Ruthless Mafia King: A Dark Bratva Arranged Marriage Romance
Ruthless Mafia King: Chapter 23

Nikolai fell asleep next to me.

He can’t be that crazy, can he?

I always thought he was a cunning man, but I never suspected he was willing to get killed.

I guess it’s true that sex makes men stupid. It certainly lowered Nikolai’s guard.

It’s also exactly what I wanted and why I did it. But I’d be a fool not to notice the overwhelming amount of heat between us.

I suppose Stockholm syndrome is real.

He’s my enemy.

He took me by force.

He claimed me as if there was nothing wrong with it.

Maybe he’s the one to crack open a forbidden side of me.

With my mind made up, I make sure Nikolai’s fast asleep and move closer to him. My eyes dart down to his cock. Despite his sleeping state, it’s semi-erect and still glistening with my juices. Just seeing him does weird things to my body.

Fuck.

He’s my drug.

Am I addicted to him?

Is it too late?

Do I want to fuck him again?

It would be best to kill him. So simple now that he’s asleep. There’s a knife on the table. A long one. Almost as big as his cock.

Sighing, I turn to look at his face. His hand is on the edge of the bed as if holding guard and ready to grab me the moment I try to escape.

“You should be dead,” I whisper, examining his features, trying to find something unattractive about him.

But it’s no use.

Everything about him is strong, manly, powerful. The five o’clock shadow of his beard, the scar on the side of his temple, his bottom lip, his lashes, and his naked body are now all imprinted in my brain.

He’s managed to take a bite out of my heart. A small and insignificant one, but it’s more than he had before.

Even in the throes of our fucking, I could only remember one thing.

My anger.

I feel the overwhelming urge to run my fingers through his short hair and press my lips to his again.

But he must go.

I don’t want him anywhere near me. I should want to kill him instead of kiss him.

It’s time he gets out of my head. It’s time I get my revenge.

Now that he’s given me a taste of pleasure, my lust for him is stronger than my wish for him to be dead.

I’m not a killer anyway.

“Wake up,” I hiss, punching his bicep. “Wake the fuck up! Wake⁠—”

His arm wraps around my waist and drags me onto his chest. “I’ve been up for quite some time, serdtse.”

“When?” I ask, wanting to slap the shit out of him.

“Not long after you climbed close to my arms, pretty girl,” Nikolai answers. “I wanted to see where your head was at.”

“You were testing me,” I snap.

“Of course. You were the same way earlier,” he replies with a smirk. “Have I passed my test as well?”

“How did you know I wouldn’t try to choke or stab you?” I ask him, trying to pull away. But his strong arms wrap around my body, and his thumb moves to my chin. He forces me to look at him.

“I didn’t,” he admits. “But we both know you aren’t the type to turn off your senses, just like me. It was a gamble, and for now, let’s say it was worth it.”

“Let go,” I snarl, my heart thundering against my ribcage. Not this proximity again. He’ll make me forget all reason. I’m trying to ignore the infuriating desire he causes deep within me.

“Let you go?” he asks with amusement coloring his tone. “Where’s the fun in that?”

“Your playtime is done,” I bite back. “Release me and get out. Haven’t you had enough?”

“And then what?” he teases, still holding me tight.

“If you don’t let me go, I’ll claw your face off,” I threaten. “And you’ll have a whole new set of problems to deal with.”

I can hear his chuckle as my face burns, embarrassment taking over my body. Is it possible he’s turned even more arrogant since we fucked?

“Oh, serdtse,” he breathes, pulling me closer, amused by the fact that I threatened him. “My life with you will be far from boring.”

“So, we can agree that you’ll let go of me?”

“Okay. But before I leave, I want to taste you one more time,” Nikolai murmurs, making it difficult for me to control my mind. “Kiss me like you mean it, and you’ll be alone until tomorrow.”

I scoff. There’s no way I’m going to agree. Not when he’s being an asshole. In fact, there’s nothing he can offer me that’ll make me want to kiss him. And then spend a sleepless night staring at the ceiling, waiting for his touch.

“I—”

He clamps his hand over my mouth before I can refuse him. “Do as I ask, and I’ll leave.”

To emphasize his point, he releases me and unravels himself from my body. Right away, I miss the sensation of being wrapped in his heat. I hate the coldness and emptiness his absence leaves behind. No. I need to think this through and learn how to despise him. I’m sure it will be easier to escape if I do what he says. But if I agree to it all too quickly, he’ll get suspicious.

“Why don’t you put that cock of yours near my mouth again and see if you come away unscathed?” I warn and snap my teeth together for good measure.

“Nice try, little Kat, but it’s time I prove my point.”

Without another thought, he leans over me and pins me against the bed. He presses me down with his body weight, making it impossible for me to squirm away. His cock brushes against my pussy, waking it up even through my cursing.

“Get off me,” I hiss.

“Only when you do as I ask,” he murmurs, bringing his lips against my chin and moving toward my mouth. “Kiss me like you mean it, and I’ll go.”

I try to fight him off, but it only manages to help his cock find a better position between my lower lips. I freeze, not wanting his erection to slip inside me. But it doesn’t matter. The wetness is already there. My core tightens, readying itself for his return.

I shouldn’t want this.

I won’t want this.

He’s an enemy, and just like he planned to trap me, I’ll use his emotions to my advantage.

“My kiss will mean nothing,” I tell him, gripping the sheets tighter to ease the tension coursing through my body.

“When I said I wanted you to kiss me with passion, I meant it. What’s the point in pretending?”

“This is nothing. It means nothing,” I reply. “I’m sure you’ve had sex with no strings attached before, haven’t you? Well, this is exactly the same. I let you fuck me because you’re the only guy around. Hell, if you sent one of your men in, I’d spread my legs for them just as eagerly as I did for you after two bottles of wine. For anyone else, I’d do it after one.”

Nikolai’s eyes flash, and his nostrils flare. I’ve obviously managed to hit a nerve.

Good.

“Now get off me,” I order.

“Not until you comply,” he answers in a whisper and buries his nose against my neck.

“Why?” I challenge. “What’s it to you?”

“Does it matter?” he counters. “It won’t mean anything anyway.”

Fuck, he’s an asshole. He’s stealing the lines from my book.

With my head cleared by anger, I reach my fingers to his hair and roughly grab him. He tightens his arms around me.

“Serdtse—”

“Nikolai,” I pant, just like he wanted me to. “I’ll kiss you, but I want you to hold on to the knowledge that I’m doing it because it’s the only way out. It’s not because I want to feel you close. It’s the exact opposite.”

I hold onto him as I bring my lips to his, licking his seam until my tongue meets his, and the only place where our bodies don’t touch is our feet.

It’s perfect.

Torturous.

Exactly what I’ve been denying myself.

It’s all there.

The fire, the passion, the blind want.

It’s everything I’ll never admit to.

We hold on to one another until we’re out of breath, entangling tongues as if there’s no tomorrow.

Fuck.

He pulled me in like a moth to a flame.

When he draws away, his gray eyes search mine, and he smiles, triumphant.

“That wasn’t nothing,” he says.

I shake my head. “It meant nothing.”

“Keep telling yourself that,” he says with a wink.

Before I can reply, he climbs off me, grabs his clothes, and disappears from the room.

With trepidation, I admit to myself that I won’t be able to get rid of him easily.

Because I’m addicted.

Just how did he manage to fuck with my head so much?