A Fated Night

by Kay Loren

  "My turn," Nikolai said putting a new ball on the little black holder. He took a few practice swings in the air before he hit the ball. With one perfect, graceful swing, the ball rolled in a straight line all the way into the goal.

  "Bravo," she clapped, admiring his patience and concentration. "You haven't missed a single shot."

  "Thank you. I hope I have not bored you," he said as he put the club back into the leather bag with the rest of the others.

  "Of course not," she walked over to him, wrapping her arms around his waist and pressing her cheek against his back. "I didn't know you enjoyed golf this much."

  "I do," Nikolai took one of her hands and pressed it against his lips. "But I enjoy teaching you even more."

  Audrina couldn't help her blush.

  "Oh yes, a question for you," Nikolai turned to look at her. He thought of a question to ask her. "What is your favorite color?"

  "Hmmm," Audrina thought about it. "Candy apple red."

  "That sounds more like food," he chuckled as he pressed his lips to her forehead.

  "What's yours?"

  "Yellow."

  “Yellow?” she was surprised by his choice. She thought black was his favorite since he always dressed in the color.

  “A story for another time,” he kissed her forehead again.

  "Thank you for such a wonderful day," Audrina smiled as she hugged him. She loved spending time with him. The fact that she had to return home in less than an hour pained her.

  "My pleasure," Nikolai replied, grabbing her chin lightly and bringing her soft lips to his, gently kissing her. Audrina wrapped her arms around his neck and pushed her tongue into his mouth, tasting his surprise. His tongue soon began to move expertly, exploring her mouth as his hands ran slowly down her body, finally resting on her lower back.

  "I should get going," Audrina murmured against his lips.

  "No," he groaned breaking the kiss. He took in a deep breath before he said, "Stay with me one more night."

  A whine escaped from the back of her throat. She really wanted to stay with him too but she worried that Michael would get suspicious. She had already said she was going to stay at Nikki's for a few days only. She hadn't been home in almost four days.

  Yet, she didn't want to leave Nikolai either. She loved being around him and soaking up every ounce she could possibly get from him. One more day wouldn’t make a difference, she concluded.

  “One more night,” she whispered against his lips.

  Nikolai grinned and rewarded her with his hand up her skirt, squeezing her butt. Audrina giggled as she playfully slapped his hand away.

  "Let's go back to my place," he kissed her once more.

  Chapter Thirteen

  Audrina moaned as Nikolai’s tongue went to work in her most sensitive area. He kept a rhythm of long, sensual licks before he quickened his tongue, then rubbed her wet flesh in a circular motion with his thumb. Her hands fisted up at her sides, balling the satin bedsheet in her palm as pleasure the increased.

  He grabbed her, wrapping his hands around her thighs, pulling her closer to his mouth as his tongue continued on, her back bowing off the bed. “Oh my god!” she came with a loud moan, calling out his name loudly. No one could hear them and she was only too glad to express herself freely.

  As she spiraled down from her orgasm, Nikolai climbed on top of her pressing his lips to hers and thrusting his tongue into her mouth. Her eyes sprang open upon tasting herself on his tongue. It was erotic to her yet she liked it. He deepened the kiss and entered her slowly. She was spent but he was ready to go and her body obeyed meeting his slow thrusts with her own.

  “Faster,” she begged bucking her hips up to meet his.

  “I want it slow,” he whispered, holding her hands to her sides.

  He pushed into her at a deliciously slow pace, taking deep long strokes in and out of her. He caressed her breasts and kissed her neck as he continued on. He was more tender than she expected and for the first time, she enjoyed the slow pace. She surrendered to him, wrapping her arms around him and bringing her lips to his.

  “You are out of this world,” she chuckled, lying on top of his chest in the after glow of their love making. He ran his hand slowly up her side, relishing in the feel of her smooth skin as he smoked.

  A deep chuckle came from his throat. He had never heard the expression before. “I assume that’s a good thing.”

  She looked up at him with her mesmerizing honey colored eyes. “It’s a great thing.”

  She took the cigarette from his hand, inhaling and exhaling cloud of smoke. A cigarette had never tasted finer to her than it did in that moment. She placed it back in between his parted lips.

  “You are beautiful,” Nikolai whispered.

  Audrina blushed and hid her face from his intense gaze. She hadn’t remembered the last time anyone had told her that out of the blue.

  “You’re not so bad yourself,” she kissed him on the light dusting of hair on his chest.

  She sat up and reached over onto the floor grabbing her tote bag remembering the gift she had purchased for him a while back. She had forgotten all about the gift until that moment. It had been hidden in her bag until she found the perfect moment to give it to him.

  “I got you something.”

  “You got me something?’ he chuckled. He could not remember when someone had bought him something just because.

  “Yes. I actually got it a while back, but I could never find the perfect time to give it to you. It’s not much but I saw it in a little shop and it reminded me of you,” she said and pulled out a little white bag handing it to him. She bit her lip waiting to see his reaction.

  Nikolai reached into the bag with a grin and pulled out a keychain. It was a silver, fish keychain with a rectangular plaque attached to it. He laughed when he saw that it said on the plaque, ‘you’re my favorite catch’.

  “It’s a keychain slash bottle opener,” She smiled. “I had your name put on the back.”

  Nikolai turned the plaque around and saw his name spelled out in bold letters with her initial on the bottom marked, ‘-A.’. It was the sweetest gift he had ever received.

  “Do you like it?” she asked looking up at him.

  He hugged her close and brought her lips up to his, running his tongue between her lips. Instantly, she parted her lips and let his tongue roam her mouth.

  “I’ll take that as a yes,” she smiled against his lips when she broke away.

  “Yes. I love it. Thank you,” he stated lowly and reached over to the bedside table and grabbed his set of keys. He attached the keychain on and held them up. “Now I will never lose my keys,” he kissed her nose after setting them back down.

  Nikolai’s phone vibrated lightly against the bed side table. He reached over again, glancing at the screen and answered with a curt, ‘Da’.

  He sighed and replied slowly in Russian before he fired off to person on the other side. He appeared more annoyed than mad. He hung up the phone and threw his arm over his eyes.

  “What is it?” Audrina kissed his ribcage.

  He moved his arm and shook his head. “My sister… Svetlana…”

  Audrina remembered he had a little sister younger than her that he cared about tremendously. “Is she okay?”

  “Yes,” he said a bit more curtly than he had intended.

  He looked bothered. Audrina wondered what could have possibly troubled him regarding his sister. From what he said, his sister was a good kid. The blank stare in his eyes as he looked up at the ceiling was enough for Audrina to know he was thinking too much.

  “You never told me about her,” she said.

  “I have,” he nodded.

  “You mentioned her a few times,” she stated. “But like, how old is she? What does she do?... You know.”

  A smile broke out across Nikolai’s handsome face. “She just turned twenty a few months ago. She is an artist, an excellent one in fact. She paints the most lovely portraits I have ever seen�
�� she’s very talented. A pain to deal with at times, but very talented.”

  “Your face lights up when you speak of her.”

  “I adore her. I absolutely adore her with all my heart,” he smiled. “She looks exactly like my mother. In fact I actually learned how to cook because of her.”

  “Because of Svetlana?”

  “Yes. One day she refused to eat what the cooks prepared for her,” he chuckled as he recalled the memory. “For five days she refused to eat. No one knew why she had stopped eating. I finally got so tired of it, I went into the kitchen and made her French toast as best as I could and sat with her late at night until she ate one bite. When she took the first bite I had never been happier but then she ate three helpings worth, kissed my cheek and ran up to bed… it was strange and I never asked her why she had stopped eating but I found out later, all she wanted was a reminder that someone other than the staff cared for her.

  “I watched a lot of cooking shows and read a lot cookbooks just so I could make her something new weekly,” a deep chuckle escaped from his throat as he recalled. “I know I was terrible at first but she ate everything I made… and then overtime I found myself liking to cook.”

  Audrina’s heart melted. She couldn’t even make a descent scrambled egg and here this man was learning whatever he could to please his sister. His devotion to his sister and the way he spoke of her was heart warming to Audrina.

  “You just keep getting cuter and cuter,” she kissed his jaw.

  He smiled shyly after putting out the cigarette. “I don’t think ‘cute’ is a word to describe me.”

  Audrina scoffed as she gave him a long once over. Fuck. Audrina could not imagine if there was even one minute during each day that he did not look irresistible. “Have you seen yourself? Women must throw themselves at you daily.”

  Nikolai propped himself up on his elbow and kissed her nose. “They do not.”

  “Stop lying!” she pinched his nipple playfully. “I don’t blame them… Even I threw myself at you!”

  Nikolai laughed with a shake of his head. Yes, women were always ready and lined up for him whenever he wished yet after Audrina, no woman could ever fulfill him the way she did. “You are too much.”

  Audrina straddled him once again and took his face into her hands, planting a long kiss on his mouth. “You are very cute… sexy, handsome, sweet, smart and you have the biggest heart.”

  Nikolai was taken aback. Never had anyone described him in such a way- especially the heart part. He knew deep down he was a cold murderous bastard with a heart that was incapable of anything anymore.

  She noticed he was quiet and overthinking again. “Don’t deny it,” she whispered and placed the sweetest kiss over his heart.

  Nikolai quickly rolled over and pinned her underneath him, gazing at her. He did not want to hear any more. The feeling he felt was alien to him, new, and he could not place what exactly it was that he felt.

  Audrina could feel him stir. She looked down and saw that he was ready to go again. He did not move, just hovered over her watching her with a weird expression on his face. She brought his lips down to hers in an effort to distract him. It worked and he sunk into her again, relishing in the strange feeling she bestowed upon him.

  Later that night, Audrina tossed and turned in her sleep, mumbling incoherently causing Nikolai to wake up. He turned on the bedside lamp to see Audrina more clearly and frowned as he saw her face as if she was in pain. It broke his heart.

  "Hey. Hey!" he said shaking her.

  "No! No!" she repeated twice, her eyes screwed tightly shut. "Please don't…"

  Nikolai sat up quickly and tapped her cold, clammy cheeks with the tips of his fingers. "Wake up!"

  Seconds later, Audrina finally opened her eyes wide and let out a gasp of air. She sat up and quickly scanned the room with her eyes. She looked at Nikolai and put a hand on his face, examining his sharp features.

  "Nikolai," she whispered.

  Nikolai kissed her forehead, smoothing out the hair on her face, and wiping off the light sheen of sweat. "I'm here… Are you okay?"

  "I'm fine… It was just a bad dream," she said, letting out a deep breath. "Just a bad dream."

  Nikolai reached over on the bedside table once again and grabbed the cool glass of water. "Here."

  Audrina took a much needed gulp and handed him back the glass. "Thank you."

  "What were you dreaming about?" Nikolai asked concerned.

  Audrina sighed, rubbing her eyes with her fingertips, still scared of her nightmare. It felt all too real. Nikki’s words from the days before rang through her ears.

  Just be careful…

  "I dreamt he killed you," she whispered.

  Nikolai tensed up as he rubbed her arm. "Who killed me?"

  "Michael," Audrina turned to Nikolai, tears forming in her eyes. "I dreamed that he shot you eight times and then he was gonna kill me too but….. You woke me up…"

  Nikolai sighed and stayed quiet… he didn't know what to say. He had never allowed himself to think of Michael’s reaction if he ever found out about Audrina and him. He had to make his move soon or else everything was going to blow up in his face and Audrina get caught in the cross fire. He couldn’t bare the thought of Audrina being hurt but it was a possibility if their relationship was exposed.

  He held her close. He swore to himself he would die before he let anyone hurt her.

  "I was so terrified… it felt real," she let out a sob. "Seeing you lie there like that made me- it made me-" she couldn't even say what she was going to next. The words were stuck in her throat but in that moment she knew how real her feelings were.

  "It is okay," Nikolai reassured her. He knew deep down that she tremendously cared for him. "I am here and I am not going anywhere… hush…"

  Audrina wanted to tell him how she really felt about him but she felt as if she had lost her voice. Nikolai just held her in his arms and calmed her down. It pained him to see how this dream affected her so badly. He came to the painful realization that he may just have to let her go if she chose Michael. He prayed that it would not come to that.

  They both laid in the quiet early hours of the morning, silent and deep in their own thoughts. Audrina knew she had to leave Michael if she was falling for Nikolai. No matter how many times she weighed the pros and cons of each man, she was indecisive. Michael was the stable future she craved yet Nikolai was the exciting unknown that gave her hope. One thing was certain, she had to make a choice and make it fast or else one of them were going to get hurt.

  Chapter Fourteen

  Michael puffed on his cigar and stared at his Uncle Paulie intently. "She won't have it. She doesn't want any until after the wedding."

  Michael wanted a big family. He wanted at least four sons to carry on his family name. Or one heir and one spare, as his father had once said. He knew Audrina wanted children as well, but not any time soon. She wanted to wait at least one more year.

  …. Michael didn’t have a year.

  "Oh please," Paulie scoffed, rolling his dark eyes. "You are the man and she is just a girl. You have more rights than she does."

  Michael chuckled at his uncles' sexist attitude. His uncle was the typical Italian mobster when it came to a man being the dominant one in a relationship. Michael didn’t disagree with his uncles views, no, he thought the very same way.

  "How am I supposed to have a son with her if she won't even fuck me anymore? I haven't had sex with her in almost two months."

  "Two months Mike!" Paulie whistled through his teeth. "What a cold fish."

  "Hey, hey, be respectful," Michael said in Audrina’s defensive. "She may be holding out right now but she's still my fiancée."

  "You don't think she's banging someone else Mike?"

  Michael looked at his uncle with a death glare. The thought of Audrina with another man angered him to death. Nobody could have her but me, he thought. She was his. If he couldn't have her… nobody could.

  "No…
She knows I'd kill her."

  "Really Mike?" Paulie crossed his arms over his large chest. "Does she even know you're the boss of the Mancini crime family?"

  "No," he shook his head.

  "Well she's gonna find out sooner or later," He chortled. “We’re depending on you boy… This is our future.”

  “I know.”

  “Remember my boy, a woman should only see two things on a day to day basis… The kitchen and the bedroom ceiling.”

  Michael laughed. His father used to say the same thing. He thought back to his parents marriage for a moment. His mother did everything for his father without complaint and no questions what so ever. She was the epitome of what a mobsters wife should be. Quiet and compliant. He wanted Audrina the very same way. Once they were married, things were going to change. No more of her mouthing off, he thought.

  Michael knew Audrina was eventually gonna find out who he truly was. He had to knock her up first. She wouldn't leave me if she was pregnant, he thought. She doesn't want her kids to be without parents like her. He needed to seal their fates and this was a sure way.

  "Well, we'll just let everything play out for now," Michael sighed. "She texted me an hour ago and said she's just gonna stay with Nikki one more night, then come home tomorrow."

  "Well it gives you some time to think about what you can do to romance her back in," Paulie replied, running a hand through his gray peppered hair. "Is she on birth control?"

  Michael nodded, "The pill."

  "Does she forget to take it?"

  "I have no idea. I think she has an alarm on her phone to remind her to take it everyday,” he replied rubbing his eyes. He was tired after another long night out.

  "Then it looks like you're gonna get a hold of her phone and delete that little reminder huh?"

  Michael laughed and his uncle joined in. He had to get her pregnant. It would assure that she was not gonna go anywhere. He needed her…

  She is and is always gonna be mine…

  Chapter Fifteen

  Audrina couldn't help but stare at Nikolai as he slept peacefully on the huge, black, satin bed. His breathing soft and slow… She sat on the edge of the bed and admired his features. Perfect straight nose, square jaw, light, thick eyebrows, and beautifully, parted nude colored lips. He looked at least five years younger to Audrina. She thought back to her dream for a moment but shook it off quickly. The thought of him being hurt because of her, made her sick to her stomach.