The Bruise_Black Sky (3 page)

Nikolas frowned. Ben did too, trying to think of the last time he’d seen Nikolas with a tool in his hand, other than the obvious one. Nikolas appeared to be having the same problem. “I…I…I’m actually at a loss. Fixer? What did you tell them?”

“I didn’t come out and say it like
that
…No one would believe me for a start…But I promised you fixed…problems.” At his continued bafflement, she concluded with a resigned eye roll, “You’re Russian. They
knew
what I meant.”

“You told them that I was—?”

“Nik…” Ben hardly needed to point out that Emilia might
think
she knew everything, and being thirteen it was highly probable she did assume this, but she didn’t actually
know
anything about Nikolas’s past or his peculiar talents.

Nikolas turned back to face front once more and only commented in Danish to Ben that they would attend the auction early and make any necessary bids themselves.

A little voice from the back seat muttered, “I understood that.”

Nikolas huffed. “Good. And little girls shouldn’t listen to adults’ conversations.”

“Well, adults shouldn’t have conversations in front of them then, and when I find two adults I’ll be sure to let them know.”

Ben felt rather than saw Nikolas’s expression and tried not to smile.

They arrived at the hotel and the greeting between grandmother and granddaughter put paid to any further comment from Nikolas on the auction.

Ben could tell Nik was sanguine about the whole thing, and that by a judicious application of excessive wealth, all would be solved.

It was unfortunate, therefore, that they’d decided to fly to Scotland, for that had forced them to hire a car. Their vehicle broke down the next day between the hotel and the school, and they had to call for a tow from a local garage. By the time they reached the school, the fair was in full swing, but, more importantly, the auction was over. Someone had paid over a thousand pounds for a date with ex-Special-Forces-expert Ben Rider—Emilia had advertised him as such and put a copy of the cute selfie he’d sent her at Christmas on the poster. A little over a thousand pounds. Ben couldn’t tell if Nikolas was impressed or amused by the amount.

Nikolas’s auction had raised ten pounds.

Apparently no one had been sure what a fixer was.

But someone had been willing to risk a tenner to find out.

§§§

They wandered around the fair in the warm June sunshine amongst the glorious buildings, feeling unexpectedly at home. Well dressed, affluent, they blended in with the parents and other guests who were likewise enjoying the ambience. The pupils flittered here and there, dragging elegant mothers to view yet another gem of the school or meet yet another friend. Ben noticed Emilia giving the happy families glances once or twice, and felt a surge of gratitude and love for Nikolas when, unprompted, he challenged her to a game of archery. She quickly forgot to watch the girls with their mothers in the excitement of choosing a bow and making a suitable bet. They decided if he won she would have to name her horse Bronislav, as Nikolas wanted—after all, as he had pointed out to anyone who would listen to him, what better name for any animal than Glorious Protector? She agreed to his terms, then thinking theatrically, and with a small quirk of her lips at Ben, she declared that if she won, Nikolas would have to take the floor with her for the opening number that evening.

Ben felt an immediate twinge of anxiety at this for some reason. He told himself it was fear of Nikolas’s inevitable reaction and Emilia’s predicable hurt at this refusal, but if it was, then he was worrying needlessly. Nikolas agreed gracefully with a small bow that yes, if she won, he’d dance with her that evening.

That sent Ben into a minor tailspin. As she walked over to pin a new target sheet up to the board, he stood a little closer to Nikolas than he’d been doing all morning. Nikolas smelt incredibly good, which was instantly distracting. “You have to let her win, Nik.”

Nikolas frowned. “No I don’t.” He took off his jacket and carefully handed it to Ben, loosening his tie and rolling up his sleeves. He smelt even better now, the sun soaking into the expensive cotton of his shirt, its light gracing the blond hair on his tanned forearms…

Ben licked his lips and tried to pull his thoughts back to the present. “You can’t beat kids at things. You’re an adult.”

“Then why make a bet with them? I don’t understand what you mean.”

“Jesus, Nik. Didn’t anyone ever let you win when you were little?”

“They didn’t have to. No one could beat me at anything. Isn’t that the point?”

“No! Let her win! Please!”

“But she’d hate that! This is Emilia, Ben.” He pushed Ben to one side and strode confidently to the line.

They had four arrows each.

Nikolas shot first.

He missed the target completely with his first two arrows so he scored nothing. Ben watched with fascinated glee as a trickle of sweat glistened on Nikolas’s forehead, but he gave him the benefit of the doubt—it was very hot. He hit the outer rim with his third arrow and scored one point. With his final one, he got a solid inner ring—five points.
Six
. Nik clearly wasn’t sure if this was good or not. He’d hit the target, which was something.

Emilia sank three bull’s-eyes, but was laughing so triumphantly she missed the target entirely with her fourth and last arrow. It really didn’t matter. She’d been taking archery for a year and could add up three bull’s-eyes without Ben’s help. But Ben liked to be helpful and told them both a number of times that she’d scored thirty.

And that Nikolas had six.

He nudged Nikolas as they were moving onto the next stand, handing over the jacket and saying quietly in Danish, “You’re a bugger, Nik. I believed you for a minute. Thanks for letting her win.”

Nikolas pursed his lips as he adjusted his tie. “Really, Benjamin. I’m not that sad that I need to beat little girls at anything.
Of course
, I let her win. So, you are okay with this dancing thing?”

Ben gave him a quick glance. “You think I’d be…jealous?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. No, I was just wondering whether it was…appropriate?”

“Her father would dance with her, I guess? If he was still alive…?”

“But I’m not her…Is that how you see me? As her father?”

“Nik, no, but I think that’s how she’s starting to see you.”

Nikolas stopped and caught at Ben’s arm, allowing Emilia and her grandmother to get further ahead. “What do you mean?”

Ben toed the ground for a moment. “I’m not sure. It’s just…she’s moving in with us…You’re sending her to school. But nothing is…settled.”

“Nothing is settled between us, either, but I find nothing to worry at in that.”

Ben thought about this for a moment. “We’re…different. And we’re adults. Or at least, one of us is.”

“And she can be the same, I think—different.”

“She’s only thirteen, Nikolas. She may be thinking—or wanting—something else. I think she sees you as family, now. Safety, security. That’s all.”

Nikolas glanced up at the sky, squinting at the sun, apparently deep in thought for a moment. He slipped on his dark sunglasses. Ben could no longer see his eyes. “Perhaps that is how it should be. We can make our own destinies in life and we can make our own families—conscious decisions.” He began to stroll towards the marquee then murmured, “I am very happy with my current choices.”

CHAPTER THREE

Still smarting slightly from being beaten at archery, Nikolas spent the rest of the day at the fair annoying Ben to cheer himself up. Ben was less able to retaliate away from home, more his old deferential, easy-going self, so he was an undemanding target for all of Nikolas’s helpful observations. Irritated still more with the auction results, he had plans for thousand-pound Benjamin Rider-Mikkelsen when they returned to the hotel room that would remind him of his place in the scheme of things. He was startled, therefore, as they left Ulyana Ivanovna at her room and entered theirs to find himself flattened against the closed door, key still dangling from his hand, before he even had time to speak.

Ben seized Nikolas’s face and opened Nikolas’s mouth up with his tongue, seeking, demanding. Nikolas responded, jolted from a lazy, amused mood, thinking about taking Ben down a peg or two, to an immediate, overwhelming need for him. Ben ground himself all along Nikolas’s sharp angles and hard planes, eliciting a groan of delight, letting out a held breath and looking down to where their hips met. He pressed on, harder, grabbed Nikolas’s neck and brought their mouths back together. “I was picturing you naked when you were shooting the arrows.”

Nikolas smiled into the kiss, biting Ben’s lip gently at this confession. He hadn’t sensed any such thoughts from Ben at all, but then he had been a little distracted.

Ben murmured, “God, you smell so good.”

“I need a shower.”

Ben shook his head, kissing around Nikolas’s neck and ear, grinding them together to keep their need urgent, despite slowing to sensual, slow exploration of scent and taste. Ben had washed in something earthy, musky, that morning, and that smell was now infused with Nikolas’s own—sweat and the warmth of the sun. Ben began to unbutton Nikolas’s shirt, loosen his tie, each movement punctuated by kisses, mouths wide, tongues playing.

It was too prolonged for Nikolas. He always needed it fast and furious to start with, only really enjoying drawn out, languid sensuality when he’d released the pressure, eased the tension in the remarkably taut physicality of his body. Everything was coiled now, risen, tense. He could feel his blood draining south, all his thoughts focused on penetrating and thrusting, and the drive towards orgasm, but Ben was having none of it. He was kissing slowly down Nikolas’s neck to his collarbone, thumbs grazing the exposed nipples. He nuzzled into Nikolas’s armpit, moaning his pleasure at the intensity of the erotic scents.

Nikolas attempted to push off the door, force Ben back towards the bed, but Ben resisted, shoving back, crushing their hips together once more, his own tension very evident as their cocks clashed and fought through their suits. Ben had the shirt fully open now and pulled it off Nikolas’s broad shoulders, at the last minute twisting it and binding his hands behind his back. It wasn’t a restraint by any means, but he clearly liked the way it stretched Nikolas’s defined arms, showcasing his superb musculature and ribbed abdomen. Ben groaned and fell to his knees, one hand holding the twist of cotton behind Nikolas’s back, the other attempting to release him.

Helpless, Nikolas could only watch Ben’s lowered head in an agony of expectation as Ben fumbled the zip, pressed and sought and then found. Nikolas’s knees went a little weak with relief as he pushed into the warm wetness welcoming him. He groaned and struggled, freeing his hands so he could hold Ben’s head, moaning again with pleasure as his fingers snagged into the silky black strands. Ben looked up through lowered lashes as his lips slid along Nikolas’s glistening length. He choked out something nonsensical at the overwhelming sight, and he could not, even if put to torture, have admitted which language he cried the delighted words in. He came, a sudden, shockingly powerful wave of intensity which made him rise onto his toes, cry out once again, a harsh, guttural bark of completion, and then stagger, falling with Ben to the floor, lost to the aftermath of his explosive orgasm.

He only took a moment to recover before he had Ben in his hand.

Ben wanted to be inside him.

Nikolas obliged. He turned onto his belly, allowing Ben to lower his trousers just enough. He could feel Ben’s heavy cock bouncing off the backs of his thighs as Ben licked and kissed his way up to his target. Nikolas arched his back as a finger slid inside him in preparation. It touched him just right, and he hissed as his cock filled once more, pressed into the soft carpet and trapped as it was.

Ben straddled Nikolas, parted his cheeks and came home, sinking, inch by slow inch, deep into the welcoming warmth. They both had to still for a moment and let their bodies adjust, Ben to the keenness of the pleasure, clearly not wanting it to be over too quickly, and Nikolas to the profound stretch and fill. When they were ready, Ben used Nikolas, and Nikolas took the exploitation, not needing platitudes or sweet loving words as he was taken, just this physical absolute, and the knowledge that he was giving Ben what he craved.

Ben wanted them to come together, panting his desire with closed eyes. His entire focus seemed fixed on the bliss of fucking Nikolas. Nikolas was being left behind. He could see Ben’s toes curling and clenching as he worked, could feel him tensing, ready to come, knew every twitch and signal of the familiar cock inside him. Ben knew him, too. At just the right moment, just before he reached his goal, Ben bent down and bit him hard on the back of his neck. It wasn’t the bite that brought Nikolas his second orgasm, but the sound of unrestrained delight from Ben as he tasted Nikolas’s heated skin.

They shuddered their releases together, Ben deep and heavy, hot and demanding on Nikolas’s back, and Nikolas silently, with exquisite relief into the plush carpet of the expensive hotel room.

§§§

It was still daylight. June, the sun was still up until late in the evening this far north. They lay in a direct beam of light from the large windows, soaked in sweat and semen, sticky and sated, watching dust motes dance in the lazy summer sun.

Nikolas was stretched Christ-like, prone on the carpet, Ben lying upon him, mirroring his position, arms outstretched, fingers entwined. He was still embedded, still stretching Nikolas, the occasional twitch sharing pleasure between them.

It was in moments like these in the past that Ben would usually get a few words out of Nikolas that he always regretted saying. He didn’t need to say such things now, as this new, annoying Ben demanded he say them at other times—random insistence on being given proof of his love, his commitment. When they were driving along on a perfectly unrelated trip—
“Tell me you love me.”
Watching a movie—
“How much do you love me?”
It was unnerving and intensely challenging. Even so, even though Ben didn’t ask for anything now, Nikolas murmured,
“Ya tebya lyublyu. Ty nuzhen mne.”