Chapter Eleven
They were in one of the converted rooms in the mansion, where Nikolai used to hold meetings with his men to strategize their moves. It was a bare room, devoid of any decoration, save the green Persian rug that Nikolai's mother had covered the floor in before she died. It was the only piece that Nikolai held on to with sentiments as he had refused to change the covering since she died - the most he had done was to get the cleaners to wash it every now and then. The walls were coated in a brilliant white that made the room look even bigger than it was. The high-back chairs were arranged around a huge table at the center of the room, but right now, the table wasn't in use; everyone was hurled around it instead - some were leaning against it while others stood with their backs straight, listening to every word the Russian Bear was saying.
Today, he was bringing them up to speed about the Petrova saga, telling them about the possibility of another mole getting sent to infiltrate their union. The unity and loyalty amongst Nikolai's men were one of his greatest assets - weapons even. They obeyed every command he gave, most times without questioning it. He had seen them walk blindly into a bloodbath just because he had told them to take a step forward, and even in that, they had sworn to stay by his side forever, even when it meant dying there.
And that was why, as ruthless as the Russian Bear was, he took great care when it came to his men. He protected them as much as they protected him when the course called for it. The respect was there, strong and firm, on both sides. They knew not to push his buttons and were aware of how much he hated his orders getting flouted. Nikolai had had to punish a good number of them just to communicate how much it was needed for them to always listen to him.
"Half of you will be with me," Nikolai said gravely, pointing at those he wanted on him, and they nodded at his instructions. "And this other half is meant to be guarding the grounds. We know they wouldn't try to come in through here, knowing how difficult that would be. But the Petrova family hasn't really been the smartest in the past, and I am counting on them to make silly mistakes again. The rest of you will do what you have always been doing, just with your noses in the air this time around. Clear?"
"Yes, Boss!" they chorused, the symphony of their thick and deep voices bouncing off the walls. The room reeked strongly of unbothered testosterone that had gotten their blood excited about the possibility of a battle with another family.
But that casual and unbothered outlook flipped the second the door to the room was pushed open suddenly. Nikolai was sure it was one of the workers, and he had prepared a lashing underneath his tongue. They knew better than to disrupt a meeting about which they were amply informed.
But the air in the room seemed to suddenly get sucked away as Lisa strolled in casually, stopping dead in the center of the room as she realized what she had walked into. Her small face had been wiped clean, and her hair was packed atop her head in a messy bun, with a few curls escaping the bun and framing her cute face. Nikolai angled his head as his eyes moved from her face down her body, his whole body heating up with desire instantly. Lisa had on a pair of denim shorts that only barely covered her mound, and the under of her butt cheek was exposed. She’d paired it with a black crop-top that had the inscription 'I don't give a fuck about what you think' boldly written on it.
Nikolai would have thought it was a funny way to voice out how she felt after what happened in the car the last time, and every time he had cornered her into the bathroom, the walls of the house and every other surface their body could come in contact with, worshipping her mound and then fucking her with her moans reverberating through the house when no one was in. But there was nothing funny about the scene unfolding before him.
The Russian Bear thought of all the ways he could carve the faces of his men inside out as their eyes opened and popped out of their sockets, still never leaving Lisa's body. He could see the desire in their eyes and smell the urges in the air. Although his men were allowed to engage in whatever private relationships they wanted to as long as it wasn't with the enemy, Nikolai knew that they would never let go of the chance to shack up something more. Now, he could almost hear their thoughts. Most of them had their bodies pressed to hers up in their head, and one of Nikolai's men even had the guts to mouth fuck as Lisa finally snapped out of her shock.
Nikolai could hear his blood rushing underneath his skin, and all he saw was red dotting his line of vision. He folded his hands into a fist, and resisted the urge to throw the lone vase on the table at all of them at the same time. Nikolai had an impeccable aim and he was sure he could have hit three of them in the process.
But Nikolai surprised himself with his level of endurance and self-control by standing straight with a scowl and declaring an end to the meeting before storming off in anger. Lisa immediately knew she had done something wrong by how Nikolai had abruptly walked out without saying a word to her. She made to run after him but stopped herself mid-way. Nikolai had a lot of men at his beck and call, doing his duties like they were tailor-made for him.
Lisa wasn't going to be one of those to him.
But she was still clueless as to what could be the possible reason for his anger. Lisa had grown bored after sitting by her window, watching the world go by. She had read all the books the matron had gotten for her, and while she had been promised a new set, Lisa had needed something to do in the meantime to keep her occupied. So, she had done the next thing she could think about - give herself a tour of the mansion since Dmitri had not exactly done that. Lisa had no clue that some sort of meeting was going on in here.
It was her first time seeing the people who worked for Nikolai all gathered in a room. She had seen a few of them in her walks at the lawn, at the gate, and the gym located at the annexed building, as well as when they got the keys to the car each time they got back into the mansion. But she had no idea they were this large in number. The whole room bubbled with a high level of male energy, and she felt it when every eye in the room fell on her. She noticed Nikolai more, how he looked at her the way he always did when he had her back pressed against a wall.
But that was gone as fast as it appeared, taken over by something else, something stronger.
And talking about Dmitri, why did he glare at her as she made her way to the door, intent on returning to her room? Dmitri had never hidden the fact that he hated her, but he had done absolutely nothing in the past weeks, and Lisa had begun to think that he had let go of his anger. She didn't know if she should be relieved that he had gone back to the status quo or worried that she had, once again, got into his radar.
But in all she did that day, the most important thing was to avoid Nikolai like the plague. She knew how he got when upset.
***
Lisa’s hands were poised against the brass knuckle on the door, trying to summon up the courage to rapt her fist against the door. The matron had announced to her that Nikolai wanted to see her in his office, her exact words being, “The Russian Bear demanded you see him immediately, even if you are hanging upside down over the toilet sink. Poor child! What have you done to get on his bad side so soon?”
The matron had no idea. Lisa felt she was always trying not to get on his bad side, yet nature seemed to push her right there every time. And Lisa was weird for even thinking about admitting to the fact that she enjoyed the game, one where she had to relinquish control by force.
The door was suddenly pulled open with Lisa’s hand still on the door, and she all but tumbled into the room, almost falling face flat on the rug in the huge office. Instead, a pair of hands caught her and stabled her for a second before letting her go. He didn’t smell like Nikolai, and Lisa had a good idea who it was.
She whipped her head up, surprised to see Dmitri was the one who had caught her from falling. But almost immediately, as if she had some infection he didn’t want to get, he let her go and stood far away from her in the room. The scowl that Lisa had gotten used to was back up, as well as a closed off expression.
What exactly was his deal?
“The meeting is over,” Nikolai said from the office chair behind the desk, not looking up from the tablet on the table. Despite the fact that she knew she couldn’t be in his office to get flowers handed over to her, his voice still managed to get her head in a frenzy. It dripped off hard masculinity, and it got to Lisa every single time, even when he was barely trying.
Dmitri flashed a glare at Lisa as he stalked out of the office, closing the door behind him. She waited until she couldn’t hear his footsteps again before turning her attention to Nikolai, who still hadn’t moved an inch. The lights in his office were dull, and they cast a soft glow on everything under its purview. But the brightest light in the space was the one from his tab on the table, and it shone onto his hard-set face, which bore nothing but anger right now. Lisa recognized it from how eerily calm he looked, like the next minute he was about to ask her in a calm voice to get down on her knees and suck on his cock till he released.
The mere thought brought a dull pulse in between her thighs.
“What’s Dmitri’s deal?” Lisa broke the silence when it was getting too loud for comfort. Left for Nikolai, he would have loved to have her stand there before him, the silence eating so deep into her that she wouldn’t be able to take it anymore. She broke way too soon, but this was going to have to do.
“He seemed extra angry at me today. I mean, he is always angry at me, but it’s just… too much today, I guess.”
“So, you notice things like that,” Nikolai quietly mentioned, finally looking in her direction. His eyes appeared darker than usual, and the weight of it fell on Lisa. She took a tiny step backward unconsciously, her heart suddenly going erratic. But she had no clue what was causing it - the fact that he looked scary or that she loved how it made her feel.
“What are you aiming at?” Lisa said in a shaky voice, then cleared her throat noisily to try again. “What things did I not notice?” Her voice came out stronger this time, and she mentally gave herself a pat on the back.
“If you noticed Dmitri was angrier at you, then surely you read the room before walking into it dressed like that.”
So that was what this was about!
Lisa thought he had let it go. She should have known better - Nikolai never let things go.
“I didn’t know you were having a meeting there with your men!” She raised her hands in exasperation, and Nikolai’s eyes followed the movement. “I was bored out of my mind and needed to leave my room. And you are not exactly fun material, not one I would run to when I need company.”
The last part was true. Each time she was in Nikolai’s presence, they either argued about the most mundane thing ever, with Nikolai winning all the time, like right now, or they had crazy sex in every corner of the house. Nikolai was hard to keep up with. But was she kidding herself? Lisa knew that from the very beginning.
“But my men are, right?”
“Nikolai, you aren’t being very reasonable right now.”
Lisa realized her mistake the moment she spoke the words, but it was too late to recall them. Nikolai angled his head at her outburst, then got out of his seat and walked over to where she stood by the door slowly, easily towering over her. His long fingers brushed her chin, and he lifted her face up to look him in the eyes. They were as dark as the clouds on a rainy day.
“I’m being unreasonable?”
Lisa squirmed underneath his touch, wanting to put as much space between them as possible, and at the same time, tug at the wool of his black sweater. This wasn’t the best place or time to think about how his lips would feel pressed against hers, and how he seemed to be obsessed with her lips since the last time in his car.
“Nikolai…” Lisa whispered, unable to stop herself.
“You are mine, Lisa,” he declared, like he had all the power in the world to take anyone he wished too.
Maybe he did.
“And I had to stop myself from pulling a gun out and ending the lives of my men who dared to look at you in those damn shorts and a crop top that left nothing to the imagination.”
Lisa would have added that she wore a bra, but she doubted that would change anything in this situation. And why the hell was he acting like she had given them a show or something? All she had done was stumble into the room, and she walked out almost immediately.
But not before he had already registered his displeasure.
“Why?” Lisa whispered, not sure she would like his response, not even sure she wanted to hear it.
“I told you before, krastoka . You are wholly mine, and mine alone. The mere thought of anyone else seeing your neck exposed before them, or the way your eyes change shade when you are horny as fuck, or the little birthmark on your butt, makes me see only red. I have been trying to distract myself all day by working with Dmitri so I wouldn’t walk back out there and kill the men who have been loyal to me all their lives. So, Lisa, this is the last time this will happen.”
The atmosphere in the room increased a notch, and Lisa felt sweat trickle down her skin. She swallowed impulsively, and her lips parted on their own accord. She was utterly at the mercy of Nikolai’s gaze, and it was doing things to her body. She could feel wetness pool in the middle of her panties, and she repressed the urge to bring her legs together. Nikolai wouldn’t miss it.
“Okay.” Lisa nodded, bobbing her head like a child. “I won’t do that again.”
“Do what?” He needed to hear her say it.
“I will cover up when the men are inside the mansion.”
Nikolai was stunned that Lisa had not argued with him on that ground. She usually had something to say no matter how angry he was or how much he showed it. But today, she just agreed with him.
It made the Russian Bear think of good girls and how best to reward them.
“Can I ask you something?” Lisa gushed out spontaneously, making good use of the opportunity. She doubted she would be able to summon up enough courage to ask him the moment she left this office.
Or not.
It was really dependent on the way the night would end.
“In a minute,” Nikolai drawled, and suddenly Lisa’s feet were off the ground as he lifted her easily and dropped her on the table after clearing its contents with a hand. Papers and books fell to the ground in soft whispers, but Nikolai barely gave that any attention as he shoved a knee in between her legs, pressing hard against her core through the sheer baby-pink nightgown she had on.
“Was this what you wanted when you walked into that room?” His hands gripped her waist, and he slammed her hard to him. “For everyone’s eyes and minds to be on you, and for their arms to roam around your body searching for a goddamn gold that isn’t theirs?”
Lisa shook her head, but the movement only made her more conscious of Nikolai’s knee in between her thighs. “I just… I wanted to… I have something to ask you. I was thinking of it.”
“You’ve said that before, krastoka. Yet, I can’t hear you ask me anything.” Lisa’s soft scent made Nikolai heady, and his cock hardened in response. Lifting a hand to her head, he tugged down the band, holding her bun in place, and the mass of silky strands cascaded all over her back and face, giving her an ethereal look. She looked fucking beautiful under the night light, and her eyes were droopy and heavy with need like she couldn’t wait to have his dick in her body.
Lisa’s stomach quivered from the intensity of Nikolai’s tone. Her nipples felt hard and perked underneath her nightgown, visible through the sheer fabric, and Nikolai’s eyes were on them. But he didn’t reach out to stroke them with his thumb, punishing her instead with the idea of how great it would feel to have his hands taunting her there right now. Lisa found it hard to breathe, so she reached out for a hand to pull him closer, but Nikolai shook his head. “Tell me what you wanted to ask first.”
Fuck him!
“Can I get a job?” she blurted out breathlessly, thinking Nikolai would stiffen and act all out since he could barely let her walk around the house dressed in whatever she wanted. Instead, he brushed a tongue on her hard nipple through the silk of the nightdress, obsessed with how it sprung back in his face as if daring him to take another go at it. The fabric around the nipple was damp with his saliva, and he made the same mark on her second nipple.
Lisa buried her hand in his head and pulled him closer, arching her back in the process. “You aren’t giving me a response, are you?” It took a lot of effort to get those words out.
“You said it yourself.” Nikolai removed his knee from between her thighs. He wanted to take off her pants as gentlemanly as he could, but that was gone out of the window with how his dick demanded to be paid attention to. It was everything about Lisa - from how her waist fit perfectly in his arms to how she sighed and gasped each time he touched her. Her body opened up to him like a fucking flower, but the difference was that Nikolai knew he couldn’t squash her.
At least not yet.
He had never been one to hold on to things forever, unless it had something to do with the mafia. So that meant all of this would have to come to an end someday. It left a sour taste in his mouth, but Nikolai pushed the thought to the back of his head. He looked into her gray eyes, reading the need and hunger in them. She looked like sex, with her tousled hair all over the place, her nightwear bunched on her waist, and her full lips begging to be kissed.
Nikolai’s senses were heightened as he ripped off her pants in one quick movement, his hands grazing her damp core. “You’re such a little whore, you know, right?” he whispered as he discarded the ruined lace. “You walked into a meeting to seduce my men a few hours ago. You are fucking dripping for me right now, so much that I want to soak in that scent, yet you want to get a job out there, with men around, touching you just the way I do. That’s what you want, right?”
Nikolai’s cock glided over her pulsing core without thrusting in. Instead, he teased her over and over again with his dick, moving up and down her folds until she thought her seams were going to burst wide open. Lisa knew she should be appalled by how he wanted to dominate every area of her life, yet she found herself thinking of something else entirely - wanting something else entirely.
“Nikolai,” she gasped, rubbing her core against his stretched dick, still teasing her. “Please…”
“Answer the fucking question, Lisa.”
She couldn’t even remember what he had asked, and her brain was too foggy right now to pay attention to anything else apart from the dire need to have his cock inside of her. But Lisa knew Nikolai wasn’t going to give her what she unashamedly wanted, so she tried to remember.
What had she asked him?
The job!
“No,” she moaned, her eyes fluttering close as Nikolai increased the speed, sliding through her damp core in an insane fashion, leaving her on the verge of shuddering into tiny pieces, yet never really getting to that point. A smirk spread on his face but didn’t exactly reach his eyes. He was angry about everything, and Lisa just kept making it worse.
“I… didn’t seduce anyone,” Lisa choked out, another moan escaping from her lips.
“And what about the job? You just love playing the clueless whore, don’t you?”
Lisa shook her head. “Please, Nikolai!” She didn’t think she could take it anymore.
“Please, what? Tell me what you want, Lisa.”
“Fuck me!” she gasped. Lisa had never imagined ever uttering those words.
The things Nikolai did to her! She couldn’t even feel appalled by it.
Lisa yelped as the Russian Bear obliged her with all fervor, thrusting inside her in one deft go and forcing her to look at him.
“The moment you take your eyes off me, I’ll be gone,” he grunted, increasing the intensity with every full stroke. “You are fucking perfect for me. Look how you are clinging tight to me like you never want me out. You’d like that, wouldn’t you, krastoka? ”
A loud shriek escaped from Lisa’s mouth, bouncing along the walls of the office. The last time she was in here, she was on her knees, taking in his release. Now, she was bouncing off his cock on his mahogany table. The thought made her impossibly hornier, and pleasure pooled in between her legs, where Nikolai thrust on like a raged animal.
“Look at me,” he ordered again as she threw her head back and closed her eyes. Nikolai splayed his fingers on her neck with one hand, pulling her face back to look at his. There was resolution in his eyes as, with his other hand, he reached for the telephone that he had strangely missed when he had sent the contents of the table landing on the floor.
He dialed a number by heart and placed the phone against his ears. Lisa’s moans didn’t stop him from making his call, as the other person on the line knew better than to say anything about it. And he loved the way Lisa looked at him like he was a crazy person, making a phone call while fucking her brains out. But she liked it too. He could see it from the shine in her eyes.
“Dmitri,” he grunted into the phone. “Send half of my men with Lisa tomorrow. She’ll be going to the art exhibition holding in Brighton Beach.”
Lisa couldn’t hear Dmitri at the other end of the line, but with the way Nikolai’s eyes hardened, she could tell he really didn’t fancy being given orders to do anything for her. But there was nothing he could do since going against the Russian Bear wasn’t an option.
“And tell those fucking men not to let their eyes off her even for a minute.” Nikolai wanted to add that if any of them as much as ogled at her, he would send them to the slaughter, but Dmitri wasn’t dumb. He would find out that something was going on between them, and Nikolai didn’t think it was a good idea since Dmitri had yet to let go of his theory that Lisa was up to something.
Watching Nikolai make a phone call while thrusting and choking her at the same time sent Lisa’s body into a frenzy as she felt her core clench and the warmth rushing from deep within. She pressed her hips against his as she yelped, feeling her limbs loose and every part of her body sent into a wave of tremors. At that moment, Lisa felt all the worries in the world escape her as she came, his cock still inside her.
Her breathing increased without a break as Nikolai’s cock hit a sweet spot, sending both of them grunting.
“Fuck!” Nikolai moaned as he released inside her, his body going through spasms for as long as he was inside her.
“I told you I wanted a job.” Lisa found her voice as Nikolai pulled out and placed a kiss on her forehead. He loved hearing the subtle sigh escape from her lips each time he did that.
“You better be grateful I let you go to an art exhibition.” He kissed her again, this time on her lips, then headed to the door after zipping his pants in place.
Left to him, he would never let her out of reach - not even for a minute.