7. Nikita #2
Savanna’s wrong about being bad with computers.
I mean, she is truly awful with them, but it’s not because she isn’t smart.
She’s just never been taught how to properly use one.
The woman in my lap is intelligent in the kind of way that’s always going to keep me on my toes, and I love that about her.
I’ve read the papers she’s written for her classes, and her understanding of early education techniques and the creative ideas she has to incorporate them into her future classroom is nothing short of brilliant.
She’s going to be an amazing kindergarten teacher, and the kids are going to be damn lucky to have her.
I have no doubt she’s going to be the kind of teacher that leaves a lasting impression on kids, the kind that has them looking back as adults and remembering this time in their lives with nothing but fondness.
When she doesn’t have any more questions, she shuts the laptop and turns her head to look at me. “Thanks for helping me again.”
“I’ll help you anytime you want.”
She starts fidgeting with my finger again, causing my lip to twitch while I fight my smile.
Finally, she says, “I know this is quick, and I’m not sure exactly how serious this is to you, but if we’re going to be seeing each other, then I’d like you to meet my parents.
” She gives me a quick, shy grin. “I know it’s kind of silly, but I’m really close to them, and I don’t want to keep this a secret. ”
“I’m glad you said something because my Uncle Vitaly already told me to bring you to the next family supper.”
She laughs and asks, “He did?”
“He did. My family really likes you, and of course I want to meet yours.” I run my hand over my neck and then motion towards the obvious nose piercing. “Do you think this will be a problem? What if they hate me on sight?”
“They’re not like that,” she quickly says.
“They briefly met Sasha, and all they said was, ‘Well, looks like she’s in safe hands.’” She smiles at the memory.
“They’ve always thought of her as a second daughter in many ways, and they were thrilled that she found someone who’s so obviously in love with her and treats her the way she should be treated.
I’m not sure what to say about your job, though. ”
She starts gripping my finger again, so I give one of her long, blonde strands a soft tug to get her attention. When her blue eyes meet mine, I say, “Right now, we’ll tell them I’ve got some IT job that allows me to work from home. After we’re married, we can tell them the truth if you want.”
I laugh at how wide her eyes get and lean closer to kiss her. “Too much too soon?” I ask. “Need me to take things slower?”
“No.” She reaches her hand up, sliding it behind my neck so she can play with my hair, something she seems to really enjoy doing and I’m more than happy to let her continue.
Every soft brush of her skin against mine sends a shiver down my spine.
I’ve never been this hard for this long, and I’m a little curious about how long it’ll last. I know there’s no way in hell it’s going to go down while she’s with me. That much is painfully obvious.
“I am a little worried you’ll change your mind, though,” she admits, “or find someone else you’d rather be with.”
“There’s no one else I’d rather be with, and I’m not the kind of guy who changes his mind. Jesus, Van, you’re the most beautiful woman I’ve ever seen, but that’s not why I want to be with you.”
“Why do you want to be with me?”
I grin because that’s a really easy question to answer.
“Because you make me feel things no one else ever has, because you’re just as sweet as you are gorgeous, because you’re smart and funny, and because you don’t mind getting on the floor and letting a rambunctious puppy jump all over you.
You’re a hard worker, but you’re also so quick to laugh.
” I run my finger along her cheek. “Because you get nervous when we’re together, and I think it’s the cutest thing I’ve ever seen, but you’re also so effortlessly sexy.
I love that you don’t play games, that you don’t flirt with every guy you meet, and that when we’re together, you look at me like you are right now. ”
“How am I looking at you?”
“Like I’m important to you, like I matter to you,” I tell her, and then I can’t help but add, “And also like you’re thinking about ripping my clothes off. It’s an intoxicating mix, Van. If I’m not careful, it’s going to go straight to my head.”
I see the corner of her mouth quirk up before she rocks her ass against my hard length and purrs, “Which one?”
Stilling her movements by grabbing onto her hips, I close my eyes and take a second to get control of myself. With my eyes still shut, I say, “Both. You drive me crazy, and I’m honestly surprised I have enough blood left in my brain to even have this conversation right now.”
She presses her lips to mine, and I can feel that she’s smiling. “I feel the same way about you, Niki. I wanted to push Deirdre off the balcony when she kept trying to get you to look at her tits.”
I grin and kiss her back. “Don’t start killing people just yet. All she did was annoy me for butting into our time. I was trying really hard to work up the courage to kiss you, and she ruined everything. And for the record, I don’t give a fuck about her tits.”
“She’d be devastated to hear you say that.”
I nip at her bottom lip. “Yet another thing I don’t give a fuck about.”
“Since you brought up killing people,” she starts to say, and I cut her off with a quick, “Uh-oh,” because I know where this is headed.
“I was just curious. I mean, I need to know what you do, right? If we’re going to be dating?”
It’s impossible to not smile when I say, “We’re definitely dating, Van, and it’s definitely exclusive.”
I get a flash of her dimple before she keeps going. “Then I need to know what you do.”
“But what I do is a secret,” I tell her.
I didn’t think the answer would satisfy her, so I’m not at all surprised when she keeps going. “But do you kill people like Sasha does?”
I laugh and shake my head. “No, no one in my family does what he does or loves it the way he does. Sasha is unique.” I can tell she’s worried about this, so I rest my hand on her thigh and then grin when she immediately puts her hand on top of mine. “You seem to have a thing for hands.”
“I have a thing for your hands,” she corrects, and I grin even bigger. “Stop distracting me and tell me what you do.”
“I mainly work behind the scenes. You already know I handle all the security. I gather information, fuck with CCTV cameras, that kind of thing.”
“But you kill people too?”
Instead of answering, I ask, “Would it bother you if I did?”
She doesn’t rush into an answer. She takes a few seconds to think, and her answer reminds me yet again why I’ve fallen so hard and so fast for this woman.
“It would bother me because a life is a life. It’s someone’s child or sibling or spouse, and it’s impossible for me to be happy about that, but I know you, Niki, and I know you’re not heartless.
If you’ve killed someone, then I trust that you had no other choice.
I’d assume it was to protect your family or save your own life. ”
“Thank you for saying that,” I tell her.
“So do you kill people?” she asks again.
“If I have no other choice, then yes,” I say, telling her the truth.
“But you don’t like it?”
Again, I tell her the truth. “No. I don’t take pleasure in killing.”
She brings her other hand to my face, brushing her thumb along my cheek. “I’m sorry.”
“Don’t be sorry, Van. I spend most of my days behind a screen. I’m perfectly safe, and no one in my family kills for sport, not even Sasha. The men we take down are very bad men, and they deserve everything they get from us, but, no, I don’t take any pleasure from it.”
“I’m glad you don’t.” She leans closer and kisses my nose ring again. “I like that you’d rather not kill if you’re given a choice.”
“Don’t put me on too high a pedestal,” I warn her. “Just because I don’t crave it doesn’t mean I won’t do what’s necessary, and just because I don’t take pleasure in it, doesn’t mean it keeps me up at night. There are a lot of men out there that I would happily kill if given the chance.”
Dragging my thumb along her cheek, I say, “And if anyone ever hurts you, I will kill them, and I can promise you I’ll take an obscene amount of pleasure in it. I’m not a very good man, Van, and you deserve far better.”
She turns her head just enough to kiss the pad of my thumb. “I think you’re a very good man, and I think it’s sweet that you want to protect me. I don’t think you need to worry about it, though. No one is after me.”
“You were almost drugged at a club not that long ago,” I very gently remind her, and then feel like an ass when I see guilt wash across her face.
“That was not your fault, Van, not even a little bit. I’m just saying things happen, they happen all the time, and usually it’s quick and without warning.
I will always worry about you, but I swear I won’t ever let anything happen to you. ”
While she thinks about what I’ve said, she cuddles up against me so her head is resting on my shoulder with her face tucked up close to my neck. I will never get tired of feeling her soft breaths on my skin.
“That night at the club when Cindy took my drink by mistake and then I realized she was missing, god,” she says, letting out a shaky breath, “I’ve never been so scared.
When your family showed up, I kept wishing you were there.
Sasha looked completely unhinged, and I’m pretty sure he killed that waitress that was in on it.
Val had me leave with him and told me everything was fine, but I saw the look in Sasha’s eyes.
There’s no way he left her breathing after what she did. ”
“I’m sorry I wasn’t there. I wanted to meet my niece, but I knew as soon as I got on that plane that it was a mistake. When I heard what had happened, I was so mad at myself for not being there for you.”
She rests her hand on my chest while she says, “I’m glad you got to meet your niece. I’m sure your brother was thrilled to have you there, and your family was very nice to me. They made sure I was okay and got home safely.”
Her fingers slide up to play with the collar of my hoodie, and my cock gives a healthy twitch when I feel her fingers brush along my collarbone.
After a few seconds, she says, “When Sasha was interrogating that woman, he asked about Cupid. Who is that? She said he was the one supplying the drugs to the Alpha guys.”
My whole body tenses at the sound of his name and my hand grips her thigh a little tighter. “He was, yeah. I was trying to find him, but he went to ground.”
“He just disappeared?”
“He did,” and even though I keep my voice calm, she can sense my irritation.
She kisses my neck and says with complete confidence.
“You’ll find him.” And then because she’s as brilliant as I’ve always known, she asks, “Did he know the pills were for me? Cindy told me about that night, about the other women who were being held at that house. They were going to sell them, right?”
I hesitate, not wanting to lie to her but also not wanting to scare the hell out of her.
“Please tell me the truth.”
I turn so I can kiss her forehead. “Yes,” I say.
She grips my shirt a little tighter, no doubt replaying a million different horrible scenarios that could have easily been her fate. I think about all the photos I’ve seen of trafficked women, feeling nauseated by the mere thought of it being Savanna’s face in those images.
“Am I still in danger?” she asks.
“I would never let anything happen to you,” I say, trying to avoid the question.
“But we’ve barely seen each other since Cindy’s wedding. I’m by myself on campus all the time.”
I give her hair a very soft tug. “That’s what you think.”
She lifts up to see me. Her brow is scrunched in confusion, and she looks so goddamn stunning that I can’t help but close the distance and kiss her.
Without hesitation, she softens at the feel of my lips against hers and opens for me, letting me kiss her for as long as I want.
When I pull back, her face is flushed, but she’s still determined to get some answers, so I’m not surprised when she says, “What do you mean by that? Have you been watching me?”
“If I say yes, are you going to think it’s creepy?”
She raises a brow at me. “Did you put a camera in my bathroom?”
“No.”
“In my bedroom?” she asks.
“No, but I’m not gonna lie, I did think about it very hard. In the end, I couldn’t bring myself to do it. It felt like too much of a violation. I did go back last night and put up cameras around your sorority house, though. I can’t just sit here knowing guys can come and go as they please.”
“How else do you watch me?”
Knowing she’s not going to be satisfied until she has all the information, I ask, “Do you want to see how we’ve been spending our days together?”