“I’m going to put you down on the sofa.” He wasn’t sure why, but he felt the need to keep narrating his actions. “I’m not trying to hurt you, but I need to have a look at your injuries.”
She shivered when he set her down on the worn leather. He pulled a throw off the back of a nearby chair and drew it around her shoulders. The only light came from the fixture above the sink. It wasn’t enough to tell him what he needed to know. Reaching over, he switched on the table lamp.
In the soft white circle of light, he could see she was a mess. Her makeup was smeared, giving her eyes a haunted look. Her hair was a rat’s nest of tangles. She was clutching the blanket to her chest like a shield.
He knelt before the sofa until they were eye to eye. “Open the blanket, Desiree. I need to understand.”
Her shaky hands separated, parting the soft blue chenille until he could see the bruises on her chest. He clenched his jaw tight, trying to remain analytical. Her neckline was torn. What he could see of her bra looked to be in similar condition. The curve of her left breast sported red blotches edged in purple and black.
“My throat hurts.” Her voice was a whisper, as if it hurt to speak.
“Can you tell me what happened?” Gently cupping her chin, he lifted it until he could see the stark purple mark across her windpipe. “Fuck, Desiree, I’m going to call Erik. You need to go to the hospital.”
“No!” She grabbed his hand. “It was my sister’s fiancé. Jackson isn’t supposed to be like this. I can’t just go and make accusations about him. Nobody would ever believe me anyway.”
His mind raced back to the reservations Erik had about his future brother-in-law. From what Nicolai could see, they’d been right on the mark. He didn’t think Erik would have trouble believing her story. “Where were you that he could do this?”
“At a charity auction. I was trying to sneak away from him, and he caught me.”
His gut twisted with the knowledge of what he had to ask next. “Did he rape you?”
Her green eyes brimmed with tears. “No, but I know that’s what he intended. He said things, awful things.”
Nicolai didn’t like feeling this helpless, as if he had no idea what to do for her. “Please let me call your brother.”
“No. I know you don’t want me here, but I didn’t know where else to go. I can’t go home. Not now, not like this. Please don’t call a cab, Nicolai.”
How had something as mundane as calling a cab come to have such a deep meaning between the two of them? He thought of that morning when he’d watched her leave. It felt like a million years ago. “Never think I don’t want you here. I made you leave for your own good.”
“That’s such bullshit.”
Her blunt words shook something loose inside him. She was 100 percent right. She was too good for his world, but she damn sure couldn’t stay in one that seemed so determined to beat her down.
DESIREE KNEW HE was waffling back and forth even though his expression was fixed in what must’ve been a first-rate poker face. She thought of what he’d told her, about saying what she wanted, about deciding for herself, about taking control, and did just that.
She stood, shaky but determined. Reaching underneath her arm, she unzipped her dress and tore it off. The ruined bra was next. She wanted it off, all of it. It was beyond saving anyway, and she’d never liked the thing to begin with. It was hideous, purchased to placate her mother’s sense of chic—the perfect frock for an evening of boring business conversation.
“What are you doing?”
His low voice was flat. She didn’t care. She was a grown woman who knew what she wanted, and she wanted Nicolai. What was left of her stockings hit the floor with her panties. Her barriers gone, she flung herself into his arms.
On his knees in front of the sofa, he braced her weight against his body. “You’re not thinking straight.”
“Wrong again. Things have never been so clear.”
She kissed him hungrily, loving the sounds he made in his throat. He responded instantly. His tongue slid into her mouth. The exquisite sensations sent a thrill directly to her pussy. It grew warm and slippery with arousal.
He broke away from the kiss. “You’re hurt.”
“I’m fine.” The concern on his face made her feel warm and cherished inside. Of all the people in her life who should’ve cared, Nicolai really did. “It could’ve been so much worse.”
He gently cupped the back of her head with his big hand and touched his forehead to hers. “Never again, Desiree. I’m never going to let this happen again.”
“If I can’t take care of myself, I’m no better than any other useless damsel in distress.”
His expression settled into a hard mask that should’ve scared her but didn’t. There was nothing to fear from Nicolai. She had no doubt he could be scary as hell when life required it, but not to her. Never to her.
He gently took her hand in his and lifted it. “Then you need to know how to hurt someone.”
“Hurt them?”
“To defend yourself.” He touched her fingertips to his face. “Eyes first, with your nails. Don’t be afraid to scratch them out if you have to.”
“Here?” He closed his eyes as she gently brushed the petal-soft skin of his eyelids.
“Yes, and the bridge of the nose. If you can hook his nostrils that’s even better.”
She leaned up and kissed the tip of his, moving her lips from there to the corner of his mouth and down to his chin. “Where else?”
“There’s a pressure point in the hollow of the throat. Aiming for the Adam’s apple will get you close enough to do damage.”
On her knees, half straddling his kneeling body, she could feel the hard length of his cock pressed up against her leg. She found the hem of his T-shirt, pulled it over his head, and tossed it aside. “I think I know where you mean.” She skimmed her lips across the hollow of his throat, licking a trail over the hard bone to the softer areas where his neck and shoulder met.
He groaned, cupping her naked ass in his hands and pulling her up against his crotch. “Kidneys. It hurts like hell to get hit in the kidneys.”
Reaching around his muscular body, she dragged her nails lightly down his back until she came to the area under discussion. “Kidneys, got it.”
He captured her hand, twining his fingers with hers. “Always lead with your first two knuckles when you punch. You’ll get a stronger hit and have less chance of breaking your fingers.”
“Show me.”
His big hand swallowed hers, curling her fingers into a fist and brushing gently across her knuckles. “And always aim through your target. You’ll pack more of a punch.”
“Anything else?”
His eyes fluttered open. “There’s always the crotch.”
“Yes, there is that.”
She pushed him onto his back. He hit the area rug with a grunt. She used her fingers to pick open the button on his fly. Unzipping his jeans, she freed his swollen cock. “These jeans and boxers are going to have to go if I’m going to show you just how much I know about a man’s crotch.”
She felt ridiculous, grabbing his boots one at a time in both hands and pulling them off with her bare breasts bobbing about. Wriggling the rest of his clothes off was only possible because he shifted his hips to help her out.
“That is a beautiful sight.”
She shot him a dirty look. “Don’t give me a reason to experiment with the defensive techniques we were discussing.”
“Just take the compliment, Desiree. You’re a gorgeous woman, and I love looking at you.”
Her cheeks grew warm. Hearing those words from him eased the insecurities caused by years spent comparing herself to Selena until nothing else mattered. Of all the bars she could have stumbled into that night, how had she managed to find his?
Even lying naked on his back in the middle of the floor, Nicolai was a stunning sight. She loved the brutal masculinity of his body. Muscles cut and toned by hard use, by life,
and yet hands that could play a beautiful melody or bring her unparalleled pleasure.
“If you don’t quit staring, I’m going to run out of patience.” He reared up on his elbows, showcasing a six-pack of abs that would’ve made most male models jealous.
She cupped his balls in her hands, holding them in a gentle grip. “If memory serves, I think this is the sensitive spot.” Leaning over, she licked their soft contour. His whole body went rigid. “Yep, I think that’s it.”
His pubic hair was short and dark, but there was very little fine hair dusting his sac. She lapped at it again, enjoying the opportunity to challenge his restraint. Muscles tensed. His scent was intriguing, a male fragrance that reminded her strongly of the way his cum tasted on her tongue.
“Fuck, Desiree, I want to be inside you.”
“Not so fast. It’s your turn to wait.”
On her knees beside him, she wrapped her hand around his shaft and suckled the head of his cock. A salty spurt of precum coated her tongue in his essence. She moaned with pleasure, her mouth vibrating against his skin. He jerked reflexively, and she shifted position. Being on her knees beside him gave her much better access to his cock.
“Wild girl, that’s not what I meant by inside you, but it feels damn good.”
She put as much of his cock into her mouth as she could. His head bumped the back of her throat, saliva creating a slick slide against his shaft. He thrust his hips against her as she retreated. Brushing her tongue against his flange, she felt him shudder.
His hands found her hips. Before she could react, he’d pulled her from where she knelt, over his chest until she was straddling him in a sixty-nine position. Her ass was in the air and her slit wide open for his viewing.
“You’ve got the prettiest pussy I’ve ever seen.”
His words made her body clench with desire. She felt exposed and vulnerable but desperate for his touch. Arousal coiled tightly inside her, making her whimper. She scraped her teeth lightly across his shaft, demanding he give her what she needed.
Using his fingers, he spread her cleft. The cool air only made her hotter. At the first brush of his fingertip, she was poised on the edge of orgasm.
“That’s it, sweetheart. Let me see you come.” He touched her again, dipping a finger into her tight opening and drawing a slick trail upward to her clitoris. “You’re so ready I can see it. Your pussy is wet and hot, but it wants something to push inside.” The agonizingly slow penetration of his finger sent her over the edge into orgasm. With her mouth still locked onto his cock, she sucked hard as she came.
“I can’t wait any longer, Desiree. I’m sorry.”
He spun her body until they were face-to-face. The sensation was dizzying. Her nerves were still firing from her climax, and her pussy was demanding more. When she sat up and found herself so close to his swollen shaft, she didn’t have any second guesses as to where she belonged.
Bracing her knees against the rug, she reached down and put the head of his cock against her opening. Their gazes met as she sank down onto his thick erection. The sensation of him filling her was enough to send her spiraling into a second climax. Her muscles clamped down on his shaft, and she rocked her hips to grind their bodies together.
His hands on her hips helped to steady the rhythm. She watched his expression, the muscles in his face growing taut as he grew harder inside her. The tip of his cock brushed the sweet spot deep inside her body even as the root of his shaft pressed against her clit.
She splayed her hands against his chest and used his solid frame as an anchor in the sensual storm. Their combined energy culminated to a point of explosion. Feeling as though she was pushing them both past all reason, she arched her back and rode him hard.
He was about to climax. His expression grew pained, lines drawn tight across his familiar features. She felt the answering chord in her body, the liquid sensation of weightless arousal that narrowed to a sharp focal point of desire.
Nicolai shouted just as she felt his cock erupt inside her body. He pulsed, the shock waves shattering the last barrier between her and completion. She gasped, her nails scoring his chest as she threw her head back and let the orgasm sweep her over the edge.
Chapter Eleven
Nicolai didn’t have to look to know Desiree was nearby. Her scent drifted across the bar, tickling his senses with the promise of passion.
“A girl could start to think bad things when she keeps waking up alone in your bed.”
He shifted on the piano bench to make room, and she sat. She’d opted to wear one of his T-shirts this time. He didn’t know why, but it gave him a feeling of deep satisfaction. The white cotton barely cleared the tops of her thighs, and it was her naked ass cheeks sitting on his bench. Even better.
“I was thinking about earlier tonight.”
He’d seen this coming, but it wasn’t going to make things easier. The words he would choose had never seemed so important.
“When you got me upstairs into your apartment, you wanted to call my brother.”
He played a short riff on the keys. “Yes.”
“You called him by name, Nicolai.” She put her hand on top of his. “How did you know I have a brother named Erik?”
He looked down into her face. She was so beautiful. In the neon glow of the jukebox’s light, she seemed almost unreal. She’d shown him again and again that she was more real and more woman than anyone he’d ever come across. “I’m going to explain everything, but I need to start at the beginning, and you’ve got to promise me you’ll listen until the end.”
A tiny frown marred the skin between her delicate eyebrows. “If this is about the gambling thing, I don’t care.”
“That’s only part of it.” He wondered if she’d be so forgiving when he got to the other side of his story. “My mother’s name was Eleni. She was what they used to call a ‘picture’ bride. She came over from Greece to marry another Greek from the West End. It was all arranged by their parents.”
“So you have a lot of family here in Boston.”
His family resembled a Tilt-a-Whirl, and while he loved them, he also loved the ocean between them. “All my family lives in Greece.”
“Did your parents stay married?”
“Yes, although I was their only child. My parents never really clicked as a couple. When I graduated from high school and joined the navy, they decided to go back to Greece to help out my grandparents. I visit once or twice a year. They seem happier there than they ever were here. My mother was the one who taught me to play the piano.”
“I can’t picture you in the navy. There are too many rules.” She wrinkled her nose, and he couldn’t resist leaning down to kiss the tip of it.
“I couldn’t picture it either. That’s why I resigned my commission and bought the bar.”
“When did you start gambling?” There was no condemnation in her voice, only curiosity.
“I started while I was on ship. There was nothing else to do.”
“Why did you stop?”
“I won this piano not long after I’d bought the bar.” He stroked the keys, playing a simple scale. “I’d started getting serious about a woman named Katie. I gave it to her as an engagement present, and we moved into her place together. She didn’t live too far from here. She’d inherited a house from an aunt and owned it outright.”
“What happened?”
“I’d been winning really big, but I got into a losing streak not long after I won the piano. I kept thinking if I could just get one big win, I’d get out. A club called Asylum was holding a high-stakes poker tournament with a big pot. So I took the deed to her house and put it up.”
Beside him, he could feel the tension in her body. He wondered if she was rethinking the offer of forgiveness.
“When I lost the house, I put up the bar to try and fix things.” He thought back to that night, to the insanity of thinking multiple wrongs could eventually make something right. “Six months before all that, I’d met an idiot rich
kid from Brookline who was trying to kill himself to avoid taking over the family company.”
“Oh. My. God.”
“He came in here and started a fight with the biggest, meanest drunk he could find. I bailed him out and gave him a job. Then when I moved in with Katie, I let him live upstairs. He’d quit school and didn’t have anywhere to go.”
“This is where Erik was all those months when my father was sick?” She got up and began pacing in tiny circles. “It took me forever to find him. I had to trace a dozen bad phone numbers from former college roommates all over the freaking city. How did I never find this place?”
Nicolai wondered what would have happened if he’d met Desiree under any other circumstances. He was inclined to believe there was a perfect moment for everything, even meeting the woman you could love more than life.
“If I could find him right now, I would kill him with my bare hands!” She clenched her fists and closed her eyes.
“Sometimes things happen for a reason, Desiree.” He pitched his voice to soothe, pleased when she sank back down and leaned into his body. “He might not have listened to you at all if he hadn’t just watched me destroy my life with the type of selfish behavior he was showing toward his own family. I lost everything. The home I had with Katie, her love and respect, the bar, and I would have lost my life if your brother hadn’t stepped in and bought my debts.”
“He owned Jack’s?”
“Legally he still does. We’re in the process of changing the ownership back.” Nicolai tried not to think about how Desiree being in his apartment and his bed would affect that eventual outcome.
“You never gambled again?”
“Your brother made me join the twelve-step program. I’ve been clean since that night.”
She was silent for so long Nicolai began to wonder if he’d overloaded her. “Why wouldn’t Katie forgive you?”
“I hurt her in ways I couldn’t fix.” He thought back to the Irish Catholic girl who’d stolen his heart with a few laughs and a brilliant smile. Truthfully, she couldn’t have held a candle to the fiery hellcat sitting next to him. “It’s all been for the best. She’s happily married.”
Boston Avant-Garde: Impetuous Page 9
