Chapter 4

4

RILEY

I place my hands over my knees to cover the scrapes, not wanting to talk about them. Nikolai tosses my stuff into the small back seat. He's more pissed off than normal. I'm not sure what I am. A bundle of nerves, maybe? This day keeps getting worse by the second. At least it's a Friday, and I don't have to be back at this school for a few days.

"Spit it out," Nikolai orders. I ignore him. Why doesn't he go speak to Becky? And did he call me babe a few minutes ago? It must have been a slip of the tongue. "Riley." He emits a growl that resembles the sound of a ferocious bear.

"What?" I snip back. I'm sick of everyone's crap today. I've had enough.

"What happened?" He reaches over and grabs my wrists, lifting my hands off my knees so he can see them.

"It's fine. I fell." It's not a complete lie.

"No shit you fell. How did you fall?"

"I tripped."

"Don't lie. You're shit at it." My eyes start to sting with tears. It's not a total lie. I did trip, but not one hundred percent on my own. Becky and her little clique might have helped me along.

"Can we just go?" Everyone is watching Nikolai's car. Becky isn't hiding the fact that she is very interested in Nikolai. She does have a boyfriend, but from what I've learned, Becky always gets what she wants.

"Fine." Nikolai starts the car before reaching over and pulling my seat belt on. His arm grazes against my breast. We both go completely still. Nikolai's eyes lock with mine. He's so close, I can feel his warm breath tickle my lips. "This isn't over." The seat belt's click is loud in the car.

Thankfully, Nikolai doesn't ask any more questions as he drives me back to the condo. Marco is still standing guard at the elevator when we arrive home.

"How'd it go?" he asks me when I step out of the car.

"I think I killed it." The calculus test was the only positive thing about this day.

Marco gives me a high five as I pass him. Nikolai mutters something in what I believe to be Russian. I recall him asking me this morning if I talked to every man. Is that why he's so pissed all the time? Why does he even care?

That's rich coming from him. He was talking to girls outside of my school. I know he spends a lot of his nights at Matteo's clubs, and there's no doubt he has more than enough females there to speak to. Ones that are prettier, sexier, and more experienced. I bet he talks to them a lot. I once asked Matteo when the club closed, and he said around three. Nikolai usually gets home way later than that. It doesn't take a rocket scientist to guess where he likely is.

I know I shouldn't care, but I can't help myself. I mean it's not like he's mine or anything. He's free to do whatever he pleases. Even as I think those thoughts, my stomach starts to sour. The second the elevator opens, I rush off. I don't get far. Nikolai grabs me by the wrist, stopping me.

"Your knees."

"We already went over this." I tug on my arm, but Nikolai doesn't release his hold on me.

"And I told you that we weren't done." He starts walking. I have no choice but to follow him. He goes down the hallway that leads to his room. There are a few rooms this way, but I never ventured down here. I always think of it as Nikolai's area.

"Where are we going?" He opens the door at the end of the hallway, leading me into his room. It's massive. Does this condo have two freaking master suites?

"I'm going to look at your knees." He tosses my bag and book onto his bed. "Sit." He points. I want to protest but I know by the look on his face that it would do me no good. He's made up his mind. And if there's one thing I've come to learn about Nikolai, it's that once he's set his mind to something, there's no changing it.

"On the bed?" I squeak out and hate myself immediately. Heat rushes to my cheeks. I'm such a geeky virgin, and that has never been more clear than at this moment. Next, I'll tell him I've never been in a boy's room before. Scratch that. Nikolai might only be eighteen, but he is a man. None of the boys in my school appear to be anything like Nikolai.

"Yeah, on the bed." He lets go of my wrist and grabs my hips. Nikolai pushes back, forcing me to sit down. My skirt rides up. His eyes drop to my thighs.

Embarrassed at my chubby thighs that have never seen the sun, I push my skirt back down to cover them. Nikolai says something in Russian again, shaking his head before disappearing into his bathroom. He comes back out a moment later with a first-aid kit.

"You don't have to do this," I tell him as he drops down to his knees in front of me. He places his hands on the outside of my thighs, making my skirt push back up a few inches. My instincts beg me to pull it back down, but I don't want to lose his touch. I'm finding that I like it way too much.

"I don't mind." His thumbs brush back and forth, causing me to get goosebumps. The silence falls, and Nikolai remains motionless except for the motion of his thumbs. It's the simplest touch, but my body responds to it. My thighs part on their own, and my nipples are growing hard. What the hell? I have to get out of this room before I do something else to embarrass myself more.

"Nikolai?"

"You're soft," he says. His eyes are still cast down, I think on my thighs, but it's hard to believe he'd be staring there.

"I'm pasty." I don't know why I feel the need to point this out to him. It's not like he's blind.

"Nah, it's like silky porcelain." His fingers are the opposite. They're rough. His touch feels wonderful against my skin.

"I guess it's the Irish."

"That why you have freckles too?" His hand moves, his fingers drifting across the top of my thighs. He takes one finger and guides it to one freckle, then to another. There are probably a half dozen that sprinkle across my legs.

"I, ah—" I lick my lips. "Maybe." My stomach dips. What's happening here? I can feel my panties start to grow slick. Nikolai suddenly jerks his hands back, maybe remembering it's me he's touching and not Becky. Gah, I hate that my mind keeps going there.

He opens up the first-aid kit. "This might burn," he tells me before brushing the alcohol pad across my knee. It might burn, but I don't feel it. All I can think about now is the throb that is lingering between my thighs and the fact that Nikolai is on his knees in front of me.

Then he goes and blows on it. I close my eyes tightly. I might be na?ve, but I've read a ton of dirty books. Everyone thinks I'm always reading some fancy literature from the 17th century. I think it's the glasses that throw them off.

"Riley." Nikolai's hand cups my cheek. My eyes fly open.

"What?"

"Did I hurt you?" I shake my head no. His thumb brushes across my bottom lip, making me suck in a breath. He tilts his head to the side, studying my face. "Then what is it?"

"Nothing." There is no way in hell I'm admitting to how aroused I am right now.

"I told you, you're a terrible liar." His hand drops from my face, going back to my thighs. He slides it up to a few inches under my skirt. "It's something."

"It's not," I rush to say. "I should go." When I stand, Nikolai pushes his hands all the way up under my skirt to grab my hips, leaning forward at the same time so that his body forces my legs to spread. It puts my stupid, plain white underwear on full display.

Nikolai glances down. I want to die when I see what I'm sure he sees too. A wet spot is clear as day.

"Are you hurting somewhere else, Riley?"

"Oh my God." I cover my face with my hands.

"Lie back," he orders gruffly.

"Nikolai."

"Lie back." This time, he repeats it in a harder tone. My body follows his command, and I let myself fall back onto the bed. I don't dare look down. I'm sure I look like a total dork with my hands covering my face.

My stomach tightens when I feel Nikolai's fingers slip into the side of my panties. My hips rise on their own accord, trying to get some relief. I swear if embarrassment could kill a person, I'd be dead and buried already. He pulls the material to the side. "Fuck."

I peek through my fingers to see what he is doing. As I do, I watch as his mouth descends on me. I gasp when I feel his wet tongue thrust between the lips of my sex, going straight for my clit. Before circling it, he takes a few swipes. A moan escapes me, and I can't hold back.

I've read scenes in books, but never have I imagined it could feel this good. I've even tried my own hand at it and that doesn't hold a candle to how Nikolai is making me feel at this moment. It's too much but not enough at the same time.

Nikolai's tongue continues to explore and descend farther. He thrusts it inside of me. "Oh God," I cry out as he moves it in and out of me. The same way one would if they were having sex. He's fucking me with his tongue. My hips rock in rhythm with him. I have no control over my body now. It's all him.

He groans when he pulls it out, going back to my clit. He keeps me on edge. I shake my head. I can't. It's too much. "Nikolai." I moan, my fingers gripping the bedspread.

"Come on my face, Riley," I hear him say. "Do it." He gives the order before latching on to my clit. My legs begin to shake as the tingling sensation intensifies. All my muscles lock up as heat blooms from my core, exploding outwards. I cry out his name as the orgasm consumes me. This is what people must mean when they say they experience nirvana.

Nikolai keeps going, licking and sucking at me. I swear it's as though he's starved for me. I grip his hair to pull him off, but he doesn't let go.

Until we hear my name called and we both jerk up. I push my skirt back down into place. Nikolai falls back on his heels. A knock sounds a second before Nikolai's door is pushed open. My sister and Matteo are standing there.

"I hurt my knees," I blurt out before they can ask. I see Nikolai lick his lips out of the corner of my eye. Thankfully, they buy it.

I think.