Page 1 of Sweet Child of Mine

Prologue

Leilani

I walked out of the high school nervously looking around. I was a shy girl who seemed to be a prime target for bullies although I never understood why. Just as I thought I was in the clear, I heard, “Well if it isn’t the teacher’s pet. What do you have in your hands there?”

Suddenly a hand reached around me and grabbed my book on how to do origami. I wanted to make my best friend, Amelia, something unique for her birthday. I turned around and looked at Kaily and her team of mean girls who were determined to make my life miserable. “Please, give that back. It’s a library book.”

Kaily dropped the book right into a mud puddle and splashed all over my feet. “Oops. Guess you’re going to have to pay for that ruined book.” All of her friends laughed as I bent to quickly rescue the book from the mud. I felt Kaily’s hand on the back of my head and just knew she was going to push me in as well.

“Are you sure you want to do that, suka?” A deep accented voice asked from behind us.

“Nikky, this girl was so rude to me so I was only taking care of it,” Kaily said with a ridiculous pout that she thought would convince him.

Nikandr Baranov, was a gorgeous bad boy that every girl wanted and Kaily was convinced was hers. I spent a lot of time observing him as discreetly as I could and he definitely didn’t seem to be interested in anyone, Kaily especially.

He sneered at Kaily as he growled, “My name is not Nikky, it’s Nikandr. Do us both a favor and let go of Leilani’s hair and forget you know me at all. I’m not interested in your disease.”

I blinked at his words and braced myself in case Kaily decided on retribution by pushing me anyway. I felt her hand lift as she gasped at him in horror and rage. I quickly moved out of her way with my book in my hand. I dropped into the grass before I stood up to watch the drama from a safe distance.

“You asshole. Go back to Russia where scum like you belong.”

Nikandr moved faster than I thought possible and grabbed Kaily by the throat. “Insult me or bother Leilani again and…” His words faded off as he leaned close to Kaily’s ear and said something that instantly made Kaily’s face pale. Just as quickly he released her and stepped back.

Kaily turned me and shocked me to the core of my being by saying, “I’m sorry for the book. I’ll pay for it.” She handed me a twenty with trembling hands and quickly ran back into the school with her friends following her.

I looked at Nikandr and said, “Thank you. You didn’t have to come to my rescue but I appreciate that you did.”

He moved close to me and caressed my cheek with his finger before saying, “I will always rescue you, moy tsvetok.”

I looked at him and saw only honesty in his eyes. Smiling at him, “Moy tsvetok. What does that mean, Nikandr?”

“My flower. You can call me Nik if you’d like. I can’t stand Kaily and her band of bitches. If they ever bother you or your friend, Amelia, again let me know. I will take care of them.”

“Do I want to know what you whispered to her?”

Nik chuckled and the sound rolled over my skin leaving a tingling sensation in its wake that made me shiver. “Probably not, moy tsvetok.”

“I was going to sit at that bench over there, do you want to join me? I need to see if this book can be salvaged.”

“Sure, I’d like that.” He bent down and rescued my book from the grass, wiping off the mud as best he could before carrying it for me.

~~~*~~~

Nikandr

I’d been crushing over Leilani since the first day I’d seen her. But I knew how my life was destined to go and I knew she’d never want any part of that. She was too perfect, too delicate for me. Keeping my distance was the only thing I could do until the day I saw Kaily about to push her into a mud puddle.

Kaily had been trying to get me to go out with her but I wouldn’t touch her with a ten-foot pole. She practically slept her way through the football team. Nothing about her attracted me in any way. I made sure she knew it and left Leilani alone if she valued her life.

After that day, Leilani and I hung out at our bench regularly. I kept our friendship light and fun, never giving in to what I really wanted to do with her. My brother Daniil, who was less than a year younger than me, enjoyed teasing me relentlessly about her trying to get me to give in and at least kiss the girl. But I remained strong.

Weeks turned into months and soon Leilani and I had been friends for over a year. I fantasized about her nightly, wantingto claim her in every way. Then the phone call happened. Father called us back to Russia where our older brother, Kostya, was already at.

“Nikandr, I need your brother and you to join me at the table,” Momma called out when I got home.

We put our backpacks down by the stairs and sat down at the table with her. Momma looked worried and I didn’t like that. My stomach felt like it had rocks in it. “What’s up, Momma?” Daniil asked.

“Your father called. He wants the three of us to join him and Kostya back in Moscow. He says it’s time to come home.”

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