Touch Me Not (Manwhore, #1)(6)
“It’s Russian.”
“But your last name is Scottish.”
“My mother is Russian, but my father’s family originated in Scotland before they moved to the United States. When he joined the army, he was stationed in Russia, where he met my mother.”
“Did you grow up in Russia?”
He had her talking, and he let out a little sigh of relief. He didn’t normally ever talk about anything personal with a woman, but this one was different. She wasn’t falling for his usual BS. There were also her football players following them at a discreet distance. Luther was right about one thing. Lily was not one to be used and abused lightly with so many would-be protectors waiting in the wings. Even knowing he could get the shit beat out of him, he didn’t care. He wanted her.
“Until I was fourteen. Then Dad sent me and my brothers to live with my Uncle Brian in Virginia the summer before I started high school. He wanted us educated in the States where he grew up. My parents still live in St. Petersburg, though.”
She smiled. “I’ve seen photos of the city. It looks beautiful.”
“It is,” Nikoli agreed. “I miss it sometimes. There are so many places I used to roam when I was a kid. My brothers and I used to play in old ruins and pretend we were great knights fighting for Mother Russia.” He let out a laugh. It had been years since he’d thought of that.
“How many brothers do you have?”
“Five.” They always brought a smile to his face. All of his brothers, except Victor, were older, and he’d been their punching bag until he was old enough and strong enough to beat them black and blue.
“No sisters?”
He laughed. “Thank f*ck, no.”
She gave him a curious look at that. “My brothers and I are all very much alike, and if we’d had to defend a sister against guys like us…” He shook his head. “We’d never have had any fun.”
“So they’re all jackasses too?” She looked up at him, her tone innocent, but her eyes danced with mischief.
Nikoli grinned, thinking about his brothers’ reactions to that statement. They’d like his Lily Bells, indeed they would. Hold up…his Lily Bells? What the hell was he thinking? He had to bag this chick quick before they got around to more talking.
He saw the dorms up ahead and frowned, glancing at his watch. Damn. He’d spent fifteen whole minutes talking to a woman. His longest conversation began and ended with ‘your place or mine?’ Definitely had to get her in the sack fast and be done with it.
“So, dinner?” he asked as they came to a stop outside of one of the East Campus Brownstones, one of the smaller dormitories on campus. He liked it and the area where it was located. There was a lot of old world charm to the dorm, not like all the modern ones built in the last couple decades. The architecture screamed colonial, and the feel of it reminded him of some of the buildings in Russia. It was also located close to Kenmore Square. He rubbed his hands together at the thought of how quickly they could have access to a bed or couch—or anywhere, really. He wasn’t that picky when it came to sex. The floor did the job as well as a bed.
“I thought you might have forgotten that.” She let out a long-suffering sigh. “You do realize if I go to dinner, we are not having sex afterward? I’d just be going so you’d leave me alone the rest of the year?”
“I might change your mind.” He watched her shiver at the smoldering look in his eyes.
“No,” she said, “you won’t. I have more self-respect than some of the women I’ve seen you with. Besides, I’ve had to clean up after you before, and it’s not a situation I’d ever put myself in.”
“Clean up after me?”
She laughed harshly. “Remember that spiel you gave me about women knowing it was just sex, and if they had other thoughts, it was on them?”
Nikoli nodded slowly, a sinking sensation creeping into the pit of his stomach.
“I’ve had to sit and listen to some of those girls, let them have a good cry, and then tell them you’re nothing but a jerk and not worth their time. Why would I ever do that to myself?”
“You wouldn’t,” Nikoli replied quickly. “You know the deal up front. Just sex.”
She sighed like he’d missed some big point. In her mind, he probably had, but Nikoli was clueless as to what. He didn’t speak girl.
“Why the hell not?” she muttered. “Not like I have other plans anyway. If you’ll go away, then yes, I’ll go to dinner with you, but you have to promise you’ll stay away from me for the rest of the year.”
She just waved a red flag in front of his face, and she didn’t even know it.
“You’ve got a deal, sweetheart.”
Chapter Four
She smiled coyly at him, and he threw her dress at her. The brazen blonde from earlier today frowned at him. Nikoli was not in the mood to deal with her. He’d worked his frustration out with her, yeah, and the sex had been good, but not great. She just needed to get dressed, and then get the hell out.
He threw the used condom in the trash and started the shower. He could hear Luther in the other room explaining to her she needed to leave. She was a clinger. How had he missed that? Luther would take care of it, though. He always did. Nikoli sometimes felt bad about putting him in that position, but not enough to keep from doing it again. Luther knew him, accepted him for the * he was, and never judged him. They were like brothers. He loved him as much as he did his own brothers. Luther knew that too. It was why he put up with so much shit from Nikoli.