NIKOLAI I found it quite odd how repelled Enora was by the sight of blood considering she’d had it covering half of her face the first time we met. I’d even thought she’d be more pleased if it was the blood of that fucking raccoon who had the guts to laugh at her to her face.I’d had him tied to a chair and tickled till his eyes turned crimson with tears and his lungs almost ran out of air before cutting his tongue out like he fucking deserved. I had no regret, even if Enora thought otherwise. I’d be quite satisfied killing a hundred more men who dared to cause her pain.Carlos Patrizio included.Footsteps padded into my room just as I was about to turn off the shower, I picked my glock from the phone holder by the wall and threw a towel around my waist before leaving the bathroom. I’d not bothered to turn off the shower; in situations like this, it was better to let the intruder think you weren’t aware of their presence.A clang sound came from the room as soon as I was able to ope
ENORA I’d always thought men like Nikolai were somehow immune to pain, but now that his blood was dripping on the floor, and his eyes were flickering with fury and…pain, I couldn’t escape being trapped in my own conscience.Truth is, I hadn’t intended to stab him, I’d thought he would move away before the knife reached him. He didn’t, and blood was dripping down his chest, the part where my name was inked on.It wasn’t the right time to note something like this, but he looked like the painting of the hottest demon in hell.The drip, drip as crimson liquid fell to the floor was the only thing heard in the room for the seconds after I cut him. My nerves were working up, making me anxious. I knew I’d crossed a line. What Nikolai would do to me now could only be left to my imagination.And I wasn’t going to apologize.“You really shouldn’t have, malysh.” He grabbed the knife from me and tossed it across the room, smearing the floor further with red. His jaws twitched and his eyes gloomed
ENORA I complied; he’d turned me into a horny idiot.“Take your hands off,” he demanded. “I want to see everything.”Slowly, I moved my hands away from my breasts and let them fall to my sides. His eyes beamed with something I couldn’t quite pinpoint as he stared at me.“God, baby. You’re so fucking beautiful.”Heat rushed to my cheeks, maybe because he just picked up another nickname for me, baby. Or because he just called me beautiful. Could have been both.“Lie on your back with your legs apart.”I gasped, my throat dry with a slutty thirst.“Now!”I lay on my back, spreading my legs with my eyes closed. I heard Nikolai’s footsteps and he came to me before I felt his paper-light touch on my thighs. “Beg me to lick you, malysh.”There was no way I’d beg him, he either wanted to or not. But that was until his finger slid into my pussy; this man would make me go insane. “Please.”“Say it like you mean it, baby.”“Lick me, please,” I panted. It was hard not to with the way his finger
ENORA Nikolai definitely chose Mikhail to chaperone me out of spite, that much I was sure of. The man hadn’t moved his eyes away from me since we entered the tattoo shop, but that was less of a problem compared to the fact that he hadn’t spoken a single word to me for the past three hours since we left the house, not even when I asked what type of tattoo his brother would like.Truthfully, I’d only asked because I wanted the exact opposite of what Nikolai would like, but when Mikhail returned my question with a glare more terrifying than death itself, it made me feel like I was being ridiculous. He was probably one of the old-school kind of guys that thought women had no right to tattoos. Most men in our world were like that, closed-minded and misogynistic. Ewww!“They’re so pretty,” the tattoo lady said to me with a beam. “How did you think of something so lovely?”I glared at Mikhail standing by the door like a mannequin made for the gym and then gave the tattoo lady my kindest sm
ENORA“I need something expensive.”She gave me a full-length glance, condescension lurking being her polite smile. “Uhm…”“What? You think I can’t afford to buy something expensive?” I’d worn another set of Nikolai’s oversized baggy shorts and tees which I understood could make me look shabby, but they were designer and looked as expensive as they felt on my skin.“No, ma’am, not at all.” She gestured for me to follow her. “I’ll show you our new arrivals.”“Thank you,” I said, holding a confiscated smile.I spent the next hour picking out new clothes, bags, and shoes and by the time I was done, my knees were weak and my stomach was rumbling. I regretted not having breakfast before leaving.“Your bill is fifty thousand dollars, ma’am.”I removed Nikolai’s credit card from my shorts with glee and handed it to Sophia. It felt good spending someone else’s money, at least someone who wasn’t my papa, not that he limited how much of his dirty money I spent. I just didn’t enjoy spending it a
NIKOLAI Enora Patrizio was going to be the death of me—that was a fact I didn’t need to deny. Sitting in this dark container with these freaking Chicago Al Capone was the last place I really wanted to be, especially not when I had an ass as soft as Enora’s to get back to.It’d been five fucking hours since I left her earlier today, yet I couldn’t get the image of her naked body out of my head. Her delicate olive skin, her full breasts that kicked every sexual nerve in me into action, and Christ, her loud moans.I took a pack of cigarettes out of my suit jacket, pinned one between my lips, and lit it. Every pop sent smoke and dirty images of my little slut to my head. I’d even lost control and fucked her so roughly that her skin was purple with marks this morning. It was probably for the best that I marked my territory on things that were mine.My phone bleeped; it was a message from Mikhail. He’d sent a picture of Enora’s tattoo; she’d made one that looked almost like mine except f
NIKOLAIThis woman was driving me beyond my limit. “Don’t test my patience, malysh.” I didn’t mean for it to come out as a roar, but it did.I kept banging on the door for the next few minutes while Enora completely ignored me. I moved back and with one kick of my leg, the door flew open. Enora was still wearing the dress she came back with, and she looked stunned that I’d actually managed to open the door.She probably hadn’t learned that I didn’t bluff.“What the fuck is wrong with you?!”“I should be asking you the same, Enora.” Animosity seeped through us both. “Who do you think you are to hurt my friends.”“He wasn’t your friend,” I yelled. “You’re not allowed to have any friends, Enora. Not a single friend.”“And who are you to make that decision for me?”I covered the space between us. “I own you, Enora, you better get used to that.”“Own me?” She scoffed. “No one owns me, not even you or my fucking dad. I’m not a piece of furniture or a gun you fuckers use to do your dirty bus
ENORA “There’s no way I’m wearing that,” I said to Valentin, pushing the box of a designer dress in his hand away. “I prefer something more modest.”Valentin squinted at me, probably not believing me.All my life, my papa had me dressed up in revealing clothes. How else could I attract men to their deaths if I didn’t seduce them first?Remembering it made my tongue bitter and I would really vomit my whole stomach out if I didn’t stop trying to replay the memories in my head.“What do we do? He shopped these for you himself.”Nikolai and I had been getting along pretty well for some days now. I no longer got mad when he called me wife and he’d been pretty nice to me as well.He still teased me sometimes though. The man couldn’t help his mischievous nature, and I still made out time to taunt him whenever I wanted to as well.Other than that, we were cool with each other. Almost like a married couple who cared for each other dearly. Who…loved each other.Love was out of the equation, b
RomanMy hands were pressed against the round table while my feet were on the carpeted floor. My brothers were with me, talking as they normally did during our meetings. I was physically there with them, but not mentally present in the slightest.Nikolai had ordered us there at nine in the morning. While I had no problem rising early or making it to things when I was expected, I noticed how it weighed on Valentin and Dimitri. Watching their alternating yawns was the most focus I could muster at that moment.We were meant to brainstorm—to strategize our next moves—but I couldn’t stop thinking about Aria.I’d surprised even myself by giving in and sleeping with her. I knew I wasn’t supposed to get attached. It was harmless fun and I kept reminding myself of that.While I was somewhat annoyed with myself for it, especially while drunk, I didn’t entirely regret it...except for the sneaking suspicion I had that it wasn’t quite so innocent. The way my mind effortlessly floated back to her w
AriaI couldn’t take the mortification any longer and brought my lips to his, wanting to get the hard part over with. Our lips melded eagerly as he inhaled sharply, gliding his palms up and down my back.Wiggling my hips above his, I tried to find that rhythm from before, grinding against his cock. But my hips were stilled by his strong hands.With a rush of movement, I was scooped up and laid out across the couch, left confused as he moved down my body, pressing kisses down my stomach.I took in a sharp breath as his tongue glided down my skin, fingers hooking into my panties. In one sweep, they were removed, and nothing was left between the two of us.Roman kept going until he was level with my core, and that teasing tongue continued.Black rimmed my vision once he flicked it against my clit, immediately making me arch away from the couch. His hands secured my hips down, making sure I didn’t move too much.A throaty moan fell from my lips, overcome by his impeccable skill. He focuse
AriaHis lips were hasty in their movements, devouring mine like he was trying to get nectar from them. His palm traveled around, resting on my hip as he poured everything he had into the embrace.I did nothing but comply, so overcome by how amazing it felt. He moved with such precision that I was rendered useless, silently begging for more of him.There were other men I had kissed before, but never like that. Never with such fiery passion that it was almost tangible. The whiskey made it easier to stomach just how overwhelming it was to be so close to him, to feel him, and to taste that electricity between us.Roman was intimidating in many ways, but from how he kissed me, there was nothing left to fear. It was a side of him I had yet to discover, and it was unbelievably worth it.His tongue flicked against my lower lip, sparking pleasure through my sensitive skin. I shivered, caught off-guard by it, yet eager to part my mouth for him.Our tongues clashed as I gripped his black tee a
Aria Color flooded my cheeks upon hearing that he could so easily recall what was in my notes after having read them, but I pushed it down and nodded, paying close attention.Roman ran me through it, showing me parts of the weapon and how it worked. He did so with expert precision, letting me know that he clearly had a lifetime of experience with it all.His fingers did nimble work, somewhat splicing my attention away from the demonstration. I swallowed hard and silently told myself to focus, even if my mind began to wander, thinking about how close we were standing to one another, or how I could feel his arm brush against me from time to time.I felt depraved for even noticing it.Remembering myself, I followed along as Roman showed me more of the armory, picking up the occasional weapon and going on to describe it for me. It seemed like second nature for him to ramble on about the family business while pride gleamed in his eyes.It was clear that he loved his family, and he cared d
AriaSomething was eating at Roman, but I didn’t know what.Everything seemed to be going well between us, and I couldn’t help but wonder where things had gone wrong.Did I say something I shouldn’t have? Did he regret telling me more about the mafia?Unable to keep it to myself, I peered over at him and watched how indescribable thoughts moved through his eyes.“Is everything alright?”He met my gaze once more and swallowed, looking like he’d rather not say. But he sighed and ran a hand through his hair. “It’s just…family business things. My screw-up was a big problem that landed me in some hot water. How I fix this will determine what my brothers think of me.”My face softened at his words. “That sounds like a lot of pressure.”“That is correct,” he managed, staring off into some part of the room. It seemed to be bugging him, and it made me feel bad.I didn’t know how he managed to make me sympathize with him so easily, yet I just couldn’t help it. Despite how strange our circumsta
Something flickered in her eyes as she waited for an answer, seemingly vibrating with anticipation.For some unknown reason, a part of me didn’t want to tell her the truth lest she think I was some sort of monster, someone who couldn’t wait to shoot at any given time.I wasn’t some bloodthirsty goon, but I had taken my fair share of lives for my family. I couldn’t hide from that fact.“Yes,” I managed to get out, gauging Aria’s expression. “None were senseless. Everything I’ve ever done has been to protect my family, and if anyone gets in the way of that, we have our means of dealing with it.”Aria swallowed hard, studying my face closely. While she had tensed at my answer, she eased back into place. “That sounds like a difficult thing to stomach.”“It can be,” I said with a sigh, thinking back to the lives I had claimed, and the ones my brothers had taken as well. “But in the moment, when your brothers’ lives are on the line, it’s easy to forget you’re all human and fighting that sam
RomanTwo Weeks LaterIt had been a long day of work, and all I wanted was to become one with the couch.Having swapped my usual attire for comfortable joggers and a black tee, I was more than ready to forget about everything else. I walked into the living room, not surprised to see Aria already curled up on the couch and balancing the laptop on the side of her propped leg. She was completely focused on the screen, lost in her writing.She had come out of her shell a bit more in the few weeks that had passed, straying from the guest bedroom to linger in the living room. The laptop was never far, which was a relief. I was glad to see her getting good use out of it, even if she had been reluctant to at first.My attention went straight to the lavender sleep set that clung to her curves and accentuated her skin beautifully. The thin straps left little to the imagination, but I wasn’t prepared to complain about it. Half of her dark hair was held up with a clip, leaving her looking comfor
Aria That struck me harder than seeing all those bags on the floor.Immediately, guilt swam in my chest. I didn’t want to let that money go to waste, but it felt strange to accept. My financial struggles and difficult relationship with money made me consider how devastating it would be to let all those things go to waste due to my pride.I didn’t come from much and fighting every day to have enough in my account to cover everything had always been my reality.The thought of the laptop being tossed because of my inability to accept the gift made my stomach turn.Finally wrangling my mind into giving in, I sighed and hooked a finger around the handles. “It’s really too much, you know. Especially the laptop.”Roman chuckled to himself and leaned against the counter behind him, long legs crossed. He looked even more intoxicating than the day prior.“You seem keen on writing. Focus on that for now while I fix the mistake I made. And I won’t hear any complaints about it.”The sincerity in
AriaSunlight warmed the bedsheets while I lay there, staring up at the ceiling.I slept better than expected, and I quickly chalked that up to the bed being far more luxurious than anything I had experienced before. The guest bedroom was leagues better than any of the rooms I had in the past, and I couldn’t help but linger beneath those silk sheets.Plus, I was delaying the inevitable. Part of me didn’t want to get up and face my accidental captor. I didn’t know what to do or what to say.Thank you for the comfortable bed? And for choosing not to kill me?The thought of eating breakfast near him was unbearable, even if he was easy on the eyes.All of it made my skin crawl, and staying in bed was enough of a bandage to keep me there.Once my bladder was too full to ignore, I eventually hauled myself out of bed and made my way to the ensuite. It was ridiculously nice as well and was certainly the most extravagant place I had ever done my business in.Wiping the sleep from my eyes as I