Chapter 7
CHAPTER 7
Nikita
L ily was testing me.
After our talk in the sitting room, she didn't back down like I told her to. Instead, she started asking questions. Small, seemingly harmless inquiries about my business, the way things worked in my world. To anyone else, it might seem like normal curiosity. But I wasn't just anyone. I'd been raised in a world where every question, every shift in tone, had a purpose. And the more she asked, the more something inside me stirred, nagging at the back of my mind.
She interacted with my staff, smiled politely as they showed her around the estate, and even asked Mikhail about our operations under the guise of casual conversation.
On the surface, she seemed innocent enough—trying to learn more about the man she'd married. But it didn't sit right with me. I had always prided myself on my instincts, and right now, they were telling me to pay closer attention. To watch her more carefully.
It wasn't just suspicion that gnawed at me. There was something else. I found myself drawn to her, more than I cared to admit. Her presence had become a constant hum beneath my skin, a distraction I couldn't afford. But no matter how much I tried to keep my distance, I couldn't stop thinking about her.
And the night at the gala… I'd lost control then, and all I wanted to do was lose myself again in her. I wanted to hear her breathless moans in my ear.
I watched her from my office window as she walked around downstairs, heading toward the study where I knew she often went to read. I hadn't confronted her yet, hadn't asked her what she was truly after. Part of me didn't want to. Instead, I wanted to see how far she would go. Would she play her part, or would she reveal what she was hiding?
I needed to know. Something wasn't adding up.
There was something about her that kept me from going all in with my suspicion. Maybe it was the way she fit into my world, slipping into the role of my wife with an ease that almost seemed natural. Maybe it was the way she looked at me when she thought I wasn't paying attention, her expression torn between curiosity and something else I couldn't quite place.
But whatever it was, I needed to know the truth. So, instead of pressing her, I decided to test her.
We arrived at the restaurant in the early evening, the soft glow of the streetlights casting long shadows on the pavement. I chose this place deliberately—a high-end establishment frequented by people with clean hands. It was where I handled my legitimate business, away from the dark corners of my criminal empire. Tonight, I wanted to see how Lily would react when faced with this other side of me, the one I showed to investors and real estate partners.
When I had first saw Lily that evening, I had to quickly look away from her. I told her to dress to impress, and she did a damn good job. She chose a floor-length gown, its luxurious, silky satin hugging her body gracefully, accentuating her curves. It's V-shaped neckline tempted the eye, showing off the soft swell of her breasts without dipping too deeply. As she walked, the slit in her dress up the side gave a flash of her legs, and the deep blue made her eyes all the more darker, alluring.
Fuck, she was gorgeous.
I didn't spare her another glance until we arrived at the restaurant.
As we walked inside, the familiar scent of expensive wine and freshly prepared dishes greeted us. The restaurant was buzzing with conversation, the low hum of voices blending with the clinking of silverware. I kept my hand on the small of Lily's back, guiding her through the room, a subtle claim of ownership. She didn't resist—didn't pull away—but I felt how stiff her shoulders were. And how warm her skin was.
This was a test. For both of us.
We reached the private dining area, where my partners were already waiting. They stood as we approached, greeting me with nods and handshakes, their expressions warm but businesslike.
"Gentlemen, this is my wife, Lily," I said, keeping my tone casual but firm as I studied their reactions. Most of them were surprised—they hadn't expected me to bring her tonight, and I saw the curiosity flicker in their eyes. "She'll be joining us this evening."
Lily smiled politely, extending her hand to the men in turn. "It's a pleasure to meet you," she said, her voice smooth, controlled.
"Lily, this is Mr. Graham," I introduced one of the older men, a heavyset real estate mogul with salt-and-pepper hair. "He handles most of our residential projects."
Graham smiled as he shook Lily's hand, his eyes lingering on her a moment too long. "Nikita's never mentioned bringing his wife to our business meetings before," he said, his tone light but curious. "You must be special."
Lily laughed softly, her smile never faltering. "I suppose I am."
I watched the exchange carefully, noting the way she navigated the conversation with ease. She was charming, disarming even. But I knew better than to be blinded by appearances. Lily was more than she seemed.
We took our seats, the business conversation starting almost immediately. The men discussed numbers, land deals, and investment opportunities, their words flowing easily as wine was poured and plates were served. I kept an eye on Lily as she listened intently, occasionally nodding or offering a polite remark.
But I could see it—the subtle shift in her demeanor. She was taking it all in, processing it.
"So, Lily." Mr. Novak, one of the younger partners, leaned forward, his eyes twinkling with curiosity. "What's your take on all of this? You've got the look of someone who knows more than she's letting on."
Lily smiled, tilting her head slightly. "I wouldn't say that," she replied, her tone light. "I'm still learning. Nikita doesn't let me get too involved in his business."
Novak chuckled. "Smart man. But surely you've got opinions? It's not every day a woman with your presence joins us."
I waited for her response. This was the moment I'd been waiting for—the test I'd set up. Would she give too much away? Would she ask the wrong questions?
She met Novak's gaze without flinching. "I trust Nikita's judgment. He knows what he's doing, and I wouldn't dream of interfering."
Her words were perfect. Calculated. Too perfect.
"Of course," Novak said, leaning back in his chair, satisfied with her answer. "Nikita always knows what's best."
I could feel the tension in the air, the way the men were watching Lily now. She had handled herself well—better than I'd expected. But the ease with which she slipped into this role only deepened my suspicion. If she was hiding something, she was good at it.
As the conversation shifted back to business, I found myself studying her more than the deal on the table. She was composed, poised, and magnetic. Her laugh tinkled, and her every move drew my attention. It was driving me crazy just sitting next to her, unable to lay a finger on her. I found myself jumping between distracting desire and suspicion.
"You're very quiet tonight," I said at one point, my voice low enough that only she could hear.
Lily glanced at me, her smile still in place. "I didn't think it was my place to speak."
"Is that so?" I raised an eyebrow, leaning back in my chair. "I've seen you ask plenty of questions around the house. Why not here?"
She paused, just for a second. Barely enough for anyone else to notice, but I caught it. "This is different."
I didn't respond, just watched her as the conversation around us continued. She was too careful, too measured. If there was something she was hiding, I would find it. But for now, I let it go.
By the time we left the restaurant, my mind was racing with questions. She had handled herself too well, said everything right. But I couldn't shake the feeling that there was something else, something she wasn't telling me.
The ride back to the mansion was quiet, the tension between us thickening with every second. I could feel her eyes on me, but I didn't look at her.
When we got home, I led her to the study. The warmth of the fire greeted us, its light flickering on the walls. I poured myself a drink and offered her one, but she declined. She always declined.
I stood by the fireplace, swirling the whiskey in my glass, letting the silence stretch between us. She hadn't spoken a word since the restaurant, but I could feel her waiting for me to say something.
"You were too perfect tonight," I said finally, my voice cold and measured.
Lily looked at me, confusion flickering in her eyes. "What do you mean?"
"You didn't ask any questions," I replied, my gaze locked on hers. "You didn't press. You didn't seem curious."
Her brow furrowed slightly, and I could see her trying to figure out what I was getting at. "I thought you didn't want me to ask questions."
"That's not the point," I said sharply, stepping closer to her. "You're curious, Lily. You've been asking questions around the house, poking your nose where it doesn't belong. But tonight, you were silent. Why?"
She swallowed, her gaze not faltering. "Because I didn't want to overstep. You brought me there to observe, not to interfere."
"Is that what you think?" I asked, my voice colder now. "You think I brought you to the meeting to observe? No. I brought you to see if you'd slip up."
Her eyes widened slightly, but she didn't back down. "Slip up? What are you talking about?"
"I'm talking about you," I said, taking another step toward her, my voice low and demanding. "You've been watching me, asking about my business. You're trying to figure something out, and I want to know why."
Her breath hitched, and for the first time, I saw a flicker of fear in her eyes. But she quickly masked it, lifting her chin in defiance. "I'm trying to understand. I live here, Nikita. You expect me to be your wife, but you keep me in the dark. What do you want from me?"
I stared at her for a long moment, the fire crackling in the background, filling the silence between us. What did I want from her? Trust? Loyalty? Her body? I wasn't even sure anymore. But the more I watched her, the more I knew that something wasn't right.
"Some things are better left in the dark," I said coldly, turning away from her. I needed another drink. I could feel myself winding up tight inside, the memories of the past creeping closer, and I wasn't sure if it was the alcohol or Lily's questions that were pulling them to the surface.
I poured another glass, and the whiskey burned as it slid down my throat. I hadn't meant to talk about it tonight, but with each sip, the words became harder to hold back.
"I've been betrayed before," I said, my voice quieter now, more controlled. I didn't turn to look at her. I didn't want to see the expression on her face. "By people I trusted. People I thought I knew."
There was a pause, and I could feel her watching me, waiting. "Who?" she asked softly.
I took another sip, staring into the fire. "Someone close to me. Someone I trusted with everything. They sold me out to a rival family. Led us into a trap."
The words slipped out, heavier than I intended. I hadn't spoken about this in years, and the weight of it pressed down on me, but I kept my voice steady. "They killed everyone. My closest friends, my allies. Gone."
There was a long silence. I could feel her trying to process what I'd just said, but I wasn't done.
"I don't trust people easily," I said, finally turning to face her. "And I'm not going to start now."
Lily's face softened slightly, her eyes filled with something that looked too much like sympathy. I didn't need her sympathy. But I couldn't stop the words from coming.
"It felt good to say it out loud," I muttered, almost to myself. "But I shouldn't have said anything."
Lily took a step closer, her eyes searching mine. "Nikita…"
"I don't need your pity," I cut her off sharply, setting the glass down with a thud. I could feel the conflict raging inside me—the need to push her away and the urge to keep her close.
What the hell was I doing?
I walked to the window, staring out into the darkness, trying to pull myself together. I shouldn't have told her anything. This was why I kept my distance. This was why I didn't trust people.
But as the silence stretched between us, I realized I'd already said too much.
"Nikita," she repeated, her voice softer, closer now.
I felt her standing behind me, her presence stirring something primal inside me that I couldn't shake. My mind was telling me to pull away, to shut her out before I said or did something I couldn't take back. But my body—my instincts—had other plans. The tension that had been building between us for weeks, the unspoken pull that I had tried to ignore, was becoming impossible to resist.
Before I even realized what I was doing, I turned around, closing the distance between us in a single step. My hands were on her, gripping her arms with a force that made her eyes widen. I pulled her against me, our bodies pressed together as I stared down at her, my gaze hard, demanding.
"You think you can push me?" I growled, my voice low and rough, the words slipping out before I could stop them. "You think you can get under my skin like this and walk away untouched?"
Her breath hitched, her lips parting slightly, but she didn't look away. She didn't flinch. "I wasn't trying to?—"
"Don't lie to me," I cut her off, my grip tightening. "You've been testing me, haven't you? Pushing to see how far I'll go."
Lily's eyes flashed with something—defiance, maybe, or desire. She was like a flame, daring me to come closer, to lose control. And damn it, I was about to burn.
"You don't want to know how far I'll go," I muttered, my voice a growl as I leaned in, my lips inches from hers. "But if you keep pushing, you're going to find out."
Her breath caught in her throat, and I could see the conflict in her eyes. She wanted to challenge me, but she also knew the danger in that. And yet, she didn't back down.
Instead, she did the one thing I hadn't expected.
She kissed me.
It wasn't soft or tentative. It wasn't careful. It was fierce, urgent, like she had been holding back for as long as I had. Her hands tangled in my shirt, pulling me closer, her lips pressing against mine with a hunger that matched my own.
That was it. The moment I lost the last shred of control I'd been clinging to.
I kissed her back, hard, my hands moving to her waist, gripping her tightly. I backed her against the wall, pinning her there as my mouth devoured hers, the fire inside me finally unleashed.
Her body arched against mine, and I could feel the heat between us, the need that had been simmering just below the surface exploding into something raw, something dangerous. I didn't care anymore. I didn't care about control or suspicion. All I cared about was her.
"This is what you wanted?" I whispered against her lips. I didn't wait for her to respond. My hands were soon on her shoulders, pushing her down as I broke the kiss. "Show me. Show me how badly you want it."
Lily's dark eyes were barely open, and it was like she could hardly see me through the haze of her desire. Her moist lips were still parted, and the second she understood what I was asking for, she licked her lips hungrily and sank to her knees.
Her eyes held me captive as her fingers deftly and hurriedly unbuckled my belt and pulled my pants down. She didn't even glance at the bulge in my boxers before fixing her mouth over the fabric and moaning softly.
"Oh fuck, Lily," I whispered, feeling the vibration travel through me.
My dick twitched at the wet heat of her breath, and I pressed myself closer to her face. Lily continued to mouth me through my boxers, teasing me until I stood hard at attention. Then I felt her tongue lapping at me insistently, as if she longed to rip my boxers free to have a taste of me.
With a growl, I gripped her jaw and held her in place with one hand and dropped my boxers with the other. All the while, her blazing blue eyes stared into mine, daring me, as defiant as ever, but there was something else. Just by the hungry look of her, I knew Lily wanted me to take her, violate her, make her say my name.
And my dick was dripping at just the thought.
Lily sought out the tip of my dick with her mouth, tongue inching forward in anticipation. I let out a low groan as she finally captured me, and so did she, like the taste of my dick alone was satisfying. I couldn't help pushing into her mouth and found her yielding immediately. Her tongue swirled around me, savoring. She took my thick length like she couldn't get enough, and soon, I was thrusting deeply, gliding smoothly in and out, losing myself to sensation.
Not a sound of complaint came from that precious mouth of hers, not even when mascara began to run down her cheeks as tears sprang to her eyes. It wasn't my thrusting—Lily wanted to take me into her throat, her firm grip on my thighs told me so. She was pulling me in, tirelessly throating my dick and only pausing to ride out an involuntary gag.
The longer I watched her take me, the more I wanted to bust in her mouth. But I wanted to possess her, to claim every part of her until she was mine in a way that no one could ever take away.
I slipped free of her mouth and looked at her face. Lipstick and saliva was smudged around her mouth, which she wiped away with the back of her hand, naked desire written all over her face.
"Show me," I said again, stroking my dick slowly in front of her face. "Show me how badly you want this."
And without another word, her knees spread apart on the floor, and she hiked her dress up, using the slit at the side to show me her black panties. Lily watched me stroke as she shimmied out of her panties, then spread her thighs again. I clenched my jaw as her fingers started to slip around her bare lips with ease.
Lily was fucking soaked for me.
I growled as I reached for her, and she threw her arms around my shoulders at once. I picked her up, hands on the undersides of her thighs, and she wrapped her legs around my waist, attaching her mouth to mine with a savage hunger. Our tongues clashed as I blindly sought out her soaking cunt, then dove into her with one eager thrust.
"Aah, Nikita!!" she screamed, throwing her head back in ecstasy, her body shivering in my arms.
My teeth sank into her shoulder as I pressed her hard against the wall and fucked her the way I wanted to at the gala. Lily took me to the hilt, grinding and humping against me as she chased her pleasure, her moans filling the room, pouring into my ear. I squeezed every curve, tested her soft flesh, marked her.
She was mine, every part of her, and I wanted her to know it.
"Mine," I growled, fucking her harder against the wall. "Mine, you're mine. Say it."
"Nikita, oh god, Nikita," she whimpered. I could feel her tensing around me. That pulled me closer to the edge.
"Now, say it!" I demanded as she buried her hands in my hair.
"Yours!" she gasped out. "All yours, fuck, I'm coming!"
I didn't let up for a second. I dove into her faster and faster, panting hard as she squeezed tight around me and screamed her pleasure into the room. I swore against her neck and held her tight to me. The heat of her skin, the way she clutched at me, nearly weeping with pleasure, I wanted to experience it longer, just a little longer.
I didn't want this moment to end. She felt so good wrapped around me, giving into me, becoming mine willingly. Distantly, I registered her begging, her arms tightening around my neck, her lips close to my ear.
"Come, Nikita, come," she pleaded, still working her pussy around my dick. "I want to feel you come, too."
And I couldn't hold back a second longer.
The wave of my release slammed into me, and I thrust one last time. I spilled my seed deep inside of her, pushing to get deeper, to fill her with everything I had. We clung to each other desperately, both struggling to catch our breath.
For a moment, everything stilled.
The world seemed to narrow down to just the two of us—our bodies pressed together, hearts pounding, the heat of our shared desire still thick in the air. My forehead rested against hers, our breaths mingling as the aftershocks of the moment slowly began to fade.
But as the haze of lust started to clear, reality crept back in.
My grip on her loosened slightly, though I didn't let her go. I couldn't. Not yet. I held her there, pinned between me and the wall, our bodies still pressed together, still connected. The intensity of what had just happened settled over us like a heavy blanket, thick and inescapable.
This had been inevitable. From the moment we met, from the moment she had stepped into my world, this had been building. But now that it had happened, now that I had claimed her, the consequences of it all started to surface in my mind.
I shouldn't have done it. I shouldn't have let it get this far.
But the way her body still trembled against mine as she tried to steady herself told me that there was no turning back. We were both too deep now, too entangled in each other to walk away.
Slowly, I loosened my hold on her, my hands trailing down her sides as I pulled back just enough to look at her. Her face was flushed, her lips swollen from the intensity of our kiss, her eyes glazed with the aftermath of what had just happened between us.
For a moment, neither of us spoke. The weight of what had just transpired hung between us, heavy and undeniable. I could still feel the lingering heat of her body pressed against mine, the pulse of my own heartbeat slowly returning to normal, but the silence was deafening.
Finally, Lily spoke, her voice barely a whisper. "Nikita…"
Her words trailed off, as if she wasn't sure what to say. And honestly, I wasn't sure what to say, either. What had just happened was more than either of us had anticipated. It was more than just desire, more than just a moment of weakness.
I should have stepped away, should have pulled back, regained the control I had just lost. But instead, I stood there, staring down at her, my hands still on her, unable to move.
"You're mine," I said again, my voice low, but there was no question in it this time. Only a cold, possessive truth.
Lily's eyes met mine, and for a second, I thought I saw something flicker there—something more than just the aftereffects of what we had done. Something deeper. But just as quickly, it was gone, replaced by the same quiet defiance she always carried.
And that only made me want her more.