Submit (The Underground Book 4) Read online

  Two more similarly endowed and flamboyantly dressed women flanked the first one, and Nikolav and Belinda hadn’t made it all the way through the door yet.

  “Told you,” she muttered through gritted teeth and a fake smile.

  “Indeed you did,” he agreed.

  After quick introductions to all three women whose names he immediately forgot, Belinda took his hand and wiggled between them to get farther into the room. She made a beeline for the back corner where a man stood chatting with a far more reasonable-looking woman who nodded as he spoke.

  “Sal,” Belinda called as they approached. “Happy birthday.”

  Ah, the brother. And the girlfriend.

  Belinda turned her gaze toward the woman. “Josie. How are you?”

  “I’m good.” The woman was a few inches taller than Belinda, with dark hair and similar skin coloring. She might have also been Italian. She lifted her gaze to smile at Nikolav.

  “Josie. Salazar. This is Nikolav.”

  Nikolav reached around her to shake both their hands, keeping his other on her waist. He fully intended to claim her in every possible way this evening.

  She was a gem. If it helped his cause to make her family love him, he was all in.

  “Russian?” Salazar asked.

  “Yes. Born and raised.”

  Salazar’s gaze roamed up and down Nikolav’s frame. “You a body builder or something?”

  “MMA fighter.” He left out the underground part.

  “Ah. Interesting. I’ve watched the sport. You must be in the best shape.” He smiled. “Belinda won’t have to worry about anyone jumping her as long as she’s with you, will she?”

  Nikolav flinched, but tried to hide it. He sure hoped not. But what her brother said hit a little too close to home.

  “She’s like a hundred pounds. Makes me nervous.”

  “True. But you’re right. Not many people mess with me.”

  Josie giggled and set her hand on Salazar’s bicep. “Where did you two meet?”

  “Through friends,” Belinda responded.

  Luckily, a booming voice filled the room at that moment, keeping them from being bombarded with too many questions. Belinda’s father spoke from the other side of the room. “If everyone would please take a seat. Dinner will be served in a moment.”

  Belinda pulled out a chair right in front of her and pointed at the one next to it. “Sit, before we get separated.”

  Lord, who would pull them apart?

  He took her advice though and settled in the seat next to her. There were open bottles of wine on the table and water and wine glasses at every place. “Big wine drinkers.”

  She grinned. “Italians.”

  He grabbed the closest bottle and filled the glass in front of her.

  “Do you want me to order you something else?”

  “No. I’m fine.”

  She frowned. “It’s no problem. There’s no rule that you have to drink wine. The waiter can get you a beer or a mixed drink.”

  He leaned forward and kissed her gently again. “I’m fine, baby. I have to fight tomorrow night. I don’t like to drink the night before.”

  “Right. Okay.”

  He lifted his water glass and held it up. “To huge crazy Italian families.”

  She clinked her glass with his and took a long drink. “Hold your opinion. The night is young.”

  Chapter Nineteen

  “I think your parents liked me,” Nikolav said as he tugged his tie loose on the way into her apartment three hours later.

  She laughed. “I’d say you won them over. Yes. My dad took me aside and gave me his approval when I went to the restroom.”

  “He did the same to me.” Nikolav chuckled. “Told me you were a wonderful woman and I should hold on to you if I had any sense.”

  “Wow.” Belinda was shocked. Her dad said that? To a man he’d briefly met?

  “Said he could tell by the way I look at you that you mean something to me.”

  She flushed. Did she? Mean something to him?

  He pulled her toward him and leaned down to kiss her, his hands cupping her shoulders in a way she’d grown to adore, especially on a night like this when they were bare. It was possessive, and it made her panties wet every time.

  Although that wasn’t difficult either, considering how many times he’d set his hand on her thigh under the tablecloth and inched his way toward her pussy. She’d lost count, but she’d gotten adept at slapping his wrist and grabbing his forearm to stop his advances while continuing to pretend to listen to whoever spoke to her from across the table.

  Now they were home. And she intended to reap the benefits of his earlier promise. She set her hands on his waist and then drew them around to his front to cup his cock. It was fully erect, but when wasn’t it?

  She wasted no time tugging his belt loose, unbuttoning the front of his pants, and lowering the zipper.

  His cock sprang free, the entire glorious length filling her hand.

  Before he could come up with some excuse as to why she shouldn’t be touching him, she lowered to her knees and leaned forward to suck him between her lips.

  His salty masculine flavor filled her mouth as she drew him in.

  “Jesus, Belinda.” He threaded his fingers in her hair. “We just got here.”

  Yeah, and I don’t intend to let you change your mind.

  She inhaled his scent, drawing in a long deep breath through her nose. He smelled like the soap he used in her shower earlier and Nikolav. She hadn’t given a blow job before and was surprised at how heady it made her feel. Potent. As if she held a fraction of the power in this relationship.

  She swirled her tongue around the mushroom-shaped head and through the slit.

  Nikolav jerked his cock out of her mouth and stepped back, holding her shoulders far enough away that she couldn’t reach him.

  She lifted her gaze, praying she hadn’t fucked this up somehow. “What? Did I do something wrong?” She had to control her voice to keep from squeaking.

  “Baby, you’re doing everything way too right, but let’s get some of these clothes off. I love watching you suck my cock on your knees, but I’ll like it better with your tits swaying in front of you and your pussy bare.”

  She exhaled a breath she hadn’t realized she’d been holding.

  He hauled her to her feet and reached around her back to lower the zipper all the way to her butt. When he slid the tiny straps down her arms, the dress fell to the floor. “God, I love seeing you in heels and nothing else.”

  Easy enough. She could keep them on.

  He released her and stepped back a pace. “Take the thong off. Slowly.”

  A week ago she would have blushed ten shades of red at that tone and those words, but last Friday, before she met Nikolav, she’d been a different woman. The post-Nikolav-meeting Belinda did a full strip tease as she wiggled her ass back and forth, shrugging the thong over her hips and then down to her ankles. She made a production of stepping out of the scrap of lace in her heels.

  “Jesus…” He unbuttoned his shirt while she performed her tease, tugging it out of his pants and then over his arms to toss it aside.

  Instead of approaching her as she’d expected, he rounded the couch to head for the armchair. When he arrived, he kicked off his shoes, removed his pants and socks, and lowered his gloriously naked body into the seat.

  “Come here.” His voice was huskier than she’d heard before.

  It gave her courage.

  She approached slowly, trying to look sexy while doing so.

  “You liked my cock in your mouth.”

  “Yes.” It was the truth.

  He pointed at the floor in front of him. “On your knees. Here.”

  She lowered herself to the floor as gracefully as possible her gaze lingering on the elaborate tattoo that reached around his shoulder and down his bicep. Wings. Angels. They seemed to be in a battle. Good against evil?

  “Spread your thighs.”
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  She jerked her chin downward and inched her legs out, sucking in a breath as the air hit her pussy. She was wet. Dripping. From his words now. But also from his actions all evening. He’d kept a hand on her somewhere all evening except the times one of them went to the bathroom. He’d whispered intentionally close to her ear several times also. He’d kissed her more times than she could count, sometimes lingering longer than most people would in public.

  She liked it. A lot.

  He was the perfect balance of possessive and respectful in front of her family.

  She felt like she could conquer the world on his arm. And everyone in the room knew it. Even her mother had commented on his good looks, manners, and the way he clearly adored her.

  Did he?

  And how had they gotten this far in so few days? It was crazy.

  She’d dodged the question of when they’d met about ten times, not wanting to ruin her perfect evening with the raised eyebrows of the skeptics.

  “Look at me.”

  She lifted her gaze, setting her hands on his knees.

  “You’re a gorgeous woman. No one in the room held a candle to you tonight. Don’t ever doubt that.”

  “Thank you.” She’d grown as a person in the last few days too. It seemed easier to accept his compliment. Not that she suffered from self-esteem issues. She’d always been secure about herself. She knew she turned heads. She was smart. Hard working. Intelligent.

  But when her cousins were around… Those women were like vultures. She’d never had the guts to test any man’s loyalty around them. They could eat a man up and spit him out in an hour. Probably as a group without hesitation.

  She loved her family. All of them. And she didn’t ordinarily care how her cousins behaved around men, but that was before she brought her own man into the fray.

  Was he? Her own?

  He wrapped his hand around his cock and stroked it from the bottom to the tip. “You want this?”

  “Yes.” She breathed heavily, refocusing on his girth.

  “Keep your hands on my thighs, your legs spread open, and your tits hanging loose. Use your mouth only.”

  She leaned forward. She could do that. Well, all but the mouth only part. She wasn’t sure how that was going to work out.

  But he had a plan apparently because he held the base of his cock for her as she eased her lips around the tip. Was there a wrong or right way to do this?

  “Just do what feels natural, baby.” His husky voice was back. As was his mind-reading ability.

  She licked through the slit again, drawing out his precome. And then she sucked him deeper until her teeth hit his shaft and she released him. She didn’t want to hurt him.

  “Tuck your lips around your teeth if you want.”

  Ah. She did as he suggested and tried again. Much better.

  And she was rewarded with a low groan from Nikolav that gave her the confidence to continue.

  A line of wetness leaked from her pussy down her thigh. Her nipples stood erect, pleading for attention. But she concentrated on the thick erection in her mouth.

  When he cupped the back of her neck with his free hand, she felt all of the power she had over him through his fingertips.

  Heady. Exhilarating.

  She swirled her tongue around the head again and dipped it into the slit.

  Nikolav released a long moan that vibrated through his body. She felt it in his cock and sucked him in as deep as she could.

  When he lifted his hips toward her mouth, she sucked harder, her lips brushing the spot where he gripped his length with every stroke now.

  She set up a rhythm, sucking and licking down the shaft with each withdrawal.

  His fingers tightened on her neck, neither pushing nor pulling her, but telling her he was close. He probably had no idea what his hand did.

  She sped up.

  His breath hitched. And then he released his cock and cupped the side of her head to hold her steady as he came. His come jutted down her throat.

  She swallowed each pulse of his orgasm as it hit her mouth. The taste was salty but not unpleasant.

  When he finally relaxed, he drew her face off his cock and tipped her chin back to meet her gaze. His was glazed, a smile of contentment curving up the sides of his mouth. “Amazing,” he whispered. “I’m ruined.”

  She could say the same.

  She lowered her butt to her heels and set her cheek on his thigh to relax for a moment while he combed his fingers through her hair. His cock lay semi erect in her line of sight, and she enjoyed studying the veins that ran down the sides and the way the head spread out at the tip. She flinched when it flexed against his groin.

  He chuckled. “You were so intent.”

  She lifted her head. “You did that on purpose.”

  “Of course. And now I’m going to do something else equally on purpose.” He rose and hauled her to her feet. “You can leave your shoes here.”

  She kicked them off and followed him when he took her hand and led her down the hall to her bedroom.

  “Lie in the center of your bed, face down.”

  Face down? Okay.

  She climbed onto the bed and got comfortable.

  Nikolav grabbed his gym bag from the corner of her bedroom and set it at the foot of the mattress by her feet. Or maybe it wasn’t his gym bag. It looked similar. But it wasn’t the same one.

  The sound of the zipper was loud in the quiet of the room.

  The first thing Nikolav pulled out was a blindfold, which he held up. “Let me put this on you?”

  She bit her lower lip before responding. “Okay.”

  He climbed onto the bed and covered her eyes before adjusting it behind her head. “Same as when I asked you to close your eyes, only I have the control this time. Not you.”

  Except she could easily pull it off if she wanted. Right?

  A rustling noise and then he took her hand in his and tugged it above her head. He dragged something over her palm. “Rope. It’s gentle. Won’t leave marks. I’m going to tie your hands above your head. Okay?”

  She nodded. A breathy “yes” was all she managed. And then she breathed shallow breaths while she concentrated on the way he wrapped the rope around first one wrist and then the other. His method was rehearsed. Not random. He’d learned a specific way to restrain her.

  In a way it calmed her. He wasn’t winging it. He knew what he was doing.

  He attached her to the headboard with her arms spread several feet apart. She wouldn’t be able to tug the blindfold off in this position. Not easily.

  He tapped her hip. “Lift up, baby.” His voice was gentle, caring.

  She pulled her knees toward her torso to lift off the mattress, unsure of his intentions, and then he slid a pillow under her hips.

  “Oh yeah. I love seeing you in this position. Vulnerable. Smooth, delicate skin available to my gaze and touch.” He stroked a finger down her spine until he hit the top of her crack.

  She squirmed. If he thought it was strange she’d never given a blow job…

  “Relax. Just feel. Concentrate on my touch. Know that I would never hurt you. If I do something you don’t like, stop me. Have you heard of a safe word?”

  “Yes,” she murmured.

  “Red, okay? You’ll never need it with me. I promise. But know you can always use the word red to get me to stop at any time.”

  “Okay.”

  He left her again. The bag… What more?

  Something touched her knee. The inside between her legs. It was cool. Plastic?

  He climbed between her legs and nudged them farther apart. Awkwardly apart. Too far.

  And whatever he put between them trapped them that way.

  She lifted her face, set her chin on the pillow under her head, and arched her chest. “Nikolav…”

  “Right here, baby. Let me dominate you. This is who I am. I need you to experience it fully. Please.”

  She nodded, squeezing her knees together to confirm she had n
o ability to close them. It made her wetter. Her pussy pleaded for release. She almost choked on the realization she enjoyed this intense level of submission.

  It was one thing to let him order her around or tell her what to wear. It was another thing entirely for her to be restrained at his mercy.

  “You okay?” he asked as he stroked her thighs, his fingers dancing lightly over the sensitive skin between her legs.

  “I think so. Nervous.”

  “That’s normal.”

  A short sob escaped her lips before she could stop it. A well of emotion tumbling from her lips.

  Nikolav grabbed her hips and leaned over her. “That doesn’t sound okay.”

  “Scared.”

  “Of what?”

  “How you make me feel.”

  “That’s normal too, babe. It’s new to you.” He brushed a lock of hair from her face.

  She shook her head. “It doesn’t make sense. Why would I enjoy this? It’s wrong.” She shuddered.

  “Says who?”

  “I don’t know.” She had no idea where she’d gotten that notion. Society?

  “What each couple does behind closed doors is their business, babe. No one else’s. We find ourselves drawn to people who complement our needs.

  “I need to dominate. It’s in my blood. I need my partner to submit to me. It makes me so hard, I lose my mind when you turn your power over to me.”

  “Me? What did I turn over? You’re the one controlling this thing.”

  He hesitated, sucking in a breath, his hand stilling on her lower back. “You have it all wrong. You’re the one with the power, babe. Not me. I can’t force you to submit to me. Well, I could. But that’s not BDSM. That’s abuse. This is a lifestyle choice. Dominance and submission.

  “I can only take what you offer. The power is all yours. You dictate what you can handle. I dominate you to the level you permit. We’re in a stage of feeling this thing out between us. I’m watching your cues closely. If I think you can handle something new, I’ll introduce it. If I think you aren’t ready or never will be, I won’t.”

  She tried to wrap her mind around his words. It was difficult to concentrate. I hold the power?

  In a way it made sense. As long as what he said held true—that he would never do something she said no to.