Nikolai Read online

  “Okay,” I found myself agreeing, aware that the silence had drawn on for too long and that my agreement was too loud. I swallowed hard. “Okay, one date.”

  “Good,” Nikolai said warmly. “I’ll pick you up on Tuesday evening at eight. If things go well with the tapas, we’ll head to Apollo.”

  “I can’t go out clubbing on a Tuesday night,” I said warningly. “I have classes on Wednesday morning.”

  “We’ll see how you feel on Tuesday,” Nikolai said confidently. I rolled my eyes, but I couldn’t help grinning.

  “If you’re going to pick me up, I guess you’ll need to know where I live,” I said. I wasn’t sure how I felt about giving him that information, and I was about to suggest that we just meet there.

  But Nikolai said, “I already have your address.”

  Again, that same, weird shiver ran through me. Stalker or persistent? Where did you draw the line?

  “See you Tuesday,” Nikolai said before I could comment. Then, he hung up the phone.

  I didn’t know how to dress on Tuesday night. La Champagneria was a pretty casual place, but if Nikolai had rented the whole thing out, maybe there were different rules to it. Mainly because I was still clinging to the idea that the only reason I was going along with this was that I wanted to feel like a spoiled princess for the night. Jeans did not make a girl feel like a princess.

  I ended up pulling on a plain black dress and accentuating it with a colorful silk scarf. I carefully pulled up my hair and did my makeup. Then, on second thought, I pulled out the hairdo and left my blonde hair falling around my shoulders. The effect would be better if my hair were longer, but then again, I wasn’t trying to look sexy for Nikolai.

  …Was I?

  I was glad when Nikolai finally arrived, ending the waiting game. And I was glad that I had worn a dress when I saw Nikolai. He was wearing jeans, but they looked good and probably had some designer label. Between those, the grey shirt, and the charcoal blazer, he looked dangerously sexy. I swallowed hard, wondering if I was still going to be able to keep from going home with him that night.

  He was nothing but charming as he led me down to his fancy sports car, opening the door for me and shutting it carefully behind me.

  “You look beautiful tonight,” he purred as he started the car.

  “Thank you,” I mumbled, blushing. I tried to think of something to say in response. Should I compliment him as well, or would that seem insincere? I thought about it for so long that it would have seemed strange to compliment him. Instead, I cast around for something else to talk about. “This is a nice car,” I said lamely.

  I didn’t know anything about cars.

  Nikolai looked over at me, an amused expression on his face. “Thank you,” he said.

  That was it.

  I swallowed hard, wondering if it was going to be like this all night. Maybe this was why people typically picked up in bars. It wasn’t my fault that I didn’t know how to date; I hadn’t been on a date since my second year of college. I just hadn’t had the time. And it wasn’t his fault either; he didn’t date.

  Maybe I should just fuck him straight away, to put us both out of our misery. Or rather, maybe I should tell him I wasn’t feeling well and have him turn the car around. Abort this mission straight away. But there was something cowardly about that, and I didn’t want to miss out on this opportunity to be treated to a nice date with a rich man. It was…an experience, if nothing else.

  In fact, our inability to come up with anything to say to one another would just add to the story later, wouldn’t it? I covertly took a deep breath and let it out slowly, willing myself to calm down.

  My awkwardness carried over to when we actually arrived at the restaurant, unfortunately. “What do you want to eat?” Nikolai asked.

  “I thought we were here for tapas,” I replied stupidly.

  Nikolai gave me a look. “We are,” he agreed. “But there are different kinds of tapas.” He paused. “Why don’t you tell me this: is there anything that you don’t eat? Anything that you’re allergic to?”

  I shook my head. So of course he ordered little fish with crusty bread as the first set of tapas.

  I blushed and ducked my head. “I should have mentioned, I don’t really like seafood,” I mumbled.

  Nikolai laughed. “All right,” he said. “More boquerones for me!” He flagged down the waiter and ordered something else in rapid Spanish while I blinked at him.

  “So you’re Russian, but you speak English and Spanish?” I asked. There, that was a conversation. Finally.

  Nikolai looked almost as relieved as I felt, and I wondered whether this was as uncomfortable for him as it was for me. Granted, he at least didn’t look flustered. He looked just as calm and collected as ever. I envied him.

  “Well, I grew up speaking Russian, and that’s still mostly what I speak with my uncle and my brothers and my cousins and…various other Russians who live in the city,” Nikolai said thoughtfully.

  “Why are there so many of you here?” I couldn’t help interrupting.

  But Nikolai didn’t seem to mind. He shrugged. “As I mentioned, my family has business here,” Nikolai said. “Ritmo, for one. A couple other places around the city too. And we do some real estate deals and things like that. Nothing very interesting.”

  I frowned at the too-casual way that he said it, wondering if there was something more to it. But the only thing that I could think of that he might be hiding was that he was part of the Russian mob or something like that, and even I wasn’t stupid enough to blurt out a question like that. He would think that I had seen one too many Hollywood movies.

  “Anyway, I learned English in school, growing up,” Nikolai said. “My parents always planned to send me here to stay with my uncle, at least for a little while, and they figured that English would go a long way for me. And when I was in high school, I was lucky enough to win a scholarship to go on an exchange to America for six months.”

  “Oh,” I said. “And then you learned Spanish while you were living here?” I asked.

  “It seemed practical,” Nikolai said, shrugging. “And once you know Russian, every language is easy!”

  I laughed. “Yeah, I can imagine.” I paused, my uncertainty coming back. “Not that I really know anything about the Russian language, other than that you write in Cyrillic.”

  Nikolai grinned. “It’s tough,” he said. “I still have nightmares about my grammar classes.”

  We both laughed, and that seemed to break the ice a little. Soon, we were chatting just as pleasantly as we had been during our coffee meeting the previous week. So when Nikolai asked me back to his place…

  “We don’t have to fuck,” Nikolai promised. “But I really do think you would like these paintings that my mother hung in the place.”

  I giggled, realizing distantly that I might have had a bit too much cava for the night. “You’re so Russian, bringing up your mother on a first date,” I said.

  Nikolai looked momentarily embarrassed and then slung his arm around my shoulders. “Mother is the best,” he said proudly, putting on what even I could tell was a bad impression of a heavy Russian accent. “Girlfriend should be so lucky as to meet Mother.”

  I giggled again. “Is that what I am now, your girlfriend?” I asked. Then, I clapped a hand over my mouth. “I’m a little tipsy,” I admitted.

  Nikolai eyed me for a long moment, and I could see something dark and dangerous in his eyes. Something that told me to run, something that told me not to get in that cab with him and go back to his apartment.

  But I ignored it, even though I knew where the night was leading.

  Sure enough, the door had barely closed behind us at Nikolai’s place before he was pushing me up against the wall, his tongue in my mouth and his hand up the front of my shirt. And despite everything that I had said about not needing distractions, I couldn’t bring myself to push him away.

  Instead, I leaned into him, my hands looping behind his neck. I
tilted my face to the side to deepen the kiss, allowing him to pillage my mouth, moaning as he tugged my lower lip between his teeth. I could feel my panties dampen, and a hot flush went through me. I shouldn’t feel so embarrassed by this, so naughty, but even though we’d been out for a couple dates—well, one date, plus coffee—this still had all the trappings of a one-night stand. I knew that once I slept with Nikolai, he would cease to be interested in me.

  But I still wanted this. And maybe, I reasoned with myself, having a good, quick fuck was exactly what I needed to keep me focused. I could do this, get over the needs of my body, and then forget all about him and the rest of the guys in this city. Just focus on my work.

  One night wasn’t that much, in the scheme of things.

  So I let him lead me back to his luxurious bedroom, lay me back on the beautiful silk sheets. He was surprisingly tender, kissing his way down the length of my body as he pushed aside my dress to remove inch after inch of skin. I shivered as he came to the apex between my legs, pausing there, his hot breath against my pale pink panties. He looked questioningly up at me, as though waiting for some sign that I was okay with this.

  I nodded at him.

  It felt almost as though someone else were in possession of my body, and I wanted to blame it on the alcohol that we’d consumed. But I had never felt more sober than I did at that moment, as he lightly kissed the soft skin between my legs. Had never felt so conscious of the way that my body was reacting to someone than I did at that moment, as he pushed his fingers slowly inside of me.

  I could feel how wet I was, how ready I was for more, and Nikolai undoubtedly could as well. But he took his time, slowly scissoring his fingers inside of me, making me moan and writhe against the sheets. When I managed to peel my eyes open, blinking down at him, he looked enthralled, his eyes locked on my face, cataloging my reactions. As though those signs of my pleasure might be vital clues for next time.

  As though there might be a next time.

  I swallowed hard and pushed those thoughts away. That wasn’t what this was about, and I was only going to make myself upset if I got my hopes up for something more.

  Finally, Nikolai seemed to think I was ready, and he pulled his body up over mine, slowly sliding into my warmth. His thick girth stretched me, forcing me open in a way that made me breathless. As he rocked his hips, I could feel the slow drag of his member against my walls, and I whimpered, unable to help it. I wasn’t sure what I even wanted: for him to stop and let me just enjoy that fullness for a moment; for him to keep moving at the same pace, rhythmically driving his thick cock into me; or for him to thrust faster and harder, overcome with wild abandon.

  I clung to him, my fingers digging into his back, and that seemed to spur him on more, his hips rocking mercilessly against mine. I was so close to coming that I practically sobbed when he pulled out of me. “No, please,” I whimpered.

  But Nikolai was far from done. Instead, he merely maneuvered me around, until I was on all fours with my ass in the air. Then, he resumed his punishing rhythm, until I collapsed to my forearms, my face pressed roughly against the sheets and his hand tangled in my hair.

  Like this, I could practically feel him pushing against my navel, so deep inside of me that I had never known those spots could be reached. I gasped and pushed back against him, somehow needing more even though I was getting more than I could ever have expected to get.

  My pleasure began to build inside of me, white-hot heat erupting in my core and my body practically convulsing. It was as though every nerve ending was on fire, and the next thing I knew, I was screaming out his name as I orgasmed, my pussy squeezing tight around him and drawing an orgasm out of him as well.

  It was only after we had both come that I finally came back to reality. Most people would have been reveling in the blissed-out sensations of their body. I just felt…cheap. Dirty.

  Nikolai rolled away from me, staring up at the ceiling, and I swallowed hard, knowing that this was the end of whatever relationship we’d had. He had gotten what he wanted, and now, he’d move on to someone else.

  I had never had a one-night stand before, and I wasn’t sure how to leave. But Nikolai made it surprisingly easy: he didn’t say a word to me, didn’t try to hold me or even touch me. He just lay there on his back, until his breathing evened out.

  As soon as it had, I tugged on my clothes, fighting back foolish tears, and left.

  Chapter Five – Nikolai

  I don’t think Emily realized I was still awake when she crept out after we’d had sex. I frowned, wondering what exactly her problem was, or if I’d done something wrong. The whole evening had gone well, I’d thought. Not that I had anything to really compare it to.

  I wondered if maybe I shouldn’t have taken her home with me after all. But she’d just been so pliant. And she hadn’t hesitated a second when I’d asked her.

  I shook my head. I hadn’t done anything wrong, as far as I knew, but she had made it clear that she didn’t even want to cuddle after we’d had sex. Usually, the moment I flopped back on the bed, I could expect whoever it was that I’d fucked to roll over and put her head on my chest, or at least to reach out and take my hand. Instead, Emily had kept her space, and then she had left.

  I had the guilty thought that maybe she’d thought that was what I expected of her. She knew that I slept around; maybe she thought that no one ever stayed the night. And they didn’t always, but I wasn’t asking Emily to leave. I didn’t mind her being there, and in fact, I kind of liked the idea of waking up next to her in the morning.

  Maybe I would even have made her breakfast. It had been a long time since I’d cooked for anyone.

  Instead, I had a cold and quick breakfast of cereal and fruit in the kitchen, trying to pretend that it didn’t feel lonely. Reminding myself not for the first time that I wasn’t looking for a relationship. I wondered why that was so hard to remember when it came to Emily…

  I didn’t have time to dwell on it, though: Uncle Evgeni had sent me a message early that morning asking to see me when I had a chance, and I knew that meant I needed to head over to his mansion straightaway and see what was up. Probably he just had another delivery for me to make. I rolled my eyes; it seemed like lately, I was the only one doing any work for him.

  Of course, I knew that wasn’t actually the case. It was just that we were starting to get more power in the area and that meant that there was more work to be done. And with Andrei working solely on Ritmo at this point and Dima working on real estate transactions, that meant that really, whenever Evgeni had a sensitive delivery that he needed a blood relation to carry out, he turned to me.

  Soon, he’d start turning to Vanya as well, and I found myself hoping that that would happen sooner rather than later. Vanya was still young, and he was Evgeni’s son, so I knew Evgeni was hesitant to throw him into anything too soon—it would look bad for Evgeni as well if his son fucked up something important—but we could use all the help that we could get.

  Especially if we continued to expand our territory.

  I frowned as I stared down at the address that Evgeni had given me. Then, I looked up at him. “Isn’t this Audaz territory?” I asked. The Audaz gang spread across Spain, with their central headquarters in Madrid and Barcelona. Since the Volkov family operated mainly out of Barcelona, it meant that we’d essentially taken over territory from the Audaz gang that they’d been bitter about ceding to us. We weren’t fighting at the moment because Audaz had other things to focus on, but there was definitely bad blood between us, and I doubted they’d appreciate it if I went waltzing into their territory in Madrid to deliver a package.

  I wasn’t concerned about the danger to me personally; I was more worried that we might set off a whole gang war here in Barcelona. The authorities wouldn’t look so kindly on that, I knew, and the last thing any of us needed was to get sent off back to the motherland.

  Evgeni shrugged, his eyes glinting as they narrowed. “Are you telling me you’re not up for
a challenge?” he asked. “You’ll just have to make sure that you’re…discreet about it.”

  I frowned. “Who’s the delivery for, anyway?” I asked. It had to be someone important, if my uncle was willing to risk our very existence in Barcelona and everything that we had worked for over the past years.

  “It’s better that you don’t know,” Evgeni told me, sitting back in his chair.

  “All right,” I said slowly.

  “I’m sure I don’t need to tell you how important this delivery is.”

  “Are we trying to expand our territory?” I asked bluntly, even though I knew it wasn’t for me to question my uncle. Still, I wondered if he was thinking everything through. Not only was there the risk of fighting here in Barcelona and possible expulsion from the country, but… “Are you sure we have the manpower for this?”

  I could only imagine how many deliveries I would have to take on if we started running things all the way to Madrid on a regular basis.

  Evgeni’s face turned an ugly color. “Someone is growing cocky,” he snapped. “You think you have the power to question me?”

  “I just meant-“ I began, but Evgeni interrupted me.

  “Perhaps I ought to send you back to Russia so that you remember your place here,” he said. “How lucky you are to be here. With those soft hands of yours and no skills, how far do you think you would get there? You’re lucky I took you under my wing; if I hadn’t, you’d still be back in Russia sucking milk from your mother’s teat!”

  “I apologize, Uncle,” I said quickly, ducking my head. “I won’t question you again.”

  “Get out of here,” Evgeni said, disgust clear in his voice, and I wondered for a wild moment whether he’d wanted me to actually stand up to him. But there was no way I was risking being sent back to Russia.

  It wasn’t that I disliked Russia. I had plenty of friends who still lived in Petersburg, and whenever I was back there, we had a great time. But I liked to visit Russia. My whole life was here in Barcelona, at this point.