Chapter 27 Nik
NIK
I am…unmoored. Fucking obliterated.
I am a ship lost in a stormy ocean, out of control, with no idea which way is true north.
“Today was fucking torture,” I murmur against Leanna’s mouth. “You tortured me.”
Her soft laugh goes straight to my cock as her feet find the floor. “Good. You deserved it.”
In our animalistic first minutes alone together, I’ve managed to rip her expensive gold dress. The long slit that bares her long leg is torn up to her side. One of its thin straps is completely torn loose.
Perfect.
I reach for the fabric at her waist and tear the dress all the way, pulling it from her body and baring all those inches of perfect skin. Her round breasts are bare, nipples are pink and hardened in the cool air of the room.
A nude thong is the only thing offering her any coverage, and it is already soaked with telltale proof of her desire.
“Your turn,” she says, her voice breathless, her cheeks stained with heat and embarrassment.
I don’t know what the hell she’d have to be embarrassed about. I’ve touched and sucked and licked every inch of this beautiful body. I saw her in the shower this morning. She has to know how she makes me feel, that I find her maddeningly irresistible.
Surely I should try to make undressing sexy. I should be slow and deliberate. I should make her pant with want. But I cannot. I shed my tuxedo as quickly as I could.
“Too much fucking clothing,” I growl.
Leanna laughs, a sparkling giggle of a sound that I definitely want to hear more often.
“Come here,” I growl, my hand at the small of her back, dragging her tight against me. Her breath hitches. I can feel every curve, every heartbeat pressed to my chest. “You feel that?” My lips graze her ear, my breath hot on her skin. “That’s what you do to me.”
“Nik—” she whispers, her voice trembling.
“Say my name again,” I breathe, sliding my hand up the curve of her neck, tilting her chin so I can see those lips, parted and waiting. “I want to hear it when I kiss you.”
“Nik…”
The sound wrecks me. I crash my mouth against her throat, tasting her salt, heat, and need, then find her lips. The kiss is deep, hungry, a claiming I’ve been holding back far too long.
“You drive me insane,” I whisper against her mouth, my voice rough and low. “Every inch of you… mine.”
She exhales, trembling. “Then take me.”
I smile against her skin, my control hanging by a thread. “Careful what you ask for, malishka.” My hand slips down her hip, fingers gripping hard. “Because once I start…” I bite her lower lip, gentle but punishing. “…I don’t stop.”
The other hand drifts down, claiming the curve of her ass before sliding between her thighs. She’s already drenched, and the sound that tears from my chest is pure hunger. It’s not enough; I need a better angle, more contact, more of everything.
So I pull back. She makes a slight, desperate noise, her pout sinful enough to wreck me, her frustration only feeding mine.
The grin I give her is wild, unfiltered.
“All these weeks,” I rasp, dropping to my knees, hands pushing her legs apart, “I’ve been missing your face when you fall apart for me.”
“I’m not…Oh,”
Whatever protest she meant dies on her lips the second I bury myself between her thighs. This feels like home. Her taste, her scent, it undoes me.
I spread her open and dive in, starving for her. Tongue, teeth, fingers, working in a ruthless rhythm until she’s crying out, clutching my hair, grinding herself against my mouth like she can’t get close enough.
Her release rips through her, raw and uncontrollable, and it almost finishes me right there. She sounds wrecked, undone, lost in the pleasure I give her, which makes me ache to come just from the taste of her.
My cock is ready, painfully hard.
I want to sink into her.
I want to fill her.
I want.
I don’t stop until I’ve devoured every last shudder, swallowed every tremor she gives me. Only then do I move my hands, wet with her desire, gripping her ass hard enough to bruise.
Her hair is a wild, perfect mess of waves that frames her face like a crown. She’s a goddess, a siren, and a mistake I want anyway.
The air between us is heavy. We both know the line we’re about to cross can’t be uncrossed. But for now, we pretend. Pretend we’re just Nik and Ana, back at Ahren. Pretend we’re safe to want like this.
“Ana,” I whisper, and it comes out like a prayer. Like I’m begging. For what, I don’t even know.
I press kisses along the inside of her thighs, soft at first, then sharper, purposeful. My mouth sucks and bites, leaving marks I want visible, a claim written on her skin.
She sags against me, moaning at the pain and pleasure.
Finally, her knees buckle, and she falls to her knees before me. Her eyes find mine as her hand grips my cock, her hands small and soft as she strokes me slowly. Her eyes are dark with lust, their lids heavy, her rose-petal mouth slightly parted.
She drags her tongue across the bottom lip, eyes never leaving mine.
I don’t need to ask.
I already know exactly what she wants.
She doesn’t let go of my cock as she maneuvers her legs around, then lies back, pulling me along with her. I hover over her as she guides my cock to her mouth, her tongue darting out to swirl the tip.
Just that.
That one thing, and I could come.
“Ty slishkom khorosh,” I hiss, pulling away to give myself a moment to calm the fuck down. You are too good. I mean it.
Too good now.
Too good for me.
Too good for this shitty world we’re in.
She whines and pulls me back, mouth open and tempting. And all of those nights of not seeing her, of wishing I could see her… Well, I see her now. And I tell her so, “Ya vizhu tebya,” as I slam my cock into her mouth, down her throat.
She moans a long “Yesssss,” as I pull out, and I slam into her again. God, her mouth feels so good. Her lips are so beautiful wrapped around my cock. She keeps one hand at the base, the other reaches out to dig her nails into my ass.
To say I go feral would be an understatement.
This drives me absolutely fucking crazy, and I pick up the pace, fucking that pretty mouth. She takes it as deep as she can without gagging, her mouth’s wet and wide, her eyes dark and hungry. My balls lap against her chin; it only spurs me on.
I’m a fucking animal, rutting and rutting, and she’s just taking every inch.
When I come, it’s in a hot, thick wave that she swallows before I pull out, coating her chin and neck. I want to see her with my come on her face. Just like I wanted to mark her before, I want to mark her now.
I want my scent in her, on her, all over her.
She is mine.
I lean in and kiss her hard on that mouth, tasting myself on her skin as I push my tongue in to meet hers, as I lick along her chin and jaw, as I move to bite the pert tips of her nipples.
I haven’t had enough of her, not nearly. I doubt I’ll ever be sated because this woman is a fucking goddess, her long hair spread out around her like a halo, her perfect body pink with exertion, her chest heaving, her pussy weeping with want.
“You are,” I murmur against the flat plane of her stomach, my lips brushing her skin, “the most beautiful thing I have ever seen in my life.”
Her breath catches sharply, a quiet inhale of surprise, and she freezes.
I pause. She doesn’t say the word, but I can feel something unspoken hanging between us.
Sliding back to her side, I tilt my head, trying to read her face. She isn’t upset. Not at all. The fire and hunger from moments ago have softened, replaced by something tender, something real. I don’t know if I’ve ever seen that look on her before.
“You know,” I murmur, “if you’re going to run the Campisi empire, you’ll need a better poker face. You wear every emotion right here.” I brush my thumb along her cheek.
“Oh?” she asks. “And what emotion is on my face right now?”
“I’m not sure,” I admit. “But I’d like to know.”
She gives me the sweetest smile. “Can we…shower? And talk for a minute?”
“Talking wasn’t what I, uh…” I rub my rapidly thickening beard and chuckle.
She blushes and tries to hide a grin. “I get that. Still.”
I stand and hold out my hand to pull her up, pulling her close and smelling her hair. We’re both sweaty and sticky, and it’s probably a good idea to shower off, so I keep one arm around her as we make our way from the living room floor to the bathroom.
We take turns washing each other, tension building between us again, my cock going hard the moment she touches me.
“You’d better talk fast if you’re going to do that,” I joke.
She bites her bottom lip shyly. Won’t meet my gaze when she says, “I want to…”
The words trail off.
Silence stretches.
I don’t know if I’m supposed to answer, or if she’s waiting for me to read what she can’t quite say.
Then she breathes deep, lifts her gaze to mine, and blurts, “I haven’t… before. I’m a—I’m a virgin.”
Now it’s my turn to suck in a shocked breath. “Oh?”
Color rushes to her cheeks. “I mean, you and I have—obviously we’ve done things. And before you, I’d… tried some stuff. Not much. Just… a little. God, this is harder to say than I thought.”
I cup her face in my hands, forcing her eyes to stay on mine.
“Ana,” I murmur. “Sweet Ana. Why didn’t you tell me sooner?”
“I didn’t know how,” she admits, voice trembling. “I was embarrassed. That’s why I freaked out that night. I wasn’t sure I wanted my first time to be… like that.”
“When I was being horrible and angry,” I confirm. “Yes, I see that now. I’m so sorry, milaya devochka.”
Her lips tremble, eyes shimmering with unshed tears. “You didn’t know. And it was… professional. There was no reason for you to feel anything. I just—” She swallows. “I was new to it. And I let myself feel for you, which was so stupid. I know it was.”
Tears shine in her spectacular eyes, and it cracks something open in me.
“This is so dangerous,” I whisper before pressing my lips to hers.
The kiss is long, consuming. When we finally part, I feel unmoored, as if the ground itself shifted. My head spins, my chest aches.
I reach past her and turn off the water. Steam curls around us as I scoop her into my arms, carrying her out of the bathroom.
I don’t bother with towels. I lay her down on the bed, water still glistening on her skin, and take in every inch of her.
Leanna reaches out a hand, but I don’t take it right away.
“Are you sure?” I ask quietly. “This is not something I require from you.”
She lets out a soft laugh, breathless but steady. “I know. And yes, I’m sure. I want it to be you.”
My chest tightens. I lean closer, my voice low, a warning. “When I have you… Once will never be enough. I don’t share. I don’t negotiate. Do you understand?”
She nods. Then she shifts, sliding to the center of the bed, her wet hair falling over one shoulder, dripping down her skin like jewels. She parts her thighs, baring herself to me, offering what no man has ever touched.
I crawl onto the bed, hovering over her.
A kiss. And another. Two fingers inside, sliding in and out, getting her ready. Her hips rise and her breath hitches with desire.
“I’m ready,” she whispers.
I settle between her legs, positioning myself at her entrance. I know it will hurt; there’s no way around it. Slowly, I press in. Just the tip. Then a little more.
“Breathe,” I murmur, kissing away the stray tears that spill from the corners of her eyes. “Tell me if you want to stop.”
She doesn’t. She holds me tighter instead.
“Look at me,” I say.
And she does.
I ease deeper, inch by inch, awe gripping me at the sight of her opening for me, at the gift she’s giving me.
A gift she chose to give to me.
An enemy to her family.
A man who once paid her like a whore.
The thought twists my gut.
“You’re not a whore,” I say, the words coming out rougher than I intend.
Her eyes flicker. I soften my voice. “I need you to know that. I can see it bothers you. I was grateful for every moment you chose to give me. The money…” I pause, searching. “…money was all I had to offer then. I know that sounds cold, but it’s the truth.”
I brush my thumb over her cheek, still moving slowly inside her. “But none of that changes what you are to me,” I murmur. “This… whatever we are… It’s always been more than that. Mask or no mask. Money or no money. Name or no name…”
“We are connected,” she breathes, exhaling the words just as I slide fully into her.
“Connected,” I echo, my voice breaking. “Ty moya.”
Her lips part, her eyes locked on mine as she answers, “Ya ves’ tvoy.”
I am yours.
My eyes go wide, and she gives me a sly smile. “Have I ever mentioned I have a talent for languages?”
I laugh, my forehead falling to hers. I kiss her deeply and slowly, and start to move. This time, she’s had time to adjust, and her hips move to meet mine.
I thrust slowly because I do not want to hurt her. It’s okay. This is not Ahren.
We are not just Nike and Ana; we are Nikolai and Leanna, and we are crossing that line. There is no going back from this, so I want it to last as long as possible.
“Nik?” she says my name like a question.
“Yes?”
“Don’t be careful with me.”
I freeze, narrowing my eyes. “This is your first time.”
Her lips part; she drags the tip of her tongue slowly across the bottom one.
“It’s good. I’m good,” she says. “What I found with you in that club… I liked it. I like your darkness. I like what we’ve done.
It wasn’t gentle or sweet; it was raw. Sometimes it hurt, but only in ways that made us both feel alive.
That’s what I want. Don’t change it. I’m not a china doll.
I won’t break. So… don’t be gentle with me. Okay?”
“Oh, Ana…” My voice drops, darker, and thick with the promise of everything she’s asking for. My cock throbs inside her, impossibly harder.
Her arms slide from my biceps down to grip my ass, nails digging in just enough to make me groan. She growls at me, low and wild.
“You asked for it,” I say. “Remember your safe word.”