Page 36 of Kneeling for Daddy
Relief that there doesn’t appear to be anything seriously wrong with him causes my heart to stumble. “Nik,” I choke, my breath catching in my throat as I cross the room to him before I can think. My arms fling around him, pulling me into his broad chest—desperate to feel that he’s still here.
He lets out a heavy exhale, and the rigidity of his body relaxes with it as his arms wrap around me. I press my face to his chest and breathe him in, and in a split second, the world no longer feels right. Beneath the scent of blood and cigarette smoke is a sweet and unmistakable aroma.
Cheap perfume.
My relief curdles into something sour and ugly, my stomach flipping at the thoughts my imagination is quickly cultivating. I take another deep breath to be sure, but there is no mistaking it. It clings to his shirt and skin like he bathed in it.
Slowly, I pull back, my eyes narrowing on him. “What the fuck is that?” My tone is sharp, but my voice cracks as I fight the trembling of my lower lip.
His brows draw toward the bridge of his nose. “What?”
Placing my hands on his chest, I shove him from me. “What?” I snip, glaring at him. “That smell. Cheap-ass perfume. You reek of it.”
He blinks for a moment, and the realization of being caught creeps over his expression. “Ani?—”
“Don’t,” I snap, my chest heaving and hands trembling. “Don’t you dare. Don’t you fucking stand there and act like I don’t know what that smell is. We are a lot of things, Nikolai, but we do not lie to each other.”
“I am not lying,” he asserts with conviction.
“You expect me to believe you came home this”—I gesture at his bloodied and disheveled appearance—“and just happened to lose your jacketandget perfume all over you?”
His jaw tightens, and his eyes narrow—anger flashing within them—as he takes a step closer until he’s towering over me. “Ani.”
I’m not naïve; I know that this is how most arranged mafia marriages work.Not naïve, just stupid. I thought he was different. “If you have a mistress, or plan to have one, just tell me that’s what this marriage is going to be.”
“I wasn’t with anyone.”
I snark out a bitter laugh. “Right… because men come home smelling like cheap whores every night. How stupid do you think I am?”
“I said I wasn’t with anyone,” he barks, his nostrils flaring as he takes a few heated breaths. “Do you actually think I’d fuck around on you?”
“Why wouldn’t you?” My voice kicks up an octave, tears burning my eyes as he stands before me and spews lies. “I’m just some woman you had to marry. A pawn in my brother’s play for power. Nothing more than a convenient pussy keeping your bed warm. We both know that’s all I am to you.”
Nik’s whole body goes rigid, like I just drove a blade between his ribs. The look in his eyes darkens—absolutely furious, like the night he nearly beat that man to death at the club—and his jaw clenches so tightly I think he might break a tooth. “Do you really think that’s all you are to me?” His tone is low, vibrating with barely restrained rage.
I cross my arms and blink back tears, forcing myself to hold his angered stare. “Isn’t it?”
The air between us grows so thick it couldn’t even be cut with a knife, the two of us staring at each other in heated silence for what feels like an eternity.
“I didn’t ask for you,” he snarls, stepping so close the heat of his angered breath burns as it blows over my skin. “Didn’t want you. But when I look at you, Ani, all I see is the one fucking thing in this world who could bring me to my knees.”
The words hit me harder than any slap ever could, and the air in my lungs punches out of me. It’s ragged and sharp as my pulse hammers chaotically.
Still upset, I shove him away from me. Before I can put any distance between us, he grips both of my arms bruisingly hard and drags me against his chest. Our mouths crash together with such force that our teeth clatter together. This isn’t just a kiss. It’s a war. His hand fists my hair, and my nails rake down his back, as we kiss each other so violently—both of us trying to hurt and claim in the same stolen breath.
I gasp against his lips, and he takes it as an invitation, shoving his tongue past my lips. He plunders my mouth until my knees buckle. Heat burns through me, fury and need coursing through my veins.
Nik rips at my clothes, tearing the straps of my tank top, yanking it down until my breasts spill free. His mouth covers them in an instant. He bites, sucks, and leaves bruises that I will feel for days.
“Fuck you,” I breathlessly snarl, grinding against him with desperation, despite my words.
“Already planning on it, little pet,” he growls, spinning me around and slamming me against the nearest wall. The impactrattles through me, knocking the wind out of me. But I don’t care.
He hikes my skirt over my ass and tears my lacy panties off, quickly replacing them with a rough hand between my thighs. His fingers push into me without warning. I cry out, my back arching and nails digging into the wall as he thrusts them into me relentlessly.
“So fucking wet for me,” he gravelly whispers against my ear. “Do you really think I need anyone else when you’re always like this for me? Dripping. Ready. Begging me to ruin you.”
“I’m not begging,” I lie to myself even as my hips buck against his hand.
