Chapter 2
ISABELLA
The elevator dings. The doors part, and we step into his world.
“Here we are,” he says.
“Straight into the lion’s den?” I quip.
He lets out a low chuckle and lays a hand on the small of my back, guiding me forward with a gentle, proprietary pressure.
It’s absurd. I’ve known him for only twenty minutes, and his touch already has a direct line to my spine.
A slow shiver works its way down my back, hot and stupid and completely unhelpful.
The apartment is ridiculous in all the right ways, with wide-open, glass walls drinking up the city’s lights, marble and shadow, and the kind of furniture that doesn’t ask questions.
Who the hell is this man?
“Come.”
Sensing I’m stunned, he takes my hand and leads me into the kitchen. It’s a sleek expanse of granite and stainless steel. He pulls out a chair from the island and gestures for me to sit. I do.
“This is quite a place.”
He chuckles as he takes a glass from a cupboard and fills it at the sink.
“Let’s just say I’ve got plenty of family in town, so it’s nice to have a little refuge from all that insanity.”
As he fills the glass, I notice tattoos crawling up his chest and arms beneath that expensive shirt. Marks like secrets etched into his skin. Dangerous beauty I want to peel back layer by layer.
He turns, and I yank my gaze from his tattoos. But the smirk on his face says he knows I noticed.
“Here. Drink this.”
He hands me the glass, and I take it. The water hits just right, perfectly cool. I feel the last traces of booze fade away, replaced by clarity as my nerves settle and my energy returns.
And all I can think about is how much I want this man.
What the fuck has gotten into me?
Moments ago, survival was all I wanted.
Now my body’s betraying me, choosing the reason I ran in the first place, which was for freedom.
Pleasure. Fire I can’t cage.
I throw back the last of the water, letting it finish the job of restoring me.
He leans against the counter, watching me with a strange intensity.
“Better?”
“Yeah, better.”
He offers his hand from across the island.
“Alexei.”
“Isabella. But everyone calls me Isa.”
I take his hand and shake it.
No last names. That’s fine with me. The last thing I want this guy to know is that I’m a member of the Mancini family.
My instincts tell me that name would mean something to Alexei.
His touch is warm, irresistible.
“You’re full of surprises, you know that?”
He laughs, slipping his hand away from mine.
“I’ll take that as a compliment. I try to keep things interesting.”
“I can tell.”
A charged pause stretches between us.
“So,” he says, quickly filling the silence. “Out alone tonight, avoiding the attention of strange men?”
I purse my lips. “I was with my friends, but they all ended up getting too drunk and obnoxious. I love them to death, but I can only take so many woos right into my ear, not to mention that the guys you beat up seemed like standard fare at that club.”
I clear my throat. “And what about you? Cruising the streets, looking for women to snatch from the clutches of danger?”
He grins, leaning on the counter. The top two buttons of his shirt are open, and I can see that his chest is also covered in ink.
“Nothing so dramatic. I popped into Gray for a quick drink, and noticed right away how that man was looking at you. When he followed you out of the club, I had a good idea of what was about to go down.”
That earns an eyebrow raise from me.
“That implies you were looking at me,” I counter.
“Guilty. Hard to tear my eyes off something I want.”
The way he says it makes my thighs press together.
God, there’s something about this man that pulls me toward him like gravity.
I need something to break the spell. Glancing over my shoulder, I catch sight of the piano in the living room.
“Is that thing for show, or do you actually play?”
“A bit. Just enough to impress when I have to.”
“Bold claim. Care to impress me, then?”
His eyes flash, as if I’ve just given him a challenge that he can’t resist.
“Only if you promise not to laugh at my amateur skills.”
I wink. “I make no promises.”
With that, he comes around the counter and offers me his hand. I can’t help but take it. He leads me over to the piano and slides onto the bench.
“Come.” He gestures to the spot next to him. For a moment, I wonder if this is a good idea.
Screw it.
I sit down, accidentally brushing against him. The touch causes my breath to hitch and my pussy to clench.
God, this man is dangerous, and in more ways than just physically.
“All right,” he says, cracking his knuckles. “Let me think. Something calming, maybe. Nice and mellow.”
“Mellow sounds good.”
Alexei positions his hands over the keys, closes his eyes, and begins.
He plays, mellow and flawless, fingers gliding. I’m hypnotized. His hands move with the same deadly grace I saw in the fight. I can’t stop picturing them between my legs instead of across the keys.
He finishes with a gentle chord and turns to me.
“There. Was that impressive enough?” He winks.
I can’t resist this man any longer. I don’t care that I barely know him, that he’s likely got more secrets in his head than tattoos on his skin.
“It was. But I hope you’re not done trying to impress me.”
The flash in his eyes makes it clear he knows exactly what I’m getting at.
“I’ve only just begun.”
With that, he takes my face into his hands, moving in for a kiss.
His lips touch mine, and it’s just what I’ve been waiting for ever since I laid eyes on him. I open my mouth, inviting him into me. His tongue finds mine, and I can still taste the whiskey on his breath from those drinks back at the club.
He pulls away slowly. As soon as his lips break from mine, I want him back.
“You think the piano’s nice? Wait until you see the bedroom.”
My heart feels like it’s about to beat out of my chest. Thankfully, he doesn’t make me come up with something witty to say. Instead, he offers me his hand and leads me up the stairs to the bedroom.
It’s every bit as fancy as the rest of his place, displaying massive windows turning the city skyline into a work of art.
The door snaps shut, and we’re on each other again, shedding clothes and kissing hard.
His body’s covered in tattoos, ink stretched over muscle built to destroy, every line begging to be touched.
He gently lowers me onto the bed, looming over me while I’m in nothing but my bra and panties.
Predator above, prey below, but I’m the one aching to be devoured.
Then he’s all over me once more, his hands exploring my body, cupping my breasts, teasing my nipples. The world outside might as well not exist. It’s just us, in this bubble of ecstasy and fire.
I can feel the anticipation building inside me. My heart is pounding, my skin is tingling, and my pussy is already wet with desire. His hands cup my tits, teasing my nipples until my back arches off the mattress.
“Fuck,” he growls, eyes locked on my chest. “These perfect tits are made for my mouth. Say you want it, Devotchka.”
“Take me,” I say. My voice sounds wrecked, desperate already. I spread my legs just a tad more to give him the full view. “See what you do to me?” I whisper, my clit throbbing under the thin lace.
His eyes darken, and I can tell he’s ready.
He grabs my ankles, pulling me to the edge until my ass is just off the bed.
That cool air hits me, and it’s obvious he’s seeing just how turned on I am.
“Damn,” he groans. “So fucking wet. You want this cock, don’t you, Devotchka?”
I moan as he plays me like that damn piano.
He slips his hand underneath my panties, spreading my lips and teasing my clit. The pleasure he was already inflicting on me was insane.
His thumb circles with ruthless precision, making me squirm. I arch back, pushing up my chest, and he’s on it, sucking at my nipple while still teasing below.
The heat builds, pressure mounting inside me.
“Oh, God, Alexei,” I moan. “Please, I need you inside me.”
“Not yet,” he rasps against my skin. “I want to hear you scream first.”
He keeps at it, slipping a finger inside me, my walls gripping it tightly. “Tight little cunt,” he growls. His thumb stays on my clit, his finger moving in and out, fucking me to oblivion until I only see white.
“Oh, God!” I come hard, my hips bucking, my back arching.
My scream rips into the air, raw and obscene, his name tangled in every broken syllable.
One of his hands stays between my legs, the other under the cup of my bra.
“Now,” I say, the orgasm fading. “I need you inside me.”
He hooks two fingers into the waistband and slides my panties down my hips. They tangle around my thighs for a moment before I kick them free, leaving me bare beneath his hungry stare.
My eyes lock on his cock.
It was unlike anything I had seen before. Thick and veiny and waiting to dominate me.
The kind of monster you’d run from if you didn’t crave being split in half.
He steps in close, the heat from his body radiating outward.
Nothing else mattered. My mind no longer functioned as my body taking over. He looks down with those hungry eyes, and I know it’s about to go down.
He brings the warm tip of his member to my clit, drenching himself from all the wetness I produced. It feels like I stop breathing the closer he drags his thick cock to the waiting entrance of my pussy.
But when his body claims mine in one deep thrust, the sharp sting makes me gasp.
My nails dig into his shoulders. I squeeze intensely around him in a means to ease the pain, but he groans and stills instantly.
His stormy gaze locks on mine. “Isa,” he growls, voice rough with disbelief.
“Fuck. This is your first time, isn’t it? ”
I bite my lip, heat burning my cheeks. “Does it matter?”
His jaw tightens. His thumb strokes my cheek, and his voice softens, but the dirt is still there. “It matters to me. I don’t want to break you.”
He eases back an inch, then slides in slower, controlled, his eyes studying every flinch. “Tell me if it’s too much. Tell me to stop, and I swear I will.” His cock twitches inside me, a dirty contrast to the tenderness in his tone.
The sting fades slowly, with pleasure rushing in to take its place. And just like that, I’m no longer a virgin.
I squirm a bit. It hurts, but not as much as I thought for a dick his size. After a few moments, the aching fades completely and I’m ready.
“Oh, fuck,” he breathes. “So goddamn tight. You feel like you were made for me. Mine.”
All I can do is moan as he moves in me, deeper. The slapping sound of skin on skin fills the room, and that building pressure is just about ready to explode.
His cock plunges in and out of me, splitting me in half in the most delicious way.
“God, Alexei,” I gasp. “I’m so close. Please, don’t stop.”
He grins, his eyes burning with a wild intensity. “Beg for it, Isa. I want every fucking neighbor to know whose virgin cunt I claimed.”
“Alexei!” I cry out as the first wave crashes over me, my entire body trembling. He doesn’t slow down, though. He keeps moving, pushing us both through the lingering aftershocks of my climax.
After a moment, he pulls back and flips me over without missing a beat.
His hands on my hips, he pulls me up to my hands and knees. I raise my ass up to him, spreading myself and pushing back against him, showing I’m more than ready.
“Good girl,” he growls. “Show me how bad you need it.”
He takes the hint and dives back in, the new angle changing everything.
The pleasure builds again, but it’s different and deeper this time. His hands grip tighter, his thrusts deliberate.
“Alexei, I-I’m gonna—”
“Yes, Isa, come all over my cock. Milk me, Devotchka.”
The second orgasm rips through me, even more intense than the first.
As I’m shaking under him, Alexei gives one final, deep thrust.
I feel him tense up as he climaxes with me.
We peak together, completely in sync. Spurt after spurt of cum fills inside me, warming me in a pleasant way. I feel it ooze out of me as he slowly removes himself and moan softly.
But when he collapses on top of me, he’s careful, bracing most of his weight, pressing soft kisses against the side of my neck.
He places his hand on my jaw, turning my face gently toward him.
He gazes down at me with those brilliant blue eyes, then brushes a stray strand of hair out of my face.
“You’re mine now,” he mutters. Fierce. Possessive.
A vow.
A warning.