Tarnished Tyrant - A Mafia Romance

Chapter 17 Episode 17

Maybe Nikolai is right. Life is just about what makes you feelgood. What else is there? You could offer me a billion dollarsright now and I couldn’t for the life of me give you any otheranswer.

“I’m going to come,” I grit out, rocking my hips on his hand.I’m seconds away. Just a few more pulses and—

“Come for me,” he hisses against my neck. “Be bad with me,beautiful Belle. Submit and I’ll give you what you can’t giveyourself.”

I feel that tickle again, and all at once, it hits me: it’s myconscience. My body tenses, but not with an orgasm.

Somehow, I manage to break through the spell he wove aroundme. I grab Nikolai’s wrist and yank him out of my pants. ThenI spin around, desperate to get much needed space from him.“Don’t touch me.”

“It’s a little late for that.” He holds up his hand, still glisteningwith my juices. Then he slowly slides his fingers in his mouth.

How f****d up am I that it turns me on like nothing before?The shameless w***e between my legs clenches, a pitiful cryfor me to get off my moral high horse and let this gorgeousman finger me to ecstasy.

“No,” I say, jabbing a finger in his direction. “I’m not doingthat again. It doesn’t matter that you’re attractive and good atslipping past all of my defenses—”

I narrow my eyes. “It’s not a compliment. None of that mattersbecause you’re still a criminal. And I’m not going to let youturn me into you.”

Nikolai shrugs. “I wouldn’t be so sure. I think, given what I’mholding over you, I can get you to do or be whatever I like.”

“You aren’t a murderer,” I say, repeating what I told him lastnight. “You won’t hurt Elise.”

“Maybe you’re right, maybe you’re wrong.” He shrugs. “Withthis video, it doesn’t matter. I won’t have to kill anyone.”

My chest tightens, my heart skipping beat after beat until Ihave to press a hand to my chest to be sure I’m not going intocardiac arrest.

He points to the upper corner of the room and then waggles hisstill-wet fingers. “Wave to the camera, Belle. You’re a star.”

I follow his point and see a tiny red dot I missed before.

He grins. “And it was so much easier than I thought it wouldbe. Thanks for your cooperation.”

The smile on his face is so completely opposite to the horrorand confusion pulsing through me that I launch myself at him.I swing my arm back, ready to slap him. But before I can evenget close to him, Nikolai snatches my arm out of the air andyanks me against his body.

“I didn’t force you to open your legs, Belle. You chose that onyour own. Don’t be mad at me.”

“I hate you,” I spit. “I hate you so f*****g much.”

He arches my back, bending himself over me so I’m forced tolook up into his eyes. “Fine. Then hate me. But unless youwant our little tape getting out, you’ll do as I say.”

Fear curdles my stomach. “You can’t blackmail me intohaving s*x with you.”

“And clearly, I don’t have to,” he snorts. “The collateral isn’tfor s*x. It’s for the audit. You said your threats last night wereidle, but you don’t become as powerful as I am by taking anychances. You left me no choice.”

He tightens his hold around the wrist I hurt last night. The onethat’s sore from touching myself while thinking about him.

It feels poetic, in a way, to have him gripping it now. Areminder of the dangerous hold he has on me. The hold I needto do my best to break.

Finally, he lets go. “Whether you and I get along… whether Ineed to release this collateral or not… it’s all in your handsnow, Belle. Choose wisely.”

“Your girlfriend is very focused on her work,” Arslan says ashe saunters into my office.

He laughs and drops down into the leather chair. “If you don’tlike my visits, then take away my clearance. Did you knowStan on security doesn’t even check my ID anymore? He justlets me up.”

“He’s probably annoyed with you, too. Maybe for both oursakes, I’ll bar you from the building.”

Arslan just laughs again. He knows I won’t do it. More to thepoint, I can’t. He’s my best friend and right-hand man, andhe’s been both those things for as long as I can remember.

Also, my biggest pain in the ass.

Though Belle comes in a close second.

He leans forward eagerly. “What are you working on? Let mehelp.”

“There hasn’t been anything to do since you made nice withthe Greeks.”

“You should be thanking me,” I tell him. “Fewer people foryou to kill.”

“Well, what if I liked the killing?”

“Then get off your ass and figure out how to take out theBattiato mafia.”

He scoffs. “Like it’s that easy.”

“Exactly,” I say. “Which is why I need you to go do your joband let me do mine.”

“What are you doing again?”

I flip Belle’s dossier closed. “I was going over the informationyou gave me yesterday.”

And looking into her scumbag “boss.” If Belle isn’t going tostand up for herself, then maybe it’s time someone does it forher. But I decide not to mention that part to Arslan. He’d onlygive me s**t about it, and I’m not in the mood.

He smirks. “Studying up on her and wishing I’d included full-color pictures?”

I grimace. Turns out, he’ll give me s**t no matter what.

“She’s right down the hall, mudak. What kind of patheticsucker would I be sitting here looking at pictures when I couldgo walk twenty yards and have the real thing?”

Truth be told, I’ve been fighting the urge to drop in on Belleall morning. Ever since our little discussion in my office thismorning. But I want to give her plenty of time to think. Timeto make the right choice.

Time to grasp that what I say goes.

“That wasn’t a denial,” Arslan remarks.

“Because I know you too well. I don’t want to waste mybreath.”

“Two-plus decades of friendship is a long time.” He casts asidelong glance at me. “Long enough that I know when you’rehung up on a broad.”

“Listen to me,” he says more soberly than before. “Obviously,I’m giving you s**t. It’s my favorite pastime. But I’m seriousabout this, too.”

He gives me his best approximation of a stern face. “Which iswhy you should listen to me now.”

I sigh and wave him on. “Fine. Say your piece.”

“I’ve been with you since almost the beginning, brother,” hesays. “I was there when you were just a scrappy little punkwithout a dime. But you’ve always had drive. Focus. Yourfamily lost everything to the Battatios, and you weredetermined to crawl your way back to the top and make thempay.”

I cross my arms. “Are you saying I’ve lost my focus?”

“No.” He waves me off. “But—”

“‘But’ implies you think I’ve lost focus,” I growl.

“You promised Simatou that you’d be exclusive with hiscrazy-ass sister.”

“I told him I wouldn’t make love with anyone else,” I remindhim.

“Oh, you clever boy, have a cookie. C’mon, Nikolai—you andI both know that s**t won’t hold up.”

“Xena isn’t my wife yet.”

Arslan laughs. “I’d love to hear you explain to that insanebitch how finger-f*****g your accountant doesn’t constitutecheating. Right after you explain the difference between‘f*****g’ and ‘making love.’ You won’t get two words outbefore she shanks you in the throat, and you’ll deserve it.”

My eyes widen. “How did you know we—goddammit, Arslan,are you spying on me?”

“No. And now I don’t need to,” Arslan says, looking far toopleased with getting me to rat on myself. “Bridget told meBelle was in your office. She looked pissed about it. I assumedsomething happened, so I bluffed. And I nailed it. Fuckin’bingo!”

“Bridget needs to keep her damn mouth shut,” I grumble.

“Maybe she would if you were f*****g her instead of thenumbers nerd,” Arslan says.

I throw up my hands. “Are you trying to stop me fromcheating on Xena or encourage it? Make up your damn mind.”

“I’m not telling you to do anything. We both know it wouldn’tdo any good.”

Arslan rolls his eyes. “I’m just saying… you’ve worked a longtime to get to where you are. And now, you’re poised on theedge of something big. I don’t want anything—or anyone—todistract you from it.”

I purse my lips. “It would take a lot more than a redhead witha nice ass to distract me from my goals.”

“Good. Great. Wonderful,” Arslan says. “Then I’m off mysoapbox and back to my regularly scheduled bullshit, okay?”

“Or we could skip the bullshit and—”

“But is there a tape of your little finger puppet show thismorning?” he taunts. “Please tell me there’s a video. I wannawatch. The free s**t on the internet doesn’t do it for meanymore.”

I point to the door. “Get the f**k out.”

“I was kidding,” he laughs. Then he shrugs. “Okay, I wasn’t.But I knew you’d say no. You did record it, though, right?”