Chapter Seventeen
Lisa jolted out of bed suddenly, sweat covering her face and neck. Her heart was still thumping erratically, even though she was out of danger's reach. She could still vividly remember the details of the dream, so much that it scared her thinking about it. Someone had been chasing her from a huge building, almost as big as Nikolai's mansion, and everything that had been on her mind was to put as much distance between her and her assailant as possible. Just when she thought she had finally gotten out of his path, he crept up on her from nowhere and covered her face with some black cloth, cutting off her vision and ability to breathe.
Goosebumps erupted on Lisa's skin as she got up from bed, deciding she didn't want to go back to bed anymore. Even if she tried, she doubted it would be possible. She could still feel the dread that had taken hold of her in her sleep, making her legs so heavy underneath her. It was going to be a long shot trying to fall back asleep, so instead, Lisa padded to the door, walking through the hallways, floor to floor, for want of something to do.
She had an abandoned book on her dressing table, but Lisa wasn't in the mood to read. In fact, being alone scared the hell out of her right now, but she didn't think waking Nikolai up in the middle of the night would meet a round of applause.
Lisa couldn't help but notice how his attitude towards her had changed in recent times. It was like there was a sudden swift, spurred by something he had come across. But that was the problem. Lisa had racked her brain, trying to come up with something she must have done to get him this way, but she always came up empty.
Nikolai hadn't always been a gentle fucker, but in times past, he had held her like he actually cared, even though his eyes said something else. But recently, there was an obvious clash in his eyes, like he was trying to come to terms with something and maybe fight it. Lisa remembered all the questions he had asked about her childhood and how she had nothing interesting to give him. What if he got bored of her because of that and threw her out of his home? Lisa knew Nikolai had no reason in the first place to be her protector, so what if he only did it to get something?
Lisa was sure as hell that she had nothing to give him, other than her measly feelings that he didn't even care about. Perhaps, that was it.
Her feet came to an abrupt halt, and she looked around, realizing that she had somehow ended up in the kitchen. She must have been so deep in thought that she barely registered where she was headed. But now that Lisa was in here, she might as well get some ice cream. God knows how many more days she had before this luxurious life ceased. She might as well start intentionally enjoying it.
Lisa made a spontaneous decision as she grabbed the bowl of vanilla ice cream - the plain traditional one - and made her way back up the stairs. She passed the floor where her room was located, and continued up until she got to the last floor.
"What am I thinking?" she said to herself as she halted in front of the secret room. This was the last place she ought to be in, considering everything that went on in there. And seeing as Nikolai always had the key on him, there was a perfect chance that the door was locked.
Lisa realized she hadn't thought this through.
But these days, it didn't feel like she was thinking at all.
Just like now, as she pushed the door open, even if there was no logical reason for her to do that. But surprisingly, the door gave way under her push, welcoming her to the space where everything screamed red and black and gave her enough chills to turn the hell away. But at the same time, in this room, she had had insane orgasms where her legs shook in tremors and were unable to keep her on her feet. This room held a blend of darkness and light, and it was pretty easy to ignore the darkness when it felt so fucking good.
Armed with her ice cream, Lisa closed the door behind her and walked out through the sliding door leading to the balcony, leaning against the railing. She was here with Nikolai just a few days ago, watching the world go by. It was the most peaceful she had ever been with him when they were not having sex like two maniacs, and Lisa enjoyed every part of it. She drank it greedily, knowing that the moment wasn't going to last forever. Her hand had reached out to him on their own accord at intervals, but they had dropped right back to her sides, clueless as to what his response might be.
Lisa would dare to say that Nikolai felt the same way she did, but he tried to fight it with all his might. What was so bad about falling in love with her? Didn't she meet up to his weird requirement? Or was this about his parents, too? A lot of things seemed to be centered around them.
The woody and masculine scent she had grown so accustomed to serenaded the atmosphere, and at once, Lisa knew she wasn't alone. Her body could feel his masculinity in every part of her, like whispers of touches, even though he was not that close. Turning around slowly, she was surprised to meet the intensity of his gaze as he watched her closely, unblinking.
Did the balcony suddenly grow hotter, or did Lisa forget how to breathe?
Nikolai was leaning on the sliding door, with his arms folded across his shirtless chest. Lisa's eyes roamed through his bulging lean muscles, the rise and fall of his chest, his well sculpted abs, his lean waist…
Okay! Hold it right there.
But she couldn't. Not when he enveloped her world this way, unapologetic about it. Even her feet agreed with her as they sauntered to him, her eyes bright with need, and her lips moist from the ice cream. Stopping under his gaze, Lisa raised a hand to wipe off the smudge she was certain would be there, but Nikolai held her wrist slowly, stopping her.
"Let me do it," he sighed in every shade of sexiness and masculinity, bending till his face was directly in front of hers. He eyed the smudge slowly first, his long lashes fluttering on his face, before he swooped in, kissing it off her lips. Lisa moaned into his mouth and wrapped her hand around his neck, dropping the ice cream in the process.
The clatter to the ground made her jump suddenly, and Nikolai laughed at the scene before him. Who knew Lisa, who always acted super strong, could be scared of such noise?
He heard her coming up in here because he had been unable to fall asleep himself. Nikolai had followed her closely as she turned around in the mansion before her small feet led her here. It felt alluring, but also dangerous. He shouldn't be so concerned about the wellbeing of the enemy.
But Nikolai explained it off with the notion that he had to take care of her if she was going to be useful to him in his mafia business.
"Couldn't sleep?" Nikolai asked as he grabbed the ice cream from the floor, leaving the mess the spillage had created. Walking around it, he led them both back to the balcony and towered over Lisa until her back hit the railing.
"Had a nightmare," she whispered, biting her lower lip hard as Nikolai's eyes swept through her legs.
Nodding, he went down on one knee and started with her inner thighs, smearing the ice cream on her pale skin inch by inch, with the chill sending ripples around her body. Her baggy t-shirt had settled on her waist. "I couldn't sleep either," he said slowly, taking all the time in the world. "You wouldn't believe what I was thinking about."
"What?" Lisa breathed, and the ice cream was right under her core.
"You and your perky boobs," Nikolai answered, sending a shot of heat through her core. "And doing this to you." She felt his tongue on her thighs as he licked the ice cream off her, nibbling at her skin until he reached her wet clit, while she thrashed and moaned, hanging onto the railing for dear life. Without warning, his tongue lapped out on her clit, and teased her folds, with Lisa instinctively jutting her hips forward.
"Now, you taste like ice cream," Nikolai growled slowly, getting on his feet with the bowl. Taking her t-shirt off, he repeated his movements on her breasts, drawing a circle around her nipple over and over again with the back of the spoon until Lisa didn't think she could take anymore. Her fingers slipped off the railing, and Nikolai smirked. "You don't want to be the girl that fell to her death because she couldn't keep her hands firm on the railing."
Lisa knew he would rescue her if she slipped, but she obliged him yet, gripping the railing. Nikolai placed a hand on top of hers as he buried his face between her breasts, licking and leaving fire in his wake. He flipped his tongue through her nipples in the same way he had smeared the ice cream, and Lisa's knees buckled, almost pushing her forward into his arms.
"Next time," he murmured into her ears. "Think twice before letting a bowl of ice-cream drop from your hands like that."
And instantly, he inserted his cock into her, leaving Lisa gasping in surprise. He was putting on shorts with a drawstring, so how had he gotten that off in record time without her knowing? At what second did that happen?
Lisa cried out into the night air as Nikolai pulled out and went in over and over again, the tip of his cock playing with her clit each time he withdrew. He loved how crazy it made her, how she gripped his hair hard and screamed his name repeatedly.
Nikolai adjusted his legs and turned to the side so he could hit a new spot, sending Lisa into a frenzy. Her eyes shot wide open, and her mouth followed suit without a word coming from it. He thrust in a few full strokes before the scream came out of her mouth, a deep moan that sounded nothing like her.
Lisa's legs started giving way, and Nikolai supported them both by wrapping a hand quickly around her tiny waist as she broke to sheds in his arms, squirting all over his cock. But Nikolai didn't stop; he kept thrusting until he could feel himself coming. He held on to her as his body jerked, releasing himself into her. Nikolai didn't pull out until he was sure he had everything inside her.
One would think he was trying to get her pregnant with all the unprotected sex they'd been having. He made a mental note to get the doctor over tomorrow as he lifted her into his arms and dropped her on the bed, lying beside her.
Nikolai thought about the fact that he had never let anyone sleep inside his secret room, but here he was, indulging it. Lisa snuggled into his arms as she fell into the arms of sleep, thoroughly exhausted. Some strands of hair fell into her face, and Nikolai pushed them back, amazed at how beautiful she looked. He felt a foreign nudge in his heart, and it got him silently swearing.
This felt too good for comfort, yet he didn't want to bring an end to it.
Kissing her forehead, Nikolai hugged her close and stared into the night light, wondering what the hell was wrong with him.
Nikolai didn't know at what point he fell asleep, but suddenly, a loud knock reverberated around the room, and he jerked awake, almost hitting his head on the board. Lisa's eyes fluttered open, and he realized they hadn't moved during the night. She opened her mouth to say something, but Nikolai shook his head gently. He needed to know who was at the door first.
Getting off the bed, Nikolai walked to the door naked and pulled it open a fraction enough to let whoever it was see just him. Dmitri's angry face appeared in the small opening, and he let out a stream of air.
"Boss, did you forget you had a meeting this morning?" His voice sounded accusatory, but Nikolai was going to have to deal with that later.
"Shit!" he muttered, returning to the room to grab his shorts. He shrugged into them and rushed out back, not paying Lisa any attention. It was her fault he was in this mess in the first place. This was one of the reasons he kept fighting whatever it was that was trying to get to the surface.
There was nothing about Lisa that spelled good to the Bratva, and he had to keep whatever they had going as pure sexual gratification as he could.