5. Skye #2
I shook my head, not wanting to spiral over his lack of communication. I’d already embarrassed myself enough lately with all my—unanswered—texts. Some days I didn’t even know what possessed me when I’d furiously typed a message to Nikola and then hit send, only to watch it change to ‘Read.’
I released a breath and glanced around as a tall man with broad shoulders and chiseled jaw stopped in front of us. A white mask hid half of his face, the color stark against his tanned skin and coal-black hair, but his charisma was impossible to hide.
Amara’s fingers tightened around my hand and I shot her a curious look, just in time to catch her lips moving. “ Holy mother of God .”
Penelope licked her lips, giving the stranger and his custom suit a once-over. It was as if she’d completely forgotten about us in his presence.
“I see you got my invitation,” the man said, his eyes burning as he stared at Penelope, while Amara and I just stood there gaping. “Want a tour?”
He extended his hand, and without hesitation, her fingers came to rest in his palm. She took a step toward him when I tugged on her arm.
She turned her head and I signed, “ Be safe. Okay? ”
A beaming smile on her face and a curt nod was my answer before she left.
“Well, that was…”
Amara seemed at a loss for words, so I helped her. “ Intense .”
“Right? Like, who is that guy?”
“ A panty-melting hottie .”
Amara’s eyes flashed with something, and I followed her line of vision past my shoulder.
She tugged on my hand for attention. “I think I saw someone.”
Not seeing anything out of the ordinary, I turned back to Amara. “ Who? ”
“Not sure, but I’ll be right back. Will you be okay?”
I nodded, then smiled and shooed her away when she remained glued to the spot. “ I’m a big girl. You just go ahead. I’ll wait for you both here. ”
I watched her cut across the room with a purposeful stride, then found a corner with a chair where I could people-watch.
The room pulsed with a vibrant, almost tangible energy.
People laughed and conversed while the air buzzed with excitement, as if the very walls were alive with anticipation.
A waiter carrying a tray of champagne ambled past me and I flagged him down, taking a glass.
I almost expected him to card me, but when he didn’t, I promptly drained the tall flute.
The bubbles hit the back of my throat as I returned the empty glass to the tray and snagged another two.
The waiter disappeared and I fastened my gaze on a couple making out in plain sight, not a care in the world. They were all over each other—kissing and grinding like time was of the essence.
It made me feel like a voyeur, but I found myself unable to look away.
I almost spilled both my glasses over my dress when the woman lowered herself onto a velvet chaise and pulled up her skirt, bunching it around her waist. She parted her legs, revealing her bare pussy, and the man dropped to his knees, burying his face in her sex.
Holy fucking shit. Is that even allowed? I thought, my jaw all but hitting the floor.
No sooner had the sight scorched my eyeballs than another couple to their left seemed to take their cue. A woman was bent over a piano while her partner rammed into her, fucking her in front of everyone.
I stared at it all, appalled and a bit… turned on?
My body tightened and hummed with desire as the wild, erotic scenes unfolded in front of my eyes.
I downed one drink, then the other, and placed them at the first table I spotted just as a man walked by. He smiled, and distractingly, I smiled back. In the next heartbeat, he cupped my cheek and pressed a kiss on my mouth, catching me by surprise.
I pushed him away, scrunched my nose, and wiped my mouth with the back of my hand. Before I had a chance to tell him off, he was knocked off his feet in a flurry of movements.
A strong set of inked fingers wrapped around my forearm and I attempted to slip away, but when I looked up, I came face-to-face with none other than Nikola.
“ What are you doing here ?” I signed, suddenly feeling like I was on fire, the guy who just kissed me completely forgotten.
My heart thundered against my rib cage as he stared at me with a furious expression that I couldn’t grasp. Why was he so upset? He’d made it abundantly clear he wanted nothing to do with me.
“Better question is, what the fuck are you doing here?”
His eyes were blazing as I stared back. Gosh, all this sex going on around me with Nikola so close was a recipe for disaster.
A battle raged within me, the temptation to move closer growing stronger with every beat, driven by the infectious rhythm and the sway of a dozen gyrating bodies surrounding us.
Rather than doing that, I looked up at him defiantly.
“ I’m here with a date, about to get laid ,” I lied, my fingers shaking as I signed. I raised my chin, meeting him square in the eye. “ So please get lost .”
He signed and said the next words with a locked jaw. “Is your date the guy who just kissed you? Because it didn’t look like you enjoyed that very much.”
I pursed my lips. “ No, that’s… that’s not him .”
He leaned against the wall casually, watching me. “Well, let’s wait for him, shall we? You can watch me break every bone in his body.” He flashed me a shark-like grin. “And then we’ll leave.”
I couldn’t do anything but stare at him, shocked, as he waved over a waiter and picked up two glasses. Suddenly parched, I gulped them down one at a time, then slammed them on the empty tray.
“Do they know you’re underage, zayka ?”
I narrowed my eyes on him, annoyed at the reminder. “ Go away, mudak.”
Suddenly I wished I knew more insulting Russian words than just mudak. Idiot. How was I supposed to be fierce and badass if I couldn’t even throw appropriate insults at him?
“I’m not going anywhere without you.” The fire in his gaze could have easily set me on fire. He downed his drink in one go, then said pensively, “Maybe you and I can join them on the floor?”
It was hard to miss that he was furious as he uttered those words, signing them at the same time. His fingers were stiff and his teeth clenched, I feared he’d crack his knuckles and his jaw.
Nonetheless, just the possibility of Nikola’s hands on me had my heart racing so fast I felt like I’d just run a marathon. “ Really? ”
A dark expression passed his face. “Sure, but then I’ll be busy killing everyone for the rest of the night.”
This man was giving me whiplash. “ And yet you can’t answer a simple text .”
I was close enough to see the pale blue specks in his eyes, his cologne clogging my senses.
It was only once I got to college and met new people—men—that I realized his was the only scent that overpowered me, made me feel dizzy, like the atmosphere in every room we shared had been drained of oxygen.
I stood up, ignoring the way his body vibrated with power, and leaned my soft body against his muscular one. I watched the throbbing pulse at the base of his throat. My tongue swept across my bottom lip, yearning to lick it.
“ Decide whether you want me or not, Nikola, before it’s too late. ”
His gaze zeroed in on me. “That almost sounds like an ultimatum.”
I shrugged.
“ Take it as you will . But do you know what I think? ” My fingers trembled as I signed.
“What?”
“ You’re scared. You’re scared to kiss me and lose control .”
“Wrong, zayka ,” he replied, and then reached around to the back of my neck where he grabbed a fistful of my hair, tilting my face up toward his before he swooped his mouth down to possess mine.
He turned us and slammed me up against the wall, ravaging my lips. Our tongues explored each other hungrily, off-the-charts chemistry erupting between us. His mouth drove me wild in a way I could never have imagined.
Heat rippled through me, and every cell in my brain fizzled to a stop. My arms snaked up around his neck, my fingers tangling in his thick hair.
He circled my tongue, sucking it deep into his mouth, and kissed me with such ferocity my knees went weak.
I was quickly getting drunk on the taste of him.
There was such a thrill in being maneuvered in such a way, and something awoke in me, answering his animal call.
A thrilling excitement kicked hard in the pit of my belly as I clung to him, soaking in his addictive heat, his hard length nudging against the softness of my stomach.
A rush of pleasure coursed through my body. Heat pooled between my legs and I wanted—needed—him unlike anything else.
The kiss stopped abruptly, with me panting and grinding against his thigh.
My hands took up what limited space existed between us as I signed, “ Why did you stop ?”
“Trust me, it’s for your own good,” he said with a grumbling expression. “You and me… we’re a disaster waiting to happen.”
My eyes traveled over his body and the bulge that was clearly visible behind the zipper of his pants before I ventured back up and stared at the tie that hung loose around his neck.
“ You have no idea what’s good for me ,” I signed slowly, hurt by his rejection. I wanted to tell him that he was good for me and I could be good for him. Instead, all I could come up with was “ Nice suit .”
A masked man appeared next to us, his eyes darting to Nikola, then to me, eyeing me like I was his dinner.
“Are you two interested in?—”
Nikola never let him finish his question, his fist connecting with the man’s face and shattering his nose.
I gasped, but before I could do anything, Nikola picked me up and threw me over his shoulder like a sack of potatoes, just like he’d done on Halloween.
This was getting old, even if I did kind of like it.
I’d have to remember to send the girls a text letting them know I’d get myself back home safely. I’d deal with their questions later.
Once outside, he set me on his bike and sniffed before saying, “You fight me right now, Skye, and I’m having you shipped back to Italy.”
What. A. Fucking. Asshole.