Relieved that it’s taken care of and one less thing for me to worry about, I tell him to go have fun. I know he and Andrei are anxious to go find someone to fuck after dealing with David. Killing and fucking tend to go hand-in-hand. All that adrenaline needs an outlet, and I’m guessing they won’t be back for hours.
“She’s good to go,” Nikolai says, rubbing some ointment on her skin before wrapping it up.
Before I’ve even had a chance to think it through, I ask him, “Do you have an extra needle in that bag?”
He lifts a dark brow at me. “You want a tattoo?”
Being careful to not jostle Nina too much, I roll up the sleeve on my right arm to where there’s a small piece of skin that’s unmarked and hold it out for Nikolai. He’s very careful to not look surprised when I tell him to tattoo Nina’s name in Cyrillic. Without a word, he gets everything ready and starts working. It doesn’t take long before he’s finished and Nina’s name is written on my skin. I’d made her get mine. It seems only fair that I do the same.
“Thanks, Nikolai,” I tell him as he packs up his stuff. “Andrei and Ilya are out picking up women and drinking too much if you want to join them.”
He laughs and grabs his phone to text them. “I’ll definitely do that. American women are so different. They can’t get enough of the accent. All I have to do is start talking, and their panties drop to the floor.”
I laugh because I’m pretty sure it’s not just the accent. Nikolai is a tatted-up wall of muscle, and I’m guessing that might also have something to do with it. He wraps my arm and then leaves with his equipment. I stay with Nina in my lap for several more minutes until Ruslan comes over and nudges my hand with his head, letting me know he needs to go out. Picking her up, I let Ruslan out and then carry her upstairs. She’s still in her clothes, but there’s no way in hell I’m going to undress her while she’s unconscious. The last thing I want is for her to wake up and think I had my way with her while she was out of it.
Pulling back the covers, I put her in my bed. My eyes run over her, and when I see how her skirt has bunched up, I reach to pull it down and then freeze when I see the bruises. There’s no way in hell I can’t not look, so I slide her skirt up a bit more and bite back a curse when I see the bruises dotting her thighs. They’re obviously from someone’s fingers, and the image of someone holding her down while raping her nearly sends me into a rage. The only way I can get under control is by promising myself that I will make every single one of those fuckers pay for what they’ve done to her. I don’t care how long it takes. I’m going to kill every damn one of them.
I carefully pull her skirt back down and bring the covers over her body so she won’t get cold. Her face is relaxed in sleep, and I can’t resist running the back of one finger along her cheek. She lets out a soft whimper as her eyelids flutter widely but remain shut.
“It’s okay,” I whisper in Russian before kissing her forehead. “You’re safe now, Nina.”
Chapter 5
Nina
Iwake from yet another nightmare to a dark, unfamiliar room and suck in a quick breath, clutching the sheets to my chest as my eyes dart around and my heart races so fast I can feel its rapid beat. When I realize I’m the only one in the bed and that my clothes are still on, I begin to relax.
“It’s okay, Nina. You’re safe.”
Vasily’s deep, accented voice comes from a dark corner of the room, and I have to strain to make out the silhouette of his broad shoulders. He’s sitting in one of the chairs by the French doors, but it’s way too dark for me to see anything clearly. My arm aches from my tattoo, and I feel groggy from whatever the hell was in that syringe, but as I slowly start to wake, everything comes back to me, and before I know it I’m crying so hard I can barely breathe. In seconds, Vasily’s crossed the distance and wrapped his arms around me.
My first instinct is to tense at the feel of his strong body against mine, but he doesn’t back away, just gently holds me, murmuring something in Russian while he strokes my head and rubs my back until my body relaxes into his. He’s no longer in his suit. At some point while I was sleeping he’d showered and changed into joggers and a long-sleeve tee, and it’s hard for me to wrap my head around this casual side of the big, scary Bratva boss.
When I’ve got control of myself, I take a shaky breath and whisper in a hoarse voice, “I’m sorry.”
“There’s nothing to apologize for. You’ve been through a lot. It’s going to take a long time to get past what’s been done to you. You need to be patient with yourself.”
I still don’t understand why Vasily is being so kind to me or why he chose to take on the burden of getting me out of there and keeping me safe. I may not be able to make sense of it, but that doesn’t stop me from being grateful. He keeps stroking my hair, and it’s so soothing that my eyes start to drift shut. Even though he’s a gorgeous man with a body that every woman’s eye is drawn to, there’s nothing overly sexual about this touch. He’s not trying to get me undressed or force his way into me. He’s just holding me, making me feel safe, and letting me know that I can trust him. Because as strange as it is, Idotrust him.
When I feel his body move, I tighten my arms around him. “Please not yet. Will you stay until I fall back asleep?”
He kisses the top of my head. “Da,” he says, and I smile against his chest.
“I know that means yes,” I tell him.
Picking me up and sitting with his back against the headboard, he keeps holding me while getting into a position that’s more comfortable for him.
“Very good. Do you know any other Russian?”
“Just a few words. My Russian lit class is my favorite class. We were readingAnna Kareninabefore I had to leave.”
“One of my favorites. What do you want a degree in?”
I let out a soft laugh. “I still haven’t narrowed it down yet. I really love my lit classes, but I’m not so sure you can make a living off studying literature and reading books, at least not easily, and teaching jobs are damn hard to get.”
He keeps running his fingers through my hair, and I relax even more into his touch, listening to the steady beat of his heart against my ear.
Finally, he asks, “Why did you have to leave your university?”
