Chapter 1

1

NIKOLAI

T he sounds of moans and grunts are starting to piss me off. I go back to counting the payout for the end of the night so I can get the fuck out of here. I'm damn tired, but maybe for once I can get some sleep. The only way I can get it is by exhausting myself.

"Sal." I hear Abby laugh.

With no music pumping through the club, you can hear everything. This shit wouldn't have bothered me months ago. I didn't care who fucked who, as long as everyone handled what they needed. Now the mere thought of sex sends my mind wandering to a little redhead that I should never be near. One that I don't deserve to share the same air with. I make it a habit to stay away from her.

I count the final stack of cash and wrap a rubber band around it. Sal and Abby come strolling out of the keg room where they disappeared twenty minutes ago. When Abby sees me, she winks. I shake my head.

Abby oversees all the waitresses and bartenders. Sal zips up his pants. I grit my teeth, wanting to punch him in the face. Once upon a time, the two of us got along. Now I tolerate him. Everything he does annoys the shit out of me.

"Is this good to go?" Abby picks up a few of the cash stacks. I nod. She starts bagging them up to put in the safe.

"I've got to head out." Sal glances at his watch, as if he must be somewhere at this early hour. The only place I'm going to go is to bed, but I need to stay away another hour at least. Then I can head home and crash. I'll have the place to myself.

"We're not having breakfast?" Abby rolls her eyes, irritated with Sal now. I tune them out as I get my shit together to go up to Matteo's office. I'll lie on the couch till I can go home.

"Can't, sugar. Gotta head to take Riley to school." I don't miss her name. No, I don't miss anything when it comes to Riley, and that's the damn problem. She's the reason I'm in a perpetual bad mood.

"Why are you taking her to school?" Just the thought sends my level of annoyance with Sal to another level.

"Boss took the wife back to the house." No one told me that. Was Riley home all alone?

"Why?"

Sal raises one brow. "You think I ask him why he does anything with his wife?" True. Mona and Matteo have been staying in the city since Riley has been in school to finish out her senior year.

"You're not taking her." Over my dead body are the two of them going to be alone together. Abby's eyes bounce between Sal and me.

I can't stand Sal and Riley together. Nothing pisses me off more. She talks to him. The two of them are always fucking chummy for some fucking reason. When Sal got hurt months ago, Riley was worried about him. Even made him food. I clench my fist thinking back to it.

"Following the boss's orders." He shrugs, knowing he's pissing me off and enjoying it.

"I'll take her," I grit out. Then I'd have to be near her. I feel myself start to grow hard. The hell is wrong with me? The mere thought of the tiny girl fills my body with heat. It's one of the biggest reasons I steer clear of her as much as possible.

"You think that's a good idea?"

"You think it's a good fucking idea to question me on this?" I step toward him. Sal and I have had it out more than a few times over Riley.

"All right, let's calm down." Abby steps between us, having borne witness to more than a handful of our fights. I could use one right about now. I'm itching for it. I want to take out my frustration on someone.

"I'll take her." I grab my keys off the bar. This isn't up for debate. It doesn't take me long to get to the condo. I park in the basement garage, right outside the elevator. No one will fuck with my car.

I give one of the guards standing next to the elevator a nod before I step on, hitting the button for the top floor.

Matteo has kept this place well-guarded since the event that occurred a few months ago. His wife's and Riley's brother had raided this place when he knew Matteo would be gone. Too bad for their brother, I'd been home. That didn't work out in his favor.

I shake thoughts of that from my mind. I lost it on Riley that night. Since then, we have stayed away from each other. It was for the best. My control deteriorates when I'm around her. She fucks with my head in a way that no one ever has. Everything that comes out of my mouth to her always sounds pissed off.

The last time in my life I didn't have control over myself was when I was a kid. Before Matteo pulled me off the street, all I felt during those times was rage. Now when I'm not in control, all that rage comes flooding back into my mind, and I'm not always rational. I thought I'd put those demons behind me, though. Under Matteo's watch, he'd help me focus. He taught me that I could be more and focus that energy into my work. I'd been on a good path. All that slipped through my fingers like water when Riley showed up.

I step off the elevator, checking the time again. I've got no clue why she decided to go back to high school to finish out her senior year. I hated school. Matteo tried to put me in it when I was a kid, and I only ended up in fist fights. So much so that I was homeschooled with a tutor who had to deal with me until I passed my GED. Like it fucking matters with the life we live.

When I don't see Riley in the living room area or kitchen, I head toward her bedroom. I pause in the hallway when I see her coming toward me. She keeps her head down, engrossed in the book she's holding. She always carries a book with her.

What the hell does she have on? She's wearing a polo-collared shirt, but that's not what's drawing my attention. The fucking skirt she's wearing puts her damn legs on full display. The last time I saw those legs and way too much of her was that night when her brother came. She was in white cotton panties. Who knew white panties were hot? I can't help but wonder, does she have them on now under that pleated skirt?

I don't move as she draws closer. I allow her to collide with me, feeling her softness press into me. She lets out a squeak, dropping her book. I grab her shoulders so she doesn't fall back on her ass. Riley barely comes up to the middle of my chest. She's a tiny thing but has curves that make my dick ache. Ones that I want to run my hands and mouth over.

"Nikolai." Riley whispers my name, her head slowly dropping back. Her glasses slide back. They hide her eyes. Eyes that I swear can see to the darkest parts of me. Parts a girl like her should never bear witness to.

"Watch what you're doing." My tone comes out gruff, the Russian accent I try to mask slipping out around my words. "I don't like when you touch me." I release my hold on her, stepping back.

No, I fucking love it. Too damn much. Softness is not something I have ever had in my life, and I want to bury myself deep inside of hers and never come out. But she deserves more than what I can offer her. She doesn't need me to taint her.

"Sorry." She tucks one of her unruly red curls behind her ear. "I didn't know you were here."

"I live here," I remind her. She licks her lips, taking another tentative step back. I want to grab her and pull her back but I keep myself in check. For once.

"I know. You're just not around much."

I'm not around when she is. If she is, then she is asleep. I've stopped being home for that too. It's too tempting. She is too vulnerable to me when she sleeps. Too easy to get way too close to.

"I'm taking you to school."

"Oh." Her shoulders drop. I don't miss the disappointment on her face. Her reaction makes me want to pound Sal's face in even more.

"That a problem?" Cause too fucking bad. I am taking her or she can keep her little ass home. With me. All alone.

That wouldn't be good for either of us. This is why I can't be around her. My thoughts are not rational when I am.

"Where's Sal?" she asks, pissing me off.

He's going to be six feet under by the end of the day. That's where he's going to be.

"Are you ready?" I don't answer her question. She nods her head. "Did you even eat?"

"It's fine."

It's not.

"Let's go. I don't have time for this shit." I'm exhausted, and my dick is hard as fuck. The dark thoughts that nip at me when I'm near Riley are starting to rise. If she knew the things I thought about doing to her, she'd never step foot near me again.

I need to get her out of here. Get her away from me and my dick, so I can handle it before I make her handle it for me.