Chapter 42
ADRIANNE
The silk of my black dress slithered against my skin as I stood in front of the mirror, trying to work the zipper up my back. My fingers fumbled with it, the angle making it impossible to get a proper grip.
“Need help with that?”
I spun around to find Nikolai leaning against the doorframe, those pale blue eyes tracking over me with an intensity that made my pulse speed.
He looked different somehow.
Lighter. Like whatever weight he’d been carrying had finally been lifted.
“You’re back,” I breathed, abandoning my fight with the zipper. “I was worried to death.”
He crossed the room in three strides, spinning me around to face the mirror again. His fingers found the zipper, but instead of pulling it up immediately, he let them trail along my exposed spine.
“It’s done,” he murmured against my ear, his breath warm on my neck. “You’re safe now, Babochka. No more looking over your shoulder. No more shadows. Vladimir Volkov is dead.”
The zipper slowly climbed up my back as his words sank in. Vladimir was gone. The monster who’d collared me like an animal, who’d haunted Nikolai’s entire life, was finally dead.
“How do you feel?” I asked, meeting his eyes in the mirror.
“Free.” His hands settled on my hips, pulling me back against him. “For the first time in my life, I’m actually free.”
I turned in his arms, reaching up to touch his face. There was something different in his eyes. The darkness was still there; it would probably always be there, but it wasn’t drowning him anymore. It was a part of him, but not who he was.
“We should celebrate,” I said, pulling away to walk to the bar cart in the lounge, pouring two glasses of Vodka before returning to the room and handing one to Nikolai.
“To freedom,” I said, raising my glass.
“To us,” he countered, clinking his tumbler against mine.
I knocked back the vodka like a shot, the burn making my eyes water. When I looked up, Nikolai was watching me with amusement, a sly grin on his mouth that made those eyes sparkle.
“What?”
“That’s not how you drink vodka, Babochka.”
“Oh, it isn’t? How uneducated of me,” I teased, knowing that little remark would probably come back to bite me later.
Nikolai set his glass down, stalking toward me with that predatory grace that made my stomach flip. “Vodka should be savored. Appreciated.” His hand came up to trace the line of my jaw. “Like everything else that’s worth having.”
“Is that so?”
“Mmm.” His thumb brushed over my bottom lip. “You look too fucking beautiful for a simple family dinner. This dress…” His other hand skimmed down my side, his fingers fisting on the silk. “I can’t let you leave this room without making sure you remember who you belong to.”
“Nikolai, we don’t have time…”
“We have all the time I say we have.” His hand moved from my jaw to my throat, that possessive grip that made me flutter in places that craved him. “On your knees, Adrianne.”
The command in his voice sent heat pooling between my thighs. I started to sink down, my eyes always locked onto his.
Nikolai reached towards his glass of vodka, taking a mouthful but not swallowing. His hand moved to my jaw, his fingers squeezing until my mouth opened.
He leaned down, and I gasped as he let the vodka flow from his mouth into mine. The liquid burned differently this time, mixed with his taste, intimate and so perfectly filthy in its erotism.
“Swallow,” he demanded.
I did, the vodka burning a path down my throat while his eyes watched me with dark satisfaction.
“Such a good girl, aren’t you, Mrs. Volkov?”
My hands went to his belt, working it open with ease. He was already hard, straining against his pants, and I felt a surge of satisfaction knowing that I affected him as much as he affected me.
I freed his cock from his pants, looking up at him through my lashes as I wrapped my hand around the base of his hard shaft.
“That’s it. Eyes on me,” he growled, his hand tangling in my carefully styled hair. “I want to watch you take every inch of me.”
I kept my eyes locked on his as I took him into my mouth, savoring the way his jaw clenched, the way his fingers tightened in my hair, the way my tongue felt against those veins. I knew exactly what he liked now, knew how to work him with my tongue until his control started to slip.
“Fuck, Adrianne.” His hips jerked forward, pushing himself deeper. “That mouth was made for my cock.”
I hummed around him, the vibration making him groan. His grip in my hair tightened to the point of pain, but I loved it. Loved the way he lost himself in me, the way he claimed me even as I had him at my mercy.
“Enough,” he growled suddenly, pulling me off of him and up to my feet. “Turn around. Hands on the dresser.”
I did as commanded, bracing myself against the wooden surface. In the mirror, I watched him push my dress up around my waist, his hands rough and desperate. His index traced my new tattoo. The finished version of the one I already had, broken to pieces from the scar that marred my skin.
A monarch completed the transformation, one wing wrapped in ice that broke as it set itself free.
Nikolai’s hand reached under the ripples of delicate fabric, ripping my underwear off with one sharp pull, the sound of ripping lace making me gasp.
“Those were expensive!”
“I’ll buy you a hundred more.” He kicked my feet wider apart. “Just so I can rip them all off you.”
His hand came down on my ass, the sharp crack echoing in the room. I bit my lip to keep from crying out.
“That’s for being a little brat just now. And don’t you dare stay quiet,” he warned, rubbing where he’d just spanked me. “Those sounds are mine, Mrs. Volkov. Plus, we both know how much you enjoy it, so moan, Baby. Moan for me.”
He thrust into me without warning, burying himself to the hilt in one smooth motion. My cry of pleasure was loud and unrestrained, his thick cock tearing it from me without permission.
“That’s it,” he growled, setting a punishing pace. “Let me hear how much you love having my cock inside you.”
His hand found my throat again, pulling me up so my back was against his chest. The angle changed, and he hit that spot inside me that made me see shooting stars.
“Look at yourself,” he commanded, forcing me to meet my own eyes in the mirror. “Look how beautiful you are when I’m inside you. Look how perfect you are taking my cock.”
I watched us in the mirror, watched the way his face contorted with pleasure, the way my own mouth fell open in a silent scream as he fucked me harder. His free hand found my clit, circling with just enough pressure to push me toward that delicious edge.
“You’re going to come for me,” He said against my ear. “You’re going to come on my cock, and then you’re going to walk downstairs to that family dinner with my cum dripping down your thighs. You’re going to feel me when you sit, and leak me when you get up.”
The combination of his words, his fingers on my clit, and his cock hitting that perfect spot inside me was too much. I shattered around him, my walls clenching as my orgasm crashed over me.
“Nik!” I cried out, my vision blurring while my strength lessened. “Oh, God.”
“That’s it, Babochka. Milk my cock.” He fucked me through my orgasm, his pace becoming erratic. “Fuck, I’m going to come.”
He buried himself deep as he came, his teeth sinking into my shoulder to muffle his growl. I felt him pulse inside me, filling me with his release.
We stayed like that for a moment, both of us catching our breath. Then he slowly pulled out, turning me around to face him.
“Let me clean you up.”
“No.” He stopped me from reaching for the tissues. “I meant what I said. You’ll wear me through dinner. And I’ll be hard the whole time imagining it.”
“You’re insane.”
“Only for you.” He kissed me, slow and deep, tasting of vodka and possession.
I smoothed my dress down after putting a new thong on, trying to ignore the way I could already feel his cum beginning to slide out of me. My hair was a lost cause, but I did my best to make it look intentionally tousled.
“How do I look?” I asked.
“Like you’ve been properly fucked,” He grinned, that boyish smile that was so at odds with his brutal nature. “Perfect.”
As we headed for the door, his hand on the small of my back, I couldn’t help but smile. Vladimir was dead. We were free. And for the first time since this all began, I actually believed we might get our happily ever after.