The Bratva’s Bounty (Volkov Bratva #3)

19. Lev

Chapter 19

Lev

Fucking hell, my ass burns! Fuck!

Seriously, I think I would rather take a damn bullet or a punch from Nikolai to the face rather than take another spanking.

I wanted to do nothing but lay on my front side and hope the stinging ache would go away sooner rather than later. Fuck, I knew things lingered and that spankings could be not fun sometimes, but fuck. Being on the receiving end of one definitely cracked my eyes open.

Although, as much as it sucked, a part of me quite enjoyed the pain. Yes, pain sucked, but the heat of pleasure that followed every throb heightened my body to new levels of pleasure. Fuck, I don't think my cock's ever been this painfully hard before. My hips were bucking against thin air in hopes of getting some kind of phantom relief to put me out of my lustful misery.

"Patience, Lev. You'll get fucked in a second." Nicole chuckled as she continued to fasten my wrists to the loops on the headboard.

I still had no idea how she would do that. My mind could only imagine her riding me, but something in her playfulness made me doubt its simplicity. At least I didn't have to wait long to find out because she didn't take long to restrain my wrists.

Settling between my legs, she leaned down and kissed me softly with such tenderness that shivers of warmth ran down my spine. "Relax, and let me take care of you," she whispered against my lips before kissing her way down my body.

Flashing me a wanton smirk, she pressed her tongue against the base of my cock, making me jump a little at the sudden heat and pressure against my aching member. Unable to help it, I threw my head back, letting out a strangled gasp of a moan when Nicole started to move up my shaft. Her lips curled around every piercing she passed, sucking and tugging at them until she got to my leaking tip. "Empress, please, I— Der'mo !" My body sunk into the bed as my hips bucked themselves at Nicole, needing to work more of my cock into her hot mouth and tight throat.

Nicole's hands pressed against either side of my hips, pinning them to the bed with a chuckle that had me shivering because I could feel the vibrations against my member. Gripping the rope that looped through the cuffs, I tugged at them in frustration when Nicole took me all into her mouth and throat but held my hips down. I wanted to thrust into her, fuck her pretty little mouth and tight throat—but I couldn't!

At least my torment didn't last long, thank fucking God. I only had to endure a few bobs of her head before she pulled off completely. I would've caved and begged her if she kept going for another second. Well, my desperate whimpers were probably close to full-on begging.

Her small hands pressed against the back of my strong thighs as she sat on her knees. Tiny pricks from her nails digging into me slowly turned painful the deeper they sunk into my flesh, but I didn't mind. My body shivered with delight in response to the pain. Now, what I didn't enjoy was the aching burn from her forcing my legs up and wide until I was spread with my knees to my chest.

Any discomfort I felt from being folded like a pretzel faded into the background the moment Nicole mounted me and slid herself onto my cock fully. The instant gratification made my eyes shut tight in bliss as my body shuddered delightfully with my audible gasp .

Nicole didn't give me more than a few seconds to adjust to her tight warmth before she started bucking her hips violently at me. Then, as if sending me into a whole new realm of pleasure wasn't enough, she threw me for a loop by spanking my aching bottom occasionally with her thrusting. "Look." Thrust. "At." Thrust. "Me." She demanded, rocking her hips harder with each word.

Forcing myself to come back down from the clouds, I focused my eyes on Nicole's smirking face. Shivers of excitement collided with my nerves at the sight of her darkened eyes full of lust and pride.

One look at her now, and there was no doubt in my mind that she was in charge.

For some reason, my body felt warm at the fact. All the tension in my body melted away to nothing the more I let myself go under Nicole's gaze that softened with each drag of a second. She still held the dominance in her strong eyes, but they gained an adoring fondness to them.

I didn't dare say it out of fear of fully manifesting it. I wasn't ready.

"I… Fuck!" Shuddering, I gripped the ropes again as I felt a wave of pleasure crash into me, pushing my need to empty myself into her hot cunt right to the edge. "Empress, please, I need to come," I whimpered needily, panting softly as I held myself back. "Can I come, please?"

Smiling down at me, Nicole shook her head with a chuckle. "Just a little more. I'm close," she told me between her moans.

Easier said than done with how good her hot walls felt squeezing me. "Nicole, I don't know if I can hold back for much longer. Your cunt keeps squeezing me." I strained out between my gasps and pants. "Empress, please."

"Just… One more… Fuck! Now!" Nicole's body tensed up with a deep moan, her hips jerking out of rhythm as her nails clawed at my legs.

The final vice-like squeeze from her shoved me over the edge into pure ecstasy. Groaning deeply, I bucked my hips up at her to bury myself as deep as possible. "Nicole!"

She moaned loudly after letting out a gasp. "Fuck! Lev!"

Fuck, I'm in Heaven.

I didn't care about how every fiber of my body ached with the aftershocks of my climax. Everything felt amazing, and I didn't want any of it to end. My balls ached with the need for another release, and I could feel my body responding to that primal want. I faintly registered the rocking motion of my hips through my hazy mind, and the feeling of friction from sliding in and out of Nicole pressed my protestant muscles onward.

"Oh fuck," Nicole groaned, pressing my legs down to the bed to keep my needy thrusting to a minimum. "Not tonight, little lion." She breathed out with an apologetic smile as her movements slowed to a stop.

Whimpering in protest, I continued to buck my hips at her. "No, please, empress, one more, please," I begged desperately through my struggles.

Just one more. I just need one more.

Nicole's eyes lightly scrunched with concern as she softly rocked her hips. "One more, but that's it. You're still sick and need rest," she told me in a soft and tender voice as she stroked my face with the tips of her fingers.

Pressing my legs apart more, she leaned down and kissed me softly with a big smile. "You are so amazing," she whispered sweetly against my lips before the movements of her hips became more exaggerated.

It wasn't like earlier. This time, her movements were deeper but slower. She wasn't fucking me this time. She was… Fucking hell.

"Don't fight it, Lev, just let yourself go. It's okay." Her sweet voice eased the rising tension to my internal conflict.

I couldn't bear to look at her, afraid that if I did, then my anxious eyes would find the underlying hurt breaking her pretty brown orbs. Even though she assured me otherwise, I caught the slight hurtful infliction in her voice—it was well veiled, though.

Shuddering, I let my head fall back against the pillow fully. I could face the music later. No point in letting my stupid stubbornness ruin this precious moment between us.

" Zhizn moya , let me touch you and hold you, please." The itching feeling in my hands turned into a full-blown ache that became rather hard to ignore after a while .

Smiling warmly at me, she carefully leaned down and distracted me with a sensual kiss, her tongue caressing mine as her hands slowly ran up my arms to my wrists. Some soft tugs followed by a few clinks, and my arms were free.

Immediately, I grabbed her face to deepen our kiss with a satisfied groan. Slowly, I trickled my hands down her body, feeling every inch of her tantalizing body to engrave her into my mind. My hands paused at her bubbly ass, squeezing and groping her round globes. The temptation to press her into me and speed things up twitched in my muscles, but I held the urge back.

"Fill me up again, Lev. I want your cum leaking down my thighs whenever I walk," she whispered against my lips before increasing her pace and force. "Let it all out in me." She spoke between her butterfly kisses on my face. "I'm still not on birth control."

And that did it. Hearing her tell me that, just, fuck.

Gripping her hips, I bucked into her once, twice, and the third was it. My overstimulated cock ached with my last release as my balls tightened rather painfully. Yeah, I was at my limit for tonight. Well, I hit my limit with the first release. This second one definitely laid my ass out.

"Nicole! Blya, ya vlyublyayus' v tebya ," I gasped out between my tears.

I wasn't exactly sure why tears streamed down my face. Everything kind of broke with my climax.

The faint touch of Nicole's hands wiping my tears away kept me from totally losing it and making a fool of myself. "It's okay, ??i ca ." Her voice was so soft yet strong. "Let it all out. You're in a safe space, and I'm here." Her hands caressed my body in such a way that it was impossible not to lean into her. "You don't have to keep it all in with me. It's okay to be vulnerable with the right person and at the right times."

The right person…

It terrified me how I didn't question or doubt that one bit—Nicole being my right person.

Swiftly, in one smooth motion, Nicole set my legs to a comfortable position before laying down next to me, holding me tightly.

Together, we stayed in each other's arms for a long while. The air around me filled with Nicole's sweet nothings as her hands stroked the back of my head and neck soothingly. Besides her words, my soft sobs gripped the air. I stopped trying to control it after I found it futile; the tears and choked breaths came out whether I wanted or not.

"Will you be fine if I leave for a second to grab you some water and snacks?" She didn't sound eager to leave or anything. Honestly, she sounded reluctant to leave me.

Sucking in a deep breath, I nodded against her chest. "I think I'll be fine now. I… I don't know what came over me." I hated how vulnerable I sounded, but I couldn't steel my nerves back up right now. I felt exhausted for some reason, both physically and emotionally.

Nicole chuckled softly while giving me a look of understanding. "You had a drop, so it's normal. Besides, it's good to let it all out sometimes." Kissing my forehead, she smiles at me for a moment before slipping away from me.

As Nicole busied herself with gathering things, I slipped myself under the covers for some comfort. Thankfully, Nicole didn't take long to return with refreshments and some wet washcloths.

Smiling at me apologetically, she lowered the covers off my body to clean me. "It's okay, Lev. I'm not going to think or see you any differently. I know how tiring it can be to hold your head high and be the powerful leader everyone expects." Nicole was sympathetic and understanding, and the fact there was not an ounce of ridicule or judgment in her voice made me appreciate her more.

Forcing out a sad chuckle, Nicole gestured for me to sit up, waiting for me to do so before forcing me to drink some water. "I guess both of us are tired in a way." I couldn't really reply to her because she kept shoving handfuls of fruits and nuts into my mouth whenever I opened it. "We're both tired of being in charge all the time, me outside while you inside. It's going to be a good change for us both. You being in charge in the streets and me in the sheets." She gave out a soft laugh at the end before kissing my cheek.

A comforting moment of silence fell upon us as we sat there looking at each other as if we were the other's world. Well, that might be true for me the more I let myself get lost in her strong yet soft eyes and body.

Maybe my idea of straightening out our strange dynamic won't be too horrible. Not to say I had horrible ideas, but most of the time, they were on the fence at best.

Reaching out, she cupped my face and stroked my cheek with her thumb. "Rest." Her eyes gestured for me to lay down. "I gotta go talk with Angel for a bit, but I'll be here when you wake. I gotta go get some stuff to make us dinner, too."

"You and I have a lot to talk about later." My tired voice slowly faded as I felt the full effects of my crash.

I barely made it through three blinks before my heavy eyelids refused to open. It felt like someone superglued them down and slapped some duct tape over it for extra measure.

So much for closing my eyes for a few seconds.

Four fucking hours. I napped for four fucking hours! And that still wasn't enough.

When Nicole shook me awake, I wanted to knock back out. I probably would've if she hadn't been so insistent on getting my ass up so that I could eat.

Yeah, forget about the talk. I just wanted to eat and go back to bed at this rate. I could barely keep my eyes open while I waited for her at the dining table. Nothing against my lovely empress, but her voice grated my nerves the wrong way right now, too. My damn head felt so hollow that every little sound bounced around like a kid on crack in a bouncy house.

A hiss of pain slipped out between my gritted teeth from my body flinching at Nicole's concerned touch. "Lev?" Her frowning face moved within my sight as she sat beside me. "Did I push you too hard earlier? What's wrong? You're kind of scaring me." The tips of her fingers gingerly brushed my tousled hair out of my face.

Forcing a smile on my aching face, I nodded weakly. "Exhausted… It's not you. I was stubborn and pushed myself too much being sick." This cold was definitely going to get worse, and this wasn't me being a wimp with a man cold or whatever. Literally, I could feel the aches from my muscles seep down into my bones.

Sighing, Nicole's frown deepened as she leaned in and kissed my forehead. "I'm sorry. I shouldn't have engaged us in anything with you being sick." Her words rumbled against my hot body. "Eat up. I'll get you some meds and whatever concoction Angel and Alexei cooked up for you," she told me with a caring smile. "Then, we'll cuddle," she added with a bright grin.

Unable to muster the strength to respond verbally, I let out a small hum, smiling and nodding my head. Then, I turned my attention to the bowl of… Well, I don't know what it was actually. It kind of looked like porridge, but it was more mushy looking and white in color with bits of green onion, ginger, and chicken in it.

"Honey, it's not going to kill you. It's just some congee." Nicole's amused chuckle rang from the kitchen.

I wasn't inclined to believe that… Until I took a bite of it.

Now, I wasn't a picky eater by any means. Even if something was horrible, I usually grit my way through it unless it was that unpalpable, like now. The moment Nicole had her back turned to me, I spat out the mouthful I had back into the bowl with a silent gag.

"Hey, Nicki, I just don't have much of an appetite," I lied with a clenched heart.

The reasonable thing would be to tell her that the food tasted like utter sewage shit, but I couldn't bring myself to say anything bad about her food to her face. I didn't want to hurt her, which was stupid because I wasn't one to hold my opinions back.

"Try to eat some. You need some food in your body for energy," she spoke from the kitchen before the faint clinking of cups echoed through the air. "I hope you like it as it took me a while to make."

Fuck me.

Groaning internally, I hung my head in my hands, wishing the ground below me would open up and swallow me into a pit of suffering for being an ungrateful ass. Yes, it was a bowl of overly salted and sour mush, but she put her time and energy into making this for me.

Ugh! But I'll end up in the hospital with severe food poisoning if I eat more than three bites of this.

I mean, I could be a total asshole and tell her the truth… After I dig my own grave because six feet under was where I'd end up if I did tell her the truth.

On the other hand, if I lied and tried to eat this and somehow not die from it, then she might continue making it for me.

Either way, it was a lose-lose situation.

Fortunately, my muddled brain managed to cook up an idea that didn't seem half bad. "Actually, can you taste this for me real quick? It smells a little weird." She couldn't be mad at me if she tasted the bad food for herself.

A brief huff roughened the air up before the sounds of her exaggerated footsteps came my way. "Now I know you're full of bullshit because your nose is as stuffed as my cunt with your cum," she grumbled with a slight glare at me.

Mumbling disgruntledly, she snatched the bowl of food up, wafting it under her nose with a pensive expression. Her lips pressed into a thin line as her eyes darted to me suspiciously. "Did you spit in this?" she asked flatly with an unamused look.

Unable to help it, I let out a curt laugh. "Seriously? After you've sucked my face off and had my dick in your mouth, you're worried about a little spit?" I strained through a stifled laugh, snorting a little when my amusement slipped through.

Nicole gave me an offended scoff in response. Then, her foot shot out at me, kicking my calf. "Th-that and you spitting in food are two different things," she tried to argue with a waver to her voice. "It's just gross if you just spat in perfectly good food."

Crossing my arms, I leaned back in my chair. "Oh? Well, if it's perfectly good, then take a bite," I egged her on with a daring smirk.

Mocking me under her breath, she shot me a quick glare before shoveling a spoonful into her mouth.

One.

Two.

"Pleh!" Nicole's groaning mouth hung open with her tongue out. "What did you do to it?" she accused me emptily.

Scoffing, I laughed softly and rolled my eyes at her. "Nothing besides take a bite," I told her with a smug smirk.

Her fair face slowly blushed up with anger as she held a breath with puffed cheeks. "J-just go to the couch. I'm going to get some takeout," she said through gritted teeth, turning around and trudging away into the kitchen.

Barking out a victorious laugh, I half shouted, "Love you." It was meant in a playful manner, but maybe I should have used different words because the air around us stretched taut with tension.

"I know," Nicole teased back with a slightly forced chuckle. "Go get comfortable, turn something on the TV," she strained out with a smile on her face.

I felt like a complete asshole for hurting her, and I wish I could take it back. " Zhizn moya ," I started with a regretful sigh.

"No," Nicole stopped me tersely with an outstretched hand. "Let's leave that bomb alone until you're ready to defuse it."

I hated the hurt in her smiling eyes, especially since I caused it. My mouth opened to protest, but my words refused to roll off my tongue. Closing my jaw, I turned around and went over to the couch in silence.

Great fucking job, you idiot.

Seething out a deep breath, I held back the urge to punch myself in the face. I really shouldn't have said that word. I mean, it wasn't as if I didn't mean it. Okay, never mind, that made me sound more like a jerk.

Sighing, I ran a hand through my hair, gripping at the honey-brown strands. I didn't know what to do. Apologizing and saying I didn't mean it that way would be a lie because I did love her. But fuck I hated that. Having feelings for someone, not the part about loving Nicole.

Ugh.

I was just a mess with my emotions. If it wasn't excitement or bloodlust, I didn't want to deal with it.

But that's not to say I didn't love Nicole!

I just…

Fuck me.