With that, he stands up and effortlessly lifts me into his arms.
“Niko! Stop, I can walk, I’m too big…”
He cuts me off with a fierce look. “You are perfect, dusha moya.” He holds my gaze for a second and then gives me a quick kiss on my forehead. “Now, where am I taking you?”
I giggle at his caveman attitude and point to the back room. He gently sets me down in the empty chair in the backroom, and then stands outside the door as if he’s going to keep watch.
“Are you going to stand there till the end of my shift?”
He shrugs.
“Niko! You’re not actually allowed to be back here.”
He shrugs again.
“This is going to be a fun last hour of my shift,” I mumble sarcastically.
He looks over his shoulder and gives me his sexy smirk. I can’t help but smile back.
What the hell is happening to me?
Chapter 2
Nikolai
I felt her presence as soon as I stepped into the diner.
My grandfather told me that Russians love fast, fierce, and forever. I never believed it until I saw her.
With long, auburn hair woven in a pretty braid and tossed over her shoulder, deep green eyes sparkling with excitement and laughter, creamy skin dotted with freckles that I want to lick, she is truly a vision. And then there are her curves. Fucking hell, her curves. Perfect round breasts barely peeking out of her v-neck t-shirt, generous hips that I picture myself gripping onto while I pound into her, and thick, delicious thighs I want wrapped around my head as I lick her pretty little pussy.
Fucking gorgeous.
It’s not just her body though. One look at her and I felt something break inside me. It literally hurt to look at her, but I couldn’t get my fill. I needed more. Needed her to fill the hole she just created in my chest.
I observed her for the better part of an hour.
Too bad I could never have her. I love her, of that I am sure. But I am no good for someone as pure as her. With the demons of my past barely kept at bay, I would only destroy her. I knew I should have left in that moment, but then that blonde asshole came in, ogling my precious girl. The final straw was when he stepped on her. Seeing her in pain propelled me to action.
Once he was dealt with, all of my attention went towards her, unable to stay away.
I could tell she was embarrassed at what happened and I wanted nothing more than to take her away from here and start our lives together. However, I needed her to look at me first. Needed her to know how mine she was. I was torn in two, one part of me needing her like my next breath, and the other knowing the only way to keep her safe was to leave.
I finally reached out and guided her sweet face towards me and I felt like I had been punched in the gut. The fight was over, and the need to be with her won out. Her beauty was so much more intense up close. It took every single ounce of will power in me not to claim her right there, take her lips in mine, strip her bare and thrust into her, planting my baby deep in her womb.
Fuck.
I know she felt something too. I picked her up and carried her to the corner booth I was at. After procuring some ice from the way too obvious and moronic Anna, I learned that my woman’s name was Liza.
I was so lost in the beauty of her name that I almost missed her sweet laughter. She told me I can’t just growl at people and have them do whatever I want. I had to grin at that. How long had it been since someone called me out on my bullshit? How long had it been since I felt any amount of joy? This woman was changing me and she didn’t even know it.
Touching her leg and wrist was almost too much to handle, but I couldn’t stop. She asked my name and when I heard it fall from her lips, I knew it was game over for me. One look in her eyes told me she was right there with me. I saw every emotion I’ve ever felt reflected in her eyes, and in that moment, I felt all of her darkness and her light as well. She was fucking everything. The intensity of our moment was too much for her and I saw tears gather and fall from her beautiful eyes.
Without even thinking, I cradled her head in my hands, wiping away her tears. I wanted to stay in that moment with her forever, but then Anna showed up again. I was seriously ready to rip her head off when my sweet Liza calmed me with just one touch.
I knew right then that I would always do whatever she asked of me. She commands me, everything I am is for her.
All she wanted was to go back to work. Which is where we are now. She tried to convince me to leave her alone, that I wasn’t allowed back here. As if that would ever stop me from being near her.
I stand outside the door and let her do her work. I’d like nothing more than to sit right beside her, but I don’t think I could keep my hands off of her sweet curves and creamy skin.
I’m used to this sort of thing though. Well, not her, of course, but protection jobs. I came to America with my father when I was ten. He told me he had a job in security lined up, and he did. Sort of. He was hired as protection, alright… protection for the Russian mob in Chicago.
It took me a few months to connect the dots, but when I did, I was horrified. My father was a good man, or so I thought. He told me he made this move for us, so we would be safe. Little did he know how much danger he put us in. Enough danger that he was eventually killed, as is everyone who is associated with the Bratva.
I was sixteen at the time of my father’s death. The Bratva tried tracking me down, but they never found me. I moved around every few years, did what I had to do to get by on the streets – petty theft, drug deals, beat downs, whatever it took. Eventually, I took a legit job as a body guard. I wasn’t thrilled to get into the same line of work as my father, but the idea of being able to afford a roof over my head and a warm meal once a day was too good to pass up.
One job turned into two, two turned into ten, and several years later I had my own security firm of sorts. There has always been a huge market for intimidating Russians in the personal protection business.
I hear Liza humming to herself as she wraps up silverware. Her sweet voice pulls me back into the present. At thirty-five, I have lived a very… sordid life. Sure, the last few years have been relatively normal, boring, even, but I have a lot of sins to atone for. What will she think of me when she learns more about me? Will I frighten her? Will she run away from me? I don’t think I could survive that.
Her humming stops, and I peer over my shoulder to see her green eyes shining at me. When I catch her glance, she quickly jerks her head away as a blush creeps up her cheeks. She’s so fucking cute.
So young.
Too young.
So innocent.
Too innocent.
I will destroy her.
The thought pops into my head again and I can’t seem to shake it. Ever since I saw her a few hours ago, all I’ve wanted to do is protect her. But what if it’s me she needs protection from? Could I walk away from her?
What if the mob finds me? What if one of the security jobs goes wrong? What if she walks away from me first? What if I can’t protect her at all? What if I ruin her?
The doubts assault my mind and swirl through my body, causing my heart to race and my muscles to tense. I feel my legs itching to make a break for it.
Liza resumes her humming and napkin folding, solidifying in my mind that she’s far too good for me. I will only hurt her and bring her pain.
I rip myself away from the door and force myself to put one foot in front of the other, tearing my heart from my body with each step, leaving my very soul behind in the back room of Dave’s Diner. This will be my greatest and only act of love for dusha moya. I only wish I had the strength to leave her before we shared those intimate moments in the diner. I know my absence will sting a little, but it’ll be so much worse if I stay.