, my role in this isn't what I thought it was.
Maybe it's bigger.
Darker.
Maybe I'm not just the girl in love with the enemy.
Maybe I'm the one who has to end this.
For my family.
For the baby.
For Niko.
Whatever that costs.
Even if it's my soul.