Chapter Fifteen

NIKOLAI

I do not see Vasily before I leave. He gives us one week for Daisy's bruises to heal. They are all superficial but very painful. Daniel and I carry the body of Sergei to his car. He will take care of it. "Pigs," he says. I care not.

My attention is focused on Daisy. She cries at night, every night, and I hold her as she clings to me.  Before Daniel left, Daisy makes him vow to find Regan.  Her nightmares are a mix of fear for herself and for Regan.

"Your name, Daisy Miller, it is the character in a famous story, yes?" I ask her one night when she cannot sleep. I do not know if the time in the hands of the Petrovichs bother her more than the killing of the head of the snake. I'm afraid to ask.

"No." I can feel the soft shake of her head against my chest. I feed her a little more vodka. It has helped these past nights for her to fall asleep. "I've never heard of that before."

"Da, Henry James writes about a flower in bloom who stands outside of society but is lovely nonetheless." I do not tell her that the Daisy Miller in the story is an incorrigible flirt looked down upon or made fun of by everyone around her. "She has tragic ending."

"Great," she mutters. "I'm named after a girl who dies?"

"Da, your parents know of this?" I stroke her back and tip the vodka against her lips again. She swallows and snuggles closer.

"I don't think my parents ever heard of Henry James. My mom said I was named after all the wild daisies that grew on the farm."

"It is perfect name." I wish I could show her how much I love her, but her body is bruised and hurts all over. Later there will be time for loving. We have many days together.

After our one-week reprieve, Daniel arrives and escorts us to the Moscow Vnukovo airport. There, Daisy and I will take a charter jet to Switzerland. Winter is on the cusp here. I've bundled Daisy into a borrowed fur. I wear only a long-sleeve shirt and jeans borrowed from Daniel. Everything that Daisy and I brought to Russia will remain here.

"I've got a lead on Regan," Daniel says to Daisy. The mention of Regan's name brings forth her tears.

"Thank you," she chokes out. 

Daisy nearly runs up the stairs into the body of the jet, but I stop to take one last look. Russia is a vast, mysterious land. There are portions of the northern country that few men have ever explored. In the winter, it is harsh and unforgiving, but every spring, the foliage comes out. The people here are resilient like the land itself.

My heart aches a little as I realize that I may never step another foot on Russian soil again. Nor that of Ukraine. I take deep breaths, wanting to suck in and preserve some of this land that has made me. 

"You'll miss this place, huh?" says Daniel, shivering a little in his thick coat. Yes, he is from a warmer climate. In my shirt, I feel nothing but the cleansing air. The colder the wind, the more pure.

"You see harsh landscapes and acres of snow, and I see the warm blanket of winter sheltering the earth until it is time for the seeds to flower and rise again. We are a people of resilience and survival."

I feel Daniel shrug beside me, the wool of his heavy jacket barely moving over the gesture. "So you make a sacrifice, and that way you know your treasure is worth it."

I nod. Leaving a small bit of me here in Russia is not that big of a sacrifice when I get Daisy in return. She is the embodiment of the spirit of my homeland—beautiful, resilient, and powerful. "I am in your debt. Call upon me before I pass so that I may go into my rest unfettered." I phrase my request in such a way that Daniel cannot deny me. He shakes his head in rueful agreement.

"Go on then. I'll call in the marker soon enough." Daniel pushes me up the stairs but this time I am the one running up into the plane.

 Inside, I sit next to Daisy. The craft is small but luxurious. There is no one but Daisy and me and the pilot. No others to see us leave. I don't ask who the pilot is, nor do I care.

"Why can't you return?" Daisy asks, reaching for my hand.

"The Petrovich interests are well-protected here in Eastern Europe. Its tentacles are far reaching. In exchange for killing Sergei, I am allowed to leave on the provision that I do not return.

Daisy makes a choked sound. I rush to reassure her. "Nyet, do not cry kitten. You are my home now."

The flight to Zurich passes quickly, but the whole time I can think of nothing else but Daisy naked in a big bed. I ache to hold her and remind each other that we are alive. Her scents fills my nose and thoughts of her in various stages of undress and in various positions torment me.

It is hard for me to rise from my seat when we land. I close my eyes momentarily and think of Sergei getting eaten by pigs. Daniel has promised me that he will deliver the body to a hog farm where the animals will eat all of Sergei. That is enough to kill off my erection.

I barely notice the lush appointments of the Baur Au Lac hotel. I notice Daisy looking in wonderment at the crystal chandeliers and the acres of marble floors. "You like?"

She nods and then sighs. "I'm not going to get used to this."

"I like that." I admit. "It means I can spoil you every day."

"If you spoil me every day, I will get used to it."

"Not you, my Daisy." I kiss her fiercely then, in the lobby of this staid hotel. She blushes when I pull away, and I have to position myself behind her so that the few people loitering aren't shocked by my erection. Once we are inside the hotel suite, I draw Daisy into my arms.

She draws in a deep breath. "Nick, I want you to love me."

"I do." I tighten my hold.

"No, I mean, physically."

At first, I do not understand, but as she stares at me, a flush begins to spread. Suddenly comprehension takes hold, and I am instantly hard once again. "Yes, yes, Daisy." I spread soft kisses on her temple and forehead and draw back to check again that she is serious.

She nibbles her lip and her flush deepens. "For some reason, after all this, I feel embarrassed."

"Don't." I lead her into the bedroom, and the lush surroundings of hotel are the perfect setting. We have a view of the park, the lake, and the Schanzengraben Canal, but none of the scenery interests either of us. "We have left it all behind us now."

I sit her on the edge of the bed and begin to disrobe. I want to confess all to her and for her to see my imperfect body. The buttons on my dress shirt have become too small, and I pop two off in my haste to tug off my shirt. My undershirt follows and then my slacks, socks, and briefs. My cock is jutting out, hungry for her. I squeeze it to get myself under control, and I hear a pleased gasp from her.

"Do you want this, kitten?"

Her eyes are bright and her skin is flushed as she watches my naked body.

I'm filled with such relief that I want to lie down before I fall down, but I lock my knees and place my hands behind my head. "In Russia, your body tells the tale of your sins or your triumphs, depending on who looks upon you." I'm tense because even though she knows what I am, she does not know all I've done. And I am about to tell her so that we can go forward without looking back.

And so, I tell her about the tattoos that cover my body. "The stars on my knees mean I bow before no government. The marks on my fingers tell you I have killed, and the dagger in my neck that I kill for money. The markings on my shoulder indicate how high in the Bratva I was. These marks all told people I was not a man to be fucked with," I pause and close my eyes and pray for strength. "I would come to you unblemished, if I could."

"And the inscription on your chest?" her soft voice says. She hasn't moved.

"Death is mercy." I am still afraid to open my eyes. I feel her gaze upon me and my cockstand lengthens. I cannot help my reaction to her, and truly I do not want to. I need her to know that I desire her at all times.

As seconds tick by, I wonder if I've made a mistake and misread her. That now that she has seen the true me, she will turn me away. As Alexsandr did. As did my family, whoever they were. I have been alone for so many years, and I do not know how I can go on if Daisy rejects me.

I hear a swish against the heavy Egyptian cotton sheets as Daisy stands, and then I feel the heat of her body as it nears mine. Her hand brushes over my right pectoral and my nipple, and I cannot stop the shudders.

She trails her fingers under my arm to my back, where she traces the wolf's head. "And this?" she asks, her breath light upon my skin.

"I am Vor, a wolf, a predator." I respond hoarsely. These light touches of hers are more erotic than a naked woman dancing in front of me. Or two naked women performing a lewd act. Her fingers trail off, and I wonder if she is done with me. I can scarcely swallow. Then I feel the press of her lips in the middle of my back.

"Oh, Nick," she says, her mouth moving against me, "My Nikolai. I love you, and it wouldn't matter how many tattoos you have or how many bad things you've done in the past. Your life is one I can't begin to understand, but I want to spend the rest of my life learning you."

Her words are like a knife against the bonds that held me. I spin around and grab her in my arms. My mouth is upon hers before she can say another word, draw another breath. I eat at her mouth as if it is the finest delicacy in all the land. My tongue delves deep into the wet cavern of her mouth.

I swing her legs up around me and tip her back into the bed. The mattress envelops us. I trail my mouth over her jaw and down the column of her throat where I find her pulse thrumming madly. I bite it, and her hips rise up to press against me.

I thrust my thigh between her legs, and she begins to ride me. Her wetness is evident. I grind down harder and drag my mouth and tongue over her collarbone.

Her hands grab my head as she works herself into a frenzy. A release now, however, would be a weak one, and I need to be inside her somehow, either my tongue or my cock. As I ease away from her, she gives a tiny, mewling, "No, Nick."

"Shhh, kitten. Let me help you."

Her grip on my head eases and she nods, panting a bit.

"I will take care of you. Little release now, and then, when your tissues are swollen with need, I give you big release." I grin cockily at her. "One you will never forget."

"Is that right?" She shakes her head, and her mouth twitches with amusement. "Are you going to talk about it all night or are you going to do something?"

My Daisy. So fearless and so direct with her hunger. I wonder what I have done so right to have the gods smile at me like this. "Do something." I assure her. "But first, we remove your clothes."

"I don't have any marks," she says, looking at me through the lace shield of her eyelashes. It is a look designed to bring a man to his knees. It is good that I am already prostrate or I would've fell over.

"I will make them." I promise. The silk shirt that I bought her from the airport store provides little resistance when I rip it down the front.

She gasps, but then laughs a little at my eagerness. "Nick! That was my only shirt!" she says, grabbing at the sides of the torn silk. I slide my hands up to cup her breasts. Her nipples are erect and ready for my mouth. I ignore her comments about her clothes and bite her nipple through the fabric. My kitten likes the nip because her protests die off, and her hands have left her shirt to slide along my shoulders. The touch of her fingers against my bare skin is heaven.

I squeeze one breast and pinch the nipple as I mouth the other one through the lace of her bra. My free hand reaches under her and loosens the clasp. Soon her bra is gone and her beautiful breasts are bared to my gaze and my touch. I place wet kisses around the mounds and then suck the nipple of the right breast hard into my mouth.

Her cries of pleasure echo above me, and I can feel her legs move restlessly below me. "You have the most beautiful breasts, kitten. I could spend all day between these mounds." I cup them and kiss both fervently. "I would lick the valleys and nibble on the peaks until you were coming on my thigh."

"God, Nick, please," she moans.

"Please what?" I tease her.

"I ache," she says.

"Is it your heart?" I place a soft kiss over her left breast.

"No, you've filled that. I feel empty much lower."

Her words wash over me like sunshine. "Such a beautifully worded request." I tell her. "How can I not suck on your pussy when you ask so nicely?"

She bats me slightly with her hand. "Nick, that's not what I said."

I shake my head and smile. Never had I thought sex could be like this. Joyful and playful, but still erotic. "I'm, what you say, reading between the lines?"

She laughs as I intended, but her giggles are cut short as I move lower between her legs. I pull off the skirt we bought and find a tiny thong underneath. It barely covers her sexy mound. I pull it aside and see the wetness of her arousal glistening on her cunt lips and between her thighs.

"You look delicious, kitten. I cannot wait to eat you."

A twist of my fingers and the thong string breaks.

"We're going to be broke if you keep destroying all my clothes," Daisy tells me, but I can tell by the way that her thighs fall open that she cares little about the scraps of fabric I have laid waste to.

"Mmmmm" is all I say. And soon I cannot say anything else because I am licking up her nectar. I place the broad flat of my tongue along her seam and sweep her from front to back in long languorous strokes as if I am the cat and she is the milk.

Her clitoris protrudes from its hood and begs for me to suck on it. I place my mouth over her and suck it in. With my hands, I reach up and squeeze her breasts. Her thighs are gripping my head and her hands are tugging my hair with urgency.

I don't stop.

I suck and lick and bite and suck more until her pants turns to cries and her cries turn to screams. She shudders her release all over my tongue.

Into her soft swollen tissues, I slide one finger, softly breaching her innocence. She is slick and tight.

Her first instinct is to slide away. "No," she cries. "Don't. Wait. It's too much at once, Nick."

"No, kitten, we have just begun." And I begin again. I slide in one more finger, shallowly fucking her with just the tips. As her soft channel gives way, I slide my fingers in farther. I measure her reaction to ensure that the pain is minimal.

Her body is slicked with sweat, making her shine all over. I want to lick every inch of her—and I will. Her face is a study of concentrated eroticism. Her lower lip is clenched between her teeth and her fingers clutch the sheets as I build her to another orgasm. Her channel is tightening its grip on my two fingers. I slide a third one in. Three fingers is still less girth than my cock, and I want to make this as painless as possible for her.

With my thumb, I work her clit. My fingers pump in and out of her in a steady rhythm. Her breasts are bouncing, and I cannot resist their call. I bend my head and suckle on one and then the other, still working my three fingers inside of her.

Her body tenses and her thighs squeeze my hand tightly as her body bows off the bed and she screams my name again. It is the most glorious sound I've ever heard.

I keep stroking through her orgasm, and I feel the muscles in her pussy tighten again in yet another release. She is shaking now, and crying.

"Oh my God, oh my God," she chants, thrashing her head back and forth. I pull my fingers out slowly and cup her mound, pressing my longer fingers against her cunt lips. She continues to spasm and shake, and I kiss her face tenderly, licking away the tears that spill out the side of her eyes. When the tremors of her orgasm have passed, she rolls into me and I hug her body tight.

"What was that?" she asks in wonderment. I choke back a laugh.

"You had an orgasm." I tell her.

"But I've had them before, haven't I?" She sounds delightfully bewildered, and if my cock didn't ache so much from the need to be inside her, I might've spent five minutes laughing. As it was, the pain in my groin prevented all but a weak chuckle.

"Yes, but they can vary in intensity." I pull the covers over her and get up to wet a washcloth for her. "But I will always make them that good for you." I say smugly from the bathroom.

"Is that right?" She still sounds dazed, and my chest puffs up with pride at how well I have made my woman come. I wring out the washcloth and test it against my wrist. Not too hot.

"What are you doing?" She looks curiously at me.

"I'm taking care of my kitten," I tell her. Pulling down the sheets, I press the washcloth between her legs.

"That's normal, right?" Uncertainty fills her voice. "I feel like I don't know anything."

"It is," I assure her. I pull down the sheet so that her lovely body is exposed. Shyness overtakes her and she moves to cover her breasts and her pubis. Instead of brushing her hands away and telling her that she should not feel shy with me, I roll her over so that her back and lovely buttocks are exposed. I squeeze some of the hotel lotion into my hand and begin to rub her back. Her muscles here are tight, perhaps because she is unused to such casual nudity.

With long strokes, I soothe her muscles and her nerves, pressing and rubbing all the safe places. Her shoulder blades, the curves of her small biceps, the dip in her lower back. As she softens and relaxes, I begin to learn her erogenous zones. I trail my fingers along the sides of her breasts and over the curve of her buttocks. Rubbing along her inner thighs, I allow the tips of my fingers to lightly touch her cunt. She moves restlessly against the sheets, but her arousal is only a small flame, and I want it to be a roaring fire. I want to see the wetness paint her thighs and hear her breathless gasps. I want this first time of hers to be a memory of glorious pleasure rather than pain.

The focus of my massage moves downward, and I pay particular attention to the sensitive ankles and tender soles of feet. She is sensitive around the backs of her knees and the inside thigh area. All the parts I have rubbed with my fingers, I follow with my tongue and mouth, avoiding the obvious erotic zones. Daisy moans, either in delight or annoyance or both.

"You're killing me," she says, and and then freezes up, all my seductions for naught. The word "kill" has brought back bad memories. I frown at her back but lie down next to her and gather her into my arms.

"There are bad men in this world, and sometimes they need to be removed so that their harm cannot spread to others."

She shudders, and I hold her tighter. "Will this ever go away?" she asks.

"Yes and no. The stark feelings of guilt will fade, but you will not forget this moment." I debate what to say next, for I have no experience in comforting someone I love. I have no experience with loving either. "I think you will find some peace, but it is okay to not feel it now."

"I know I shouldn't feel guilty. I shouldn't, because he's sold Regan off to God-knows-where, and he wanted to hurt me, and he wanted to kill you. I shouldn't feel guilty, and yet…I do." A sob breaks. She turns her head and cries softly into my neck, and her tears are like pricks from a needle on my skin.

"Shhh, kitten," I whisper over and over as I rock her. The tears subside eventually, and Daisy pulls out of my arms to lie on her back.

"I'm sorry," she says, unable to look me in the eyes.

"Nothing to be sorry about." I roll to my side so I can look at her. The need to touch her is strong, so I pull her to my side and rest my head on top of her. We both lie there in silence for some time until sleep pulls us under.

I awaken to a soft hand between my legs and tender lips at my throat. For a moment I think I must be dreaming and I reach down and cup myself. There I find a fragile hand. Daisy.

Her fingers still and begin to move away, but I forestall her movements. Instead, I grip her hand tighter around my already-hard cock and show her how to touch me.

"You like it rougher than I thought," she whispers.

You have no idea, kotehok. I say silently, but to her I say, "Yes, tighter, a little hard." And we begin to stroke me together. I pull her mouth toward mine, and we kiss, open-mouthed and ravenous. We kiss and kiss while we jerk me to an orgasm. My come jets out in long, translucent ropes, the semen lubricating our caresses. I groan low and loud as she pulls at me harder. "Yes, just like that," I gasp out, and then I can say nothing for a long minute.

I wipe off her hand and mine with the discarded washcloth.

"You're still hard," she notices. My cock jerks in anticipation.

"I am," I tell her. "And I will be until I come inside of you."

Her blue eyes are on fire with desire for me. "Then come inside me," she invites, and I nearly spill again at her invitation.

It's everything I've been waiting for. "My hands are shaking." I raise my hands to show her that they are trembling slightly. "I let you get me off so that I can control myself enough to show you pleasure."

She shakes her head at me, amazed. "Nick, you don't have to try so hard."

"Never." I cradle her head in my hands. "You should shoot me when I stop trying. No effort is too much for you. Pleasing you is the greatest privilege that exists."

I can tell from the look on her face that she doesn't believe me, but it is the truth.

I drop my mouth to hers and kiss her until she takes my breath away and then gives it back. I begin to map her body once again, this time noting that her right breast is more sensitive than her left. With my hands, I mold her breasts and pinch and squeeze the erect tips. Someday our child will suckle here.

Reaching between us, I smooth her lubrication over her cunt lips and then onto my cock. My fingers slip inside her easily this time, our previous play having made her ready for me. Inside, the tissues of her cunt grip me, and I bite my lip hard to keep from coming.

Her hands stroke my shoulders and tangle in my hair. The touch is loving and genuine. I will never get enough of her. I raise up on my elbows and kiss her again and again, all the while plunging my fingers inside her. I grind my palm into her pubic bone and she cries out in pleasure.

"I must taste you again." I push down between her legs and raise her up to my mouth like she is a feast, and then I eat at her like I'm a starved man until she comes and I drink down her juice.

As she shudders from her orgasm, I reach over to the nightstand and rip open a condom. Sheathing myself, I rub just the tip over her already-sensitive flesh, and she trembles and clutches at the sheets, her eyes dazed. I push in slightly, and because I've fingered her several times today, she is so very tight.

"Someday soon I'll take you without a barrier, da?"

She nods. "I'll get on the pill right away."

"Or maybe we make baby?" I spread my fingers over her belly. "Someday."

Her eyes glisten and she chokes out, "Someday."

I cannot hold myself back any longer. The tight grip of her pussy on the tip of my cock is exquisite torment. I push in slowly and feel the tissues give way. My eyes scan her face so that I can pull back or cease if there is any sign of pain, but there is none. When I'm finally seated to the hilt, it is almost too much. I want to stay inside her forever.

"I do not want to leave you, kitten. Ever."

"Then don't," she pants, her hands fluttering over my body. "We'll just make love in this beautiful hotel room until we die."

"A perfect end." I agree. Instinct takes over, and I must move. The first drag of my cock out her channel elicits a groan from both of us. It's the most glorious feeling. I thrust back inside of her.

There is nothing else that exists in this world, only her and me. I lift her so that we are virtually upright and her little clit can rub against my pelvis. My hand tangles in her hair and angles her head so that I can ravage her mouth. My other hand clutches her buttocks as I lift her off me and then drive back inside. Again and again we press against each other until I can feel her convulse around me. I let the ripples of her cunt flutter against my cock and listen to her cries against my mouth. When they begin to subside, I pound against her until my own release comes and I spill into the barrier between us.

Tenderly I rest her against the pillows. Strands of hair are sticking to her face and I push them aside. She is too tired to do more than smile weakly at me. I feel like I have conquered a mountain. I could run a thousand miles for that smile. Swiftly, I dispose of the condom and climb back into bed with her. Pulling the covers up, I tuck her lax body into my side.

She mumbles something and then drops off to sleep. I stare at the coffered ceiling and make a dozen promises to different deities thanking them for their gift and swearing to keep her safe and happy for as long as I have breath.

"What will we do today?"

"First, we go to the Pardelplatz district and get you onto the bank accounts," I place my fingers over her mouth. "Do not argue. It will be done."

"I'm not with you for your money."

Daisy's mouth turns down at the corner, and I cannot keep myself from kissing it. I stroke my tongue over her pressed lips until they part, and then neither of us argue for several minutes. "Then we shall go to Bahnhofstrasse, where you will tell me what I should be wearing every minute of the day down to my briefs, and then I will help you pick out delectable bits of lace and silk that will touch your secret parts when my lips and hands cannot."

Daisy blushes and shakes her head, but she's smiling. "I hope you have a lot of money, because you clearly like spending it."

I lean back against the soft pillows. "I don't know how much I have, but it is enough for us to buy a few things."

Later at the hotel, I sit out on the balcony overlooking the river, sipping some coffee. Daisy comes storming out, waving the bank book. "Didn't you ever look at this?"

I shrug. "Yes, but what does it matter? I had nothing. So long as I was not hungry or could buy a necessary weapon, the amount was of no concern."

Daisy closes her eyes as if reaching for patience. "This is millions. Like I don't think you and I could spend all of it even if we shopped at the Bahnhofstrasse every day."

"Then we will not worry about it."

My lack of concern over this is bothering Daisy, so I pull the bank book out of her hand and lay it on the table. "I don't care what I have so long as I can be with you, kotehok. I am happy living in a box as long as you are sharing the box with me." I pull her down on my lap.

She has changed into one of the sleek black outfits we bought in one of the gold-lettered shops that littered the shopping avenue. Some of those shops had no price tags, which made it easier for me to buy clothes for Daisy without argument. And since many of the shops had agreements with the banks in the financial district, I merely signed a discreet credit slip without Daisy noticing. So much easier that way.

I lay my mouth over my favorite part of her neck where her pulse beats. There is the evidence of her life and her passion. As I suck on it, I can feel the flutter of her heartbeat speed up and suspect that if I slipped my hand beneath her skirt, her delicate pink silk panties would be wet.

"Still, I think I should get a job when we get back, and we both should learn how to manage money," Daisy says, but I can tell her heart isn't in her scold. She tips her head so I can get better access to her neck.

"Are you sore, kotehok?" I only took her once, although she came several times. My bold question makes her squirm in my lap, and my cock responds predictably.

"Not really." She sounds a bit breathless. I suspect that Daisy's body, newly awakened, is just as hungry as mine. My fingers slide up her thigh and her legs fall open. Between them her arousal is evident. It coats my fingers, and the thin barrier between my touch and her clit is soaked. I push the material aside and rub her slightly. She moans, and I pull her chin around so that I can kiss her. My fingers push into her still-tight passage, and I fuck her with my tongue and digits until she is crying into my mouth.

"Let's see how a bath feels," I suggest, lifting her in my arms.

"A bath?" She sounds disappointed.

"Yes, I want to fuck you while you are sitting in front of a jet in the bathtub. And then maybe eat you out." I don't give her any time to protest, fastening my mouth on hers again and walking directly to the bathroom.

We don't come out until hours later, when our skin is wrinkled and we have used up half of the hotel's hot water capacity.