Chapter 8 - Natalie

The mattress dips with Leon's weight as he rolls onto his side, and his fingers drift along the curve of my hip.

I breathe calmly and deeply, savoring the feel of the fabulous silk on my skin after a hot and sweaty night.

Although my eyes remain closed, I can feel his gaze on me.

The mattress shifts again as he gets out, and his feet whisper across the wooden floor to the bathroom.

Only when I hear the door close do I reach over the edge of the bed and search for my purse. Leon brought my things here a few hours ago, along with a snack between rounds of giving me the best orgasms of my life.

My fingers close around the purse, I open it and pull out my cell phone.

Although this could ruin the night, I open my phone's search bar and type in Leon's name.

At first glance, I only see a business registry with his name next to almost three dozen different businesses. Most of them are laundromats, clubs, and casinos.

Well, at least he was telling me the truth.

I go back to the search page and scroll through the other results. Most of the pages discuss his commitment to his companies and the communities he works in, but a few pages later, the first article about his family appears.

The Orlov crime family has been around in New York for decades and is still going strong today. Although the members present themselves as businessmen, there is no denying that the Orlovs rule the city.

Most conspicuous among them are Leonid Orlov, his brother Sergey, and the family leader, Ivan. The three of them control New York, and the citizens can't help but wonder when they will finally escape the cold grip of the mafia.

My heart stops in my chest, and time comes to a standstill around me as I reread the article. I did another search and attached the term ‘crime' to Leon's name.

There are more and more results about the damage his family has allegedly done in New York.

I glance toward the closed bathroom door, the light shining through the gap.

Holy shit! I slept with a mafia boss.

With trembling hands, I lean back over the edge of the bed and put my cell phone back in my purse. My heart races as I lie in bed and pretend to be asleep while I hear the shower turn off.

It would be foolish to leave now. He's too awake. I"d never make it out of the building before he caught up with me. And if he does, I don't know what he"d do to me.

I need to wait until he's asleep again. Then I might have a chance of getting out of here before he wakes up.

At least I was clever enough not to tell him where I lived.

Marina taught me not to trust strangers. She always told me to lie if someone asked for my details. It looks like her teachings are still helpful, even on the other side of the world.

The door opens, and the light flicks off. Leon pads across the floor as I focus on breathing deep and even.

As he climbs into bed, the covers shift.

I keep my eyes closed and wait for him to settle down.

He rolls onto his side toward me but thankfully keeps his hands to himself. I don't think I can ever have his hands on my body again without feeling sick.

How the hell did I ever let someone like him touch my body?

It may have been the best sex of my life, but I needed to get away from him and never see him again.

I slip out of bed only when the first rays of dawn creep through the window, and his breathing is even and heavy.

I carefully grab my dress and purse and sneak down the dark staircase to the entrance level of his penthouse.

While I get dressed, I leave the light off, careful not to wake him.

As soon as the elevator doors open, I'm gone.

***

Pearl leans forward and snatches the magazine out of my hands. "What's wrong with you? You haven't been the same for the last two weeks. I'm used to you being quiet, but this is different."

I sigh and sit up on the couch, crossing my legs under me. "I don't know. I just haven't been feeling great lately."

She scrutinizes me for a moment with her blue eyes, which seem to stare right through me. "Does this have something to do with the man you were seeing a few weeks ago? It must have, right? Because that's when you started to withdraw more."

I grab one of the throw pillows and pull it into my lap. "He just wasn't who I thought he was, but no. I'm not still torn up about it. If I'm honest, the sex wasn't even particularly good."

Liar.

The sex was the best that I've ever had—mind-blowing, earth-shattering sex.

When I fall asleep at night, I see his face. I can"t stop thinking about how his hands ran over my body and how he made me cry out his name.

Pearl grumbles and puts her feet up on the coffee table. "I still have twenty minutes before I have to go to work. In that time, you can spit out anything that's on your mind."

"You know, we could also talk about you for once." I reach out and smack her knee gently with the pillow. "We never talk about you."

She shrugs. "There's not much to talk about. My life is pretty boring. You see what happens when I'm at home, and when I'm not at home, I'm either working or at uni, where you see me too."

I roll my eyes. "That's such a cop-out."

"Yeah." She grins and pokes her tongue out at me before glancing at the bright blue clock she hung on the wall last night. "You're running out of time, Natalie. I've got to go soon."

"There's nothing I want to talk about." I get up from the couch and head into the kitchen, digging through the cupboards until I find the package of soft-baked chocolate chip cookies.

"You keep telling yourself that, but you'll never let go of what's going on in your head until you talk about it."

Even though I know she's right, I can't bring myself to tell her that I slept with a mafia boss.

Part of me hopes that it will all go away if I ignore it.

Pearl grabs the package from my hands as I walk past her to return to the couch. She takes a couple of cookies before handing them back to me. "Whoever this guy is, he"s not worth living rent-free in your head for this long, and you know it. No sex is that good."

After eating her cookies, Pearl grabs her slouchy backpack, slinging it over one shoulder. She takes her keys from the hook next to the door and steps into her shoes. "I have a gig after work tonight, so don't wait up for me."

As soon as I'm alone, I go back to my room and want to crawl into bed and sleep the rest of the day away.

Between brooding over whom I slept with and staying up late to work on my artwork for uni, I don't know how much sleep I've gotten in the last few days.

Yawning, I crawl into bed and am a little disappointed that the sheets are not as silky as the ones Leon had on his bed. The way the fabric slid against my skin as he buried his cock inside me was delicious.

I should have asked him where he got those sheets before I left, but I couldn't afford them anyway.

I laugh and take off my leggings and T-shirt because, since that night with Leon, I have loved the feeling of sleeping almost naked.

However, the moment I'm on my back, all I can think about is Leon between my legs, his cock sliding through my slick folds.

My hand drifts down between my legs on its own, pushing my panties to the side.

Arousal coats my fingers as I tease my pussy the way he did, one finger thrusting into me and pressing against my inner walls.

I add a second one because I want to feel as filled as he made me feel, but I can't get there on my own. Two fingers aren't enough to replicate the feeling of his hard length pushing into me.

Rolling over, I yank open the drawer of my bedside table and take out one of my vibrators. I turn it to the lowest setting and slowly sink it into my wetness.

As I do this, I imagine the feel of Leon's mouth on my skin as he bites my nipples until I arch off the bed and beg him to make me come.

I twist a nipple, thrusting the vibrator deeper.

Although it"s no comparison to Leon's hands gliding over my body and his callouses creating delicious friction on my smooth skin, it's enough to make my pussy clench around the vibrator.

I flip onto my hands and knees, trying to hold my balance with one hand while I fuck myself faster with the vibrator, taking it deeper and harder until my legs start to shake.

In my mind, Leon pulls my hair, his large hands gripping my hips as he slams into me from behind. The sound of his skin slapping against mine was so erotic and turned me on so much, almost sending me into oblivion.

As I come, I turn up the vibrator, which works just as relentlessly inside me as Leon did. My orgasm shakes me violently; waves of pleasure roll over me and pull me deeper until I feel like I'm drowning in the memory.

The energy drains from my body as I slump into the bed and pull out the vibrator.

Even after an orgasm, I still feel like I'm missing something.

Someone. Leon.

God, what has this man done to me? I didn"t realize I was so sex-starved.

Sighing, I get out of bed, intending to take a cold shower and try to get Leon out of my thoughts. I couldn't spend all day thinking about him and how great each orgasm felt; I stopped counting after five. This man has the stamina of an Olympian.

Before I can get to the shower, there's a banging on my door.

Groaning, I pick up my leggings and T-shirt from the floor and put them on quickly. As I walk to the door and the knocking gets louder, I consider not answering. I could crawl back into bed, and the person on the other side of the door wouldn"t know the difference.

I open the door and am shocked to see Tyler standing there.

He stands up straight and grins down at me. "I was beginning to think you weren't home."

"How did you know where I live?" I lean against the doorframe and hold the open door close to my body so he cannot enter the apartment.

"I have a couple of friends who work in the administration office." Tyler leans against the other side of the doorframe, too close to me.

I can smell the mint on his breath, blending with the musky stench of cheap cologne. "Why are you here?"

Apart from him invading my privacy, I feel uncomfortable when I"m alone with him, so the sooner I can get rid of him, the better.

Tyler steps forward and puts a hand on the door. "Why don't we go inside and talk about this? I"ve already had a look into the man you're searching for."

"I don't think letting you in is a good idea. Just tell me what you know." I snap at him.

"Come on, Natalie, I promise I won"t do anything stupid. But we can't talk here in the hallway."

He dangles the information in front of my face like a carrot, and my curiosity gets the better of me. Reluctantly, I let him into the apartment and lead him to the small dining table in the corner of the room. He takes a chair, and I take the opposite chair, ensuring I'm not within reach.

Tyler leans forward, his folded arms on the table. "I want to explain myself first."

"Not interested." I huff.

"Please listen. Jennifer is crazy. She thinks we are still together, even though things haven"t gone well in the last six months. I told her a few months ago that I wanted to start seeing other people, and she thought it would be good for us to take a break."

Resisting the urge to roll my eyes feels like an impossible task, but I manage it anyway. He's managed to talk his way out of it in less than two minutes with every excuse imaginable. I don't care what he says, nothing will excuse his cheating, but that's not my problem.

"Look, Tyler, I don't care what's happening between you and your girlfriend. I don't have a personal problem with you, but I will never go on another date with you, so can you please tell me what you know about Boris and leave?" I'm annoyed and my patience is hanging by a thread.

He presses his lips together into a thin line, and his eyes flash angrily. This look disappears in a second as he decides on a different course of action and flips his personality like a switch.

"Well, my connections found out that there is a Boris Petrovsky in New York."

"That's all? There is something else, isn't there?"

Tyler's eyebrows climb higher on his head. "To be honest, there is, but I don't know why you"d get involved with a man like him."

"I'm not involved with him." I dig my nails into my palms, trying to keep my reaction as neutral as possible.

"I'm not allowed to tell you what Boris does for a living. My source told me it"s a bad idea that would only lead to trouble. Whoever this guy is, he sounds dangerous."

"If you're unwilling to tell me more, then I guess this conversation is over, right?"

I say it just to get him worried about being kicked out, and it works.

"My source said you can contact Boris if you want, but he wouldn't recommend it."

I sigh, get up from the table, walk to the door, and open it wide. "How and where can I contact him? Get me an address. Thanks for stopping by, Tyler. I appreciate it."

He gets up and strides to the door. "I'll get his details if that's what you want?"

"I do."

He leaves, and as I close the door behind him, I sigh deeply, frustrated that all I know now is that Boris really exists.

New York should be the place where I find the answers. I always thought I would get off the plane and everything in my life would snap into place.

Now, months later, I am almost done with a semester of school, and I'm no closer to the truth than ever before.

It feels like a wild goose chase, but maybe when I finally contact Boris Petrovsky, I can find out what Marina was trying to hide from me.