Page 83 of Scarred (Russian Sinners 2)

“That is how I feel you, Nikolai,” I whispered. “If you like it, it will be my gift to you.”

“You should let me pay you,” his lips lowered to mine.

“No,” I closed the gap between our lips for a brief second. “It is either a gift or you don’t get it.”

“Tough negotiator.”

I smiled. “I’m learning from the best,” I teased him. “Although, maybe… just maybe when all this is over, we can record ourselves when-” I cleared my throat, blushing at my boldness with this man, “when you fuck me, and we can see if I can improve my painting.”

“I can’t wait to take you to bed tonight,” he muttered, pressing a hard kiss on my lips.

I am so looking forward to it,I thought smugly as we quickly covered the painting and grabbed all the supplies for our forced vacation.

Chapter Thirty-One

Nikolai

That painting was fucking amazing. Olivia was totally right; it was different from anything else she had ever done before. But it was her best work yet. Hardness and softness, night and day, dark and light, pleasure and pain, man and woman… it all complemented each other. But what hit me right into the gut was the way she depicted us on that canvas; it was erotic. She saw me for all my darkness, all my ruthlessness, and soaked in my strength as my body dominated hers. Her fingers against my scar, my hand wrapped around her yielding neck; she didn’t even realize she portrayed my weakness too. She was my weakness and my light in the best way possible. There was barely a glimpse of nudity but her painting was better than porn.

My eyes traveled to her. Would she stay with me forever? Could she truly love a sinner like me? I wanted her too. Everything about her enthralled me, from her protectiveness of her mother, her kind heart, to her fire red hair, down to her soft voice. I loved everything about her.

She gave all her attention to Tasha during our car ride, chatting about things they could do during our so-called vacation. Every so often her eyes would come back to me and she’d smile softly. There was no doubt, I was completely taken with her. I wanted every inch of her body and soul. I still couldn’t believe her acceptance after what she saw.

When I saw her getting sick in the garden, I thought she was disgusted to have given herself to me, a ruthless killer. My heart felt like lead; I was sure I’d lost her. The fear at losing her shook me to my core. I had never experienced such intense fear; not when I stared down the barrel of a gun or when Boris’ men held me down and slashed my face.

Olivia trusted me; she was mine. This was all that mattered to me. All I ever wanted was a family of my own. Olivia was my family; there was nothing more important to me than Tasha and Olivia. I felt like the richest man on this Earth now, and the happiest. There was nothing stopping me from protecting what was mine.

Andrey and Ilya arranged for enough protection to remain behind to give the appearance of Olivia still being back at the house. There would be a different redhead decoy, and each one of them would have adequate protection. If someone approached them, they’d realize right away it was the wrong redhead. But it was enough to buy us time.

“Is this our plane?” Tasha asked excitedly.

“Yes, it is,” I answered her. She practically stormed out of the car and ran up the stairs. Ilya and Andrey were already waiting for us.

Olivia and I followed behind. There was worry on her face.

“What’s troubling you?” I wanted to ease all her fears.

“I’m worried about giving Tasha her lessons. I saw some of the material, and it will take me weeks to translate that text,” she responded, biting her lip anxiously.

Her answer surprised me. Instead of worrying about herself, she worried about Tasha’s education. I couldn’t help but chuckle.

“It will be fine, and I can help,” I squeezed her hand, then added teasingly. “I can read Russian, you know.”

Now she laughed. “Okay, smarty pants. So you’ll be my nanny and I’ll be her nanny. Is that how it goes?”

I grinned at her. “I quite like the way you think. You and I will have a lesson of our own, in the bedroom we will share.”

A flush went up her neck and colored her cheeks. “I don’t know if I should reprimand you or commend you on quick thinking.”

“Commend me,” I suggested, leaning over taking a nib at her earlobe. “And then reward me,” I whispered in her ear.

She giggled softly. “Mr. Smirnov, what an outrageous suggestion.” She suddenly stopped, turning her head towards me; a playful smile on her lips. “Or you could reward me.”

“I see you are a quick study.”

Her eyes sparkled, and she looked stunning. She felt at ease with me despite what she witnessed this morning.

She still wants me. I beamed like a schoolboy with the biggest crush of his life.

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