Chapter Four

 

Risa breathed hard, unable to believe she’d finally said the words to the only man she’d ever wanted. Nikolai was about to lift his hand from her face, but she gripped it. She could see the stiffness in his body, how much he was holding back. Nikolai must be thinking she was still Dan’s little girl, but it was up to her to show him she was all grown up now.

She’d started on this path. Risa refused to turn back now. “Don’t deny yourself any longer.”

“You’re a child. Any other woman with more sense would run after finding out what kind of man they’ve invited into their bed.”

“I’m twenty-one, an adult.”

Nikolai shook his head. “You don’t know what you want.”

“You said you’d stop treating me like a child.” Risa leaned forward and did it. She brushed her lips over his, aware her entire body trembled with need. A man like Nikolai needed to take control, to dominate. A sigh of relief escaped her lips when he cupped the back of her neck and leaned in close.

Nikolai claimed her mouth like a savage. He didn’t kiss. He simply took, plundering her lips like a starving man. Nikolai thrust his tongue down her throat, and the world ceased to exist. Risa forgot about her disastrous evening, about anxiously looking over her shoulder the entire night to catch a glimpse of Nikolai.

Finally, they’d come to this point. A step closer to her dream of becoming his. Risa wanted him to own her in every way possible, to possess her.

Her breasts felt so full, her nipples tight as she pressed up against his hard chest. He slipped a hand under the jacket, resting it on her thigh.

Nikolai’s touch burned like a brand. She slid closer, eliminating any space between them so he could slip his fingers higher to finger the hem of her lace panties. He pulled his mouth away from hers. He’d nicked her lower lip by accident, but the taste of copper only fueled her lust for him.

“If I touch further, will I find you wet for me?” he whispered in her ear.

She parted her legs for him to find out. Nikolai pushed his fingers past the black lace. He traced the shape of her pussy lips, before sliding one digit into her wetness. She groaned and rubbed herself against him as he pulled out, only to thumb her clit.

“Nikolai,” she said in a whisper.

He pulled away, much to her disappointment. A second passed. Then two. He didn’t apologize for his action, didn’t tell her that the moment was a mistake. Nikolai didn’t break her heart. Yet. Nikolai lifted his fingers, still coated with her need, to his lips and licked them slowly. The gesture reminded her of a large predatory cat.

This was no ordinary man, she reminded herself. This was Nikolai, and Nikolai was in a very different league altogether compared to all the others she’d gone out with. The boys who pretended they were men.

“Very sweet,” he said, making her blush. “Angel, if you’re going to be mine, we need to set some rules.”

“Rules?” Her mind felt hazy. Not because of the drug John put into her drink. Then again, being with Nikolai felt like a different kind of drug. Intoxicating. Tempting.

“Yes.” Nikolai reached out to tuck a stray auburn curl behind one ear. He held out one finger. “I don’t share, and two, you must do what I say. Always.”

“Always? Are you into BDSM or something?”

Nikolai looked amused. He trailed his fingers down her cheek, her neck, leaving the barest of touches over her chest. He slipped his hand lower, to cup her right breast, then thumbed the hard nipple there. Gave it a pinch.

She groaned, wanting to rub up against him again, but would that make her seem desperate, needy?

“No,” he finally answered her. “But I can be very possessive, especially when it comes to you. I nearly killed a man right in front of you.”

A chill went down her spine, but she dared to meet his eyes. “I don’t care,” she finally said. “Do you think that would scare me?”

“I’m just letting you know what kind of man I am.”

“I do know. I’ve lived with you for years. I know your habits, what you like or dislike,” Risa stated. “And what you do off the record. That doesn’t matter to me. I want you, all of you.”

“Dangerous. Then again, I’ve always known that. You’re a living force of nature, Risa.” He nibbled at her ear, making her shiver. Nikolai still had his hand on her breast, still hadn’t let go. “And I finally understand I’m the only one capable of taming you.”

“Yes,” she murmured. “You have no idea how long I’ve waited for this moment.”

“You agree to my rules?”

“Do you even have to ask that question?”

Nikolai withdrew his hand, his mouth from her ear. “Very good. Then we’ll continue this another time.”

“Wait. Why?” she blurted.

“We’ve arrived home.”

Nikolai opened the door and stepped out. He offered her his hand. Risa stared at it for a few seconds. Frustrating man. Sometimes, she didn’t get him at all. Fine. She’d play along. She let him help her from the car and followed him back to the house.

“You didn’t answer my question,” she reminded him.

At this time of the night, the entire mansion was silent. The staff had all retired, leaving only the two of them in the foyer.

“You’ve been through a lot tonight,” Nikolai said. He slid a hand over her shoulders, leading her up the flight of stairs and back into her bedroom. This time, he didn’t leave. Not yet. Risa considered that an improvement.

“What does tonight have to do with anything?” she asked him.

“You promised me to obey me, didn’t you?”

He did make a point. Risa never took any bullshit, and had never thought she’d like a man giving her orders. All the men she’d dated in the past, even the older ones, told her she was too much. That her personality needed tweaking. With Nikolai, she’d make an exception.

“Bathroom,” he said. She went inside stopped as he stood in front of her and began unbuttoning his coat, which she still wore. Just one searing look and he seemed capable of undressing her with his eyes.

Risa stood still, letting him peel the dress off her. She stared at his bruised knuckles, still coated with John’s blood. For a man who was familiar with violence, he touched her with the utmost care. He handled her as if she was something breakable.

“I’m not fragile,” she said, stepping out of her ruined dress.

She took off her heels, all too aware of how she was completely bared to him. No secrets to hide. Nikolai didn’t turn away, didn’t excuse himself. He took stock of her, looking at her like he already owned her.

Nikolai walked over to the tub and turned the tap on.

“We can save water if we bathe together.”

Nikolai laughed. “Another night, angel. Tonight, I take care of you.”

Knowing she’d lost this fight, she sank into the bathtub once the water was filled. Nikolai folded up the sleeves of his shirt and sat on the edge of the tub. The moment he speared his fingers into her hair to massage her scalp, she moaned.

“Feels good?” he asked her, beginning to shampoo her hair.

She didn’t know why, but letting him wash her hair felt as intimate as the moment he slipped his hand up her thigh in the car.

“Oh yes,” she answered. “So I’m guessing sex is off the table tonight?”

After all, he’d managed to resist her this entire night.

“Tonight,” he agreed. “You need your rest.”

Risa turned her head to look up at him. “Yeah?”

“Because very soon,” he said, voice warm against her ear. “I intend to fuck you so hard you won’t be able to walk.”

She gasped when he slid one hand to give her breast another squeeze. Risa had no words for him. She still wondered if this was all some wonderful dream she didn’t want to wake up from.

“I’m a virgin.” She didn’t know why she blurted that without thinking. Risa wanted him to know the truth. She might have gone on many dates, but she didn’t let any of those men get close. It felt wrong to her, giving any part of herself to anyone but Nikolai.

Nikolai removed his hand from her breast. “What?”

She blushed. “I saved myself. For you.”

Nikolai pressed a kiss on the side of his neck, right over her pulse point. “I accept your gift, and I’ll take very good care of you.”