All Chapters of Nikolai’s Tainted Nun : Chapter 21 - Chapter 30

Chapter 18 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ There’s something fundamentally wrong with this man. I started to push him away because my senses were slowly coming back and my cheeks were doing a good job betraying my embarrassment when my towel chose that exact moment to betray me—like Eve's apple, tempting and treacherous. But before it could complete its sinful descent, Nikolai's hand shot out, catching it just below my cleavage. My breath hitched when his knuckles involuntarily brushed against the very sensitive, hardened flesh of my nipples. "You're not a gentleman," I pointed out, just to distract him from the fact that his fingers made my pulse skip like a guilty altar boy. He frowned, amusement dancing in his dark eyes. "How'd you figure that out? Because I'm a Made Man?" Somehow, even through my mortification and the fact that I was one slip of cotton away from giving him an anatomy lesson that definitely wasn't in the Bible, I laughed. "You're in a shelter, snuck into a nun's room, a

Chapter 20⟿❂⟾Sylvia⟿❂⟾"Bless me Father, for I have sinned."The words tasted like ash in my mouth. I shifted on the hard wooden seat, the confessional's familiar quietness suddenly unnerving. How many times had I sat here, offering my small transgressions like pebbles? But this one felt like trying to confess a boulder."It has been one week since my last confession."One week. But barely twelve hours since Nikolai had me pressed against that wall, his hands making me forget every vow I'd ever taken. My skin burned at the memory."Go on, child."I swallowed hard. How exactly does one confess to wanting a man to commit several mortal sins? With visual aids and a PowerPoint presentation? How do I possibly tell a religious leader in agonizing details how shamelessly close I’d come to being fucked senseless in the shelter by a man who murdered people for a living? How could I tell him the terrible things he’d done to my breasts last night? "I... I've had impure thoughts, Father." T

Chapter 22 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ “What the fuck is she doing here?” I barely got out the words before Luigi stepped forward, hands raised like he already knew I was about to rip him apart. “Relax,” he said, though his own voice was tight. “I had to bring her.” My hands curled into fists only to recoil at the feel of blood seeping through my right fingers. “You had to?” I repeated, eyes locked on Sylvia, who stood a few steps behind him, head bowed and her hands crossed in front of her. Luigi exhaled sharply. “You’re bleeding out, Nikolai. If nothing is done, you’ll be dead in an hour.” His voice dropped. “I can’t watch that happen.” I dragged my tongue over my teeth, tasting iron. “And so you brought her?” Luigi clenched his jaw. “I couldn’t think of a better option.” I turned my glare on Sylvia. She raised her head at the same time, and when I met her gaze, she arched a single brow. “You didn’t send for me.” A statement, not a question. Luigi stepped in before I could speak. “

Chapter 24 ⟿❂⟾ Nikolai ⟿❂⟾ Three nights since opening Lussuria Nera, and the place was already packed wall-to-wall downstairs. Success by any standard. So why the fuck was I in such a foul mood? I flexed my right hand, the stitches pulling tight under the bandage. Sylvia had done good work with the stitches. Clean. The wound still hurt like a bitch, but I could use my hand now, which was all that mattered. "You gonna sit there brooding all night?" Luigi asked from the doorway, not bothering to knock. As usual, he looked like he'd stepped out of a fashion magazine, his suit perfectly tailored, not a dark hair out of place. The picture of sophistication—until you noticed the brass knuckles tucked into his pocket and the knife scar running across his left eyebrow. "I'm thinking, not brooding," I corrected, taking a sip of whiskey. "About the nun or about Morelli?" Luigi smirked, helping himself to my liquor cabinet. I shot him a warning glare. "The business." "Right." He didn'

Chapter 26 ⟿❂⟾ Sylvia ⟿❂⟾ I'd imagined hell many times during my years in the convent. Fire and brimstone. Demons with pitchforks. Souls in eternal torment. I never imagined hell would look like the backseat of a luxury SUV with tinted windows, a massive dog's head in my lap, and a literal dangerous handsome man driving ninety miles an hour through Brooklyn while making calls that sounded suspiciously like he was organizing a small army. "I need four people at Kent Avenue. Now." Nikolai's voice was different when he spoke to his men tonight, harsher, colder. More like the man I first met than the one who'd laughed about his dog cockblocking a nun. "Tell Manuel to bring the heavy hardware. We're crashing a party." I stroked Fur's head, taking comfort in the warmth of him as my stomach twisted with fear. Not for myself. I'd made peace with my own mortality long ago. It was for Maria. Sweet, damaged Maria with her too-old eyes and fierce determination to prove she didn't need anyon