I shook my head, not being able to fathom what Katya had lived through in her life. “I’m sorry, Katya. For all of it. I know Yuri is still out there, but it looks like he might not last long. Maybe then you’ll get some peace.” I asserted optimistically.
Katya shot a quick glance over at Drago and gave me small smile. “Maybe.”
I frowned. “That reminds me, what the hell is going on with you two?” I asked, jerking my head in Drago’s direction.
Katya laughed again. “It is such a long story, Hannah. Let’s make some food, then maybe I’ll have time to fill you in.”
“Okay,” I replied, shooting a quick glance over to Emmy. I was going to ask if she wanted to accompany us, but found Ivan talking quietly to Emmy, probably trying to convince her to release his hand. I mean, what if he needed to go to the bathroom?
I decided to let them figure it out and followed Katya into the kitchen.
Chapter 48
Nikolai
I was in a daze as I listened to Ivan, Drago and various other men who formerly worked for my father discuss who the man driving the car could have been, and where he and my father were likely to go. I didn’t know why they were speaking in Russian, the only people who didn’t speak it were Hannah and her sister, and they looked like they could give a fuck about our conversation. In fact, it wouldn’t surprise me if Hannah never wanted to see me again after this fucking debacle. Hannah. I still couldn’t believe the power she had over me, how she seemed to calm me down.
I had been standing there thinking about my fucking father. How did we let him get away? Goddamnit. Every time I thought of his smug, deranged face I felt my blood pressure spike. I had reached in my pocket for my phone – I had needed a fight. Badly. I had needed to get this fucking aggression out of my system, so I could focus on finding Yuri and ending this shit.
I had already yanked my phone out and pulled up Becker’s number when I heard hysterical giggling. I looked over to Hannah and her sister, who were both hunched over and wiping tears from their faces. What the fuck? I had looked around the room and noted that every expression was mirroring mine. The girls stopped for a moment, took in our looks of astonishment and started laughing harder.
Against my will, I found myself relaxing because Hannah looked so fucking happy and adorable laughing with her sister. How could she be so happy? I simply stared at her. Laughing after what I had put her and her sister through the greatest trauma of their lives. Unbelievable.
I had lived my life dealing with anger in trauma in various ways, all of them destructive in varying ways. But simply looking at Hannah’s laughing face was enough to lower my blood pressure. I found it exhilarating, curious, and alarming.
I was confronted with the same dilemma I had been pondering since the night of the party. What the fuck did I do about this situation with Hannah?
As I stood there, half listening to Drago and his crew, and identified all the reasons our relationship was a bad idea, I came to a startling conclusion. I realized there was no way I’d be able to give Hannah up. As much as I hated the danger being in my life put her in, I was equally unable to let her go. Whenever I thought of breaking up with her, I also thought about her dating someone else, some other asshole touching her, laughing with her, and it made me fucking homicidal. My feelings went beyond the jealousy and possessiveness that consumed me like a virus. I liked being with her; she made me lighten the fuck up. She was funny and fun, smart and sexy. Not only did I not want to break up with her, there was a part of me that never wanted her out of my sight.
Did I love her? Was that possible? Fuck, I didn’t know.
Fifteen minutes ago, I had been ready to dial up Jack and go pound the fuck out of some asshole in order to calm the fuck down. Now, as I looked over at Hannah, now talking to Katya, I realized my need for violence had greatly diminished and the need for her, her calming presence had increased. God, I felt like such a pussy, but I didn’t even give a shit.
It was with those thoughts in mind that I found myself walking over to Hannah, who had just walked back in the room with a plate of food for Emmy. It would be interesting to see Emmy try to eat with one hand.
I grabbed Hannah and pulled her to me. I needed to be alone with her.
Before I could drag Hannah off, Katya spoke. “I think everyone should stay here tonight so we can all recover and figure out what’s going on. We have plenty of room.” Even though she was talking to everyone, her attention was mostly focused on Hannah and her sister, with her gaze darting periodically over to where Drago stood staring at her impassively.
Hannah and her sister smiled at each other at Katya’s announcement. “Yeah, we already talked about it. We’re staying, even if it’s a school night.” Hannah replied and nudged Emmy with her elbow. Emmy chuckled softly in response. We all looked at them like they were crazy. Again.
“Do you think mom would be okay if we stayed over here?” Emmy asked somewhat hopefully, as her hand clutched at the back of Ivan’s shirt. I saw Ivan grimace at her sustained contact. He looked unsettled but didn’t tell the girl she had to let go. Not that she would have. Emmy’s fist was almost white as it gripped the black fabric.
I knew Hannah was biting her lip in consideration of Emmy’s question, but I found it sexy as fuck and wanted to replace her teeth with my own. Suddenly the need to be alone with her became pressing.
“I think so. I mean, we usually never go anywhere, so I’d think she’d be thrilled if she thought we’d developed some kind of social life,” Hannah reasoned. Emmy nodded her head in agreement. “I’ll text and see what she says.”
“We’re not going to school tomorrow. I think we all deserve a day off, especially you,” I said jerking my head in Emmy’s direction. Hannah nodded in agreement, though I doubt she was planning to share our plans with her mother. I watched her rapidly tap out a text to her mother on her ancient as fuck phone. I really needed to get her a new one. Her mother apparently responded quickly, requiring Hannah to send a follow-up text. She had this adorable frown on her face as she typed whatever lie she was telling her mom to gain her permission to sleep over.
Finally, Hannah looked up. “Okay, I made up a story about a slumber party, which I guess is kind of true,” she said as she looked around at our assorted group of high school students and members of the Russian mob. Ivan rolled his eyes, but Drago smirked at her humor.
All I knew was I would have the whole night with Hannah, and I could fuck her without worrying about her mom busting into the room and beating me with a broom, or some shit.
I watched Hannah’s eyes dart back to Emmy, concern written all over her pretty features and sighed. It was going to be hard to pull Hannah away from her right now, no matter how much I wanted to.
Katya blew out a sigh of relief. “Great! I’ll get the rooms ready.” I think Katya’s impromptu sleepover was as much about her not wanting to be alone as it was giving everyone a place to recover.
“I’ll help,” Hannah offered, and popped up to follow Katya upstairs.
Fuck. How had that happened?
I was staring at the sexy curve of Hannah’s ass as she walked toward the stairs, so I didn’t notice Drago until he was standing right beside me.
“How are you doing, Nikolai?” Drago asked quietly, but I could tell there was genuine concern on his face.
I sighed, not really wanting to have this conversation, but knowing if anyone would understand my state of mind right now it would be him.
“Pissed, worried. I still can’t believe that motherfucker got away.” Anger and impotence clawed at my chest, which made me all the more adamant about getting Hannah alone and working out my frustrated helplessness on her body.
Drago jaw tensed in unspoken agreement. “I know he can’t last long, not with us and Mikhail’s people after him, but it makes me uneasy that he’s out there. Especially in light of his plans for Katerina.” Drago’s stared at the stairs Katya had just ascended, as if simply focusing all of his att
ention on her would keep her safe. Maybe it would.
I shook my head. “I had no idea about that.” I felt the need to apologize, though I had done nothing wrong. “I thought I understood the level of my father’s depravity, but this…”
Drago sighed in disgust, still staring at Katya. “It sure as fuck isn’t your fault. Getting rid of your father was a long time in coming. He’d a been a cancer for far too long, which is saying something in the Bratva.” He looked back at me. “Keep your eyes open, Nikolai. Especially when it comes to your girl. I know your father’s going down, but I’ll be very uneasy until I know he’s dead.”
You and me, both, I thought, but simply nodded my head in agreement.
It was only about eight o’clock, but my body started to revolt on me. I sat in a chair, and closed my eyes, planning on only relaxing until Hannah came back downstairs.
I felt a hand shaking my shoulder, then a soft hand stroking my cheek and opened bleary eyes to see Hannah hovering next to me. I frowned. “What time is it?”
“Almost midnight,” she replied, still rubbing my cheek. I looked around and saw that everyone was now gone. I pulled her into my lap, hugging her to me as she rested her cheek against my chest.
“Where is everyone?” I asked into her sweet-smelling hair. God, this was exactly what I had needed. Her touch, her scent. Her.
“Well, a bunch of those mob guys left. I guess they didn’t want to stick around for the slumber party.” She paused to chuckle at her own joke, which made me smile.
“Who stayed here?” I had a suspicion I knew who was still here.
“Well, Katya, of course, Emmy, Ivan and Drago.”
Just as I suspected. Based on her earlier behavior, I didn’t imagine Emmy would have let Ivan out of her sight. He had become her comfort object, much to his evident frustration. I wondered if she had made him sleep with her. How fucking awkward to have to sleep with a sixteen-year-old girl who wanted to use you as her personal teddy bear?
I was surprised, Ivan was generally an emotionless bastard, so his tolerance of her neediness shocked me. I figured he didn’t know how to deal with it, but I also knew it wouldn’t last much longer. Emmy was in for a hard fall.
And Drago, well, we’d seen whatever the hell was going on with him and Katya, so I was not at all surprised he was still here. I’d bet my left nut that if I went looking for him right now, I’d probably find them together.
“What have you been doing while I was asleep?” I asked curiously.
Hannah sighed. “Mostly trying to pry Emmy away from Ivan. I mean, Jesus, Nikolai, he’s a stranger who is in the Russian mob, but she’s attached herself to him like a freaking barnacle. He’s being a pretty good sport,” she said this with a cringy look on her face, so I don’t know if what she said was actually true, or just her interpretation of Ivan’s stoicism. “I mean, maybe not good sport,” she corrected, making me smile again. “His jaw looked kind of clenched and he was frowning a lot, but he helped us get Emmy to lay down for a while.”
“And Emmy let him leave?” I asked, but I knew the answer already.
Hannah lifted her head off my chest, and looked at me, frowning. “How did you know that she wouldn’t let him leave?”
“Look, Hannah, Emmy went through a traumatic as fuck experience. The person who represents safety to her is Ivan, for whatever reason. She’s fixating on him because she still doesn’t feel safe.”
Hannah tilted her head, her violet eyes gleaming in appreciative surprise. “You know, you’re not just a pretty face, Nikolai,” she deadpanned, then smiled again at her own humor. God, she was so fucking adorable.
I needed her.
I lifted out of the chair with her still cradled in my arms and headed for the stairs. “If your goal was to seduce me with compliments - mission accomplished,” I said jokingly, and started kissing the side of her neck, having every intention of marking more of her soft skin.
Hannah laughed. “Do I have to compliment you to get you in bed, Nikolai?” she asked, half shy, half flirtatious. She was driving me fucking crazy. I could feel blood pounding its way toward my dick.
“You don’t have to do a fucking thing to get me in bed, Hannah.”
Chapter 49
Hannah
Nikolai carried me up the steps but put me down when we got to the landing at the top of the stairs.
“Okay, which room are we in? I’ve been here a bunch of times, but this is one night I definitely don’t want to wander into the wrong room.”
I pulled him to the last door on the right and into a spacious guest room. If I didn’t know we were in Katya’s house I’d think we were in a hotel. It was a beautiful room done in cream with burgundy accents that had a king size bed, a fireplace, a balcony, and its own bathroom.
I shot a glance at Nikolai, who already had his shirt over his head and was walking towards the bed. “Would you mind if we built a fire? I don’t come across fireplaces very often, they’re kind of romantic.” The fireplace looked functioning, with tools and a little stack of wood next to it.
Nikolai stopped short and gave me a half smile. He walked over and cradled my face in his hands, shaking his head. “This is one of the things I love about you, Hannah. Here we are in this fucked up situation. My dad is still on the loose, your sister has developed an unfortunate attachment to one of the scariest guys I know after being kidnapped, and you want to light a fire because it’s romantic.”
I was speechless. One of the things he loved about me? I wasn’t sure how to interpret that. I opened my mouth but didn’t know what to say. “Thank you?”
Nikolai chuckled. “It was a compliment.” He leaned in and gave me a soft, sweet, deep kiss. When he pulled back he was wearing a strange expression. His eyes wandered all over my face, as if memorizing my features. “You don’t know how hard I’ve tried to resist you, Hannah. I tried to pull away, I tried to rationalize why being with you would be dangerous.” He stopped and shook his head. “I mean, look what happened today. But, it doesn’t matter. It doesn’t fucking matter because I can’t give you up. I won’t.” Nikolai’s expression turned intense, almost grim.
“You don’t have to. I’m not going anywhere,” I reassured him, but I was flabbergasted at his admission. I was afraid if I said anything more the moment would slip through my fingers.
“You probably should run from me, Hannah, I’m not kidding,” he murmured, pulling me close to him as his fingers came up to tuck my hair behind my ear. “But I don’t think I’d let you leave. I don’t know how you’ve become so important to me in such a short period of time, but it happened, so now you’re stuck with me,” he finished with a line that would have been humorous had he not looked so intense.
Stuck with Nikolai? Not exactly a hardship. “I can live with that,” I whispered.
Nikolai gripped the back of my neck and leaned his forehead against his and grinned slightly. “You say that now, but I have a feeling I’m going to drive you crazy, Hannah. I’m going to want to know where you are, who you’re with, what you’re doing all the time. Especially with my dad still out there.” He paused. “Not that things will change all that much when he’s dead. I’ll still be a possessive bastard.” He grinned self-deprecatingly.
I grinned back but felt dizzy and euphoric from the impact of his words. I pulled him in for a kiss, but he quickly took over, reaching down and clutching my ass with his left hand as his right tangled in the hair at the nape of my neck, holding me in place. God, his strength and control turned me on.
I pulled back. “So, this means no more unanswered text, phone calls or whatever?” I asked, still feeling the lingering pain of this morning.
Nikolai’s face grimaced with chagrin. “Hannah, today’s lack of communication was a total fluke. Obviously,” he said as he gestured around us, referencing the situation with his father. “Under normal circumstances, I swear, you won’t have to worry about me not communicating with you, pulling away, or disappearing.” He kissed me sof
tly, then pressed my tightly against his. “Like I said, until my father’s handled, I’m probably going to be a little unbearable.
I laughed lightly, but Nikolai looked dead serious. “Nikolai, I don’t think-”
“No, Hannah, my crazy as fuck father is out there, so until he’s dealt with, I’m going to make sure nothing happens to you. Honestly, I don’t think he’ll last longer than a week considering the whole organization is gunning for him, but until he’s taken care of, I won’t relax.”
I nodded my head and rubbed his back consolingly. “I’m sorry you have to deal with all this, Nikolai, all of this drama with your dad.” I kissed his cheek and hugged him tightly, offering him my support and compassion.
He responded by tightening the hug to nearly rib-cracking intensity. “It’s okay, Hannah, I can think of worse duties than guarding your body,” he whispered hotly in my ear. I wanted to laugh at his corny line, but he was starting kiss the side of my neck, biting lightly in that way that had my breath catching in my throat and my nails digging into his back.
He pulled back, breathing heavily, the blue flame of his eyes boring into me. “Do you still want me to make the fire?” he rasped out.
Jesus, what a metaphor.
“Forget the fire,” I said, pulling him in for another hot kiss. He lifted me, my legs wrapping around his waist while he gripped my bottom.
“Thank fuck,” he gritted out, moving us toward the bed. He set me on the edge, but instead of climbing in with me, he started tugging at clothes, quickly removing my shirt and bra.
I knew we hadn’t fooled around that many times, but I’d never seen Nikolai look so intense and focused. “Are you okay, Nikolai,” I asked in concern.
He paused, his hands gripping the waist band of my already unzipped jeans and jerked his eyes up to mine. He reached his hand up to cradle my face, his thumb rubbing across my bottom lip. “I just need you right now, Hannah. I need this.”
Nikolai (Dangerous Love Series Book 1) Page 25
