Nikolai swore harshly as he watched me lick his pre-cum from my fingers. He gently clasped my wrist. "You don't have to do that, Vee. I don't expect—"
"I want to," I said, dying to try it. "I want to make you feel good."
"This makes me feel good." He gestured to our tangled position. "Don't ever feel like you have to do things for me. You don't."
His willingness to put his satisfaction and pleasure last filled me with such love. Pushing him onto his back, I straddled his thighs and bent down to kiss him. "And what if I told you that I used to fantasize about this?"
His eyes widened and his nostrils flared. "Tell me."
Despite my embarrassment, I found the courage to confess, "I used to fantasize about you calling me into your office at Samovar so you could give me an award for being the highest-rated and most requested waitress."
He chuckled. "Go on."
I wrapped my fingers around his erection and stroked him slowly. "When I'd come into the room, you'd close and lock the door and tell me to wait by your desk. Then you'd tell me that you wanted to see if I really was committed to the being the best server in the house."
He breathed heavier. "And then what would happen?"
"And then you'd tell me to kneel while you unzipped your pants." My tummy clenched with excitement and my heart raced as I told him all about the dirty stories I'd imagined with us in the starring roles. "You would tell me that it was time for my first test and that if I was really good I'd get a gold star."
Nikolai's eyes flashed with lust. "I'd be a lying bastard if I said I never entertained similar ideas. It was one of the reasons I rarely called you into my office and why I always kept the door wide open. You tempted me so much. I didn’t trust myself."
I ran my fingers up and down the length of him. "I trust you."
Nikolai wrapped his hand around mine and guided it up and down his steely shaft. "Tell me what you want, Vee."
I licked my lips. "I want to suck you."
His mouth slanted with a sensual grin. "Then I guess it's time for your first lesson…"
Chapter Twenty-Two
Nikolai woke to the ticklish sensation of Vivian's soft hand gliding along his ribs. She nestled her face against the crook of his neck while she explored his chest. He inhaled a slow breath and stretched his arms overhead.
"Morning," she said sweetly.
"Good morning." He didn't know that he'd ever been happier than in that moment of waking with Vivian—his wife—in his arms. Content to let her caress his body, he flexed his calves and toes and enjoyed the way her delicate fingers moved across his skin. When her hand dipped below the sheet, he grinned. She seemed to be shedding some of her shyness. Wanting to encourage her boldness, he reached down to guide her hand right to his cock.
She giggled softly but followed his silent order. He bit back a groan as she stroked his cock. "Are you always hard like this in the morning?"
He found her question amusing. "Da."
"Oh." She sounded rather excited. "Does that mean we get to make love every morning?"
Her playful remark reminded him of their age difference. Her joke about him trying to kill her with pleasure last when he'd been savoring that sweet pussy of hers seemed a more likely outcome for him. He'd be forty soon—with a young, delectable, insatiable wife. Giving up the cigarettes and getting into the gym sounded like a damn good idea if he wanted to keep up with her.
"Can you think of a better way to start the day?"
"No." Her hand slid lower to cup his sac. Her cool hand felt so fucking good palming his heated flesh. Last night, they'd found satisfaction using their hands and mouths on each other but this morning he needed more than that. He craved the feel of her slick, tight pussy gripping his cock.
Rolling her onto her back, Nikolai pinned Vivian beneath him. He grasped her wrists in one hand and tugged them above her head. Rendered helpless, she breathed excitedly and licked her lips. He captured her mouth in a slow, sensual kiss. "Who do you belong to, Vee?"
"You." Her eyes flashed with such need. "Only you."
Nikolai nipped at her breast and made a small mark with his teeth. She groaned and arched her back, pushing her breast to his mouth and silently begging for more. He gave her exactly what she wanted. He sucked her dusky nipple between his lips and twirled his tongue around the fleshy peak.
When he moved to her other breast, she mewled like a kitten and wrapped her leg around his waist. Wanting to make sure she was ready, Nikolai let his hand fall from her wrists to glide between her thighs. Her breath noisily hitched in her throat when he rubbed his fingertip over her clit.
Last night, he'd nearly come while licking and suckling that juicy little berry. She responded so beautifully to him. Even now, with just his fingertip tracing circles around her clit, she was hovering on the edge. Wanting to see how excited she'd become, he slid his fingers through her pink folds and carefully penetrated her. The slick, musky honey already flowed from her core.
Desperate to taste her, he jerked back the sheet and moved down her body. He shoved her thighs open and attacked that sweet little cunt of hers. She cried out and clawed at the bedding as he nibbled her clit and swiped his tongue side-to-side over the inflamed bud.
When he dipped his tongue inside her, she swore in Russian, the dirty words falling from her lips like a litany. He loved the sound of her losing control and continued to torment her with his oral assault. His tongue fluttered around her clit while he penetrated her with a curved finger. He located that spongy spot in her passage—and her hips shot off the bed.
"Nikolai!"
Yes, he thought excitedly. Lashing her clit with his tongue, he fucked her with his finger. She fluttered around his digit, growing tighter and wetter until she finally came. His cock throbbed mercilessly as he listened to her going wild with ecstasy.
She was still panting and shaking when he moved up beside her. Grasping her by the waist, he hauled her onto him and pushed her into a straddling position. She gazed down at him with confusion. Holding the base of his rock-hard dick, he gave her bottom a swat. "Lift up."
She braced her hands on his chest and did as commanded. Dazed and panting from her climax, she bit her lower lip as he guided her wet sheath down onto his cock. "Oh!"
His eyes closed as he relished the wicked sensation of tight pussy squeezing him. "Da."
Looking uncertain, she whispered, "I don't know how."
Her desperate desire to please him filled him with such love. He'd never betray her trust in him or her willingness to make him happy. Never.
Cupping her bottom, he pulled her toward him and then pushed her back. She gasped when he thrust up inside her welcoming heat. "You'll learn."
There was something so incredibly beguiling about her first awkward movements. His possessive hands roamed her lush curves. He palmed her breasts and encouraged her with gentle words. Watching her sexuality blossom right in front of him proved to be a heady experience.
As she gained more confidence, Vivian rode him a bit faster and harder. Her hips swayed and her breasts bounced. He played a little rougher with her nipples, eliciting sharp gasps and moans as he tweaked and tugged on the rosy peaks.
He pushed his thumb against her mouth. "Get me wet."
She sucked his digit between her lips and laved it with her tongue. He pulled his slick thumb free and pressed it against her clitoris. Head thrown back, she cried out with excitement and pleasure. It wouldn't be long for her now.
"That's it, Vee." He rubbed her clit while she rode him like a wild thing. "Ride my cock."
Her scandalized expression was quickly overtaken by one of pure desire. Her nails scratched at his lower belly as she drew closer and closer to climax. He groaned as her pussy rhythmically squeezed him. Any second now she would go over the edge.
When she shrieked as her orgasm hit, he was sure the whole damn neighborhood heard. Clutching her waist, he pounded up into her until the muscles of his abdomen burned. Still shudderi
ng, she fell forward against him and panted against his chest.
But he wasn't done yet.
Gently, he rolled her onto her back and sank balls-deep in her slick cunt. She whimpered and gripped his upper arms. "Nikolai…"
He muscled down the frantic urge to fuck her roughly. He wanted nothing more than to shove her knees toward her shoulders and jackhammer her pussy until he came—but there would be plenty of time for that sort of feral coupling later. Today, he wanted to make love to her.
Tangling his hand in her hair, he tilted her mouth back and kissed her. She moaned against his lips and bucked beneath him. He took her with long, slow strokes, thrusting into her again and again. His climax came up on him gradually. The buzzing built in his belly and spread through his chest. He tried to hold off as long as possible, to enjoy every single second of being so deeply buried inside his wife, but the inevitable came upon him finally.
As the first burst of cum rocketed through his cock, he pressed his face to her neck and growled, "I love you, Vee."
She whimpered again and embraced him so tightly. His thrusts grew jerky and shallow as he filled her with his hot seed. In that moment, a possessive, territorial need overwhelmed him. He imagined his seed striking fertile ground and creating life. The thought of Vivian carrying his child brought tears to his eyes, tears that he hid by keeping his face averted.
"I love you, Nikolai." She lovingly caressed his back while pressing soft kisses along the side of his neck. He blinked and surreptitiously wiped the wetness from his face before gazing down at her. He captured her swollen pout and showed her how much he loved her.
Insistent knocking interrupted their tender exchange of kisses. He ignored the knocking at first but when it grew louder and faster, he growled and broke away from her sweet mouth. Reluctant to leave her, he whispered, "I'll be right back."
She whimpered softly as he pulled free of her quivering body. Furious to be forced away from her, he snatched up the towel he'd discarded last night and wrapped it around his waist. He jerked open the door and shouted, "What?"
Kostya didn't say a word. He pushed open the door, shoved Nikolai aside and strode right to the television mounted on the wall across from the bed. Vivian dragged the covers up around her shoulders and slid down until only her eyes and the top of her head were visible. Kostya paid her no mind as he turned on the television and changed the channel to the local news.
"Kostya, what the hell are you—" But he never got the rest of it out. He watched in horror as the perky brunette morning news anchor recounted the sordid details of a police chase down I-45 connected to a gruesome hit.
"Sources tell us the law enforcement officer running from police is connected to last night's violent murder of a government witness in an upcoming trial," she said with nearly breathless excitement. "The witness in question was to testify against the notorious Calaveras motorcycle club and their cohorts in the Guzman Cartel."
Nikolai's heart skipped a beat. Was Romero Valero dead? Had one of the Marshals guarding him clipped the son of a bitch?
On screen, a blue truck weaved in and out of morning traffic while dozens of police cruisers with flashing lights and sirens raced after it. Nikolai remembered Vivian telling him about the blue truck that had brought her father down the street in front of his house.
"Details are sketchy at the moment but here's what we know. The Marshal driving the blue truck and attempting to evade capture is believed to have provided sensitive information to this recently paroled convict—the witness he was guarding and who is believed to have committed last night's brutal murder outside Sugar Land."
Romero's mug shot popped up on the screen and Vivian gasped. Nikolai cringed at the horror contorting her beautiful face. "Turn it off, Kostya."
"No," Vivian said quietly. "Leave it on. I want to know."
He hated that their wonderful morning had been ruined in this way. Catching Kostya's gaze, he gestured toward the door. Once out in the hall, he shut the door and turned to Kostya. "Tell me everything you know."
"Looks like Lorenzo Guzman got Romero popped from the pen to do his dirty work," Kostya explained. "Romero blackmailed his guard and got the location of the witness who was threatening the Calaveras and the cartel. I'm hearing that the Marshal had a sick kid in the hospital downtown. Romero probably threatened to have someone on the cartel payroll hurt the kid or the wife. Maybe he offered money for treatment."
"Is that it?"
"If you'd watched a longer, you would have seen the rest of the morning news. Someone shot up half the Calaveras crew last night."
Nikolai's brow arched. "The half that stood against Romero, I'm sure."
Kostya nodded. "Yeah. And the framing ruse seems to have worked. I heard that they rousted a dozen of those skinheads early this morning."
"That’s something positive." Nikolai rubbed his face between both hands. "Where is Romero now?"
Kostya held up his hands. "He's probably gone by now. I'm sure Guzman had a plane waiting for him."
Nikolai shook his head and glanced at his closed bedroom door. "No. He's still here. He has unfinished business."
"What do you want me to do, Boss?"
"Find him—but very quietly. You'll have to do it from here." Nikolai pointed toward the floor. "I'm entrusting Vivian to you. This is too big for Sergei or Danny."
Kostya touched his chest. "My life."
Nikolai didn't doubt that his right-hand man would gladly lay down his life to keep Vivian safe. "I expect the police will be here soon to question us. Keep them in the living room."
"Done."
Before Kostya could leave, Nikolai put a warning hand on his chest. "Don't come into our bedroom like that again. This is Vivian's home now and she has the right to feel safe in her own bed."
Duly chastised, Kostya dipped his head. "I understand."
Nikolai gave Kostya's shoulder a squeeze before stepping back into their bedroom. He found Vivian staring at the television in a daze. The blanket and sheet had fallen to her waist, revealing her breasts. Even from here he could see the reddish burn from the stubble on his jaw and the purpling mark he'd made when they'd been made love atop that drop cloth. It seemed like an eternity ago now.
"Solnyshko moyo..."
"I want to say that I can't believe he would do something like this but I'm not even surprised. I'm disgusted. I'm horrified. But I'm not surprised."
The sadness in her voice clawed at him. "Don't feel guilty about this. You can't change what your father is. He makes his own decisions."
Not wanting her to get any more depressed or upset, he crossed the room and shut off the television. "That's enough. You need to get dressed. The police will be here soon. I'm sure you don't want to deal with them but it's best to get it over with now." He helped her out of bed and kissed her. "I'll call David. You'll need our lawyer for this."
Resigned, she sighed loudly and disappeared into the bathroom. His hopes for a steamy shower and the chance to run his greedy paws all over her nubile body were dashed. Instead he grabbed his phone and called David who had seen the news and was already on his way over.
He'd just finished up that call when his phone began to vibrate and ring again. He almost didn't take Ivan's call but something told him to answer. "Vanya?"
"I fucked up." Guilt pervaded Ivan's gruff voice.
Nikolai frowned. "What? How? Did you do something to upset Erin?"
"No. It's about Vivian."
"Vee?" He gripped his phone tighter. "What do you mean?"
"I promised her I would make sure Santos got home from the reception safely. I saw him leave with those two women and I didn't think anything of it. I was too busy trying to get Erin home so we could—"
"Vanya," he interrupted and pinched the bridge of his nose. "What are you trying to tell me?"
"I called Santos yesterday morning to see if he'd gotten home okay but he didn't answer. I assumed he had a hangover so I let it go, but this morning I started to worry. I
'm at his house right now."
"And?"
"And his door has been busted in. There's blood on the floor. I've already called the police. They're on their way. I thought you should know." He hesitated. "Is this about us? About Grisha?"
"You spoke to Yuri."
"Yes."
"Have you seen the news this morning?"
"About Romero? Erin called me. She's worried about Vivian."
Nikolai glanced at the bathroom. "Tell her not to worry. I'll keep her safe."
"What do need me to do?"
Nikolai smiled sadly at Ivan's willingness to help. "I need you to stay out of it. You left this life behind—and for good reasons. You tell the police the truth and then you go home and keep Erin close. This is my mess, Vanya."
"If you change your mind…"
"I know. You're with me."
"Always, brother."
Nikolai ended the call and sat on the edge of the bed. He dropped the phone onto the comforter and held his head in his hands. If Santos was still alive, he probably wished he wasn't. There was no doubt in Nikolai's mind that Grisha had taken him—and Grisha had a love for inflicting pain. Why he'd taken the detective remained a mystery to Nikolai. Not that the reason mattered. Whatever his disagreements with Vivian's cousin, he'd never leave the man to die.
Vivian stepped out of the bathroom wrapped in a towel. She had another wound tightly around her wet hair. His heartbeat kicked up a few notches as he extended his hand and prepared to tell her about Eric. "Come here, sweetheart."
She refused to move and gripped the front of her towel. "What's wrong?"
"Come here."
Reluctantly, she forced her feet to move and allowed him to pull her down onto his lap. He tugged free the towel around her head and let it fall to the floor. After brushing his fingers through her wet hair, he dragged her close for a passionate kiss. She whimpered and slid her arms around his neck as their tongues danced.
He eased off the kiss and gazed into her sweet face. There was no other way to say it but bluntly. "Eric is missing."