Chapter Twenty-Five
Lauren
Sophia pulls me into a tight hug outside.
The fragrant smell of her roses drifts into my nose, warming my insides with a sense of comfort. I’ve been really sensitive to smell since I got pregnant, but this is one of the few scents that doesn’t make me nauseous.
“It was so nice to see you, Soph.”
“Come again soon. We should arrange something weekly so I know when I’m going to see you next.”
I nod, pulling her in for another hug. With all that’s going on, I really don’t know when the next time will be. I just hope it will be soon, because when Nikolai opens the passenger door of his car and helps me in, I’m already craving the smell of those roses.
Sophia stands at the door, waving us off.
Nikolai returns to Timur, continuing the conversation they were having. I wonder what they got up to earlier. He’s been tense ever since they left the office.
I roll down the window to try to eavesdrop on their conversation. Russian, of course. Timur murmurs something in Nikolai’s ear, and he nods in response, slapping his buddy on the back of the shoulder. He then strides over to the car, fastening the seatbelt across his body.
He gives me a side-eye as he starts the engine. “You happy for them?”
I never thought I would be, but Timur looks at Sophia like she’s something he never expected to want, but now can’t live without.
“Yeah. Thanks for bringing me here.”
Nikolai smiles, pulling out of the parking spot.
The engine rumbles as he presses down on the gas, and then we’re gone, disappearing through a tunnel of trees as we navigate back to the highway. The drive is quiet, nothing but the steady purr of the engine droning between us.
The tension in Nikolai’s shoulders hasn’t faded.
I look out of the side window, resting an elbow on the door. I want to ask him what’s going on, to find out what he was discussing with Timur, but somehow, I get the feeling that it’s best to let him process it first. Timing is everything with a man like him.
“Lauren, your mother is gone,” he finally says, breaking the silence between us. “You don’t need to be involved in this anymore.”
I snap around to him, waiting for him to turn my way and flash me a warning look, but he keeps his eyes glued to the road, staring perhaps harder than he needs to.
“What are you talking about?”
“Leave it, Lauren.” There’s an edge to his voice.
“No!” I snap. “She was my mother, not yours.”
“I’m not doing this again.”
“Doing what?”
“Fighting with you about this. You will do as I say.”
My blood starts to boil. This is the man I remember, right here—the one who always thinks he gets the final say on things because I’m just a weak woman who doesn’t understand his world.
“You don’t get to make that choice for me, Niko.”
“Yes, I do. You are carrying my child. This isn’t just about you anymore.”
I open my mouth but stop short. Sophia’s words echo in my ears.
Relax, Lauren.
He’s not controlling you.
He’s trying to protect you.
I turn to the side window again and keep quiet.
I can feel the frustration knotting in my chest. I want to let it out like I always do, except I don’t.
Not this time. But it’s a hard pill to swallow.
I’ve been constantly overlooked my entire life by powerful men, my father being the main one.
It sucks. I’ve been fighting to believe since childhood that I was strong, that I could be just as powerful as men like Charles Watson or Nikolai Rogov. It’s not easy to let go of that belief.
I want to believe that I have things under control, but what if I don’t?
I couldn’t even control my sexual desires when Nikolai walked into my apartment unannounced, seducing me with smoldering looks and dirty Russian words. I know now that Nikolai isn’t the enemy and that I can trust him, but it’s the principle of me surrendering completely to him that eats me alive.
The rest of the drive passes in tense silence, both of us lost in our own thoughts.
By the time we pull into the underground garage of his building, the weight of our tension hangs heavy between us.
I want to say something, anything to break through this wall we’ve built, but the words feel stuck in my throat.
I drop my bag onto the countertop when we make it back to Nikolai’s penthouse. It’s late in the evening, the orange lights of the city streaming in through the windows.
Nikolai exhales, rubbing the nape of his neck as he goes to fill two glasses of sparkling water from the tap. He hands me one and I snatch it from him.
“I didn’t mean to make you angry.”
“I know,” I exhale. “I’m sorry.”
He takes a gulp of sparkling water, then places it down on the countertop, watching me with a tight expression. After a minute of silence, he moves over to me and wraps his hands around my waist from behind, pulling me into him.
I consider wiggling out of his grasp, but the hug feels too good. It takes all of the tension out of my body without me even wanting it to. I sigh into his touch, feeling our bodies become one shape.
Before I have a chance to step away, he spins me around and brings me to his chest. It’s warm here, and the steady beating of his heart grounds me. As long as I feel his pulse, things are good.
“Need I remind you that we have a baby girl who needs both parents alive?” He presses his forehead against mine, his hands locking around my hips. “We need to protect her. That is all that matters. Do you agree?”
My mouth pulls into a smile. “I’ll think about it.”
“That’s a start.” He smirks, his hand brushing against my ear as he curls a stray piece of hair behind it. The next moment, he closes the gap and pulls me into a kiss, his lips parting around mine in the most electrifying way.
A moment later, I’m melting like butter left on hot pavement during a heatwave. Sometimes I still can’t get over the effect he has on me.
God, this man…
I moan at the sensation, my eyelids fluttering closed, allowing me to let go of my need for control and concentrate on more pleasurable feelings. I’m pregnant. The last thing I need to feel is stressed, right? It’s not good for the baby.
Nikolai’s tongue hungrily penetrates my lips and enters my mouth, lightly wrapping around mine as his arms tug me closer.
The kiss consumes me completely. I forget where I am.
The only thing that exists is him, me, and the tiny life growing inside my belly.
The tiny life that chose us to be her parents.
His hands go to my jacket like it’s second nature, pulling it off. Two piles of clothes gather on the living room floor as we unbutton and unzip one another’s clothes.
Moments later, both naked, we sink further into each other’s embrace, his hot skin against mine sending shivers up my spine.
I gasp when he lifts me up, gently throwing me over his shoulder as he starts down the hall. With my ass in the air, he takes the opportunity to slap it, eliciting another gasp out of me, this one higher in pitch.
We end up in the bedroom we have both been staying in for the past few nights. The sheets are unmade—making them would be a waste of time when we’re under them countless times during the day.
Without breaking the kiss, he gently lays me down on the bed.
I wrap my legs around his torso, needing to be as close to him as possible.
My core aches for this man in a way it never has before, desperate for him to get inside of me.
Nikolai lowers his mouth, trailing hungry kisses over my breasts, making sure to stimulate my nipples. I respond with a guttural moan, another shiver breaking out across my body.
Sweat begins to bead at my brow, forming thick water droplets. When I kiss him again, it tastes salty. Dammit, I’m so aroused by him I’m convinced I’d still be just as attracted to him if he smeared dirt all over his lips.
Nikolai teases a hand down my stomach, leading it further south. He pauses when he reaches the top of my mound, his finger poised, ready to venture further between my legs.
I hold my breath, anticipating his next move.
He finds my eyes. “Moya krasivaya. I don’t think I’ll ever be able to get over you.”
I don’t know what that’s supposed to mean exactly, but it shifts something inside of me that only makes me want him more.
Reaching between our bodies, I find his cock and wrap my hand around it.
He chokes a groan.
I feel it twitch in my hands.
“You’re so hard.” The words escape my lips as a sensual whisper.
“Tends to happen when you’re around.”
A smile begins to form in the corner of my mouth. “Well… what are you going to do about it, mister?”
“How about…?” His hand, still stationary at the top of my pussy, inches down a little to find my clit. I cry, not expecting the sensation to whoosh through me like an electric current.
But that’s Nikolai Rogov for you.
“Mine,” he growls, scooping up some of my wetness with his finger.
“You belong to me, lapochka.” The words send a series of electric currents through me.
His finger leaves my folds and he sticks it up between us, my wetness highlighted in the dim light of the room.
Then, he pops it into his mouth, whilst maintaining eye contact.
Seeing him taste my own arousal somehow makes me even hotter for him.
I drink him in. He’s the most attractive man I have ever laid eyes on.
I won’t admit it aloud, but I feel intimidated by him.
His high brow bone, his impressive cheekbones, now popping even more as he focuses all of his attention on me.
Not to mention his eyes. Forget the weapons. Those things kill by themselves.
My daughter is going to be one lucky girl, inheriting the genes of a powerful Russian demigod.
“I see that you’ve been helping yourself to the pineapple juice in the fridge,” he murmurs.
“The baby is making me more thirsty than usual.” I tease.
“And the sparking water isn’t enough?” He darkens his expression, backing away slightly to look into my eyes. “You don’t need pineapple juice to taste like heaven.”
I have butterflies in my stomach. His words alone have the capacity to reshuffle my organs.
I clamp my hand around his dick tighter, causing him to groan. “Are we going to talk, or get down to business?”
He smirks. “Whatever you say, lapochka.”
He takes his cock from my hands and shifts his position, lining himself up with my entrance. We both watch as he slips it in, my center accommodating his size instantly. We gasp in unison, suddenly aware of how much we’ve been craving to be together today.
In moments like this, it feels like we’re no longer two separate entities.
Connecting with him brings us both into a kind of mutual understanding.
We have done this enough times now to understand each other’s bodies without words.
I know what he needs. This isn’t something quick this time. It’s deep, slow sex.
I arch my back and part around him, welcoming all of his incredible length. “Khoroshaya devochka. Good girl,” he mumbles, pushing his dick as far into me as he can, burying me to the hilt.
I can practically feel him in my stomach as he rearranges my insides. Under any other circumstance, I’m sure this would hurt like hell, but with him, it feels amazing. Being as close to him as physically possible feels like the ultimate goal.
He thrusts in and out of me slowly, catching my eyes to deepen the connection. We don’t need to speak when we’re in each other’s bodies—words seem insufficient in moments like this.
Nikolai changes his position, thrusting into me from a diagonal angle, knowing the location of my sweet spot like the back of his hand. His dick plunges straight into an area of sensitivity, causing me to release a series of sharp cries.
Arousal triples, fizzling all over my body like a chemical reaction. I moan. Squirm. Press my hips into his to get even more of him inside.
“You’re trembling,” he states between ragged breaths.
“I… am... fuck,” are the three words my vocabulary has been reduced to.
“I know, krasivaya.” After several more thrusts, he opens his mouth again. “Do you trust me?”
I nod. It’s the truth.
“Good.”
“Wh… Why?”
He plunges himself back inside of me again, hips moving in circular motions so that he can massage my sweet spot.
I scream out, the room fading away into darkness, making me forget everything. His breathing accelerates. I feel him twitch inside of me, his moans scratching at the back of his throat. He’s getting close. Which is good because so am I.
So, he slows down the pace. “I wish I could stay inside of you forever.”
My heart skips a beat.
“Me too.”
He grimaces, revealing prominent canine teeth. He’s holding on, further slowing his thrusts to lengthen this out for as long as possible.
“Come inside me,” I say, my head laid back into the pillow. I look up at him, begging. “Please… I want to… feel you… release inside of me.”
That does it for him. He quickens his pace, sending jolts of pleasure through me with each hard thrust. His dick twitches, his muscles tense, and hot liquid starts hitting my walls. He groans, letting himself go.
It makes me do the same.
My walls contract around his dick, my gasps becoming heavier as I brace myself to experience heaven. I shut my eyelids as pleasure unwinds through my body, rippling and filling every single cell. Stars explode at the edge of my vision, sending me into a freefall of pure sensation.
My orgasm is earth-shattering.
I don’t know how much time passes before my thighs stop shaking and he clambers off me, collapsing on the mattress next to me.
Still working to catch my breath, I turn, watching his expression. He stares at the ceiling absentmindedly. There’s something on his mind this evening. Something different about him. He never asked if I trust him before. Never said that he wishes he could stay inside of me forever.
I frown and turn to stare at the ceiling with him, trying to read his thoughts. Timur must have told him something important—it’s the only explanation I can think of. Whatever is weighing on him, he looks like a man preparing to march into battle.
Like these moments are one last quiet before a storm.