Chapter Sixteen
Nikolai hadn't come down for breakfast that morning, and Lisa was beginning to get worried. She was used to him sitting across the table, ignoring her throughout the meal. He sometimes acted like he was the only one at the table, sometimes inviting Dmitri, who hated eating at the same table as her, but always obliged because of his boss.
But it was different today.
It was eerily quiet.
"Was it because of what I did yesterday at the party?" Lisa asked herself as she took a sip of the freshly squeezed juice, wishing she had a definite answer to her questions. But she would say that yesterday ended on a good note. Thinking about how Nikolai had taught her how to touch herself and then watched from the chair at the foot of the bed brought a bright red hue to her face. Lisa bit her lips as she remembered how his eyes were fastened on her, unblinking the whole time. He made her feel like she was the center of his world, that in a room of a hundred people, she was the only one that mattered.
Such a shame that it was only the both of them in that room.
Lisa had no idea Dmitri was in the room already until he rudely cleared his throat, pulling a chair out noisily and plopping down on it. He glanced up to look at her for a second, raising an eyebrow at how red her skin looked that early in the day. But he returned to his meal, forgetting her altogether. Left to him, she would be out of the mansion already, but Nikolai had other plans, and as much as it looked like Dmitri detested being under the same roof as Lisa, he was loyal to Nikolai as well and believed in whatever his boss told him.
Now, Nikolai wanted them to wait. And that is what he would do.
Lisa thought about asking Dmitri why Nikolai hadn’t come down for breakfast, but decided against it upon the realization that he wouldn't tell her anything reasonable. He didn't even want to hear her voice, for some reason unknown to Lisa.
Returning to her room after breakfast, Lisa remained there through lunch, which she asked the matron to bring upstairs. After waiting for a while, Lisa decided to check up on Nikolai herself. He hadn't seen her all day, and it was troubling. Even when he was angry at her, they still bumped into each other in the hallway a million times a day, almost like it was intentionally orchestrated. But this felt different. It felt like Nikolai was intentionally staying away, and Lisa didn't like the thought of that.
Had she done or said something weird last night? She couldn't remember how she got to her bed because she must have fallen asleep somewhere between the bathtub and his arms. Had she mumbled something in her sleep that sent him into shock?
Fuck! Did she tell him that she was in love with him?
A newly arisen trepidation in her steps, Lisa found her way to Nikolai's bedroom on the same floor as hers - the last door on the hallway. Lisa took a deep breath staring at the door, then knocked shyly, her heart thumping so loud that she thought whoever was on the other side could probably hear it.
Her knock came back to her unanswered, so Lisa twisted the handle of the door, almost sure that it wouldn't give way. But it turned under her hands, pushing open to a world so distinct from the one she had seen for the past months that she had been in Nikolai's mansion. The darkness reflected all the way to the door, that even as Lisa stepped inside, she knew what to expect and she wasn't disappointed.
Like his wardrobe, everything in Nikolai's room was in a shade of black, from his heavy curtains that seemed to do more job of blocking out the sun than for privacy to his bed covers that perfectly covered the bed like no one had been on it for a while. The whir of the AC was the only audible sound in the room, and the black rug caressed Lisa's foot as she threaded further into the room, attracted by its ambiance. Lisa had never thought that black was such a rich color until she met Nikolai and his dark world. Now, it looked like the best reflection of the state of life - all its conflicts, beauty, accidents, knowledge, fury, power, pride, secrecy - everything Nikolai stood for.
There was a picture on the dresser - the only sense of belonging that was in the room. It would have looked like a guest room if Lisa hadn't known how obsessed Nikolai was with the color. Changing the course of her steps, she sauntered to the dressing table, her eyes falling on the sole picture, standing in the middle of nothing save a lone phone charger. Lisa bent forward slowly, with her hands on her knees, careful not to touch the picture to avoid moving it. Nikolai was too attentive to details to miss something like that.
It was a picture of Nikolai, and his young face stared back at Lisa with broodiness and indifference, as if he would rather be doing something else than taking a stupid family picture. His parents flanked him on both sides, with a sweet smile on his mother's face, while his father bore the same look. Lisa realized that Nikolai was more like his father, with their blue eyes that seemed to have the ability to see into one's soul. They also held something dark behind them, and Lisa shuddered with the thought that Nikolai had always been this way, even before his parents' death.
But what struck Lisa the most was the garden in which the picture was taken. None of her foster parents had ever bothered to take her out to a garden, and she barely had enough time or interest to go to one herself, yet this one looked so familiar that it tingled her senses the same way it had the first time she saw Nikolai. She could have sworn that she had been in that garden before as a scene unfolded in her head. She was in a flowery dress, running through the flowers with her hair blowing in the wind. She could tell she was only five then, with no cares and worries in the world. And there was someone else running in the garden with her. Lisa couldn't place the face, but she could hear his rich laughter embracing her, telling her to stop running lest she fall on her face.
A smile spread through Lisa's face, and then she caught herself almost immediately. It was strange because she was sure she couldn't remember anything from when she was that young, yet that scene had played out so strongly that Lisa had to believe that it wasn't a figment of her imagination. She had been in that garden.
But with whom? Where was it? Why was she just remembering?
All of it made no sense.
Lisa could feel a headache coming along, but before she had enough time to nurse it, she felt a presence behind her, his woody scent drifting toward her.
"What the fuck are you doing inside here? Who told you it was fine to come in?"
Lisa stopped breathing and went into temporary shock, finding it difficult to turn around to face Nikolai. She didn't want to see the look on his face, but then again, she barely had any other option. Thinking of an excuse to give him, Lisa turned around slowly, her heart giving a huge lurch when she realized he was in nothing but a white towel. His well-defined muscles were right in Lisa's face, standing hard like the right quantity of dessert in a classy diner.
And water was dripping from his damp hair onto the rug.
He was in the shower! How come she hadn't heard anything?
"I - I knocked."
"So?"
Lisa swallowed, looking from the door to Nikolai's face. It was still slightly open from when she walked in, and she wondered if Nikolai would be fast enough to catch her if she decided to run out. He looked really furious like she had done something to piss him off.
Maybe she had, only that she couldn't remember doing a thing.
"I'll just leave," she said in a quiet voice, making to walk around him. But Nikolai stopped her in the blink of an eye, holding her arm so tight that Lisa winced from the pain.
"You're hurting me!" she whined.
"Who sent you, Yelizaveta?"
"What?" Lisa looked up at him, confusion and pain embedded in her eyes. Was this another one of his names for her? Who was Yelizaveta?
"Nikolai," she whispered, as tears sprung to the corner of her eyes. "I'm sorry that I walked into your room when you didn't ask me to. I will not do it again. Can you let me go now?"
Nikolai didn't take her words for it, but he released the hold he had on her arm. "This should be the first and last time you fucking wander into my room without my permission. Are we clear?"
A vein bobbed in Nikolai's neck as he spat so much anger at Lisa. She couldn't place it, and that was what hurt her most. Taking a step back, Lisa rubbed her hand on the angry bruise that was beginning to form on the patch of skin that Nikolai had held tightly. It stung like hell, but not as much as the words he threw at her like she was his enemy.
"I'm not talking to a goddamn wall, Lisa."
"Okay!" she replied, shaking even though she tried to hide it.
Nikolai almost felt bad when his eyes fell on the bruise he had caused on her arm, but he reminded himself that she was a Petrova, and they had done much worse than a bruise to him. At least, this Petrova seemed oblivious to everything. She was confused when he called her Elizabeth, so she didn't know that it was her real name.
But what if she was only pretending not to know?
Nikolai wanted to send her back to her room, but watching her wince in pain and fear made his cock hungry for her. He knew he could get it somewhere else, but none of them felt as rewarding and passionate as Lisa. Sex for Nikolai had always been another avenue to exert his authority and to make women tremble underneath him. It was that way with Lisa, too, but it was also so much more. He couldn't particularly identify what was different, but it was undeniable.
At least, he could admit that much to himself.
"Follow me." Nikolai held a hand out to Lisa, and she took it gingerly, allowing him to lead her up the stairs. She remembered the first time he had made her give him a blow job and, not up to an hour later, took her to the beach, almost like he had a multiple personality disorder. This situation felt too familiar to that, and Lisa knew she had to brace herself for the ride that was coming next.
Nikolai stopped in front of his secret room, and he fished for the key in his pocket.
"Do you always have it on you?" Lisa questioned, distracting herself from her racing pulse and the now dull ache in her arm.
"I always need it," was his response as he took her hands in his again and walked her into the room.
It was Lisa's second time in here, but she doubted she would ever get used to it. The sheets had been changed already, and she couldn't find the dildo where she had carelessly tossed it last night. It made Lisa wonder whether the people who came in to clean were aware of Nikolai's fantasies and had signed an NDA not to say a word. Or did Nikolai threaten them the way he did her?
"I'm going to do something different with you today," Nikolai murmured, almost excitedly, as he strolled to one post of the bed, standing beside it.
"You know the drill. Strip."
Lisa didn't wait to be told again before her hands went under the big t-shirt she had on, pulling it over her head and freeing her boobs.
No bra again.
Her hands shook in anticipation as she worked on the button of her shorts, and each time she thought she had it, it slipped out of her fingers. Nikolai chuckled as he watched her try to regain control over her muscles, but didn't move to help her. Finally, getting the button out of the way, Lisa tugged the shorts down her hips, and stepped out of it.
"Good girl," Nikolai muttered, calling her over with a finger.
Lisa felt like the devil incarnate herself getting turned on by something as dark as this. He needed help. Maybe they both did, because she could feel her panties already getting soaked, even if Nikolai had yet to do a thing.
" Krastoka," he breathed as she stopped in front of him, closing her eyes when he brought his head down. His breath fanned her face, and Lisa raised her head up in response, meeting his lips halfway. She sighed into his mouth as Nikolai buried his hands into her hair, tugging her impossibly closer. She tasted like a shot of his favorite liquor, raw, powerful, and intoxicating, and Nikolai feared that he would never have enough.
Maybe he would just hold her captive for as long as he wanted to.
Lisa took a tiny step forward and rubbed her clit on his thighs at a steadily increasing pace. She had stopped hiding how much she wanted him, and it was supposed to be a good thing for Nikolai.
But the knowledge that she was a Petrova made him question it all.
Tonight, though, he was going to be in control.
Nikolai broke the kiss suddenly and picked her off the floor, throwing her to the middle of the bed. His towel slipped off his waist in the process, and Lisa gasped as her eyes zeroed in on the size of his erection. Nikolai had been fucking horny for her all morning, and that was one of the reasons he had chosen to skip breakfast. It certainly helped if he didn't have to face her, but she had come trespassing into his room with her fucking sexy hair and a pair of innocent eyes.
"This is a testament to how much you live under my skin," he said in frustration as he stretched her arms apart. "You act like some prude one minute, and the next, you're a fucking whore."
Lisa would have pointed out that he was the one who wrapped her in a daily dose of confusion, but she didn't trust her voice to utter anything reasonable as Nikolai cuffed her hands to the bedposts on both sides of the bed. Climbing off her, he did the same thing for her leg, using an extendable cuff that could be widened as he pleased, stopping when her feet were only about one foot apart.
Nikolai paused to stare at his work. "The last time I fucked you," he said in a husky tone. "You had your freedom at your disposal. I wonder if you'll taste the same today."
"What if I get stuck in this or something?" Lisa wasn't really worried about that, but she had to say something to stop the fire that was spreading through her body in some crazed fashion, barely leaving room for her to breathe properly. She was fucking horny and needed his big hands on her before she lost it.
"You can't," Nikolai smirked, grabbing the cuffs on her legs. He suddenly pulled it apart, and Lisa gasped. "See? It's extendable." He left her needy body for a second to grab a whip he had chosen the last time he was in here with Lisa, uncertain if he would need it at the time. It was plain but also happened to be one of his favorites.
Lisa gaped up at him with her eyes wide open as he caressed the under of her foot with the whip. It tickled up her spine and caused her to laugh despite the situation.
"Trust me," Nikolai murmured, then smirked, his eyes twinkling with mischief. "You won't be laughing when I start."
Fuck!
Nikolai didn't have to start doing anything for Lisa to already feel breathless. He was her bane, and yet, she would still choose him over and over again, even though he probably was trying to force her not to. He made her see the other side of life that she had never been introduced to - the dark and kinky side. And now, Lisa was entrapped in it.
And scarier was the fact that she wasn't even looking for a way out.
Nikolai discarded his clothes in the blink of an eye, standing before Lisa with his devilishly handsome features. Her throat got parched as she stared at him, but she knew Nikolai wouldn't get her water if she asked. He would rather stuff his cock down her throat.
That thought elicited a small moan from Lisa's lips as she closed her eyes to allow the wave to pass. When she opened them, Nikolai was on the bed, in the middle of her thighs, waiting in what could pass as patiently.
But Lisa knew better.
"You cannot do that," he instructed, tugging her closer to him in one deft movement. "You have to wait for me, krastoka. Building your anticipation is one of the things I love doing to you. Your eyes grow darker with wonder and anticipation, and that turns me the fuck on. And do you know the best part?"
Silence.
"You have to use your words, krastoka, " Nikolai drawled, still looking into her eyes, sampling the whip in one hand.
"What is it?" she breathed.
"The fact that no matter what I do, you take it in like some sex-starved slut. Because that is what you are, krastoka . You are my slut. You are whatever I say you are."
Was it crazy that those words made her core clench in need, penetrating into the deepest part of her that she had no clue existed? There had to be something wrong with her.
Using the whip, Nikolai traced a path on her skin, from her ankles bent at an odd yet comfortable angle to the insides of her thighs. Lisa felt the urge to press her legs together, but the cuffs made that impossible, so she just lay underneath Nikolai, writhing and moaning.
"I love the way your body reacts to me," he murmured and stopped at her freshly shaved core, using his hands instead to tease her. Nikolai eased his fingers inside her, and Lisa clutched hard on the sheets of the bed as she arched her back, meeting him halfway.
"You're so fucking wet," he murmured with approval, then joined his hands with his mouth on her core, touching, teasing, swirling, while his fingers thrust inside of her, building up the sensations erupting inside Lisa like fireworks. It was more intense because the cuffs made it impossible to move or to match his pace.
“Nikolai!" she cried out in ecstasy, not knowing what exactly she needed.
"Say my name again, krastoka ."
"Nikolai!" Lisa could barely recognize the sound of her own voice - it sounded exactly like what Nikolai had called her - a sex-starved slut.
"Fuck! Yes, baby!" Nikolai flipped her instantly so that she was lying on her back. He pulled her up so she was sitting on her thighs, which were on his as well. But her feeble weight did nothing to affect his stance. Instead, he pulled her closer until she could feel his hard cock assaulting her ass. He bent at once, removing his thighs from underneath her so that her ass was in the air.
"Fuck… You are so hot, krastoka ."
He cupped her butt with a hand, and suddenly, Lisa felt the impact of the whip on her ass. She buckled forward, and a loud moan escaped her lips. It was difficult paying attention to the pain when it was fucking mixed with insane pleasure. Almost immediately, he slammed into her, thrusting hard and fast and, at the same time, using the whip on her ass.
Lisa helplessly surrendered to him, finding her orgasm as she came all over his dick, screaming his name over and over again like a mantra. He loved hearing it, because the next minute, he came as well, releasing into her.
Collapsing by her side, Nikolai stretched to undo the cuffs and then pulled her out of the bed before she could snuggle into the arms of sleep.
"The lights are beautiful from the balcony," he whispered, putting her arms through a bathrobe and doing the same for himself.
They spent the next few hours there, watching the world go by, enjoying each other's silence, fueled by the fact that they were so aware of each other's presence.
Nikolai jolted with a sudden awareness as his eyes slipped towards hers. He was enjoying this too much.