Madness (Revenge Series Book 3) (10 page)

I can’t control myself as I absorb his judgment. Stupid is a word I loathe, so much so I have been known to fight.

He gets off the bed and turns his back to me. As he’s removing his suit jacket and tie, I attack. Like the snake he is, I strike, kicking him with brute force in the side. Nikolai winces and snaps around with great velocity. I duck from his hand, climb off the bed, and stand on the balls of my feet, jerking my leg up, wanting to slam it into his side again, but he’s too quick.

Nikolai bats my leg away with his left hand then simultaneously grabs my neck with his right. He digs his fingers into my neck as he pushes me back against the wall.

I ball up my fist and plow it in his gut, yet it does nothing. His midsection is clenched and as hard as stone.

My head collides with the wall, my spine aches, and my newly healed ribs hurt as I am jarred from the blow. The immense pressure on my neck is making my breathing grow fainter and fainter.

I weaken, conceding under his menacing stare, knowing I don’t have the breath to keep going.

“Don’t,” he seethes in his deep baritone voice.

That’s all it takes for the fighter in me to spark to life again.

As he lessens his grip, I bring my balled fist up and slam it into his kidney. Caught off guard, Nikolai hunches over, releasing a deep, annoyed groan from his lips. He still has my neck in a vice-like grip, but I keep my inner strength up before he pulls me forward and straight into his taut body. Unwillingly, my inner core ignites.

“You just couldn’t help yourself, could ya?” His breath is hot and minty, as it always is. And his cologne tangles with his manly sweat as he pulls me closer. “I saved your life tonight, Josslyn.”

“Don’t do me any favors, asshole.” My voice mirrors his—quiet and laced with evil.

He walks forward. I pedal back. He pushes me again with force into the wall, keeping his grip around my neck. I want to knee him in the groin and beat the ever-loving shit out of him, but I know I can’t. After all, married with my feelings to annihilate him are the deep-seated feelings of ravaging him.

In this moment, I have to make a judgment call. I could toy with my life more and fight my way free, or I could tap into the pent-up sexuality awakening inside of me.

I decide on the latter and lift my arms. His grip remains firm, unknowing what my next move is. Then I jerk my hands back, ripping his shirt open. As the buttons fly through the air, his face is frozen, his assassin mask still firmly in place.

I rake my fingernails down is taut abdomen and see his eyes transform with a wicked light. The heat boils under my skin, my core lighting up with a fiery heat.

The scratches irritate his skin, leaving red, angry marks amongst his black ink. I latch my fingers onto his belt and violently jerk it open then whip it from the loops.

I can’t control my urges any longer. I need him inside me. I need this emotion to dissolve before I do something stupid, like try to kill him.

There is no doubt. Something is brewing from deep within. It’s dark and unrelenting as it comes alive inside of me. The battle is maddening. What
it
is exactly remains unknown. It teeters on the edge between death and desire for the killer who stands in front of me. It pursues me as I wait for it to consume me or destroy me for good.

His jaw is still razor sharp and clenched in a tight lock, yet his eyes flash with the struggle between what he should do and what he wants to do.

The mask is removed as his icy irises transform into a blue heat.

He wants me. He wants this. But the question is, will he succumb to it?

I’m starting to work at the button on his pants when Nikolai strikes without warning.

I am flipped around, my back against his chest. I can feel his arousal pressing into my backside. The aura of lust is dripping around us, just as it was when he slammed me into the hood of his car and ripped my world to shreds.

His grip still tight around my neck, he trails his other hand along my side, inching it down until I can feel the heat from his fingers on the outside of my thigh. I hold my breath, reveling in his touch.

Nikolai leans down, his mouth next to my ear. He expels a breath, and it prickles against my skin, making me quiver. He sucks on my earlobe then pinches it between his teeth, and unrelenting desire escapes between my lips while my insides become lava-hot. His fingers leave warm sensations as they dance their way under my T-shirt and along the hem of my panties. The fine lace is shredded the moment Nikolai yanks his arm back, ripping them from me.

I can hardly stand. The anticipation is too great.

Nikolai jerks me back around, our eyes locking in a dangerous stare down. We are on that very delicate ledge. He wants me, and I want him, but he is still debating if that is something he will pursue.

From the moment my hunt for him began a month ago, something arose within, and now it is impossible to keep it subdued. Even more strangely now is that I don’t want to. I want to keep the newly acquired life of ours breathing with every move we make.

Nikolai, on the other hand, has lived a life of rules and codes his entire existence, and fucking the woman who is supposed to help you on your mission is probably breaking several of them.

He doesn’t release my throat as he pins my back against the wall again. I look deeply at him, narrowing my eyes and slicing him up with every second that passes. I run my hand down his waist again then jerk the button open on his pants, and they fall to the floor. Then I plunge my hand deep inside his boxers and wrap my hand around his hardened body.

Nikolai sucks in a breath, trying like hell to keep his face stoic. However, I can feel the will unraveling as I glide my hand down to the base of his erection then back to the tip. I twist my wrist slightly while I slowly run my closed palm down and back up. Down and back up.

The darkness in his blue irises ignites and liquefies into a deadly heat. They are glazed over with an aching hunger, filled with a lascivious need. With each stroke down his shaft, I am slowly chipping away the wall he barricades himself behind. I’m breaking the rules he strives to follow as I work him.

The grip around my neck loosens, and his fingers find their way up, clenching my jaw. He leans in and, for a second, hesitates. He tips his head closer then hesitates again.

It feels like an eternity before Nikolai slams his lips against mine and devours me. I can hardly breathe as the kiss deepens and my need increases. My hand slows to a stop as he consumes my mouth, conducting a wicked dance of our tongues. I can’t break free. I don’t want to.

I pull my hands from his boxers and seize his face, palming his cheeks between my hands. I keep my grip tight and his lips attached to mine.

Nikolai yanks my leg up on his hip as he brings his other hand between our bodies. He thrusts his fingers into me, and my breath vanishes. The steadiness of each movement sends tingles rippling throughout my core. I clench my muscles, close to the brink of my desire.

He expertly works his fingers in and out of me, and as the heat builds, my knees weaken. My lips are still attached to his, but my breaths are rapid and lost in the tango with Nikolai. One second more and I will be plummeting down into the fiery pits of my orgasm.

When he detaches from my body, my head is swimming. My sight is fuzzy. I hold my breath as Nikolai slides his boxers off. The moon is gleaming through the window, and with every movement of his muscles, his tattoos dance in the beams.

His body is perfect. Nikolai is inked, scarred, and toned. His touch is brutal yet calming. And the passion he has in this moment is exactly the same.

He’s going to ravage me, and I have never wanted anything more in my life.

I find the energy to remove my shirt and go on the offensive. I stalk my way to his warm, waiting frame. Walking around him, I look at the fine specimen he is as my eyes trail down his rippled, lean back and over his perfect ass. The cathedral on his back flexes when the muscles in his shoulders twitch. He turns, but before he can do a single thing, I push Nikolai to the mattress behind him and fall immediately on top of his waist. I want him to know what he does to me. I want to ride him. And I want it to be hard and fast. The control needs to be mine.

I straddle his hips as I reach around behind me and ease him into me. The erotic shivers cover me as I adjust to the fullness, slowly moving down, savoring the sensation one inch at a time until I am sitting completely on him. Then I start to rock. My hips sway forward then back. Forward then back.

With every dance of my pelvis, I open up and accept his length.

His eyes are shining with a lustful glimmer as his fingers find my nipples, pinching them hard. He then palms my breast and grips them as he did my neck moments ago. It skyrockets me closer to the heavens the longer he holds them. I’m so close.

Nikolai sits up, wrapping his arm around my waist, then flips our bodies over. The control is lost as he takes me over with every thrust of his hips. He dips his face down, our lips grazing and foreheads touching. Our bodies are slick with sweat, our lips tasting salty and the air smelling of our passion. His elbows are resting on either side of my head, our bodies completely connected and close.

I raise my leg, hooking it around his hip and deepening the penetration. I start to shudder. The brink is nearing.

Nikolai rocks faster and harder. The noises trapped in the back of my throat escape as he pushes himself rapidly inside of me. Then my sight splinters and my head spins as the enticing high is reached and I dance on the crest of my orgasm.

Nikolai’s baritone groan releases and vibrates against me. I slam my pelvis against his one last time as he reaches the brink and releases inside of me. He allows the sensation to take him over for a moment before he collapses on top of me, both of us utterly spent and unquestionably satisfied.

.*.*.*.

August 19, 2015 2:47 a.m.

Our bodies are still tangled in a naked, sticky heap. I crack my eyes open to find Nikolai staring back at me, watching me sleep, no doubt, and it makes me wonder what could possibly be on his mind. I can tell everything by looking beyond his façade and deep into his eyes. I finally think he’s coming to terms with this.

“So, where do we go from here?” I ask.

Nikolai only looks at me, his brow creased in concentration.

I lift my hand and trace my fingers along the lines in his skin, and he abruptly breaks our connection and stands from the bed. He grabs his boxers from the floor and steps into them. There is something weighing down his thoughts, because whenever he becomes detached, it’s because he needs to tell me something I don’t want to hear.

Gone is the high I experienced an hour ago, and in walks the frustration of dealing with this brooding man. Nikolai has once again transformed into the assassin and purposeful man.

I slide down the edge of the bed, yanking my shirt from the floor and slipping it over my body.

“Well?” I snap.

“The plan for you is simple. You’re to stay in the room until further notice.” He says, glaring in my direction.

“
Excuse me
? Why the hell would you drag me clear across the globe if I’m only going to sit in a hotel room, forbidden from leaving?” My tone is laced with anger as I attempt to control the boiling fury.

“Because it has to be that way,” he gives as an immature answer, his tone mirroring that of a petulant child.

I walk to him, getting directly in front of him, and hold my ground. My arms are crossed over my chest, and my stance is posed for the second battle of the night.

“The fuck it is. I’m going with you.”

He swallows down his anger, but his tone inside is dripping with rage. “No … You’re not. You will remain in this room until—”

“Until nothing!” I interrupt. “I am not standing on the sidelines while you finish the job without me. I didn’t come with you to be an observer. I’m here because I need to be here! I have just as big of a right to destroy him as you do!”

“Shut up!” Nikolai grabs my arms and swings me around, pushing me against the wall. Only, this time, it’s not fueled by lust; it’s laced with hate, the hate that seems to live alongside the lust. “You were almost abducted tonight!”

My world instantly stops, and all the growing anger evaporates from me. Did he say what I think he said?

To be sure, I ask, “What?”

“The second you stepped out of the train station, you were spotted by a scouter.” Nikolai takes a step back then sits on the edge of the bed.

In my bewildered state, I slowly follow suit and sit next to him.

“It was completely obvious that this is your first time in Moscow. The man saw you straightaway. When I was trailing you, I noticed he was following you. I pursued and intervened, but it wasn’t until I killed him that I discovered who he was.”

“Wait … You
killed
him?” I’m not sure why I’m surprised, but I guess I was thinking he was over that until we get in the lair of Stravinsky.

“Yes, Josslyn, I killed him. He was the son of a very powerful man in the human trafficking business.”

My gut drops to my feet and fear boils under the surface. I was almost kidnapped by traffickers? I can’t hide the terror on my face.

Nikolai’s features finally soften. He lifts his fingers and brushes them across my cheek. A small gesture, but it’s his way of comforting me.

I feel vulnerable and, for the second time since meeting Nikolai Petrov, scared. Only, this time, it’s not him I’m afraid of.

I slide closer to him, needing to feel the security of his skin. Then I lean my head down and rest it on his shoulder and ask, “Who was he?”

“His name was Zahir Mirza, and he’s affiliated with the largest underground trafficking organization in Asia.”

“What do you think he would have done with me?” I’m not sure why I ask. I just have to know.

“He was going to take you to Bangladesh and put you in the auction. From there, you would’ve been sold to the highest bidder. Beyond that, I have no idea what would have been in store for you. That would be left to the discretion of the buyer.”