“Then why are you here?” I bite out at him, anger replacing hurt in an attempt to distance myself from him.
“I’m a fool for leaving you. I saw you get in that car with your mom and I had to make sure you got home safely. When I heard those things she was saying, how she was treating you…” I see anger and hurt rise up in his eyes as his muscles tense.
I’m mad at him, yes, but I don’t want to cause him distress. I’ve never seen someone upset on my behalf and it hits me somewhere deep. I lean forward and rest my forehead on his chest.
“I’m ok, Niko. That’s just how my mom is.”
He relaxes into me and wraps me up in his arms, pressing my whole body into his.
“I’m so sorry. I’ll never leave you again, dusha moya. Never. You deserve so much better, you deserve everything. The whole world. I promise to give you anything, everything if you give me another chance.”
I wrap my arms around his waist and melt into him. I want to be upset at him, but it feels so good right here in his arms. All of the pain, confusion, disappointment, and betrayal fade into the distance as one word echoes in my head, pulses through my veins, beats in my heart.
Mine. Mine. Mine.
“I just want you. Only you.” I look up and see him staring at me in awe.
“You forgive me?” He whispers.
“I forgive you,” I confirm. “Don’t ever, ever leave me again. It hurt so fucking bad, Niko.”
“Me too, love. I ache for you.”
He covers my mouth with his again, leading us in a slow kiss that overwhelms my senses. We’re sharing the same air, tangling our tongues, rubbing our bodies together, chasing our pleasure. And then Niko pulls back. I whimper at the loss of his heat, his hands.
“I know, dusha moya, but I can’t take you up against this building. That wouldn’t be right.”
“But I need you, Niko,” I plead. I’m not sure where this wanton woman came from, but fuck if I don’t feel like I might die without feeling Niko move inside of me right this second.
He chuckles and kisses my forehead. “Let me take you home, Liza. I have so very many things I want to do to your body.”
Niko leans in for another kiss, like he just can’t help himself. His lips move from my mouth, down my neck, over to my shoulder, and back again. I wrap my arms around his neck and pull him closer as he devours my sensitive skin, tickling with his teeth and pressing soft kisses over the love bites. His hands grip my hips and pull me close to his body so I can feel his muscles flex and release. I grind my soaking wet pussy against his hard shaft and he groans.
I feel his hands tighten their grip on my hips as he steadies me, pushing me away from him so I’m resting against the wall. Niko rests his head on my shoulder, breathing heavily. I twine my fingers in his hair and stroke his scalp.
“Goddamnit, love, you’re like a drug. I’m fucking addicted to you. I need to get you out of here so I can finally have all of you.”
“Yes, please.”
He grins up at me and then bends down and tosses me over his shoulder.
“Hey! Niko! What are you—"
He playfully slaps me on the ass and then runs towards what I assume is his car. Once he sets me down, Niko quickly opens the door and guides me inside, buckling my seatbelt, and placing kisses all over my face and then stopping to smell my hair.
“I can’t wait to get you home, love.” Niko pulls back and gives me the most intense stare, holding dirty, sweet promises.
Chapter 4
Nikolai
I look over at my sweet Liza sitting in the passenger seat and I almost decide to pull the car over and pull her into my lap. I can’t believe she forgave me for being such an idiot and leaving her.
I swear I thought it was for her own good. But when I followed her and her mother to the bistro, I realized I was way off base. I sat a few booths back, just listening to their conversation. I hated every word that came from her mother’s mouth. How dare Tonya make her daughter feel less than? Like a burden? I wanted to scream at that insufferable woman, but Liza was trying to make it out on her own and I was so fucking proud of her. I heard her say she wanted to move out, and I vowed to find out where her next place was and make sure it was safe so she could start her new life in peace. As much as it pained me not to be a part of it, I was so goddamn happy she’d be away from her mother.
But then Tonya grabbed her and filled her head with more poisonous lies about being trash and no one ever being able to put up with her. It made me fucking see red to hear those words about my precious Liza. I realized that while my past might be dangerous for Liza, her present was going to kill her all the same. It would be a slow death, one where she was trapped with her terrible mother in a trailer, living out her days in misery and being fed lies about how inadequate she was. I couldn’t stomach the thought. Liza deserved so much more, and fuck if I wasn’t going to try to give her everything in the whole world.
I look over at the goddess sitting next to me, the sunlight spilling across her soft features and tangling in her long hair.
“So beautiful, dusha moya,” I whisper.
She turns to me and smiles. “Why do you call me that?”
“I will tell you soon, love.”
I take her soft hand in mine and turn it over to kiss her palm before resting our hands in my lap.
What was I thinking, leaving her? This is where she belongs. With me. She’s mine.
We pull up to my house and I get out of the car, rushing over to the passenger side to open the door for Liza. She smiles up at me and giggles when I scoop her up in my arms.
“I can walk, you know! I didn’t hurt my ankle that bad.”
“Liza, I would be carrying you across the threshold of our home with or without your hurt ankle. This is the beginning of everything, can’t you feel it?”
She stares up at me with glassy eyes. I kiss her forehead and rest mine there.
“Yeah, Niko. I feel it,” she whispers.
My lips are drawn to hers and my tongue explores her mouth, caressing every inch of her wet heat. I can’t wait until my mouth can explore her other set of lips. That thought alone has me heading towards the door so I can get my sweet Liza naked as soon as possible.
I break the kiss to unlock the front door. As I carry her inside, everything clicks into place. She is home. She is my home. She is mine. All mine. I see her in the kitchen, round with my child while our other kids play at her feet. I see us sitting on the back porch, sipping wine late into the evening while I give her a massage. I see her curled up against me on the couch while we watch movies. I see myself taking her on every surface in this house, covering every inch with our passion, marking it as our sanctuary.
Looking into her bright green eyes, I know she sees it too, sees our life here together, sees us having kids and growing old.
“I can’t wait, Niko,” she whispers. “I can’t wait to start my life with you.”
Her words wash over my body and soul, filling in the cracks of my broken past and drowning out the demons, banishing them for good. I don’t have any words for this moment, so I show her how much she means to me.
Carrying her to our bedroom, I gently set her down on our bed and begin stripping her of her clothes. I lift her t-shirt over her head and kiss a trail down her neck, over her shoulders, before undoing the clasp of her bra. She instinctively covers her chest to keep her bra from falling off.