Chapter 47 Chapter Fourty Seven
CANDY’S POV
“What's wrong?”
“Why is there blood on your shirt?” I ask in a shaky voice, ignoring the concern in Nikandr's voice as I peel myself away from him completely, barely restraining my hands from going all over him just to be sure he’s not hurt and bleeding. I’m scared for him but I’m fucking scared for me too.
Recalling the gory images Leah left imprinted in my head when she’d explained how ruthless these mobsters get even to their own families when money is involved makes it impossible for me to want to jump into this without any fear. He’s not the harmless, sweet man I thought I knew and I’m constantly aware of that now.
Following my eyes, he looks down at the exact spot on his shirt stained a with splashes of dull red and then looks away like a guilty child caught dead with their grubby hands deep in the candy jar.
“It’s nothing, I promise.”
“It’s not nothing to me.” I counter, throwing my hands up in frustration. “You’re standing in the middle of my room with blood on you, excuse me if I don’t find it normal.”
He doesn’t respond, infuriating me further but anger won’t solve this, not really. He pulls out one of those cigars he and Adrian favour, lighting it.
“Are you hurt?” I bring myself to ask because I need to know, for my peace of mind.
He shakes his head again, still refusing to make eye contact which is funny because this man takes pride in seeing into your soul through your eyes.
“Nikandr.”
“I had a small disagreement with family, okay?”
This time he looks up at me, his shinny eyes asking me not to pry further but I’ve never been one to back down for fear of what I might find. If anything, I’m more interested now on why the hell he’s here, in my room, wearing someone else’s blood.
“Go on.”
He takes a long drag of the cigar nestled between his middle and index finger, pacing to the open windows before letting out a cloud of smoke because he knows how much I hate it.
“Someone took pictures of you, not nice pictures and I just wanted to be sure they knew not to do that again. It wasn’t a big deal.”
He shrugs while my confused eyes just gawk at him, the corner of his lips lifting slightly into a small smirk as if to say he’s proud of his actions and will do it over and over again and if I know anything about him, it is that he damn well is.
“Pictures of me? Where? How? I don’t understand.”
“They were......interesting pictures with your boy toy.” He replies with the most visible discomfort and disgust.
“Adrian? What pictures are you talking about?”
I feel my heart beat going crazy, almost painful with each thud as I imagine what he’s talking about, dreading finding out that it has anything to do with last night. I’ll die of mortification if anyone watched us in that pool and took pictures of my moment of my insanity only to send it to him.
“Can I see?” I hear myself ask, even though my head is begging me not to confirm its fears.
“Candy....”
“Show me the pictures......please.” My voice betrays my emotions but I’m past caring. I need to see the fucking pictures.
I guess he’s learnt one thing about me and it’s the fact that I don’t take no for an answer once my mind is made up because he reaches into his pocket and pulls out his phone, unlocking it and handing it over to me.
I don’t have to search to find what I’m looking for because it’s right there on his lit screen mocking me. I swipe twice and it’s all pictures of me, wet, straddling Adrian in the pool, kissing him, being kissed by him, his hands all over me.
I grip the phone hard, glaring at the pictures until they start to blur.
I feel naked seeing myself like this, violated and stripped of every shred of dignity because someone invaded our privacy and all for what!?
“Why....”
He stubs out the cigar before striding back to me, his face unreadable.
“I’m sorry, princess. I handled it, I promise. It’ll never happen again.”
I find myself in his arms again, enveloped in his warmth, his deep voice making promises I shouldn’t dare believe. I’m not safe with him but I’m not safe away from him either. I travelled all the way to a new state to get away and even that couldn’t save me, what the hell?
“Why would anyone want....that. How did they even get in here?”
I feel, rather than see, his cynical smile.
“Yasuki runs New York. There’s no where you can’t get into with his name.”
The name rings a bell like I’ve heard it before and I can swear i have. It takes my brain a slow minute to remember the big man in the pool the day I managed to get myself assaulted by a bratva member calling Nikandr Yasuki’s boy.
“And the why is to show me that you’ve moved on, found someone else so that I can get over you and get my head back in the game, focus on the right sister.” He hums and it’s fucked that I know exactly what he’s talking about.
“Did it work?” I ask against my better judgment because some deranged part of me wants to know if seeing me with Adrian is what it takes to stop this madness we’re both prisoner to.
He laughs, a small soft sound that rumbles in his chest, traveling through my entire being like electric current.
“I came here with every intention to break his face in before taking you home even if it involved carrying you kicking and biting like some caveman. I told the receptionist I needed to see my wife and then I went back to the one place I’ve sworn off of just to beat the crap out of the bastard that took those pictures even though he did it on orders he couldn’t disobey. Do you think it worked, princess?”
My mouth drops open on a gasp as I draw away from the warm comfort of his chest but this time, I don’t step out of the circle of his arms. It’s oddly comforting, the same way it’s always been since the first time I stepped into them back in his hotel room.
“Your wife?” I ask with absolute stupefaction, watching him smile sheepishly.
“Yeah. I was that desperate and I meant it.”
“Nikandr! That’s why she was looking at me like I was the devil when Adrian and I came...”
“Stop saying his name.” There’s an undeniable note of warning in his voice that makes my body hum against my will.
“Adrian.”
In a blink, he has my face tilted upwards until I’m forced to look into his turbulent eyes, to watch as he leans down and covers my lips in a kiss that has me burning up instantly with insatiable hunger. His soft groan breaks through my will and resolve and before I can wrap my mind around what’s happening, I’m kissing him back like my life depends on it, opening my mouth to welcome his punishing tongue, moaning against his mouth as I beg for more.
It’s so wrong but it feels so good, so familiar it should be a crime.
I need salvation from this man because right now, I’m at his mercy.
He lifts me effortlessly, walking us back until my back presses against the wall.
“It’s insane how much I’ve missed you.” He breathes against my lips, devouring them again before I can respond to the need in his voice.
“Don’t say anything....” Kiss. “Please.”
His tongue rolls mine, slurping every part of me, invading my soul, his hands holding me up but refusing to touch me in the places I’m burning for him, the places that’d been so quiet last night I knew the difference between kissing him and any other man.....wait, what’s that annoying sound.
Slowly, I find my way back from the high of being even near this man enough to realize the annoying sound is my phone ringing off the hook.
I force him to put me down, not caring that he looks irritated by the interruption.
I walk away and over to the bed where I tossed the angry device earlier, picking it up as I try to calm my racing heart and tingling body ready to be back at that wall surrendering to him.
“It’s Peach.” I say, glaring at Nikandr like it’s his fault I have zero self control around him.
It probably is.
I notice guilt start to creep into his feral eyes, barely there but visible to me. He knows why Peach is calling and I have no reason to believe it’s anything good.