2. Nikola
NIKOLA
S kye could be infuriating when she wanted to be. She could drive even a level-headed person to certifiable insanity. So it wasn’t a surprise that she was fucking with my head.
Skye was persistence and determination personified.
Nothing could ever keep her back or tame her spark.
It was what I really liked about her. She really deserved better than the shackles of mafia life.
It was one reason I’d always kept her at arm’s length.
She was too good to be wrapped up with me or anyone else in the mafia.
I was determined to see her break away from these chains of the criminal life we’d been forced into.
I didn’t have a choice in the matter, but she certainly did, and despite her papa and my uncle, she could find a way to live free and happy.
But when she’d gone and told me, “I’m off to get laid,” it completely threw me for a loop. At moments like that, I was tempted to throw all my good intentions to the wind and fuck her into oblivion.
Jesus Christ, at this rate, I’d find myself being taken away and medicated. These emotions were a fucking pain in my ass and giving me major whiplash.
Protect her. Take her.
Keep her away. Shackle her to me.
I couldn’t seem to make up my mind when it came to Skye Leone.
It was no wonder I found myself outside, in the sectioned-off alley that was reserved for my family. The sound of the city felt like a distant noise against the infuriating thump of my heart while I soaked up every inch of Skye’s body that tempted me like water tempted Poseidon.
For fuck’s sake, now I was turning poetic too.
Skye slid down my front, her soft body molding into mine, those ridiculous fuck-me heels landing softly against the ground.
The tension in my body stirred as I stared at my motorbike, eternally cursing myself for not driving my Defender today. Of course I couldn’t have foreseen that this little shit would saunter into the club and sign those godforsaken words with her graceful fingers.
I’m off to get laid.
Over my dead body.
And rest assured, I’d kill any man who dared touch her. Damn her! I had a long list of people who annoyed me, but lately, Skye’d managed to hold the top spot with her not-so-subtle glances.
She sauntered over to my bike, cocked a brow, and tapped her foot impatiently.
“ Are you going to stare at me all night ?” she questioned as I stared at her, waiting for the punchline. “ Because I can suggest a few things that would be more exciting .”
I narrowed my eyes. “Where is this coming from all of a sudden?”
“ Maybe I’m just sick of being overlooked. Ever thought of that? ”
“I know your papa and Sasha keep you on a short leash, which means you probably didn’t get to experiment much, but seriously… What gives?”
She tapped her lip with a finger as she considered my words, trying to appear unaffected, but her shining blue eyes told me it was just a front. They held a promise of so many promiscuous things that I feared would be the death of me.
I stepped forward, closing the distance between us in one go, and used my arms to box her in against the bike. My combat boots pushed against her Barbie-pink pumps, a metaphor for our personalities.
“Did you forget my warning?” I growled.
Her brow furrowed. “ What warning ?”
“I told you I’m a broken heart collector and anyone dealing with me needs professional help when I’m done with them.
” I smirked coldly, reminding her of the night a few months ago when she and her friends decided to crash our party.
“I’d do nothing more than clip your wings, break your heart, and leave only ashes in my wake. ”
She shrugged. “Maybe I’ll be the one to break your heart. ”
“If you’re interested in me, you really should see a therapist. I’m a magnet for people who need professional help.”
She shrugged. “I don’t mind a visit to a therapist once in a while. ”
I gave my head a subtle shake. “Someone has to put a leash on you, zayka .”
Either that or completely cut her loose so she can fly free like an eagle. I’d told her that I left ashes in my wake, and I meant it literally. Life in the mafia was death, and she deserved better. But she didn’t heed the warning.
“ Nobody’s putting a leash on me, Nik. Not unless it’s for kinky purposes. ”
The little shi?—
“What do you know about kinks, zayka ?”
“ Nothing .” Her blue eyes widened innocently—a blue so shocking I was thrown into the memory of one of the few times I visited her at her father’s castello on the Gulf of Trieste, the summer of Skye’s high school graduation before she departed for D’Arc. “ But you can show me .”
I furrowed my eyebrows. “Show you what?”
She beamed. “ Your kinks .”
Yeah, this woman would be the end of me if I wasn’t careful. It was time I taught her a lesson. After all, it was years in the making.
“Pull that pretty little dress up for me and climb on.” I pointed my chin at the bike.
Her sharp inhale filled the space between us; the city sounds drowned out by everything happening in this little alley.
I was brushing her chest with how close we were standing, and her faint scent—a mixture of wildflowers and honey—gave me déjà vu of our childhood, running through the meadows as we laughed our heads off.
“ Why? ” she signed slowly, her expression that of a timid rabbit.
“Because I’ll do things to you you’ll never forget.”
A heartbeat stretched into infinity before she got herself together and signed, “ You’re not the only unforgettable one .”
Against my better judgment, I pushed forward. I slipped a finger under her chin and tilted it upward, forcing her to look at me. My palm slid down the curve of her firm ass, squeezing as I pulled her closer to me.
I didn’t know what I expected, but surprise flared through me as her soft body complied. Her body was soft, smooth, and so damn tempting with those curves that she hadn’t bothered to hide today.
Her heat—or was it mine—radiated off our clothes, and I stifled a groan.
“We’ll start slow before you take off running, my little zayka ,” I murmured, my lips gliding down the side of her neck.
She inhaled a sharp breath, and before I could think better of it, I crashed my mouth against hers punishingly, resenting her for yielding to temptation.
Skye’s lips molded over mine, her soft moan—the first sound I felt from her—vibrating against me. It was our first kiss, but I knew it would also be our last, and something about that thought infuriated me.
So, my kiss turned brutal, with teeth and tongue, reminding her that I was in control. Again though, she surprised me. Her tongue met mine thrust for thrust, like we’d been fucking for years and knew each other intimately.
Her fingers fisted my shirt, drawing me closer. I bit her lower lip until I split it open, her warm, metallic blood trickling into my mouth.
Break the fucking kiss, zayka. I’m too much for you.
She didn’t. Instead, she kissed me harder. I pulled her entire lip into my mouth, and she let me. In fact, she seemed too eager for it.
I chuckled darkly at her stubbornness, putting more pressure on her lips, kissing her harder, tasting her blood and enjoying it all too much.
Because I was a sadist. Because she was too sweet. Because she was mine.
I was so hard, I knew I was in real danger of taking her right here in the alley, on top of my bike. As if she could read my thoughts, she straddled my thigh, grinding herself against me. Shamelessly. Wantonly. Unapologetically.
Just the way I fucking liked it.
And that was enough.
I tore my mouth from hers, brushing my thumb over her cheekbone. She stumbled forward, and I let her fall on my chest. I craned my neck back to stare up at the night sky, not knowing how she’d turned the tables on me or what I was thinking, ceding control.
She steadied herself and pulled away, blinking repeatedly as if to clear the fog in her head. Then she signed with a confused expression, “ Why did you stop ?”
Wasn’t that the million-dollar question? The problem was that Skye was innocent, a sheltered princess, and I was a reckless, irrevocably fucked-up man with deviant tastes who would end up hurting her. She deserved better.
“You can’t handle me,” I growled.
It was a lie—to her and to myself—because a dark voice whispered in my head that it was me who couldn’t handle her. I’d known it for a while, and instantly one specific memory flitted to the forefront of my mind.
Skye floated around the old castello courtyard like she was a princess who had stepped through time.
The crystal blue waters surrounded one side of the castle while a forested hill and gardens lined the other.
It was truly a fairy-tale place, although Skye mentioned once that her papa and his brother had a rough childhood here.
Tragic beginnings were a running theme among our parents.
A laugh rang in the air and my gaze locked on its source to find it was Skye’s. She wore a long pink maxi dress, smiling graciously at everyone. But it was when she smiled at her parents and my uncle Sasha and aunt Branka that her expression glowed.
That girl loved them and would die for them.
Something ugly flickered in my chest for the first time ever, taking me aback. I stood frozen amid all the guests, analyzing it, when realization sunk in. Jealousy!
Fuck, why was I jealous? Skye was practically another cousin, although not by blood. But it was clear from the moment my aunt and uncle had adopted her that she was our family.
“It’s wrong,” I muttered under my breath.
“What’s wrong?” Uncle Sasha stood next to me, eyeing me suspiciously. “And why are you staring at Skye?”
I opened my mouth. Closed it. Opened it again. But I couldn’t find the damn words.
“Nikola, you better not be starting any shit with my Skye,” Uncle growled when I remained speechless. “I told you when you two were little: she’s family and she’s to be protected. I expect you to keep her safe when she goes to D’Arc too.”
“You realize I’m older than her. I’ll be graduating next year,” I grumbled.
“Shouldn’t you work on your master’s?” It was a suggestion-slash-order and I couldn’t decide whether it was a good one or a bad one. It’d allow me more time around Skye which was good.
No, you fucking idiot. It would be bad, my mind scolded.
“I think you’re right,” I heard myself say. “I’ll work on my master’s and ensure nobody gets the wrong idea with Skye.”
“Yes, keep those bad boys away,” Uncle Sasha agreed. “Including yourself. You two are practically siblings.”
I never got a chance to respond because Skye threw herself at Uncle, grinning happily. “ Thank you for talking to Papa about D’Arc. He would have never let me go if it wasn’t for you. ”
Sasha patted her affectionately, her small frame making her look like a child in his arms.
“He’s a tough nut to crack, but not to worry, princess. I’d crack it again and again,” he signed and said the words at the same time.
Skye chuckled. “ That sounded too threatening, but I know you didn’t mean it. You two are the best parents in the world. Right, Damiano? ”
My cousin, Sasha’s only son whom Skye’s mother birthed as a surrogate, appeared. The kid always trailed behind Skye, the two acting as if they were birth siblings. Fuck if I knew whether they were or not. Our family relations were too goddamn complicated.
The only thing I was certain of was that Skye wasn’t blood-related to me at all.
Damiano yapped while Skye nodded her head enthusiastically, her eyes sparkling like blue diamonds, and suddenly I wanted to smack my little cousin’s head.
Was it petty? Maybe. Did he deserve it? Maybe not. Would I keep Skye at arm’s length? Definitely.
Even back then I knew if I wasn’t careful, Skye could swallow me whole and never spit me out.