A Fated Night

by Kay Loren

  ‘A woman should be home, taking care of her husband and the babies’, one said. ‘Don’t forget about taking care of the house and cooking for him each night’, another added. One of the wives really pissed Audrina off when she pointed at Audrina and said ‘Turn a blind eye to everything, as long as he takes care of you and you have that ring on your finger, you have nothing to worry about, he’s yours for life’.

  Like hell, Audrina thought. If this is what Michael grew up around, I can see why he acts the way he does.

  She was bored out of her mind and pretended to be interested in their stories but she really wanted to go home. Home to her apartment where she slept with Nikolai nearly two weeks before. She excused herself from the caddy chat and went over to the bar. Audrina was already on her second glass of champagne when she felt a light tap her on the shoulder.

  "I see you're bored," Nikolai smiled when Audrina turned around.

  "Hi… What brings you here?" she returned his smile as she looked Nikolai up and down. As always, he looked handsome dressed to the nines in a sharp black suit. She pressed her legs together when she thought about what a sexy body he had underneath.

  "Unfortunately I have to be here," he sighed. He grabbed a glass of champagne from the waitress's tray when she passed by. Ever since the day he spent with Audrina at her place and sipped champagne, he found himself liking the bubbly liquid. Each sip he took was a reminder of their tryst weeks before.

  "Oh," Audrina said as she sipped at her champagne. She didn’t bother to ask him why. He looked just as bored and uninterested as she was.

  She looked around the room taking in everyone's appearance. Men were dressed in suits with their beautiful wives dolled up in fancy dresses and expensive jewels. The way the men spoke was typical slang talk -like she heard constantly on the east coast- but certain conversations sounded as if they were talking in code. It was hard for Audrina to follow. She was happy Nikolai didn’t speak the way they did. He just politely nodded his head and remained quiet most of the time.

  "What's funny?" Nikolai asked, smiling at her unexpected giggling.

  "All these guys here look like mobsters from the movies," she laughed.

  Nikolai swallowed the last bit of champagne in his glass when a dry lump formed in his throat. He knew Audrina didn't know the truth about all of the men present that night. And he knew for a fact Michael never said a word to her about his life. He felt a bit guilty. He wasn’t entirely forthcoming with her as well.

  "What makes you think that?"

  "I guess it’s just the atmosphere, " she shrugged.

  "Some things may appear as they seem," Nikolai mumbled to himself in Russian. Before Audrina could ask him what he said, she noticed a girl approaching them.

  "Excuse me," the girl with a soft voice smiled as she approached them. Her big blue eyes flashed at Nikolai while her milky white skin flushed red from his gaze when he turned. She was a very pretty, petite, blonde with a smile that was infectious. Her bright red lipstick matched her dress and stood out on her round, delicate face.

  "Hello," Nikolai smiled. Audrina gazed at her curiously. Perhaps she knows Nikolai, she thought.

  "Hi," she smiled again. "I just wanted to introduce myself to you. I'm Jacqueline."

  So she doesn’t know him, Audrina realized.

  "Pleasure. I am Nikolai," he said taking her hand in his and shaking it lightly. With his huge frame -and her being so little- he looked as if he could have broken her with the slightest touch.

  "And I'm Audrina," Audrina introduced herself when she noticed Nikolai gazing at the girl a moment longer than she liked.

  "Oh is this your wife?" Jacqueline asked with a breathy chuckle.

  Audrina narrowed her eyes at the girl for a moment pondering weather or not to tell the girl Nikolai was not interested. She didn’t know if Nikolai was interested or not but she felt a pang of jealousy. They way the girl gawked at Nikolai boiled her blood.

  "No she is my fiancée," Michael stated as he walked over and put a strong arm around Audrina's waist. Audrina forgot she had come with Michael and sighed lightly as he placed a kiss on the back of her head.

  "Oh good," Jacqueline sighed in relief. "I mean no- not good- I just wanted to ask you, Nikolai, if you'd like to have a drink with me."

  "She is a looker Nik," Michael commented with a wink at Jacqueline who blushed a lovely shade of rose.

  Audrina glanced in between Nikolai and Jacqueline, jealous of the gaze they shared with one another. His attention was completely on Jacqueline and she hated it.

  Nikolai nodded his head, "Sure. I need a fresh glass anyways." He looked at Michael and then to Audrina. "Well it was nice talking to you Audrina."

  "You too," she replied annoyed. She didn't want Nikolai to go alone with the girl, but what could she do? She watched as Nikolai placed his hand on the small of Jacqueline’s back and led her away.

  "Come on," Michael said lacing his fingers with Audrina's. "Everyone's sitting down for dinner."

  Audrina followed Michael to the huge, long dinner table that seated all of the 50 people who were at the party. Everyone was served the same 7 course meal and different kinds of wines. Audrina was bored as hell as she made small chit chat with the few people around her. She looked around the table for Nikolai and spotted him sitting next to Jacqueline, laughing with her. She was envious of the girl. Not because of her looks because Audrina knew she was stunning compared to her, but because of the attention Nikolai was showering her with.

  Jacqueline laughed with her head back and her breasts pushed out all while batting her long eyelashes up at Nikolai. Audrina knew the tricks Jaqueline was playing at. She just prayed Nikolai wasn’t falling prey to them.

  "If you'll excuse me," Audrina said as she stood up from the table. "I have to use the restroom."

  Audrina walked to the bathroom and took a few minutes to herself. She touched up her makeup and smoothed out the loose curls in her hair with a comb. She wasn’t really feeling her best but since Michael made her come out she had to make the best of it. She looked at her cell phone and read the time, 10:37 P.M. She knew the night was going to drag out longer, so to cope, she decided to go out onto the balcony and have a little cigarette.

  No one was there out on the balcony. She dived into her bag and pulled out her cigarette case, grabbing one of the white sticks and lighting it hungrily. She took one long drag and then blew out a cloud of grey smoke. She felt so relaxed in the quiet of the night with the moon shining down and the cold breeze on her face. It was peaceful.

  "Mind if I join you?" a deep, familiar voice asked, startling her.

  Instinctively, Audrina flicked the cigarette out of her fingers and turned quickly. She let out a shaky deep breath when she realized it was just Nikolai standing behind her, with one hand in his pocket.

  "Umm… join me?" Audrina said trying to cover up the fact that she was smoking.

  Nikolai reached into his pocket and pulled out a carton of cigarettes, pulling one out and lighting it so sexily. He exhaled a cloud of smoke and chuckled, "I don't care if you smoke."

  Audrina looked around before she stated lowly, "Well Michael doesn't know I picked up my old, bad habit."

  “He smokes too does he not?”

  “Michael thinks cigarettes are a man’s thing only,” she shook her head. His sexist attitude was another thing that was getting to her. She had overlooked it too long.

  Nikolai took another long drag then offered it to Audrina. "Here. It's imported from Russia."

  Audrina took it and inhaled. Her knowing the stick was in his mouth and now hers felt erotic to a sense. His whole being exuded sex and she could feel everything below her waistline tighten.

  "Thanks," she coughed from the strong smoke filling her lungs.

  Nikolai’s eyes watched Audrina closely as she handed back the cigarette. Now that they were alone, she wanted to ask him about the girl he had met earlier in the night.

  "So," Audrina sighed, fumbling
with her hair. "How's it going with Miss Pretty?"

  "Miss Pretty?" Nikolai questioned with furrowed brows.

  "That Jacqueline girl," she rolled her eyes as she leaned against the railing.

  Nikolai puffed on the cigarette. "She's a nice girl but not for me… Every time I touch her she flinches. I feel like I'm going to break her."

  Audrina laughed, happy with his answer. "That's what I thought when I saw her next to you."

  "I like a girl with meat on her bones," Nikolai commented.

  Audrina bit her bottom lip, watching Nikolai as he placed the cigarette to his lips again. He looked so sexy as he smoked. His eyes squinted a bit and his lips looked even hotter. Audrina took the cigarette from his hand and pressed her lips to his. Initially, he was shocked yet he kissed her back thrusting his tongue into her sweet mouth.

  "No," Nikolai said as he finally pulled away. "No more… You don't want to do this."

  She pulled him by his belt. "Let me decide."

  Audrina pulled him into another kiss. She turned around, putting her hands on the railing and lifted up her dress. Nikolai knew what that meant and after a quick scan around the empty terrace he unzipped his pants, pulled her underwear to the side and pushed two fingers deep inside of her. He sharply sucked in a breath when he realized she was already wet. He grabbed her hips and positioned himself.

  He entered her slowly at first until he was fully inside of her to which she responded with a small groan. He pulled back slowly and then slammed into her quickly. He kept up the rhythm for a few strokes until he began to quicken his pace. Audrina tried her best to suppress her moans but the pleasure was too much. He rubbed her wet flesh as he thrusted into her relentlessly and it sent her over the edge. She came with a low moan even though she wanted to scream his name out loud.

  "Hurry," she whispered breathlessly with a glance over her shoulder. "Someone's gonna see us."

  Nikolai tightened his grip on her and finished in a few strokes, muttering in Russian when he came. He held her for a quick moment before he released her. She pulled her dress back down and he zipped up his pants. They both tried to catch their breaths as they smoothed out their clothes.

  Nikolai pulled Audrina into a rough kiss grabbing her hair in a fist and pouring his soul into her. She moaned into his mouth relishing in the moment. She hadn’t felt like that since the last time they had seen each other.

  "I'll see you back inside," he smiled against her lips. He kissed her forehead and hugged her tightly not wanting to let her go but any longer he was gone, he knew suspicions would arise. He hadn’t felt that alive in years.

  Audrina watched him walk away. She was spent but when she felt something running down her inner thigh she rushed to the bathroom to clean herself up. Minutes later she rejoined the dinner and was glad no one really cared she was gone as long as she was.

  "You were gone a while," Michael commented as soon as she sat back down.

  Of course he would notice, Audrina thought.

  "Sorry babe," she chuckled nervously. "I had to fix a little rip in my dress."

  Michael inhaled, his nose wrinkling in distaste. "What is that smell?" he whispered to Audrina.

  "What smell?" she asked, nervous that she smelled like sex. She thought she had cleaned herself up well.

  "Were you smoking?" Michael asked through gritted teeth.

  Audrina sighed in relief. "Sorry… I'm just a little stressed out."

  Before Michael could ask her anymore questions a man came and sat next to him and began to have a conversation with him. Saved, she sighed to herself. Audrina looked at the end of the table and caught Nikolai's eye. She blushed lightly as he winked at her and began to carry on with his conversation like nothing happened.

  When Audrina and Michael got back home it was almost 2 in the morning. They were the last people to leave the dinner and she was exhausted by the end of it all. Nikolai had left around midnight after Sergei interrupted the dinner to speak with Nikolai. He left quickly without a proper goodbye and looked as if he was troubled. Audrina wanted to ask him what it was that happened but he didn’t even glance her way when he left. She frowned as she thought about how his face dropped and his eyes hardened.

  As she began the long walk to her bedroom, Michael called her over to his office. Hesitantly, she made her way over. Michael was at his desk per usual and didn’t even look up when she entered the room. He continued to look at the papers in front of him even though she was standing in front of his desk.

  "What?" she asked. She didn’t have time for his games.

  "Why were you smoking?" Michael asked still overlooking papers.

  "I’ve been stressed," she shrugged.

  “You have nothing to be stressed about,” he arrogantly stated. “Absolutely nothing.”

  The way he said those last few words made her want to jump across the desk and smack him upside the head. The way he had been acting -his constant need to control her and making her feel less than him- was stressing her out.

  “I’m assuming you’ve been smoking a lot lately,” Michael stated, pulling her metal cigarette case from his pocket. He looked inside the semi empty case with a look of disgust. She had picked up smoking a few weeks back when things between her and Michael started getting rocky. It was the only way she coped with their current situation.

  “Yes.”

  "Don't ever let me catch that smell on you again," he scolded now looking her dead in the eye. He tossed the case into the nearby waste bin.

  Instead of arguing with him, she just agreed so she could leave. Her bad habit wasn’t the only thing she was keeping secret.

  "Okay Michael."

  She was tired and just wanted to go to sleep but she knew she had to wash away the tryst she had had hours before. The thought of Nikolai made her stomach do somersaults. She longed to be where he was at that very moment. As she turned to make her exit Michael spoke.

  “I’d ask for a blowjob but I don’t want your cigarette filled lips coming anywhere near me,” He muttered.

  Audrina bit her tongue. Nikolai didn’t mind, she wanted to tell him. She walked out of the room and shut the door behind her.

  As she stripped off her clothes and ran the shower, her phone that was sitting near the bathroom sink chimed lightly. ‘Unknown’ the screen flashed. Who would call me at this hour?

  “Hello?” she found herself answering the call.

  “Audrina.”

  Her heart skipped a beat when she realized it was Nikolai on the other end. How did he even know her number or know she was still awake for the most part, she wondered. She found herself smiling goofily amongst the steam that was now rising from the shower.

  “Hi,” she whispered. Michael was still downstairs but she felt the need to keep her voice down. She sat her naked body on the edge of the tub. “You left suddenly. Everything okay?”

  “Yes,” he whispered.

  Audrina noticed his voice sounded tight. She wondered if he had a difficult night.

  “Are you okay?” she pressed.

  “I just wanted to hear your voice,” he sighed.

  “I was just about to take a shower,” Audrina volunteered. “…Alone.”

  Nikolai laughed lightly, “If only I was there…”

  Audrina let her mind slip to the many possibilities if he had been with her that very moment. She could still feel him between her thighs and she yearned for him again. Her scattered thoughts were interrupted when she heard a man speaking in Russian to Nikolai.

  “I have to go,” he sighed. “It was good to hear your voice.”

  “Be careful Nikolai,” she uttered the last few words that instantly popped into her mind. She knew she had to say them.

  Nikolai stayed quiet for a moment before he replied, “I will. Goodnight Audrina.”

  “Bye.” She hung up. Something was troubling Nikolai yet she couldn’t fathom what it was. She showered and soon after threw herself into the empty bed. She knew she was going to sleep alone y
et again. She found sleep quickly dreaming of Nikolai.

  Chapter Nine

  Nikolai placed the phone back into his pocket and turned to Sergei with a sigh.

  “Nothing yet?” he asked in their native tongue.

  “Nothing boss,” Sergei breathed raggedly. His sleeves were rolled up to the elbows and his hands were covered in blood.

  The night had started out great when he had seen Audrina again. She had looked absolutely stunning when he laid eyes on her from across the bar. If he could have taken a picture of her he would have at that moment. She was exquisite. An absolute celestial being amongst everyone else. He longed to be with her instead of where he was now. He flicked the cigarette from his fingers before he headed into the abandoned warehouse.

  The stuffy, humid air lingered with a metallic odor and a hint of urine. A pool of blood lied underneath the man who was suspended feet first from the thick rope. He dangled there, struggling hard to maintain his composure despite his given state. They had used their basic method’s of torture yet Nikolai knew he had to step it up. He took a small, incision knife from the bloodied tools Sergei had used.

  The man coughed and shook his head when he saw Nikolai. Nikolai handed his coat and suit jacket to Sergei and began to roll up his sleeves. He just wanted this done and over with.

  “Tough bastard,” Alek, Sergei’s brother shook his head. He was a striking young man and already had the knack for dirty business. He resembled his older brother in many ways and had the loyalty of a hound.

  “Tell me where she is,” Nikolai asked the man calmly. He squatted down in front of the man so he could be eye to eye with him.

  “I don’t know!” the man cried.

  He was lying. Nikolai gestured for the brothers to grab ahold of his arms as he made his assault on the mans back with the knife. The man squirmed and screamed in agony, begging for him to stop. Nikolai hated the dirty work. He had done too much of it in his lifetime.

  Sergei looked away when he saw the piece of flesh in Nikolai’s hand. Nikolai squatted down again and held it up for the man to see.