Loving Her In The Shadow- Sovereignty Page 11

I took a step forward, closing the small gap between us. A slow burning fire flickered in her eyes. “I tried to stay away, but I know I can’t.”

  She remained silent, still staring up at me, but her eyes revealed she’d been in deep thought.

  “Neither one of us is where we need to be tonight,” I admonished, towering over her delicate body. “Who’s the guy?”

  “Your guess is as good as mine.” She chuckled softly. “I was set up.”

  “By who?”

  The need to protect her surprised the fuck out of me. It was a feeling that only consumed me whenever it came down to three things: family, La Cosa Nostra, and money. But tonight, I couldn’t understand the need to shield her, protect her from even her apprehension.

  “My best friend.” The corners of her lips rose to a faint smile. “She has many wild ideas; some good and some just way out of my lane. She didn’t want me to spend my birthday alone.”

  “Shouldn’t your birthday be spent the way that you want it?”

  Her sullen brown eyes turned to the city. “What I want, I can’t have.”

  I curled my finger under her chin, bringing her eyes back to me. “Name it and I’ll get it for you.”

  She stared at me for what seemed like forever. “I want you.”

  “You have me,” I promised.

  The night air blew past us, causing her to rub her folded arms. I slipped my blazer off and wrapped it around her body. We stared at each other for a span of time where seconds, minutes, and hours ceased to exist. It completely threw me off guard. Not even the harsh whisper from one of my men telling me, “Caito is ready,” could break the connection between us.

  Anyone who holds that kind of power over me is a fucking threat.

  But, I couldn’t fight it even if I wanted to. Was this the feminine stimulation I’d been craving?

  I nodded at my soldier’s statement and returned to the longing in her eyes. “Meet me at the Skyline Towers.”

  “Reign?”

  She took a step back, cutting her eyes to her right. I followed her gaze, pausing when I saw her date standing a few feet away from us. He was holding two signature drinks in his hand. Clearly curious, his gray eyes bounced between me and Reign. Dismissing his poor attempt at speculating, I turned to Reign. As if on command, her eyes found mine. Claiming her depths, much like I had claimed her unmet desires, I held her eyes for a moment. I could feel the tether between us yank back from her end, but I forced her to see me and to yield her fight.

  I forced myself to look away only to glare at the man. The urge to squeeze his throat almost tested my restraint. I considered putting my business meeting with Caito on hold, reserving it for another day so I could take her home and fuck her to sunrise. But, after years of training, the voice within forbade me to put anything above business. I began walking, brushing his shoulders as I passed her blind date.

  “Wait!” Her voice wavered from behind. “You forgot your blazer.”

  I stopped, cutting my eyes to look at the man as I spoke, “Bring it when you come over.”

  I continued to walk toward the elevator where my soldier and the same lift attendant from earlier stood. I hopped onto the elevator and turned around to see Reign and her date watching me. As the elevator doors shut, I tugged on the invisible rope between us. It was sturdy. She was marked.

  Seconds later, the elevator doors parted, revealing the zealous crowd staring up at the ceiling in awe of the two women walking the tight line while juggling three bottles. I looked over at Battista who stood by another elevator. Whitish-gray air escaped his lips before he drew in the cigar again.

  “Took you long enough,” Battista said, coming to my side.

  I ignored him. I was already being tormented by the wait. Locking away thoughts of Reign to the secrets of my mind, I shifted my focus on the meeting between Battista, Caito, and me.

  Reign

  The gusty winds danced through my hair. Spring in New York was certainly unpredictable. A few days ago, we’d dealt with a bout of rain. However, tonight there was stillness in the sky. Despite the city buzzing a clustered chant, I couldn’t seem to look away from the beaming white lights that read “Skyview Towers.” I’d been staring at the sign for the past few minutes.

  “Girl, life is about living for moments you’ll never get back. Besides, it’s your birthday!”

  I steadily repeated Carter’s words for the umpteenth time. Those words had convinced me to keep driving instead of heading back to my apartment. They held a firm hold on me even after parking my car. But that hold somehow released me the moment I crossed the street. So, instead of walking through the double doors, I stopped.

  Tonight had certainly turned out to be unexpected. Between Carter setting me up on a blind date to entertaining the idea of a one-night stand, this was definitely going to be a memorable birthday.

  Happy birthday to me.

  The pad of my thumb rubbed over the bare skin of where my wedding band used to be. It had been a week since I’d slipped off the thin rose-gold band. I looked up at the bright lights again.

  Skyview Towers.

  “I can’t do this.”

  Though the decision had been half thought out, it was my final verdict. There was no way I was going back into that rabbit hole. It was hard enough dealing with this man in my dreams.

  “See ya, Nicolai,” I mumbled.

  His cologne, a fusion of bourbon, sandalwood, and vanilla, emanated from his tuxedo coat that was still draped over my arm. I guess I’ll have to call your owner in the morning, I thought, turning away from the building to walk towards my car.

  “Oh!” I jumped back after colliding into a hard surface. “Excuse me.”

  My heart nearly skipped a beat. I dropped my palms to my sides and backed up. “Nicolai.”

  “Reign.”

  “I-I have to go.” I snatched his coat off my arm and thrust it toward him. “You just saved me a trip to FedEx.”

  Nicolai took a step forward, his eyes never leaving mine. I trembled where I stood, my legs feeling like they were about to give out any second.

  “Take it,” I commanded.

  But he didn’t. Instead, he pressed his chest into my coat covered fist. I inhaled a shaky breath. Why did his blue eyes fade to black whenever he looked at me? I had noticed it earlier while we were on the roof. I wondered what my eyes looked like as I stared into his. Were my pupils dilating too? I looked away, hoping to regain some damn control of myself.

  “Look at me.”

  “Why?” I whispered.

  “I need to see what you’re so afraid of.”

  I looked up at him. “I told you what I’m afraid of.”

  “No you didn’t.” He reached for my hand and rested my palm against his cheek. He shifted his head, guiding my hand to massage the side of his face before he lightly dropped a kiss near my thumb. The tenderness of his lips shook my insides, but I continued to massage his cheek, enjoying his hot skin and prickled hairs beneath my fingertips. “Make me understand your fear.”

  “I should be thinking about how to fix my marriage, but you’re all I think about. I don’t trust myself when I’m around you. I just want to forget you.”

  “Accept that you can’t. Cause I have.”

  “But—”

  The rest of my words faded into his kiss. The strong stance that I’d held, softened. I melted against his body, my lips becoming one with his. Our kiss started off soft, but transitioned to hard. My mouth submitted to his tongue’s invasion. It was like he was searching for my absent words. I moved my hand from his cheek to the nape of his neck. I don’t know how long we stood there kissing, but when he pulled back, my lungs were grasping for air.

  “I always wondered what your lips tasted like.”

  “How do they taste?” I asked, curious about what I tasted like to him.

  “Do you always taste this sweet? ” He brushed his thumb along my bottom lip. “Tonight, I’ll follow your lead. You want to go slow, I’ll go s
low. You just want to talk all night, then I’ll listen. But I’m not letting you run away again.”

  I threw caution to the wind. “Let’s go.”

  I looked down at my hand, noticing that my fingers were enveloped in his. As if he could feel all 95 billion nerves freakishly electrocuting my body, Nicolai rubbed his thumb up and down my knuckles, smoothing away the currents. I swallowed the fears that rumbled inside my stomach.

  I allowed him to lead me into the Skyview Towers. We headed to the private elevators that we’d taken to the penthouse suite on New Year’s Eve. Instead of making a right when we got off the elevator, we made a left. We walked down the short hallway and stopped in front of a door that had a keypad instead of a key.

  Nicolai typed in the code and the light on the pad turned green. He opened the door and extended his arm. “After you.”

  Wow. The open floorplan styled penthouse suite was laid out completely different from the penthouse suite we were in before. Following a monochromatic color scheme with pops of blue randomly placed, the suite looked like a bachelor pad.

  “Welcome to my place.”

  I turned around to face him. “You live here?”

  “Yeah. Let me get your coat.”

  I shrugged out of my jacket and handed it over to him along with his tux coat. “Is this where you went off to when you left me on New Year’s Day?”

  “Nah,” he said, placing my jacket over the hanger. “My parents had an emergency.”

  “Oh my God! Is everything okay?”

  “Yeah, everything is fine.” His eyes lingered on my face before walking away. “Do you want anything to drink?”

  “I’ll take a water.” I walked around his living room, staring at the pictures on the end tables. “Is this you and your siblings?”

  “Yeah.” He passed me a water bottle. “That’s my brother Vincenzo and my sisters, Angelina and Valentina.”

  “Are you the oldest?”

  “Valentina and I are twins. Then there was Angelina. Vincenzo was the baby.”

  “Was?”

  “He’s dead.” His face was emotionless which made me wonder how long ago he’d died.

  “I’m sorry.”

  “It’s okay.” He moved over to another end table and picked up a picture frame.

  I came to stand beside him. I smiled at the picture of him being wrestled by three girls and a boy. “Who are these kids beating you up?”

  His lips spread into the widest smile. It was the type of smile a parent wore when they were proud of their kid. Are these his kids? I stared at him. I didn’t know much about him. Yet, he didn’t feel like a stranger.

  “These are Valentina’s kids.” He sat the picture frame down. “My sister took this picture the last time we visited Palermo. The girls had been picking on my nephew, Lorenzo. Since he was outnumbered, I figured I’d even out the playing field. But Lorenzo ended up turning on me when his sisters got me on the ground.”

  “You smile when you talk about them.”

  “Their innocence keeps me balanced.” He turned away from me and sat down on the couch.

  I sat across from him. “How often do you see them?”

  “Not as much as I would like to, but we FaceTime here and there.”

  The room fell silent and for the first time since being around him, I felt awkward. What came next? How did we jump into sex? Was I supposed to make the first move? It wasn’t that I wasn’t interested in learning more about him, but I knew that I was stalling. I uncapped my water bottle and took a generous sip.

  “You’re nervous.”

  “How could I not be?” I chuckled nervously. “I’m not sure how to go about any of this. Should I be getting to know you?”

  “If that would put your mind at ease.”

  I raked my hair behind my ear. “It’s been so long since I’ve done this, getting to know someone new. This feels more like an interview than an organic conversation.”

  “I’ve tasted your passion, inhaled your ripeness. It doesn’t get any more organic than that.” Nicolai leaned forward, resting his elbows on his knees. “I’m going to ask you a question. I don’t need you to second guess yourself or weigh out the pros and cons. I just need you to tell me the first thing that comes to mind. Can you do that?”

  I shifted nervously in the chair. “Is that the question?”

  “No. This is. If I told you to come sit on my face, would you?”

  Don’t think twice. Go with the first thought.

  I did just that. I stood up and tossed my clutch on the couch. His eyes remained on me, watching my every move.

  “Tell me every thought that crosses your mind.”

  “Is this confessional hour?” I reached for the zipper behind me and slid it down.

  “More like confessional hours.”

  I slipped my dress over my shoulders. “Is that how long we’re going to go at it?”

  His eyes moved down my body. “Longer than that if you let me.”

  “What if I let you?” I asked, reaching behind my back to unclasp my bra.

  He loosened his tie and unbuttoned the top three buttons on his shirt. “You’d have to be all in. No more running away from me because you’re scared.”

  “Okay,” I promised as my bra hit the floor.

  “I need you to agree to something else.”

  “What?” I asked, walking towards him.

  “No outsiders come between us.”

  At my core, where the answer was balled up in a knot, I knew what he was requesting. I hated the fact that I could give it to him so easily. Why had it become so natural for me to agree to anything he asked?

  Standing a few steps away from him, I hooked my thumbs under my red thong. I slid it down my thighs and legs while my eyes remained on him. “No outsiders.”

  His eyes lingered on mine as if he was searching for any deception. There was none. My promise had been signed, sealed, and delivered. Even if I didn’t know what I was getting myself into, it sure as hell was better than to not explore this.

  He dropped his eyes from mine to look down at my naked pussy.

  “I’ll go as fast or as slow as you want me to,” he whispered against my skin.

  “Nicolai…”

  “Fast or slow?”

  “Fast.”

  I took a step forward, standing between his legs. My pussy was practically in his face. He leaned forward and pressed his nose into my pussy, inhaling the most primal part of me, my arousal.

  I shivered when his lips pressed against my nether lips. He continued to kiss down there like a lover being reunited with a long-lost love. I sunk my fingers into his hair, tugging lightly on his strands. Heavy breaths escaped him. Before I could brace myself, he lifted me up. I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs curled around his waist.

  This time, his lips came crashing, slamming into my mouth with a greedy tongue that licked all corners. I kissed him back, just as passionate and hungry.

  He pulled back, watching my glistening pussy gliding against his abdomen. I parted my thighs farther apart so he could see what he did to me.

  “Fuck.” He took a step back and walked across his bedroom to sit in a high-back, leather chair in the corner. “Come here.”

  He looked like a king seated on his throne. The chair had practically been made to fit his giant frame. His long legs stretched out in front of him. His arms rested on the armrests and his outstretched fingers occasionally gripped the seams. My eyes slid up his torso. A thin gold chain glimmered against his tanned skin.

  “Come here,” he commanded again.

  Stillness masked his face. His stormy blue eyes spoke to my soul, reciting a wordless message only my insides could understand. I rose from the bed and walked towards him, naked with just my heels on. I stood between his legs, my knees grazing the leather.

  “Climb up.”

  I glanced down at his legs and thighs, unsure of how to climb up. Is he asking me to straddle him? I lifted one leg only to bring it
back down.

  “Bring your pussy to my mouth. Now.”

  Did he really just—

  Before I could think any further, Nicolai grabbed my thighs and lifted me so that each foot was standing on the armrest. I pressed my hands against the wall, leaning at an angle to steady my wobbling legs.

  “Lower your pussy to my mouth,” he directed from between my legs. His head tilted back ready. He swiped his tongue across his lips. My insides quivered as I did what he’d demanded, lowering myself to his mouth.

  “Nicolai…” My head jerked backwards as I whispered his name.

  He kissed my nether lips first before splitting my dewy seal with his tongue. I fell into the wall, my face and palms pressing against the textured, black wallpaper. He wrapped his hands around my thighs, steadying my trembling body.

  “Ohh,” I purred, panting.

  His lips wrapped around my clit, sucking on the swollen flesh until it hardened in his mouth. His tongue swiped down my pussy, finding the next part of my flesh that needed devouring. Stiffening his tongue, Nicolai lifted me high enough to slide my pussy hole in and out of his mouth. I rocked my hips, riding his tongue as my clit grazed his nose. His groans were mating with my moans. I clawed the wall as I rode his face. My insides began to coil, forming knots as he pulled me harder into his face.

  “Oh, God, Nicolai,” I begged, feeling my orgasm near. “Just like that baby. I’m about to cum. I’m cumming! I’m cumming!”

  He swallowed my cum, tasting my orgasm as I sat on his face. When my hard pants became labored, Nic lifted me from his face. He lifted me up in the air as he stood. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he began walking. I kissed his forehead, brushing my fingers into his dampened strands. The smell of my pussy all over his face made me wet all over again. He groaned as I kissed his lips, pushing my tongue into his mouth. He stopped walking as I deepened our kiss, licking both corners of his mouth.

  My pelvis throbbed like a beating heart. I needed him. His cock needed to fuck me just as good as his mouth had devoured. I wouldn’t settle for anything less than that. He began walking again as I dropped my lips away from his to kiss the corners of his mouth and his chin.