Friend-Zoned

And we’re off.

***

Max brings Tina to the house, blindfolded as requested.

As soon as I see her I almost have a heart attack.

I knew she was beautiful but tonight I’m blown away for how stunning she is.

The dress is a perfect fit on her. Her body is nice and curvy and this dress showcases her perfectly.

I’m dressed up in a suit, shirt, and tie. Tonight we dine like royalty.

Max walks her toward me smiling, I take her hand from his and he hugs me.

Then we’re alone and I say, “Hello Princess.”

She’s blindfolded but she can’t hide her smile. She responds, “Hello Prince Charming.”

I pull her close to me and hug her tight without messing her up. I whisper, “You are stunning. Absolutely beautiful.”

She kisses my chin and drawls, “Well, a three thousand dollar dress and eight hundred dollar shoes will do that to a girl.”

Damn, I forgot she owned a boutique and would probably know how much these things cost.

Yes, it did cost a little. Is Tina worth it?

Hell, yes.

I kiss her lips lightly and say against them, “Ready to go, baby.”

She replies, “Always, honey.”

***

Nik undoes my blindfold and I gasp when I see him.

Crap on a biscuit!

He looks amazing! He’s wearing a dark grey suit (I think it’s Armani, too), a white linen shirt, I see platinum onyx cufflinks on his wrists and black Italian dress shoes. I know he wears things like this to work all the time but tonight he looks different. He looks classy and chic. As he turns I see the tribal tattoo behind his ear and I just want to lick him. He looks delectable.

He smiles down at me and takes my hand. He leads me to a car. I’m not very knowledgeable when it comes to cars but this one looks expensive. He opens the door for me and kisses my hand when I’m in. I strap myself into this rocket car and when he seats himself behind the driver’s side I ask, “What kind of car is this?”

Nik’s eyes light up as he tells me, “A Maserati Granturismo MC Stradale.”

I raise my brows and nod to make it look like it’s a very impressive choice but I obviously have no idea about cars and Nik chuckles at my obvious attempt to act as if I know what he’s talking about.

We drive for about half hour sharing a comfortable silence. I close my eyes and enjoy the ride.

After a while I feel Nik’s hand on my leg and he says, “We’re here, baby.”

I open my eyes and I’m immediately confused.

It looks like we’ve arrived to a nice house. A lovely house, actually. A mansion even.

Yes, it is a mansion. There is a long cobblestone driveway, which takes us a while to drive down. When we arrive at the entrance I see there are valets. I’m helped out of the car by Nik and step on to a sapphire blue carpet.

Where the heck are we?

Nik smiles big at my obvious confusion. He takes my hand and we walk inside. Upon entering, the smell of food assaults my taste buds.

It’s divine.

It smells of assorted roasted meats and sauces. I’m salivating. Nik walks me from the hall to another room and I see we’re actually at a restaurant.

I’ve never been to a restaurant like this before. This is too classy for the likes of me.

We’re approached by the host and Nik speaks to him in what I assume is Russian. The host smiles widely at him and he motions for us to follow him.

The dining area is stunning. There are small tables, large tables, and booths. The chairs look hand carved and alone would cost a few hundred dollars per each. There are white tablecloths one way with black tablecloths thrown the opposite way on the tables. You can just see the corners of the white tablecloths sitting underneath the black. The plates all have gold rims. The cutlery is definitely silverware.

I’m a little intimidated, to tell you the truth. I don’t want to embarrass myself but mostly I don’t want to embarrass Nik.

Nik helps me into my seat then seats himself and asks, “Do you trust me to order for you, sweetheart?”

I answer immediately, “Yes, of course. You know what I like.”

He takes my hand and kisses it. I notice his body stiffen slightly as he looks over my shoulder but tries to cover it.

The waiter comes to our table and takes our orders. I’m just about to thank Nik for the beautiful evening when I see him smile behind me and I hear heavily accented voice say, “Privet bratu.”

I look to my right and there are two men smiling with genuine affection at Nik. Nik stands, hugs and kisses both men on both cheeks. They converse for a minute or two in Russian and I smile up at both men as my greeting.

The younger man is medium height with blonde hair and striking blue eyes. He looks around my age. When he notices me for the first time his face turns awestruck, he puts a hand to his chest and kneels next to my chair. He whispers an accented, “An angel. An honest to God angel.”

I can’t stop the giggle that forms in my throat. I look at Nik to see he is shaking his head and smirking at his friend.

The older man is tall but not as tall as Nik. He has messy brown hair, soft brown eyes and an easy smile. He smacks the younger man across the head and says a heavily accented, “Get off the floor, you are embarrassing the angel.”

I don’t know who these men are but I can see Nik hold them in high esteem and I can see why. They’re sweet and hilarious.

Nik raises a brow at me in question. I smile and nod. Nik invites his friends to sit with us a while which they do.

They introduce themselves. The younger man is Alexei and the older man is Lev.

Alexei asks Nik something is Russian and Nik replies in English, “You can talk in front of Tina. We don’t have secrets.”

Wow.

I love this man. I feel warm all over.

Alexei smirks and nods his head ,“So, she is not a date, huh? She is a wifey.”

Nik looks thoughtful and replies, “Yes. She is.”

I reel back in my chair. My face pales and my heart beats faster.

Holy Hell…Nik and I are married?! When did that happen?!

Nik sees my face and chuckles. Lev and Alexei smile at me and Lev explains, “A wifey is what we call a woman who is important to us. She may not be an actual wife.”

I can breathe again. I respond a breathy, “Okey Dokey.”

Nik, Alexei, and Lev all smile at me but the looks on their faces say you’re a dork.

Alexei starts, “We hear you’ve had some problems with the Sixes.”

Nik shakes his head and says, “No. No problems with the Sixes. Just with Omarr. He seems to have taken a liking to my Tina.”

His Tina?! Aww!

Lev puts his hand on Nik’s arm and says kindly, “I know you are not part of our brotherhood anymore, but you will always be our brother. If you need any help, all you need to do is call. We look after our own.”

Nik pats the Lev’s hand and offers, “The same goes to you, brother.”

Lev says softly, “Ilia would be proud of what you have become, Nikolai.”

I notice a flash of pain cross Nik’s face. He covers it quickly, though. Our food has arrived and both men stand. They kiss my hand and tell me it was a pleasure. Then they both kiss and hug Nik.

Nik smiles a small smile my way and we eat our meals. It is hands down the best meal I’ve ever eaten.

Nik ordered the duck for us both. The meat is pink, moist and tasted like oranges, the vegetables are fresh and cooked perfectly and I want to lick the sauce of the plate but I think that would be a faux pas.

We chat about nothing in particular when our desert arrives and I venture into murky water by asking, “Nik, who is Ilia?”

Nik smiles a genuine smile. The first I’ve seen in half an hour.

He responds quietly, “My dad, baby.”

I leave it at that because he looks happier now.

And Nik’s happiness is my happiness.

Chapter Nineteen

We are family

Last night with Nik was ah-maze-ing!

The best night I’ve had in years. I can’t actually remember ever having a night like that in my life.

Our evening started at the mansion restaurant which was honestly the best meal I’ve ever eaten followed by a desert of salted praline parfait.

This was not American parfait.

This parfait was a French recipe. There were no layers, it was only one flavor, and it was light and smooth as a cloud. Absolutely delicious. It was like eating a piece of heaven.

Nik seemed a little down after seeing his friends Alexei and Lev. I think the mention of his father brought him down. Even though I want to know more about this I left the subject alone.

When dinner was done I was a little surprised when we ended up back at Nik’s house. But as soon as we walked through the door Nik backed me into the hallway wall and said, “Just us tonight. Ceecee is with Mom and Max is staying with Trick.”

Oooh, I like this night so much better already.

I stood on my tiptoes and kissed his chin. Even with heels on the man is ridiculously tall.

I whispered, “Can I get a better look at your room?”

He stilled a moment before he picked me up and threw me over his shoulder. I giggled as he stomped towards his room.

I teased, “Hey, this is a three thousand dollar dress, buddy!”

He smacked me on my butt hard and chuckled when I yelped. He replied, “I’ll buy you another. No, I’ll buy you another ten. Quiet, baby!”

But Nik-In-A-Rush changed when he set me down in his room. This was Take-It-Slow-Nik.

He went over to his bedside cabinet and switched on a lamp. The low light was perfect. Not too much dark but not too light that I would feel self-conscience.

Then suddenly, I became nervous.

I was naked under this dress apart from thigh high lace-trimmed stockings and my new fabulous shoes!

Nik must have seen me tense because he came to me and put his arms around my waist, held me close and assured ,“We only go as far as you want, sweetheart.”

I gave him a nod and moved back out of his arms. He looked a little sad but that changed to lust as soon as I removed his suit jacket. Next, I unbuttoned his linen shirt, taking my time, and when it was open at the front I put my hands on his stomach which I felt tense under my touch. I moved my hands up slowly up his sculpted stomach, lightly over his ribs, up his broad chest to rest at the sides of his neck.

I planted a soft wet kiss on his chest and I felt him groan through it. I removed his cufflinks and slid his shirt off and onto the floor. I was close to him and at perfect height that I could kiss his nipple.

I did just that, very lightly.

His body went rigid. I continued. I poked out my tongue and licked it softly. When his response was to moan I became bolder. I licked one nipple, than the other and sucked on it. He hisses in a breath and his body went rigid. He put his hands on my shoulders and moved me away from him.

I was a little disappointed until he choked out, “Tina, baby, if you want me to last I need to you to stop that. Right now.”

I lowered my head and smiled. I felt Nik step towards me. With a hand under my chin he lifted my face up to his and kissed me deeply. His tongue traced my lips and I moaned into his mouth.

The man is good with his tongue.

We kiss some more and I managed to unbuckle his belt and pants. He kicked off his shoes. I knelt in front of him and lowered his pants from his waist down to the floor. He stepped out of them and I helped him get his socks off. Which almost ended in a stumble and we both laughed.

And there he was. Demi-god Nik in all his naked glory.

My god is this man gorgeous.

Totally, gorgeous.

Mmmm Hmmm.

He held his hands out to me and I took them. He pulled me up and I stand fully dressed in front of naked Nik.

He smiled a lovingly at me then lowered the top of my dress slowly down to my belly bearing my breasts.

My boobs aren’t huge but they’re nothing to sneeze at. They’re still pretty firm but loosened the tiniest bit from almost a year of breastfeeding Mia. I like my boobs.

But in front of Nik, I became shy. This wasn’t intense I-Need-To-Fuck-You-Now sex. This was slow and sensual. An extreme baring of a person’s soul.

I lower my head and he said firmly, “Tina, look at me.”

I do and all I can see written on his face is lust. Maybe a little more than that but I can’t seem to read it.

He puts his hands on my hips, lowers his head to mine and runs his nose lightly along mine. He assures on a firm whisper, “You are beautiful. You are perfect to me.”

I nod. He sips at my lips in the sweetest way.

Using my hips for leverage, he kneels, fists the dress in his palms and slowly works it down my legs. Once he gets past my bare sex, he groans for a long while.

He looks up into my flushed face and mumbles, “You’re trying to kill me.”

I giggle at the look of desperation on his face. He rubs a hand over his face and sighs.

The dress pools and my feet and Nik holds out a hand to help me step out of it. All I’m left in is black thigh high lace-trimmed stockings and my pumps.

Once I’m out of my dress, Nik drops my hand and steps back. I sneak a peek at his crotch. He’s fully erect. He actually looks painfully erect. The head of his manhood has turned a deep purple color.

I bite my lip and look up to Nik, who is looking over every inch of my body, his face bunched in a needy way.

On a mission, he walks over to me with desire written all over his face and puts a hand on my belly. He gently pushes me back a little til the backs of my knees hit the bed. I sit. He kneels again and removes one shoe then the other but leaves on my silky stockings.

He picks me up and places me softly in the middle of his huge king-size sleigh bed.

I love this bed. I’ve slept in it twice now and it’s so comfortable it’s like sleeping on a cloud.

Nik climbs over my body, lowers his head and kisses my belly. He plants wet, sucking kisses til gets to my cleavage. He kisses a line to my nipple. Once he reaches my happily erect nipple, he licks it very much like I did to him. My core twitches and I dampen.

Jiminy Crickets!

My nipples are very sensitive.