27. Mika

27

MIKA

T he dark promise in Alfie’s eyes makes my pulse race and my stomach quiver. I’m still torn up by the guilt and horror of watching Joel die—of putting all those men and horses in so much danger—but I can’t help my physical response to Alfie’s words. I’m starting to associate the word punishment with pleasure, and it awakens a wicked desire in me I never knew I possessed.

His surprisingly tender, reassuring touch from a moment before becomes something more dominant, more possessive, as he leans in to claim my lips, his hands holding my face so I can’t turn away. Heat roars through me, and I gasp as he brings our bodies together. I can feel his growing excitement against my abdomen, and it makes my heart flutter. My fingers tighten around the soft fabric of his black dress shirt, and though I want to tell him no—to put distance between us so I can think clearly—I can’t seem to pull away.

“Take off your clothes,” Alfie murmurs against my lips, his fingers splaying over my scalp, combing back into my curls as he holds me captive, unleashing tingling relief at the roots of my hair. Before I can stop it, a groan rushes past my lips and into his mouth.

I need to stop this before I completely lose control. This is why so many bad things have happened—this overpowering sense of attraction that’s obliterated the world I knew, all because Alfie was promised to another woman. But putting an end to our kiss is far harder than I ever could have imagined when my body is desperate for Alfie’s touch. Trapped in an internal battle, I cling to the back of Alfie’s perfectly fitted shirt, trying not to pull him closer but unable to let him go.

“I’m not in the mood to ask twice,” Alfie states, his low voice sending a shiver down my spine.

My head spins as he abruptly releases me, breaking our kiss, and goosebumps erupt across my skin as his fingers curl around the collar of my T-shirt, brushing across the swells of my breasts.

Then, before I can wrap my head around what he’s doing, he gives a forceful jerk. The thin fabric shreds like paper, tearing down the middle, and I gasp. Stunned, I gape down at my exposed cleavage and bare stomach, then back up at Alfie’s penetrating hazel eyes.

He shoves the ruined fabric over my shoulders, leaning in to reclaim my lips as he takes charge, undressing me. Heart hammering against my ribs, my core throbbing with sudden and intense desire, I kiss him back as his deft fingers find the clasp of my bra. Before I know what I’m doing, my hands are tugging at the bottom of his shirt, untucking it before I move on to the buttons holding it closed. My core tightens with anticipation, and when Alfie undoes the button on my jeans, a fresh flood of arousal dampens my panties, making the fabric cling to my sensitive skin. His movements are harsh and demanding—so different from his moment of tender concern, but they match my desperation. It’s like the intensity of our situation—the trauma and the heightened sense of violence—only adds to the heat of our passion, making it impossible to break free of my need for release.

“Get on your knees, vitale ,” Alfie commands as he pushes my pants down my legs.

I step out of them and my riding boots all at once, stripping completely naked before him. I watch as he shrugs out of his dress shirt, tossing it haphazardly onto the bed, then he undoes his belt and draws the leather slowly out of its loops. I swallow hard, my mouth going dry as I wonder if he might use it to punish me—since there are no riding crops handy this time. Alfie’s hands stop on the button of his pants, and when I tear my eyes away from them to look at his face, his eyebrows rise pointedly.

Right. He’s not in the mood to repeat himself, and he told me to get on my knees. My natural instinct is to push back, to refuse just because he gave me an order, but I glance at the belt he tossed onto the bed and realize I’m not sure what kind of punishment he has planned—or if I really want to antagonize him more. My stomach clenches, nervous excitement pooling in my belly, and I know whichever path I choose, Alfie’s going to make this memorable.

Sucking in a shaky breath, I kneel before him without a word, peering up at him beneath my lashes.

“Good girl,” he murmurs, that signature smirk curling the corners of his lips as Alfie undoes his pants and pulls out his thick, hard cock. The tip is already swollen and dripping pre-cum, and my mouth starts to water. “Now, I’ll give you one chance to promise me you won’t try to run again.”

I’m not at all sure I can promise that. I don’t even think what I’m doing right now is necessarily right, but I can’t make my body cooperate with my head—not when I’m feverish with excitement, my body quivering uncontrollably. “And if I don’t?” I challenge, my eyes narrowing.

Alfie tsks , his eyes sparking dangerously, and he combs his fingers into my hair, grasping a handful by the roots and giving it a gentle tug. “Then starting with your pretty mouth, I’ll fuck each of your holes until I change your mind.”

My stomach knots, and a flood of arousal gushes from my core, coating my thighs. I squirm, trying to rein in my excitement, mortified by how responsive I am to the idea of having him use me like that. I press my lips together, silently conveying that I won’t just say what he wants to hear because he told me to. Alfie’s cock twitches, his gaze darkening, and he grasps the base of his cock to rest the tip against my lower lip .

“Open,” he commands, his fingers tightening in my hair as he tips my head back.

I gasp at the stinging pressure along my scalp, and tingling relief follows a moment later as he guides his cock between my lips, claiming my mouth.

“Hands on your thighs, Mika,” he commands as he slowly guides my head forward.

As if acting of their own volition, my palms find the tops of my thighs, and I grip my legs as he slides his swollen tip down the back of my throat. I sputter, gagging at the deep penetration, and fresh tears sting my eyes. At the same time, throbbing excitement makes my slick folds swell, and I’m tempted to reach down and touch myself. But if I do, Alfie will know, and I’ll be disobeying his orders. A flare of defiance ignites in my belly, and my hand twitches closer to the inside of my leg.

“My dirty girl, you like it when I fuck your mouth, don’t you?” he murmurs, increasing the intensity of his pace, penetrating my throat more deeply with each thrust. “You want to come, don’t you?”

I moan, unable to speak with my mouth so full of his cock, but aching for relief. Alfie groans, his hips rocking forward more adamantly, and I choke, tears streaming down my cheeks. My clit pulses, my excitement intensifying even as my throat spasms around his hard tip. Air hisses between his teeth, and his fingers tighten in my hair as I look up the length of his perfectly sculpted torso at his chiseled face. His eyes burn with desire, his jaw locked with tension as he uses my mouth like it was made for his cock. The pressure building between my thighs is more than I can stand, and I whimper as I grasp my legs until my nails dig into my bare skin. I need to come so badly, it hurts. If I touched myself right now, I’m sure it would take nothing to send me over the edge, because Alfie’s possessive dominance has me so turned on, I can’t think straight.

Without warning, Alfie pulls out, his grip firm in my hair as his cock hovers over my lips. “Do you have anything to tell me, vitale ?” he murmurs, his free hand brushing the tears from my cheeks with soft fingers as he tries to coax the promise from me .

Swallowing hard, I feel the absence of his thick girth in my throat, and my clit pulses, but I refuse to back down. Licking my swollen lips, I maintain eye contact as I reach up to wipe my chin. Alfie’s eyes shift to track the movement, and his jaw clenches when I remain silent—two acts of defiance at once. Releasing my hair, he reaches down to grasp my upper arms, and with impressive strength, he brings me to my feet.

“You think I can’t convince you to stay?” he purrs.

“You’re going to punish me either way,” I say petulantly, lifting my chin.

“Maybe that’s where the problem lies.” Alfie’s low voice sounds so calm, but the dangerous edge makes my stomach knot, and a shiver of fear races up my spine. “I think maybe you like your punishments a little too much.” Alfie wraps one arm around my waist, pulling me roughly against his chest as he reaches between my thighs with his free hand.

I shudder as his fingers slide between my folds, soft and inviting. I can feel how wet I am by the slick friction—the electric pleasure that makes me cry out. My clit throbs as his fingertips whisper across it just lightly enough that I teeter on the precipice of release without toppling.

“ Fuck , Mika,” he growls. “You’re so fucking wet for me.” He brings two glistening fingers up to his mouth and sucks them clean with a deliberate groan. “How about this? You tell me what I want to hear, and I’ll let you come while I fuck you.”

Maybe Alfie doesn’t realize just how close I am to an orgasm, but at this point, unless he decides to walk out of this room right now, I don’t think he can stop me. “Screw you,” I hiss, leaning into his powerful chest so I can glare up at his arrogant smirk.

He chuckles deep in his throat, the sound vibrating through my palms and chest and making fresh tingles race across my skin. Reaching down, he shoves my suitcase off the bed, sending clothes flying across the floor. He pushes me down onto the bed, grasping my knees and bending them until they’re pressed against my shoulders, spreading me wide as he plants his palms on the mattress beside me. His thick tip presses between my folds, and I gasp as he slides inside me with one powerful thrust. I moan, so close to the brink that my walls clamp down on him like a vise. Alfie groans as he pauses inside me, waiting until my body relaxes, the moment of release fading. The lack of relief is excruciating, and I squirm beneath him, desperate for any kind of friction that might push me over the edge.

“You think you own your pleasure?” he murmurs, nipping my lower lips. “You’re mine , Mika. Every orgasm, every drop of your arousal belongs to me, and I’ll let you come when you promise me you won’t ever try to leave again.”

He rocks inside me, stretching me as he fills me up so completely it almost hurts. My muscles are so tight with anticipation, I could scream, but every time I think I’m going to come, he pauses just long enough for that building tension to subside.

“Damn it, Alfie, please ,” I moan after the third time. I’m panting, my body quivering, I’m wound so tight.

“Please, what?” he asks, trapping the lobe of my ear between his teeth.

I gasp, my walls tightening around him, and I squirm, but he has me so completely trapped beneath him—pinned to the bed—that I can’t move.

“Let me come,” I whimper.

He thrusts deep, burying himself to the hilt, and I cry out, the pleasure crackling up my spine, but then he stops. “I’ll let you come all night long, vitale . But first, you have to promise you’re done running.”

The frustration is driving me crazy, feeding my temper, and I can’t stop thinking about how wrong it is that I want him this badly. The guilt, anger, and tension keep feeding off each other until I’m boiling over, ready to lash out and hurt him.

“You should have just left me alone,” I hiss, glaring up at him. “I wish I never met you.” As soon as I say it, I know it isn’t true, and the realization puts my stomach in knots. Cold adrenaline rushes through my veins, making me shiver. My tangle of emotions threatens to strangle me, and I fight back tears, because now I know just how trapped I am. I should leave—I should want to leave—but I’m not sure I know how anymore.

“It’s too late now,” Alfie says darkly. “We can’t go back.”

The haunting look in his eyes turns my blood to ice, and even though I’m scared of the Russians and what they’re capable of, I realize for the first time that Alfie doesn’t just mean he’s my best chance of survival—even if it’s true. He means he’s set his sights on me, and he won’t let me go. Maybe he doesn’t even know how. Worst of all, I’m not sure I want him to. As much as I hate to admit it, I like how Alfie possesses me. He’s proven with his actions that I’m not just his side piece—I’ve become his entire world. Men have said the words to me before—made promises they couldn’t keep—but no one has called off their wedding and started a war over me. I still haven’t wrapped my head around the violence, but as ashamed as I am to admit it, I do like how that makes me feel—even if I shouldn’t.

“You belong to me, Mika, and I won’t let anyone touch you if you would just let me protect you, like I’m trying to do. But I can’t do that if you won’t do as I say.”

“I’m not your property,” I say, but the anger I’m trying to convey sounds too breathy to hold much weight as he slides in and out of my wet entrance, releasing electric pleasure up and down my spine.

“You’re much more than that,” he promises me, thrusting deep and hard until I start to see stars.

“Alfie!” I gasp, all the built-up anticipation wound like a tight spring in my belly as I reach that tantalizing cliff edge.

He pulls out of me abruptly, leaving a giant hole in my chest as emptiness floods in like a black hole. I sob, the torture of my unsatiated need more painful than any spanking he could ever give me. I miss the riding crop at this point—even though my skin is still raw from where Alfie punished me this afternoon. I wish I could know what it feels like to be spanked with a belt rather than this constant teasing, this agonizing deprivation.

“Turn over,” he commands, rocking back and releasing me from my constrained position.

My heart jumps into my throat as I wonder if I might have accidentally said the words out loud—if he’s going to spank me now. The thought makes my pulse race, but I’m so desperate, that I do as he says without hesitating. Rolling onto my hands and knees, I glance back as Alfie grips my hips, pulling them toward him until my back is arched, my cheek near the bed.

“Give me your hands,” he says.

I have to brace against the mattress with my shoulders and head to do as he says, and an anxious thrill races through my core as he crosses my wrists behind me, pinning them to the small of my back so I can’t use them.

Reaching between my thighs, Alfie circles my clit, stimulating my sensitive nerves until I’m gasping, my hips rolling as I chase my climax. But again, before I can reach it, he stops what he’s doing, stroking his fingers between my dripping folds to collect my arousal. My heart skips a beat as he smears my slick juices around my ass, teasing the tight entrance with a firm but gentle touch.

“What are you doing?” I gasp, panic rising at the same time as my core clenches with anticipation.

“I’m claiming your last virgin hole. You’re mine, Mika. All of you. I’m the only one who’s ever going to fuck this gorgeous ass, and I’m going to make you come while I do it.”

My legs feel like jelly as my fear threatens to take over the spine-tingling pleasure coursing through my body. I never thought I would be interested in anal, and while I’ll admit that I’m far more curious about it after knowing how good it can feel when Alfie plays with my ass, I’m still not sure I’m ready for it. My heart is beating so fast I think it might explode, and I feel dizzy with dread. “Alfie, wait,” I whimper.

A violent shudder ripples down my spine as he leans over me, his erection pressing into the small of my back as his warm, bare chest meets my shoulder blades. He doesn’t release my wrists, but he brushes the hair back from my face with a tenderness that makes me throb, and his lips brush across the shell of my ear. “This is happening either way, vitale . But you’ll enjoy it a hell of a lot more if you promise me you won’t run again. ”

“I promise,” I whisper, my resistance crumbling in the wake of my anxiety. “I’m done running.”

“Good girl,” he murmurs, pressing his lips to the tender flesh behind my ear. Then he straightens until he’s kneeling between my thighs, and his fingers start to circle my back entrance once more.

I moan as his cockhead presses between my folds, finding my aching pussy at the same time as he penetrates my ass with his finger. Relief explodes through my core as he fills me up, his thick cock claiming me as he slowly stretches my ass, first with one finger before he adds a second. He’s not holding back now—pausing when he knows I’m getting close to the edge. Instead, his thrusts are deep and relentless as he finds that spot hidden deep in my depths that makes my toes curl.

“Fuck, I’m coming!” I gasp, panting against the sheets as the orgasm blindsides me.

White-hot pleasure explodes through my body as I finally get to finish, and the relief is dizzying. Black dots dance across my vision as my walls milk Alfie’s cock, begging him to stay buried in my depths. His grip on my wrists tightens, and his fingers slide from my ass, leaving a dull, aching emptiness behind. I’m still pulsing around his hard length, my clit fluttering with ecstasy as he pulls out. For one fleeting moment, my heart sinks. I want him inside me.

Then, his swollen tip, well lubricated with my arousal, presses against my back entrance. Still riding the waves of euphoria, I’m too lost in the pleasure to be nervous, and before I know it’s happening, Alfie’s easing inside of me. The pressure is intense, the pain sudden and unlike anything I’ve felt before. He’s so big it hurts—like losing my virginity for a second time, only every inch feels like he just might split me in two. He’s going slow, but still, I cry out as I clench around him.

“You’re doing so well, vitale ,” he says, his low voice triggering a pleasure response that makes my clit throb as my muscles relax.

I moan as the intensity of my pain eases slightly, and he eases inside me a little farther. Shifting his grip, he trades hands so the one that had been holding my wrists can reach around my hip to find my clit. The jolt of relief that forks through my body melts away the pain, replacing it with a searing pleasure as Alfie starts to finger me. At the same time, he presses deeper into my ass, and I gasp as I feel him pause, buried to the hilt.

“So fucking tight and perfect,” he groans, keeping my hands pinned to the small of my back as he starts to rock in and out of my ass, lightly pinching and rolling my clit at the same time.

I’ve never been so overwhelmed with sensations. I feel shockingly full every time he presses deep, and when he starts to withdraw, an aching loss tightens in my core. The pain is still there, but the arousal building deep inside me is molten. I whimper as he claims my body, his pace steadily increasing as my excitement builds.

“Tell me you’re mine,” Alfie commands, his voice ragged with desire.

I’m so far gone, lost in a fog of pleasure, that I don’t even consider what I’m saying before the words leave my mouth. “I’m yours,” I pant.

His fingers slide inside my pussy, the heel of his palm pressing against my clit as he fingers me in rhythm with every thrust of his hips. My back arches, my thighs quivering as I lean into him, silently begging him for more. It feels so sinfully good to be so completely possessed by Alfie, every part of me meant for his pleasure—and mine. That familiar ball of tension builds inside my core, growing until I feel as though I might snap.

“Come with me, vitale ,” Alfie commands, his thrusts growing erratic as he slams deep inside me.

The thought of him coming inside my ass floods me with sudden, intense heat. The orgasm that blasts through me this time is so intense, I scream. My body clamps down around his fingers and cock, gripping him as I come harder than I ever have before. Something about his desire to claim me—every part of me—makes this moment feel incredibly powerful. Alfie’s hips jerk forward as he buries his cock deep inside me, and a second later, hot cum floods my ass. I did not anticipate the intense satisfaction of it, and I shudder violently as I take burst after burst inside me until it’s leaking out around his cock .

Slowly, Alfie releases my wrists, letting my hands sink onto the mattress, then his fingers ease out of my pussy as the last of my aftershocks subside. He grips my hips almost tenderly as he eases out of my ass. I moan, collapsing onto the bed in a heap, my body completely spent. I catch the sound of a zipper closing a moment later, and heat creeps into my cheeks as I brace for another of Alfie’s abrupt departures. Instead, he settles onto the bed beside me. He combs my hair behind my ear, running the tips of his fingers along my jaw and raising goosebumps across my arms and back.

“You can pack a few things to take back to the house if you’d like, but I want you to stay there until I get things settled with Nikolai.”

His voice is soft, but the words are all business, and I sit up, biting back a moan as my body protests loudly. “I can’t just sit inside and do nothing. In case you hadn’t heard, all the hands walked out today after what happened to Joel. I can’t leave Hector and Javier to take care of the horses all on their own. It’s too much.”

“That’s exactly what you’ll do,” Alfie says authoritatively. “Even if I have to tie you up in the bedroom to make sure it happens.”

His eyes flash with warning, telling me that arguing with him won’t get me anywhere, and my stomach sinks. I don’t like the idea of abandoning the horses—or the only two hands who have stood by my side through all this madness, who have supported me and stayed loyal despite all the negative gossip and legitimate danger. But I wouldn’t put it past Alfie to follow through on his threat, and then I really won’t be any help.

“Fine,” I say grudgingly, though having him tie me up doesn’t sound like the worst thing in the world. I’m mortified by the thought as soon as it crosses my mind.

Alfie must be getting into my head. He’s unlocking desires in me I never knew I had, and it’s terrifying.