Chapter Fourteen

M ia watched Nik’s dark head lower between her legs and she waited anxiously, her entire body on edge, for that first contact of his mouth on her most intimate place. For someone who claimed he was hard and fast and wasted no time on foreplay, he was spending an extravagant amount of time dropping leisurely kisses along her inner thigh. Teasing her mercilessly.

Truthfully, she wasn’t sure how much of this sweet torture she could take. The anticipation was killing her, and Nik’s scratchy stubble would definitely leave a mark on the sensitive area. The higher his mouth moved, the more she squirmed.

“Drop your legs open, kotyonok. Let me lick my kitten.”

Oh, God. When had she become his? And why did she like it so much? Swallowing hard, she shamelessly allowed her legs to drop open and was instantly rewarded. He spread her folds with his thumbs and his hot mouth latched onto her pussy. Mia gasped, her hands grabbing the blanket and twisting the material in her fists.

Every rational thought fled her brain while he licked, sucked and stroked her into oblivion. It was all too much. The new sensations made her pant and writhe. When he focused on her clit, teasing the tight little bud with his tongue then sucking it into his mouth, a cry tore from her throat.

His inked hands scooped her off the mattress and hooked her legs over his shoulders. “Come for me, Mia. Come right on my tongue,” he ordered, spearing her with it.

She squeezed her eyes shut, wrapped her legs around his head and lifted her hips. All modesty fled as Nik licked and sucked her into a powerful orgasm. She cried out as waves of pleasure rolled through her body and her release left her reeling.

It was all so new and so damn good. He was so damn good.

Nik lowered her down and licked his glistening mouth before crawling back up her body and kissing her ardently. So deeply she could taste herself on his tongue. No matter what he claimed about being rough, he was showing her a passionate side she was enjoying thoroughly.

And that made her want more, made her want him. After a lifetime of feeling unwanted and unloved, knowing that Nik wanted her made everything feel more vibrant. More exciting.

Her earlier words echoed back through her head: “Only if I can taste you, too.”

Guess it was time to make good on her promise.

She’d never gone down on a guy before, or hell, even seen one naked in real life, but she was emboldened by his desire for her. Reaching down between their bodies, she found the button on his jeans and undid it. Her fingers trembled when she snagged the zipper, but Nik caught her hand.

“Not tonight,” he rasped, still hovering above her on his elbows.

Her brow puckered and she wasn’t sure what he meant. No blowjob? Or no sex? The bubble of confidence she had built up started to deflate. Humiliation washed through her and she pulled her hand back. He was rejecting her. Again. Just like he’d done after they’d kissed in the bathtub.

Words failed her and she pushed her hands against his firm chest, trying to squirm out from underneath him, but he tightened his hold.

“Where do you think you’re going?” he growled.

“I-I thought you didn’t want me.” God, she was terrible at reading the situation and wanted to crawl under the covers and pretend none of this was happening. Make all these confusing feelings go away.

The look he gave her—like she was utterly crazy—made her hesitate.

“I’ve never wanted anyone more in my life. I meant you didn’t have to suck my cock. Not tonight, anyway.” Something twinkled in his dark eyes. “Just so you know, that sentence will never come out of my mouth again.”

His dark, sarcastic humor was something she was still getting used to, but Mia felt her body relax slightly beneath him. “Oh,” she whispered, not sure how to respond when doubts still plagued her.

“What’s wrong, kotyonok ?”

Mia pulled in a deep breath then blurted out her biggest fear. “Please, don’t reject me…not you, too. I couldn’t handle it.”

He grasped her chin, forcing her to look at him. “I’ve never wanted to be inside anyone this badly before. Where are these doubts coming from? Because they’re bullshit.”

“Do you have any idea what it feels like to grow up unloved?” Mia asked softly. He didn’t answer, but a flicker of awareness flashed through his eyes followed by something else she couldn’t quite read.

Nik moved off the bed and Mia watched him peel his jeans off, quickly followed by his black boxer briefs. Her gaze dropped to his rigid cock which was even bigger than she’d imagined. How the hell was she going to take all of that?

Her nerves fluttered and she met his hot gaze. “Don’t move,” he gritted out, eyes roaming down her body before he turned away and quickly dug through his duffel bag.

Was he kidding? Where was she going to go? A blizzard raged outside, while inside, her body was overheating fast. She couldn’t tear her eyes off his firm ass and noticed how low his tats actually went, right to the top of his buttocks. The urge to lick every single black line inked on his skin filled her and she dug her nails into her palms.

For being a virgin, she was apparently also a bit of a hussy. Because the sexy thoughts she was entertaining made her cheeks heat up.

Nik stood back up and turned around, a condom in his hand. “No doubt courtesy of Zane,” he stated, voice dry. “Our tech guy thinks he’s pretty funny, but the joke’s on him.”

“Why is it funny?” she asked. A man like Nik probably had more sexual partners than he knew what to do with.

“Because he’s a newlywed and having a ton of sex while I haven’t gotten laid lately,” he admitted. “This was probably his little dig at my dry spell. But who’s laughing now?”

“Really?” Pulse hammering, Mia watched him rip the packet open with his teeth, remove the condom and roll it along his length. Their gazes locked.

“You’re sure?” he asked, voice strained.

Mia nodded, watching him stalk back over and slide onto the bed. His big body moved over hers again and he settled himself between her legs.

“What about your arm?”

“Fuck my arm.”

“Nik—”

He dragged her hand down to cover his long, hard length. “This is the only thing hurting right now.”

When she wrapped her fingers around him, he groaned. Her fire-breathing dragon might be fierce and scaly, but this part of him was smooth, like satin over steel. Curious, she squeezed her fingers around his base and he swore, lightly thrusting. Then he brushed her hand away and encircled his sheathed cock. He lined their bodies up, dragging his tip through her soaked folds, and Mia wrapped her arms around his neck.

The moment he began to enter her, she squeezed her eyes shut and tensed. She’d expected fast and hard, but Nik was giving her slow and gentle.

“Mia, look at me.” His voice was hoarse, full of need.

She opened her eyes, her body stretching around his demanding girth, her heart pounding.

“Eyes on me,” he ordered, then thrust hard.

Mia cried out as his thick cock filled her. He was big and the burn threatened to eclipse the ecstasy she’d hoped to feel. But then his mouth slammed against hers and his fingers were on her clit, circling and rubbing, and the initial pain eased.

He kissed her deeply, sliding almost all the way out only to thrust back in again, this time deeper. “Wrap your legs around me,” he ordered, and his hips began to pump, filling her beyond what she thought possible.

“Oh, God…Nik…” Sensation slammed through her and her nails dug into the back of his neck. It almost felt like she was having an out of body experience because she’d never imagined she would be under a man like him. It’s like she was watching the big man covered in black ink fucking someone else. Sliding his huge cock in and out of some other woman.

Whispering in someone else’s ear, “I know what it feels like…”

His words threw her. Knew what? She couldn’t think straight, much less remember what he was talking about. He was moving faster now, harder, but she had a feeling he was still holding back. The muscles in his neck were straining and his biceps were hard as rock. The idea that he was trying to be more careful than usual for her sake touched a deep part of her.

“Fuck, Mia, you feel so good.” His rough voice filled her ear and his index finger applied just the right amount of pressure on her swollen clit, making her whimper. “So wet and tight…just for me.”

A fluttering sensation filled her lower belly and she lifted her hips, trying to meet his strokes. He was driving her to the edge, his fingers and cock working magic, and all she could do was hang on and try not to scream as the friction became too much, as she was flung over the side of the precipice.

“Nik!” Everything seemed to tighten and intense pleasure rolled through her body. “Oh, Jesus…”

He eased off her poor clit, adjusted her hips and pumped harder, chasing after his own climax. Seconds later, he stiffened and shuddered above her. A harsh groan tore from his throat and she could almost imagine him breathing fire through his flared nostrils as he came.

◆◆◆

Nik dropped down on top of Mia, mindful of his wrapped arm and her slender frame. Holy fuck. He couldn’t remember ever coming so hard. Maybe because it had been a while. Or, if he was being honest with himself, maybe because she had the sweetest, slickest pussy he’d ever sunk his cock into and his kitten had milked him hard.

He took a moment to catch his breath and breathed in deeply, trying to calm his rapidly beating heart. Her soft vanilla scent made his cock twitch. Still lodged deep inside her, he didn’t want to move. Couldn’t move even if he wanted to. Her body fit him perfectly, so snug and warm, so damn soft, and he could still feel her inner muscles fluttering around his cock.

Pressing a soft kiss to the swell of her breast, he withdrew slowly. He’d taken her virginity and he had zero regrets. Maybe he was losing his touch—or his memory—but that was the best sex he’d ever had. His mind raced. If little inexperienced virgin Mia had knocked him flat on his ass, what would it be like with her after he had some time to teach her more about pleasure and all the things they could do to each other.

Unbelievably, his dick started getting hard again.

Rolling out of bed, Nik padded over to the bathroom, tossed the condom and grabbed a washcloth, trying not to think too hard about what just happened. Goddamn. He felt like he just got run over by a truck and the license plate read “Good Girl.”

He ran the washcloth under some warm water then returned to the bed, where Mia had already pulled the covers over her nakedness.

“Let me clean you,” he said, reaching for the blanket and pulling it back. His little kitten had blood between her pretty thighs because of him and he gently wiped it away. She stiffened at his ministrations, not initially comfortable, but as he soothed her aching parts with the warm cloth, her insecurity diminished until she relaxed against the pile of pillows.

After returning to the bathroom and tossing the washcloth in the sink, Nik crawled back into bed with Mia, pulling the covers over them. Laying his head on the pillow beside her, he tucked a strand of golden hair behind her ear. He never cuddled after sex and he had no intentions of starting now. But, for some strange reason, the urge to talk filled him. It was definitely a first, but he wanted—no, needed—to know more about this woman who was casting some sort of strange spell over him.

“Who rejected you, kotyonok ?” he asked quietly, his voice a low rumble.

“My father,” she answered. “I know you don’t believe me, and it kinda throws a monkey wrench in your plans, but after my mother died, it was just us. Or, more accurately, me and the current nanny.”

Poor, little rich girl. He wasn’t sure if he should be annoyed or open to the idea that they were more alike than he realized. She could still be downplaying their relationship because she was protecting him, but he doubted it.

“What about you?” she pressed.

He didn’t say anything, just felt his walls shooting up. Opening up wasn’t easy for him because he didn’t do it. Ever. Not when it was so much easier to keep his emotions bottled up and to ignore them.

“What did you mean when you said you know what it feels like?” she persisted.

When she asked him earlier if he knew what it felt like to grow up unloved, he couldn’t answer. Because, yeah, he knew better than anybody. His mother had abandoned him, he’d never known his father and the people at the orphanage who should’ve been caring for him had neglected and abused him.

“Growing up, I was on my own,” he stated brusquely.

“How so?”

“I certainly didn’t spend my time in a mansion with nannies taking care of me,” he couldn’t help but retort. Fighting with her would be so much easier than tearing open a scab on his heart.

“Where did you spend your time?” she asked softly, not taking the bait. When she reached out and laid a hand on his chest, tracing one of his tattoos, he squeezed his eyes shut.

Nik didn’t talk about his past. Not the orphanage, not the Bratva, not prison and certainly not about those fuckers at the FSS. None of them warranted a passing thought. Yet who was he kidding? They’d haunted his mind for decades.

“St. Petersburg,” he finally said, forcing the name of the city past his lips. Even though it was so long ago, practically another lifetime, he’d never forgotten going to bed on the frozen ground, huddled beneath a ratty blanket, and wishing for a hot dinner to fill his growling belly. He could still picture the hateful glances from people who thought he was nothing more than a gutter rat, a stain on society.

Unwanted, unloved, unworthy.

The words were like splinters of wood that had wedged deeply into his heart and mind. He’d heard them so many times growing up that eventually he’d begun to believe it. And, like he’d told Mia earlier, his wishes never came true, so one day he stopped wishing and just accepted that life was a cruel, twisted joke and then you died. It was so much easier than having his hopes crushed over and over again.

“And your family?”

“I never had a family. The woman who gave birth to me dropped me off on the orphanage steps during a blizzard on Valentine’s Day. I almost froze to death.”

Sympathy flooded her azure eyes. But he didn’t want or need it.

“Don’t look at me like that, Mia,” he growled.

“Like what?” she asked, all innocence.

“Like you care. Because when it comes down to it, nobody really cares. At least not for anybody except themselves. People are selfish and out for their own best interests. If you believe anything else, you’re naive. Nothing but a stupid, little rich girl.”