Russo Saga Collection

by Nicolina Martin

  I scream with every stroke and twitch trying to get loose, but he’s got me in a steel grip. Crying freely, I finally succumb to the nightmare until I remember the fucking safeword. I draw a deep breath to yell it when he stops.

  My sobs and his labored breaths are the only noises heard in the room. Everything else is almost eerily still. I jolt as I feel his lips on my searing skin. I feel flayed. He kisses me everywhere, on every stinging patch of skin.

  “Come, Anna.”

  He lets me loose and scoops me up in his embrace, cradling me to his chest. I clutch his neck, clinging on for dear life, feeling raw, new. I can’t remember anything before this moment, and in a short, confused minute I can’t even remember my name. I bury my face in his shirt, inhaling his rich scent of sandalwood and pine. The scent I fell for early on in our shared involuntary prison. He makes me feel safe. Loved. I don’t know how he does it. It’s a miracle.

  “What do you feel? You may speak from now on.”

  “Skinless,” I breathe.

  Eric laughs. “Anything else?”

  “It’s been a long time since I was so focused on anything. Nothing else mattered. I don’t think I’ve ever been so in the moment before.”

  “You’re a natural, honey.”

  “Natural what?”

  “Submissive. Masochist.”

  “No. I’ll never be your slave!”

  He strokes my cheek and I close my eyes, reveling in his touch. “No, you won’t. You’ll always be my equal. Except when I take you to bed, then you’re mine. Fully and completely.”

  I hold my breath as I squirm. His words reawaken a heat in me that he needs to do something about. Now.

  “Then fucking take me,” I say and grind my sore butt against his rock-hard bulge. “Show me what you’re talking about.”

  Eric

  I gasp as she pushes against me, so willing, so needy. I’ve been so awed that she never said the word, that she didn’t stop me. I saw it happen, how she lost herself and disappeared into a trance, and I knew I’d finally found what I was looking for, that feeling of fulfillment I’ve lacked my whole life.

  “On your knees, Anna. Take out my cock.”

  Her eyes are wide, and nearly black as she shuffles out of my lap and kneels on the floor between my legs. Her little hands and her deft fingers make short work of the belt, button and zipper, then she slowly slides her palm over my cock, one annoying piece of fabric still there.

  “Now,” I almost growl.

  She smiles. She fucking smiles. Don’t I scare her at all anymore? But my heart jolts at the beautiful sight of a happy and content Anna. I hope I get to see that a lot more.

  When she pulls down my briefs and frees my cock, her dark eyes meet mine, mischief written all over her face.

  “Take me in your mouth.”

  She wraps her hand around the base and squeezes lightly, moving up and down. “I’m not good at this,” she whispers.

  My belly clenches and I buck up to meet her touch. “It doesn’t matter what you do,” I grunt, “it’ll be fucking perfect.”

  Her gaze never leaves mine as her pink tongue darts out and licks around the head. I clench my fists to remain where I am and let her stay in control. Her eyes blaze and then she wraps her full lips around my cock and slides down on it. Tears well up in her eyes and she coughs and laughs.

  I grab her shoulders and pull her up as I reach for a condom. “Come here, baby. Sit on me. Touch yourself. Are you still wet?”

  Her eyes glaze over as she slides a hand between her legs.

  “Yes,” she breathes.

  “Ah-ah. You were just allowed to check. No rubbing.” I sheath myself and offer my rock-hard length to her, as a treasure for her to take. Hers, and hers alone.

  She giggles and scrambles to straddle me. I grab her hips, guiding her, positioning her over my throbbing cock. I ache to take her, to feel her tight pussy grip me. I tremble, breathless as I rest against her soaked core. So close, but not there. Our eyes are locked as she slowly sinks down on me, painfully slowly. She’s such a tease, and I’ll turn that table on her in a moment. She won’t even know what struck her.

  “Oh my God, you’re so big,” she gasps.

  “Babe,” I growl, “you’re a breath away from me spanking you again. Stop with the fucking teasing!”

  Anna sticks her tongue out at me and rocks a little up and down. I wrap my arms around her and catch her mouth as I slam her down on me. She squeals, but I steal her breath, devouring her as I thrust in her. She’s so light, and she’s got nothing on me. Her breaths get erratic, shallow, her whole body tenses. I push a hand between us, finding her swollen clit, making her cry out.

  “It’s good, Eric!”

  “It’s the whole fucking point, babe,” I growl, my thrusting getting more vicious. I usually last a hell of a lot longer, but my every cell screams for a release.

  I circle her clit, my other hand grabbing her butt, hard, making her squeal. I smack her. “Come for me, Anna.”

  Her cheeks get flushed and she closes her eyes, her whole face scrunching up.

  “Look at me,” I whisper.

  Her big brown eyes fly open and there’s no sadness there whatsoever. I smack her again. She squeals and then her whole body tenses, her thighs trembling.

  “Oh my God, Eric!”

  She clutches my shoulders, clawing me, her mouth falling open. Her moans as she comes on my thrusting cock are the sexiest sounds I’ve ever heard, and they tip me over the edge. My release comes rolling like a fucking avalanche, pulsing inside her, setting off a renewed wave of convulsions in her. With a shudder, she falls against me, burying her face against my shoulder.

  “I think I’m dying,” she whispers.

  I laugh. “Why?”

  “Because nothing in this life can feel so good.”

  “Let me prove you wrong, then. Again, and again.”

  She looks up at me, and again I’m floored by the beauty in my arms. “Okay. I’ll hold you to it.”

  I grin. “How’s the butt?”

  She stirs. “My butt is safeworded for a month!”

  “Yeah? I’ll give you three days, then you’ll come begging.”

  Anna scoffs, and I catch her cocky little mouth with mine, pulling her close for one last deep kiss.

  “You ready to go then?”

  Dressed again, she turns and heads to the bedroom, coming back out with a bag. I grab it and sling the strap over my shoulder. Anna stands absolutely still, only her eyes move as she takes in her home. She’s leaving a lot. I intend to make it up to her.

  “Let’s go,” she says and tilts her head toward the door.

  “I never really thought—” I swallow hard, unsure how to continue.

  I never really thought she’d come with me. Not after all that was said and done. I reach for her cheek and stroke the smooth, warm skin. She closes her eyes and lets me. I’m awed again, by her trust in me. Stroking a few strands of hair away from her face, tucking them behind her ear, I then follow her jawline before I let my arm drop.

  “You don’t look particularly happy, Anna.”

  “I have no idea what I’m doing,” she says and steps into her shoes. “Oh, wait!” She pulls a note out of her jeans pocket and puts it on the little table in the hallway.

  I don’t have to read it to know what it says. She’ll be back, though. She more or less thinks I’m kidnapping her, and still she follows me.

  “You can just call him, hon. He knows enough.”

  Anna spins on her heels. “Yeah?”

  “Come on. Let’s hit the road. Call your dad when we get home.” I smile and start toward the door, but stop again and turn, meeting her curious gaze. “I have no idea what I’m doing either, but let’s find out together.”

  Chapter 31

  Anna

  Life is now. It’s here and now with a clarity I have never felt before.

  I sit frozen next to Eric, cradling my chest, as if protecting myself from me
, him, the madness that has become my existence. I tingle inside, my body purring after the sex we had, after the orgasm, and the feeling of being so close and still something aches. I don’t know whether it’s sorrow for what I’m leaving behind, or if it’s a raving, crazy joy that wants to burst out of my heart like a wild horse finally let free after having been caged her whole existence.

  We’re heading north. To his home. To San Francisco. To my new life. Mile after mile passes by. Eric drives fast on the dark deserted road, but I feel safe as his passenger. I’m sure he handles a car as well as he handles me, handled the hours in the elevator, his murdering. He seems to be like that. Able. I swallow hard and stare at the white lines in the middle of the road that rapidly disappear behind us. They mark the distance passed, but also the time, and the change in my life.

  What am I doing? My God!

  I sense his sideways glances, still I flinch when he speaks for the first time since we went on our way. “You all right?” His voice is soft, barely audible over the discreet humming from the engine.

  I swallow, nod and force a grin on my strained face. “Yeah.” It comes out as a ghostly gasp.

  He turns his head toward me and gives me a brief smile before he looks back at the road. “It’ll be all right, you know. You’ll be all right.”

  I don’t know. He knows for some reason. Doesn’t he always?

  “Are you afraid, Anna? Of me?”

  “No,” I say quickly. A little too quickly. I mean to say more, to explain myself, but he continues before I can collect my jumbled thoughts.

  “Look. We don’t know each other, sweetheart. You barely know anything about me except that I can be frighteningly prone to violence when needed, and that I can be very comfy in a cold, narrow space.”

  He turns and regards me. Then he smiles, and his teeth are white and his eyes light up, for a brief moment electrically green in the headlights from an oncoming car.

  “Come on, you’re safer with me than you’d be with any man you didn’t know and who chatted you up in a random bar. Safer than you’d be walking down the street in broad daylight in any larger city. You know this. I won’t say it again because I find repeating myself means I’m speaking to someone who’s either mentally incapacitated, or dead. I’ll never lay a hand on you. Not without your consent. We clear on that?”

  I nod and am rewarded with that smile again. “Agreed.”

  “Good. Hey, we might argue, okay? Yell, slam doors, throw plates. But don’t ever, fucking ever, be afraid of me again.” His hand seeks mine and squeezes it. It feels right, and I want to keep holding on to this stranger that I still know so well. He glances at me and then down at our hands when I don’t let go. Then he looks back to the road and entwines his warm strong fingers with my clammy trembling ones.

  “You gotta give me that consent, though. You know that, right?” He tightens his hand around mine.

  My heart beats harder at his not so subtle hint.

  “Will you protect me, Eric? Can I trust you?”

  He lifts my hand to his mouth and puts his lips to the tips of my fingers. A jolt shoots through me.

  “Always, Anna.”

  I smile and lean my head against the cold window, glancing up at the dark, velvety canopy above us. It’s there, always. It doesn’t care about petty humans. We are so insignificant in the vastness, and the miracle that is the universe. What does it matter what we do with our short lives? Why would we tie ourselves down and settle? Take the easy way? Why do we work, live, and die with what we have right around us when we can burst free, burn our bridges, and turn these meager years into more? Much, much more!

  I look back at him as the car slows down and then comes to a full stop by the side of the road. Eric turns off the ignition, and we are thrown into darkness. I see almost nothing but the silhouette of him. We are both silent. I inhale to ask why we’ve stopped when he speaks.

  “Anna—” He hesitates and then exhales. “I don’t know what I’m doing. I actually don’t. This is new to me. I’ve never felt so close to anyone before in my life. I’ve never let anyone in. The thought of losing you when I had just found you nearly killed me. I thought you died and… All I saw before me was your pale face, and all that blood. The last look you gave me you didn’t look scared, you looked remorseful. It hit me here. Hard.” He puts his palm to his chest.

  I catch his hand in mine. It’s not pitch black in the car. Not like in the elevator. We have the stars to give us some light and I see his eyes as dark pools, intent on mine, searching, gauging. I realize he’s afraid. He’s afraid of what I’m going to say. He’s laid his heart on his sleeve and it’s my turn. I can be cruel, or I can be tender. I pull his hand up to cup my cheek, holding it there, mine covering his.

  “I couldn’t not come with you,” I say. I lean into his touch as he strokes my cheek with his thumb. “My life… it wasn’t bad. But it wasn’t good either. When I met you, I felt something again. Not only good feelings, to be honest.”

  He laughs, and it makes me smile.

  “No. You made me so angry. Afraid and angry. Sad. Safe. Warm. You gave me hope when there was none to be had.”

  Eric leans closer. “Anna, I have to ask. Do you accept what I do?”

  The reminder stings. I know I’m pushing it away. I don’t know how to handle that. Maybe I live in a girly dream that he will stop his evil deeds because he met me?

  I shake my head. “No. No, Eric. I don’t.”

  He leans away from me and sighs. I feel his hand go limp against my cheek and I grip it tighter.

  “Eric, it doesn’t mean I don’t accept you. You’re here.” I put my palm over my heart. “I’m not going anywhere. The rest… No, I don’t accept it. I’m not the Bonnie to your Clyde.”

  He barks out a sudden laugh. “Come here.” His hand on my cheek slides to the back of my neck and he pulls me to him. His lips meet mine, and everything comes rushing back. Every memory of us together. Good and bad. It’s all there, and it’s beautiful. I cling hard to him, sneak my arms around his waist and pull him closer, devouring him. After a while we still, our breaths labored. Nose to nose, forehead to forehead, we revel in the now. Then he straightens up and starts the car.

  We sit in silence again, but this time it’s a good silence. Pleasant.

  He’s turned my life upside down. Pulled down every barrier I ever built. Shown me who I can be. Planted a seed inside my soul, a need for change, a need for something new, a lust for life. But is life with him… life? Will this fervent human being next to me ignite me? Or will he eventually burn me to ashes?

  I pull my hand out of his, hesitate a moment, then I caress his naked forearm up to where the rolled-up sleeve hides the warm skin and wiry muscle. His warmth radiates up through my fingers, tingling along my arm and into my chest. His skin on mine makes me happy and I push all thoughts away, all the worries. I caress his arm back down to his hand. Stroking the coarse little hairs, hair I know is dark-blond with a tint of red in it, I remember counting his freckles. I remember wanting to protect him when he was sleeping, wanting to watch over him, because ruthless hitman Eric Reed looked so vulnerable in that moment. He has that same look tonight, and my heart almost bursts with gratefulness at this chance I was never supposed to have. Maybe there is a miracle to life after all?

  No matter what lies ahead, we’ll have each other. We’ll find a way to navigate our differences. What we have is unique. It’s ours. I think it was always meant to be.

  He takes my hand again and then we sit there, calmly, friendly, peacefully. I exhale and sink deeper into my seat, a sense of contentment settling in my pained soul. I think it’s happiness. My version of happiness.

  I haven’t felt that in a very long time.

  Epilogue

  Anna

  “I’m nervous, Eric.”

  “Don’t worry, honey. He’s got a mean bark.” Eric frowns. “Actually, he’s got a mean fucking bite too. But you’re with me. You’ll be fine.”


  “No. For real. I can’t breathe.”

  He turns to me and cups my cheeks. “You look absolutely brilliant. Everybody is curious about you. I won’t leave you alone for a minute. You’ll be fine.”

  “Everybody? Who’s everybody?”

  “There’ll be some guests. Figured it was better. He’ll be less focused on us.” He gives me a quick kiss on the nose. “Come on. He doesn’t like it if we’re late.”

  I trail behind my man, my hitman, my monster and my lover. Eric Reed. I’ve decided to follow him to the end of the world if necessary, but now it feels as if I’m following him to the gates of Hell.

  The Salvatore residence.

  I pepper him with questions and have a terrible feeling he’s avoiding some of them.

  “Will Christian be there?”

  “Yeah.”

  “Nathan?”

  “Oh yes.”

  “Who else? Will there be guns? I don’t like guns. They make me really nervous.” I put a hand over my chest, over the scar.

  “There’ll be no guns, hon. It’s just a dinner party with a… special host.”

  “You’re not making me less nervous, saying that.”

  He strokes my cheek. “I just don’t want to lie. He’s a slick bastard, a buffoon, but I’ll keep you by my side the whole time. You’ll be safe.”

  “Safe?” My voice rises a pitch. “Won’t I be safe otherwise? Will there be like a house full of hitmen? Are you sure I’m not on anyone’s list anymore? What if someone missed the memo?”

  Eric laughs. “You’ll see for yourself soon enough.”

  My belly clenches as we pull into a thriving neighborhood in the hills, the houses turning into mansions, the walls surrounding them higher, more intimidating. I shrink back into my seat, feeling as if my chest is filled with angry wasps.