20. Sofia
20
SOFIA
M y head throbs as consciousness returns. The room spins, making my stomach lurch as I push myself up. This isn’t my bed. The mattress is too soft, the linens too fine.
Memory hits like a sledgehammer—Nikolai’s face, the needle, the betrayal. My hands shake as I touch my neck, where he injected me.
“You bastard!” The words tear from my throat as I leap from the bed, nearly falling as my legs wobble beneath me. The room is luxurious, decorated in all cream and gold, with heavy drapes blocking what must be windows. A prison, no matter how gilded.
I stagger to the door, testing the handle. Locked, of course. Rage burns through the lingering effects of whatever drug he used on me.
“Let me out!” I slam my palm against the solid wood. “Nikolai! Open this door right now!”
My fists pound against the door as I scream. “You can’t keep me here! This is kidnapping, you psychopath!”
The silence that greets my shouts only fuels my fury. I kick the door, ignoring the pain that shoots through my bare foot. “I trusted you! And this is what you do? Drug me and lock me up?”
My throat burns, but I can’t stop. Won’t stop. “I’ll never forgive you for this! Never!”
I ram my shoulder into the door, knowing it’s futile but needing to fight. The impact sends pain radiating down my arm. “You’re just like all the others—thinking you can control me, own me!”
Tears of rage and betrayal stream down my face as I continue my assault on the door. “I hate you! Do you hear me, Nikolai? I hate you!”
My voice cracks, and I slide down the door, my energy draining as quickly as it came. But I won’t give up. Won’t let him win.
“Let. Me. Out.” Each word is punctuated by another bang of my fist against the wood.
The lock clicks and I spring to my feet and back from the door, muscles coiling. Nikolai’s massive frame fills the doorway, his steel eyes watching me with that infuriating calm.
“You’re awake.” His voice is soft and controlled. “Good. We need to?—”
I launch myself at him, fists flying. My knuckles connect with his jaw, but he barely flinches. When I aim for his throat, he catches my wrist in an iron grip.
“Stop.” The command in his voice only feeds my rage.
I kick at his knee and twist to break his hold, but he’s too strong. Every move I make, he counters effortlessly, like he’s dealing with a child having a tantrum.
“People are trying to kill you, malishka . The Castellanos?—”
“Don’t call me that!” I wrench away from him, stumbling back. “The only threat to me is you! Breaking into my apartment, watching me, drugging me?—”
“Listen to me.” He steps forward, hands raised. “Your adoption records were sealed for a reason. I told you at the gallery, your real parents?—”
“Shut up!” I grab a crystal vase from the nearest table and hurl it at his head. He ducks, and it shatters against the wall. “I don’t want to hear your excuses!”
“This isn’t about excuses.” His jaw tightens. “There’s a price on your head. The people who killed your foster parents?—”
“Don’t you dare talk about them!” My voice breaks. I snatch a heavy bookend next, but he’s on me before I can throw it. His arms lock around mine, pinning them to my sides.
I thrash against him, screaming. “Let go of me! I hate you!”
“You can hate me.” His breath is warm against my ear. “But I won’t let them kill you.”
“The only one hurting me is you!” I stamp on his foot and slam my head back toward his face, but he anticipates every move.
“You think you can control me!” I struggle to break free of his hold, my heart pounding. “Keep me locked up in this fancy prison!”
“That’s not—” His grip tightens as I buck against him.
“Let me go!”
I kick out, my heel connecting with his shin. He grunts, but still, he doesn’t release me. “Damn it, Sofia, stop this!”
“Never! You have no right to do this!” The smell of his cologne invades my senses, and my whole body is pressed against his. My breath comes in ragged gasps.
“You won’t be controlled.” His voice is a low growl, his lips brushing my ear. The feel of his hot breath sends a tremor rippling along my spine. “Even now, you fight.”
I freeze, my chest heaving against his. A new tension fills the air separating us. His hand curls around my hip, fingers splaying possessively.
“When you fight...” His thumb brushes the sensitive skin of my lower abdomen. “It makes Daddy so hard.”
A moan escapes my throat as his words ignite a flame low in my belly. My anger shifts, twisting into something else. Something raw and primal. My body arches into his, seeking more of that touch.
His low laugh vibrates through his chest, pressing against my back. “So responsive, malishka .” His free hand slides up my stomach, claiming me.
“Don’t...” My protest is weak as his fingers find my nipple, rubbing through the thin fabric of my shirt. My eyes drift closed, a moan escaping as he teases the sensitive peak.
The breath hitches in my throat as his thumb circles my nipple. I can feel it, hard and tight, begging for more. A whimper escapes, betraying me. His other hand slides down to grip my thigh, fingers digging into my flesh.
“Daddy’s going to fuck his naughty girl now.” His voice is a dark whisper, full of promise.
“No...” The word is automatic, but my body betrays me. My hips shift, rubbing against the evidence of his arousal. I need to escape, to put space between us, but my body yearns for his. It’s a battle I can’t win.
He spins me around, slamming me back against the door. My hands fly to his chest, but he grabs my wrists, pinning them above my head with one hand. His mouth crashes down on mine, kissing me hard.
“Let me go.” My lips part beneath his, a weak protest as my body melts into his. His tongue invades my mouth, demanding and possessive.
“Tell me to stop, malishka .” His breath mingles with mine as he grinds his erection against me.
“Stop.” The word is a lie, but I can’t bring myself to withdraw my hips. His tongue plunges into my mouth, and I moan, kissing him back with the same urgency.
He pulls back, eyes glittering. “No, you don’t mean that.”
His fingers tangle in my hair, tipping my head back. “You like it when Daddy takes what he wants.”
“No...” I gasp as his mouth sucks my pulse point. Lightning flares between my legs, a direct hit to my core. My back arches, pressing against his mouth as he scrapes his teeth over the sensitive skin.
“You lie so badly, baby.” His lips trail down my neck as he nips and sucks at my skin. I can feel his smile against my collarbone.
The warmth of his palm brands my thigh, reaching beneath my skirt and finding my center. I’m wet and aching for him. His fingers delve into my heat, circling my clit.
“No...” I push against his shoulder, but it’s a hollow resistance. I need this, crave it. His mouth closes over my nipple through the fabric of my shirt, sucking hard, and I cry out.
He releases my wrists, both hands now on my thighs, pushing my skirt up. “You want Daddy to make you come?”
“No.” My hips buck against his hand. I’m on fire, my body betraying every command from my brain. “Please...”
He growls, lifting me. My back slams against the door, and I wrap my legs around his waist as he thrusts into me, filling me in one smooth stroke. I cry out, nails digging into his shoulders as he moves.
“You want me to stop?” His breath is hot against my ear, each thrust sending waves of pleasure through me.
“No...” I can’t form the word to save my life. The pleasure is all-consuming, stars bursting behind my eyes.
He groans, his hand slipping under my ass, lifting me to meet his hips. “Then take it, baby. Take all of Daddy’s cock.”
I tighten around him, moaning. He claims my mouth in a bruising kiss as he pounds into me, his hips slapping against mine. I can feel the building pressure coiling deep in my core.
“You love it.” His voice rumbles against my mouth, his teeth sinking into my bottom lip as he pulls back. “You’re so wet for me, your little pussy clamping down...”
“Yes!” The word tears from my throat as he thrusts deep, hitting that spot that sends sparks through my body. I’m on the edge, every nerve ending singing. “Please...”
“Say it.” He nips at my jaw, his hips moving in a relentless rhythm. “Tell Daddy what you want.”
I can barely think; the pleasure is so intense. I can feel it building, an explosion waiting to happen. “I want...” My teeth worry my bottom lip, and I cannot form the words.
“Yes?” His eyes burn into mine, his thumb rubbing little circles on my clit as he thrusts.
“I want you to breed me.” The words are a whisper, but my cheeks flame. I’ve never said anything like that before, but his dirty talk has ignited a need I didn’t know existed.
“I’m going to fill you up, baby.” His hips snap forward, his groan vibrating through both of us. “Gonna breed my good girl.”
My mind supplies the truth even as my body arches into his. He can’t actually breed me—I’ve got an IUD. A shiver runs through me, the thought only adding to my arousal.
He pins my hands above my head again and bites my neck, his teeth closing around the mark he left before. I cry out, my release crashing over me. My walls clench around him as he thrusts a few more times, his own release pulsing inside me.
We remain there, me pinned against the wall, both of us panting, our foreheads resting together. His hands slip from my wrists, caressing my arms and back as he kisses my jaw. Finally, he pulls out and lowers me to the ground, his arms still around me.
My legs feel like jelly, his body the only thing holding me up. I rest my head on his chest, listening to the thunder of his heart beneath my ear.
His lips brush my hair. “I didn’t mean for any of this to happen.”
I pull back to look at him, reading the sincerity in his eyes. My anger has burned out, and the fight has left me as swiftly as it came.
“What you did was wrong.” I glance away. “I don’t know how we get past that. You manipulated me, wanting to possess me like some object.”
He captures my face between his palms, thumb ghosting my cheekbone. “You’ll never be a possession, Sofia. I’d never take away your choice.”
My pulse hammers in my throat. I can still feel him inside me, still taste him on my lips. “I’m scared I won’t be able to stop.”
“Stop what, malishka ?” His thumb strokes my bottom lip.
My eyes flick to his, the desire there making my insides melt. “Wanting you.”
His lips curve in a smile that lights up his entire face, and it’s beautiful. “I’ve been obsessed with you since the day we met.”
“You can’t help it, then?” I ask.
He stares at me, his eyes steady. “No. I can’t.”
“You must be hungry.” Nikolai’s fingers trail down my arm, sending shivers through me despite my lingering anger. “Let me feed you.”
I hesitate, warring with myself. Every logical part of my brain screams not to trust him, not after everything he’s done. The cameras, the stalking, drugging me... Yet here I am, my body still humming from his touch, unable to pull away.
“I...” My stomach betrays me with a growl, and his lips curve.
“Come. The kitchen is this way.” He takes my hand, and I let him lead me from the bedroom.
Walking beside him down the hallway, I study his profile. How can someone be my greatest threat and the only person I feel safe with? His thumb strokes across my knuckles, such a gentle gesture from hands I know are capable of violence.
The compound must be massive as we pass several closed doors before reaching what appears to be the main living area. Everything is sleek, modern, and expensive—just like him.
My mind spins with questions. How many cameras did he plant? How long has he been watching me? What else hasn’t he told me? But when he glances down at me with those steel eyes, I feel myself melting again.
“I still don’t trust you,” I whisper, leaning into his warmth.
“I know.” His voice is understanding. “But I will earn it back.”
The scary part is I want to believe him. Despite everything, despite knowing better, I want to fall into whatever this is between us. My heart races as we enter the kitchen, and I wonder if I’m making the biggest mistake of my life.
Or maybe I had already made it that first day in my gallery when I looked into those gray eyes and felt my world shift.