Be My Queen (The Crown Duet Book 2)

by Chelsea McDonald

  His lips continued up and down, venturing further and further south of my neck. My shoulder, my collar bone until he reached the neckline of my dress. He pulled back when he couldn’t go any further, his lips taking mine instead. I opened up for him and let his tongue caress mine.

  Nikolai’s hands slid down my arms and wrapped themselves around my waist. Mine inched up and wound themselves around his neck.

  I’d forgotten how intensely mind-blowing his kisses were, the feel of his body under my hands felt rigid like a coil. He was intoxicating, the fumes clouding my mind and judgement as his hands slipped under my dress and grabbed my ass. With one smooth move, I was off the ground, my legs hooked around his hips.

  I could feel his desire through his jeans as his hips rocked into mine. Literally stuck between a rock and a hard place, my hips rolled to match his rhythm. Stroke for stroke.

  “Nikolai,” I breathed as his lips once again wandered down to my chest. I was lost in a sea of lust, not caring that we were in the middle of a dark alley. Not bothered by the fact that we could get caught at any second, maybe the thought excited me even more because before I knew what I was doing my hands were reaching for the button of his jeans.

  Being shocked by Anastasia was not uncommon for me. But as her delicate fingers reached for the front of my jeans, I froze. My body didn’t want to stop, my mind didn’t want to question it but I had to. One of us had to make sure she was thinking clearly.

  Was she serious?

  Here?

  Now?

  “We could go…” I resume my assault on her chest, pulling down the material of her dress and her bra even as I say the words. I meant them but I prayed that she wouldn’t take me up on the offer. But if she did, she needed to do it quickly. I was so close to not being able to turn back.

  Peppering kisses around her breast, my tongue caressed her nipple before capturing it with my mouth. Anastasia moaned as I lavished her chest, with a light scrape of my teeth I released it with a pop. I took a second to soothe it with my tongue before moving to her other breast, making sure to give it the same attention.

  Her hand dipped into my boxer briefs and wrapped around my cock, pulling it out and rubbing the tip against her clit.

  I pulled back to rake my eyes over her. Under the limited glow of the streetlight, I saw the fiery desire dancing in her eyes. Even in the darkness, I could feel her need, radiating off her like a heat coming at me in waves. I felt it in every fiber of my being.

  Anastasia continued to slide my cock through her slick folds. Taking control, I grabbed her hand and released it from duty. I took hold of myself and positioned myself at her entrance. Her pussy was dripping with need. A need for me, a desire that only I could sate in her. One hard thrust and I couldn’t move. I held myself inside of her, afraid to move too quickly and blow my load. If I wasn’t careful this could’ve been over a lot sooner than I wanted.

  Her walls gripped me tight, only making it that much harder for me to control myself. I buried my head in her neck and began kissing a path as I slowly withdrew.

  Hands gripped my shoulders as Ana held steady. I slammed into her again, this time beginning a continuous rhythm.

  Slow and steady.

  I squeezed her ass in my palm as my other hand moved to steady myself on the wall behind her. Her head fell back to rest beside my hand. “Fuck.” I breathed as her walls squeezed around me.

  “Feels so good,” Ana moaned as her nails dug into my shoulders. Her voice turned me to fucking granite as I hammered into her, the sting of her nails only spurring me on. Thrusting in and out of her, I couldn’t control myself.

  “So.” Thrust. “Fucking” Thrust. “Good.” Thrust.

  In the cool night air, I felt a bead of sweat roll down my temple. Her body heat and mine mixed to the point it could be mistaken for a sauna.

  “Open your eyes. I want you to look at me.” I didn’t need to tell her twice. Her eyelids flickered, opening to show me her gorgeous blue eyes. I wanted her to look at me, watch me. Watch who was making her body feel this pleasure. I needed the satisfaction of knowing that tonight when she crawled into bed, my face would be the one she saw.

  “I’m close, I need you there with me baby.” My breath hit the skin on her breast before I stole her nipple into my mouth. She squeaked in response, moaning as the walls of her pussy clamped down around me. Her orgasm hit suddenly, her body convulsing around me, tipping me over the edge as I chased my own ecstasy.

  We rode the wave together, groaning at the feel of her weight in my arms. She moaned my name and I groaned as my release filled her.

  As I finally caught my breath, her pussy quaked once more. I waited a minute as Ana caught up. I watched, like a predator as her heavy breathing lifted her chest, taunting me with its rosy peaks. Slowly I pulled out and tucked myself back into my jeans. I hated the feeling of that lost connection immediately. I fixed her panties back into place and pulled her bra and top up to cover herself.

  A small smile graced her lips as she gazed at me. The look of pure happiness on her face had me returning her smile. Arms still wrapped around her, I kissed her with all my might. With this one kiss, I wanted to convey all the emotion she stirred up in me. The love, anger, jealousy, lust - everything. “I love you,” I whispered against her lips.

  “I love you too. I promise I’ll come home to you.”

  “You know I’m only here to look out for you, right?”

  “I know. It’s what you do. You’re my protector, and I’d be lost without you, Nikolai.”

  I held her in my arms a few minutes longer, not wanting the moment to end. Because when it did, I knew I’d have to let her go and continue down whatever path she was on. This was an unexpected detour but unfortunately, it didn’t change her direction.

  When I dragged Anastasia off the street, this wasn’t what I’d been expecting. Mainly I just wanted to talk to her about the fucking date she’d just been on.

  Oh shit. She’d just been on a date with her arranged fiancé. I felt smug, I would’ve loved to laugh in his preppy face. She was my little minx.

  I’d forgotten that Anastasia didn’t know that I was still in the city. Oh well, I supposed my cover was definitely blown. And it was a good job I stayed too. A knock out like her walking the streets late at night, that was just asking for trouble. She was just lucky I found her first.

  “Please. No more walking around late at night by yourself.”

  “Nikolai, you worry too much. Besides, I doubt there’s anyone scarier than you roaming these streets.” Her smirk is the devil’s kiss. Like I said, she was my little minx. “And now that I know you’re following me; I have no motivation to listen to a word you say.”

  I growled in response, dropping her legs and eliminating any space between us. My lips took hers and dominated them. The disobedient glimmer in her eye had my erection coming back with a striking fury. The thought of punishing that smart mouth of hers was all that was needed to rev my engine.

  Ana laughed as she pushed at my chest. “I have to go. Rachel and Kaleb are going to wonder where I am.”

  “At the least let me give you a ride.” I didn’t wait for her refusal and instead walked to my truck parked across the street pulling her along behind me. I opened the passenger door and watched as she climbed in, clutching her skirt in her hand. She caught me checking out her ass and scowled playfully. I winked in response before rounding the hood and jumping in behind the wheel.

  I pumped the gas and took off towards the Varela house. I drove as slowly as I could without making it obvious. I didn’t want to let her go. Unfortunately, we weren’t far and it only took minutes before we were turning onto their street.

  Pulling over a few blocks down, I basked in the knowledge that at least Ana was safe here. She was a smart woman; I was sure that whatever she had up her sleeves she’d be able to take care of herself. And if not, she knew where I was.

  “I still have my phone; I’ll turn it back on. I promise to
call you if I need you but you need to back off. Please, go get some rest tonight.” Anastasia’s hand stroked my cheek. It was a tender moment, one that made my heart ache.

  I nodded, “Okay.” She pressed a soft kiss to my lips, a goodbye pushing open the door and walking away. I watched her go until she disappeared past her family's gated driveaway. Starting the truck, I drove by slowly to make sure she made it inside before driving off. I felt somewhat better knowing that she would reboot her phone. If she needed me, she would call. And I’d be here for her.

  But for tonight I’d shower, shave and rest peacefully.

  Thinking of you x - A

  Good morning Minx ;) x - N

  “Are you ready to head out?” Kaleb asked as he reentered the room. I suddenly had no desire to shadow him for the day. And this was exactly the issue with Nikolai being around — because I knew he was close by he was all I could think about. This was yet another reason, I didn’t leave a note when I left his house that morning. You leave any crumbs and a man will sniff them out.

  When he’s around, he clouds my mind. How the hell am I supposed to get the job done if he’s all I can think about. Suddenly I feel like a high school girl texting the boy her parents have forbidden her from seeing. And after the other night, I was more than ready to climb out the bedroom window to get to him.

  He was my drug, my addiction and I needed another hit.

  “Yeah.” I sprang up and followed him out the door. I clutched my phone in my hand as I shrugged my jacket on.

  We hopped in the car and I vowed to pay attention from there on out. I knew I would have plenty of time to talk to Nikolai later that night. But I only had so much time shadowing my dad and I needed to be present, I needed to focus.

  This was the important stuff, part of the reason I was there. It was even possible that I got some of the answers I’d been hoping for, so I needed to keep a sharp eye.

  “First up, we have a meeting with Cassio and Marco. Just like you, Marco is shadowing Cassio - but of course, he’s been doing that for years. After that, I’ve got some paperwork at the office that I need to go through. Then we have a few hotspots to check on, routine stuff which we can do on the way home.”

  Well, shit.

  He signaled and turned onto the main street. I stayed silent as he continued talking but a thrill went through me at discovering we’d be meeting with Cassio and Marco. The closer I could get to them the better, and I supposed it was also the most dangerous place to be. For me, anyway.

  When a member of the Bellucci puts out an order to kidnap a child, it’d be ludicrous to assume that they wouldn’t do the same for an adult. I knew when I came here that the person that took me away could very well try to do it again, or I could’ve been worrying for nothing. With so much time having passed, maybe they’d died, maybe they’d moved on. They could possibly not care about my return at all.

  Instead of thinking it through, I’d known that I didn’t have a choice. I had to be here, I had to find out who put the target on my head. If it came to it, I would have to find a way to silence them. I would not risk losing Nikolai, or any of his brothers, because someone was after me. Nor would I spend the rest of my life looking over my shoulder.

  But I needed to know who it was. And then I would decide how I would destroy them.

  If curiosity killed the cat, I could understand why the cat didn’t back down. The need for answers consumed me.

  I was delightfully surprised when Kaleb pulled into a parking spot on the main street, right outside of a classic Italian cafe. My stomach churned as I thought of food. Lunchtime was rapidly approaching and my body was all too aware of that. I tried not to get my hopes up as we climbed out of the car after all a lunch break was not mentioned on Kaleb’s itinerary.

  As we approached the cafe, Kaleb handed me his day planner and a smart black notebook. “I want you to take notes today,” he said curtly. “We’re not here to eat, we have a meeting.”

  Kaleb headed into the cafe first, holding the door open for me to step inside. He walked directly to a small table where Cassio and Marco sat.

  Both men stood as we approached and the four of us exchanged pleasantries. Marco even leant over to kiss my cheek. I was surprised but didn’t back away. I’m sure it was just for show but again I wondered if he was actually buying the bullshit that I had been selling. Who knew maybe deep down he did have a sweet side.

  As the thought entered my mind, Marco smirked and threw a wink my way. Nope, first impression was right, and it made me want to get the hand sanitizer out. He finally moved away, back to his seat but his expensive cologne lingered in the air as he sat back down.

  On the table, there was a pitcher of ice water and two baskets of bread. Cassio’s glass was nearly empty, so I took the chance to top up all our glasses. I sipped at the water for a second as Kaleb joked with Cassio over something I couldn’t decipher. I felt my stomach rumble as I looked longingly to the bread. I clasped my hands tightly together in my lap to keep from reaching out for a slice.

  “Thank you dear,” Kaleb said, finally noticing the glass of water in front of him.

  He looked pointedly at the notebook that rested on the table in front of me, I took that as a hint that the ‘meeting’ was about to begin. As they talked about shipping charges and moving their cargo, I took notes. There were a few things that I’d picked up on while shadowing Kaleb and Rachel that I managed to link to what they were saying, but most of it just went in one ear and straight onto the paper. Across from me, Marco mirrored my image, pen in hand taking leisurely notes in a neat but blocky print.

  I still couldn’t understand what taking notes about shipping and suppliers was going to teach me. Most of what they said was common sense anyway, it wasn’t like being a criminal was hard.

  I looked over the table at Cassio as he clicked his fingers at Marco. His son produced a large envelope. Cassio slid the cream colored envelope across the table to Kaleb and I stole a glimpse at the writing on the front. The exact same writing as the elegant cursive on the front of the envelope I had received.

  Fuck!

  I resisted making any sudden movements. Everything inside of me screamed at me to run, fight, yell — do something! My hands began to shake as my heart raced in my chest. I swallowed the bile that rose in my throat, took a sip of water and swallowed once again.

  I knew it. I knew it. I knew it.

  Damn it. I had been right all along.

  No one seemed to have noticed my visceral internal reaction, thankfully. I picked up a piece of bread and nibbled on the crust before my stomach rolled and I put it down on my side plate. I went back to the water; it was safer that way.

  An agonising half-hour later, the meeting was done and my note-taking duties were relieved. The rest of the day following Kaleb seemed to pass in a blur as thoughts and theories whirled around in my head. I had to find out more.

  After a long day, I headed to bed without dinner. My stomach churned with nerves, so I forwent showering and instead, curled up on the bed hugging a pillow to my chest. I’d felt sick since seeing Cassio’s handwriting — since realizing that my supposed future father-in-law had a hand in my kidnapping.

  Hell, from the looks of it, he had been the one to order the kidnapping. My mind spun...

  Reaching out to the nightstand I grabbed my phone as it buzzed. The bright light blinded me as it illuminated the dark room. I read the clock; it was nearly midnight. I must have fallen asleep, still in my clothes, laying on top of the bedsheets. I groaned as I pulled myself up. I needed the bathroom anyway, I supposed I may as well change my clothes while I was awake.

  Firstly, unlocking my phone I spied what brought me out of my slumber in the first place, a dozen text messages and half a dozen phone calls. All of which were from Nikolai.

  I groaned once again. It was too late for me to deal with him, so I placed my phone back on the bedside table and made my way into the ensuite.

  I’d been watching the house most
of the afternoon. Nothing out of the ordinary. Very few glimpses of Ana, or anyone else for that matter. As dusk fell, I took another look up and down the street. Most of the cars had come and gone at least once. But there was one car that hadn’t moved. As the truck in front of it pulled away, I saw that there was a guy sitting in the driver’s seat.

  What the hell?

  Were they watching the Varela house too?

  I looked between them and the house and then craned my neck to get a look at the reg. The sight of the numbers made me curse to myself. There was no mistaking that it was the same car I’d seen hanging around before.

  They definitely hadn’t noticed me — if they had, they’d surely have moved by now. Either moved on and tried again later or at the very least tried to use another car. Trying to get a closer look I pulled out the binoculars from the glovebox. Ironic that I got the idea from them the other night.

  Dammit. I still wasn’t able to get a good look at their face, the position of the car kept their faces from getting any light.

  I climbed out of my truck, closing the driver’s door quietly behind me. I strode down the sidewalk, towards the car. As I crossed the road toward the driver’s door, I saw the guy had his head down and was looking at a book or a map, or something in the passenger seat.

  I stopped short at the driver’s side door and yanked it open.

  “What the hell?” I stopped short… that growl was familiar — too familiar. The man whirled towards me, suddenly all fight.

  “Finch? What the fuck are you doing here?!” I demanded as I dragged him out of the car and onto his feet.

  The snarl on his face turned into a grimace as he realised who I was. He struggled to get away, but that there wasn’t any easy escape route. If he wanted to walk away without a scratch tonight then he’d have to go through me. I cut him a hard glare when he chose to stay silent, “talk.”