14. Chapter Fourteen #2
A smirk on my face, I leant forward and ran my tongue through his chiselled abs and up his herculean chest. He groaned, his head tipping back as I continued going up and up, dragging my tongue up the middle of his throat and flicking it over his chin.
Nikolai breathed hard, his body trembling underneath me.
The fact that I could affect him so much to the point where he was literally shaking made me feel so fucking powerful.
We were face to face, our lips barely an inch away from each other. Our gazes were locked, so focused on one another, like we were the only two people in the world.
I felt like I could stay like that forever, lost in his smouldering blue eyes. Time seemed to stand still, and I never wanted it to end.
“Is it my deal, or yours? I honestly can’t remember,” he breathed heavily, staring at my mouth.
I smirked. “Yours.” I straightened my spine, standing tall and his eyes snapped to my breasts, suddenly directly in front of him.
“This game is going to kill me,” he choked out, licking his lips like he wished they were my nipples.
My smirk turned into a full-blown smile. “Not yet. We’re not done.” I dragged my fingers over his hard chest as I turned around and went back to my chair, sitting down.
Nikolai cleared his throat, trying to adjust himself discreetly before reaching for the cards. Despite the uncomfortable look on his face, I could see his mood had improved. I was so fucking glad for it.
I couldn’t even describe the feeling that washed over me when I saw how tense he was, staring at his laptop as if it held all the answers to his problems. I knew how stressed he was.
How hopeless he felt about not being able to find his father.
All I wanted to do was make him feel better.
To take him out of that dark place in his mind and pull him some place lighter.
Just because he wasn’t there for me when I needed him the most, didn’t mean I wouldn’t be there for him when he needed me .
I would do anything to ease the emotional suffering he was going through then and there. Even put myself in a position I knew I’d probably regret later.
He dealt out the next hand. I picked up my cards, excitement flooding my veins when I saw them. Nikolai was great at picking up my tells, so I tried as hard as I could to remain nonchalant so he wouldn’t pick anything up.
“Last bet,” he said, dealing out the replacement cards. He only had his pants and underwear left, and I was naked except for the socks on my feet.
The stripping part was only a precursor, a stepping stone before the real fun began.
The dares.
We still played even when we both ran out of clothes. The object of the game was to make the other person snap. Lose their control. I was the reigning champion, and that was quite simply because I knew exactly what it took to make Nikolai break.
I flipped my cards first. Royal flush. Nikolai’s brows raised in slight surprise. He didn’t even bother showing me his hand, knowing damn well he couldn’t beat it.
He got to his feet and removed his sweats, leaving him in a pair of black boxer briefs. His thighs were mountainous; huge and overflowing with muscle. The nickname “Thunder Thighs” suited him well (I should know, I came up with it).
Then there was the snake in his underwear. Or, more accurately, the can of pringles, because that was how big and thick the damn thing was. It was fucking monstrous .
Nikolai spread his arms out wide. “Want me to turn for you?”
I laughed and twirled my finger through the air. “Go on then.”
He kept his arms outstretched and spun slowly, giving me plenty of time to enjoy the masterpiece of his body. I definitely did.
He faced me again, a devilish smirk on his lips.
There were so many different sides to Nikolai. His rough, dominating side. His vicious side. His take-no-bullshit side. But this one? His carefree, playful side? It was my favourite. Without a doubt.
It was a side of himself that he held back from others. He showed a little bit of it to his siblings, but even then, it was still partially stuck behind this impenetrable wall of restraint. I’d seen it more times than I could count.
“Your dare,” he challenged, remaining standing.
I already knew what it was that I was going to do. I got to my feet and made my way over to him, adding an extra sway in my hips. Nikolai watched, eyes slightly narrowed in calculation, like he was trying to figure out what I was up to.
“I dare you not to lick your lips,” I said, stopping in front of him.
He frowned, confused. “What—” his words cut off when he saw my hand move down between my legs. I slipped 2 fingers inside my drenching pussy and moaned.
“Tati,” he growled in warning.
I just smiled as I pumped them in and out a few times, getting them nice and wet before I held them up in the air right in front of him.
He exhaled heavily, staying deathly still as I rubbed my wetness all over his lips. His jaw tensed, his eyes as fierce and savage as I’d ever seen them before, like a wild beast poised to strike.
“Are you ready to give up yet, moya lyubov’ ?” My love? ” I whispered, sucking my finger into my mouth. The endearment slipped out before I could stop it.
I wasn’t sure what it was that finally made him snap.
Whether it was my wetness on his lips, me sucking it off my finger or the fact that I’d called him something I hadn’t called him in two years.
Maybe it was a combination of all three.
I didn’t know, and I didn’t fucking care. The point was, he’d snapped.
He took me, slamming me down onto the table with a bruisingly punishing kiss.
He pushed his tongue into my mouth and moaned, gripping my face roughly as I kissed him back.
His hands were everywhere, touching every inch of my skin.
He tugged on my nipples. Pulled my hair back to bite the side of my neck.
Held me with a punishing grip that no doubt left bruises on my skin. I fucking lived for it.
“Tell me I can have you,” he begged, kissing me hard. “Please, Tati. Tell me I can have you.”
“Yes, Nikolai, yes. Take me. I want you so fucking bad.”
“Thank fuck.” He licked down my neck and sealed his lips around my nipple, sucking hard. He palmed my other breast and squeezed. “Fuck, I’ve missed you. I’ve missed you so fucking much. My beautiful love,” he rasped, moving his hands down.
Despite how much my heart swelled at his words, I knew it was wrong, that I couldn’t do that to him. It wasn’t fair to give him false hope that something more could blossom from it when I knew it couldn’t.
There was no denying the attraction we shared. The connection, not only physically but mentally. Emotionally. But I still didn’t trust him. Not with my heart.
“Wait, wait, wait.”
He stopped instantly, his hands freezing on my hips. “What’s wrong?” he asked, looking at me.
I swallowed nervously. “You know that this will just be sex, right? That it won’t be anything more?”
His brows slammed down into a frown. “What?”
I sighed, guilt filling me. “Nikolai—”
He pushed away from me and took three steps back.
I sat up quickly, reaching for him. “Wait, we don’t have to stop. I just wanted to make it clear.”
“Oh, you have. You’ve made it very clear,” he said numbly.
“Nikolai, please. Don’t be mad.”
“I’m not mad, Tati.” He picked up his clothes and started putting them back on.
“You’re not?”
“No.” He didn’t look mad, and I knew Nikolai well enough to know when he was angry, so I was inclined to believe him. But he was definitely something .
“Then what are you doing?” I asked, watching him closely. “We don’t have to stop. We can still have fun.”
He chuckled humourlessly. “I don’t just want to have fun with you, Tati.
” He stood in front of me fully clothed, looking at me with complete and utter seriousness.
“I want all of you. I want every single part of you, not just your body or the parts you’re only willing to give.
I want everything . The good, the bad and every beautiful, precious moment in between.
You’re not ready to give that to me now, and I understand.
I do. I broke your trust and you’re scared to let me back in.
But hear me now, Tatiana Vera Andreeva. I will never stop trying to get back what we had.
What I destroyed. I will wait my entire fucking life for you.
Because you’re worth every single second of that wait, no matter how agonising it is. ”