Chapter 5: WOLVES IN SILK

Anastasia’s POV

One sheep… two sheep… three sheep…

“Ughhhhhh, fuck this.”

My mouth tasted like metal and regret.

The world spun before I even opened my eyes. My body felt off,I tried to move, but my arms wouldn’t respond.

Ropes.

“He fucking kidnapped me…” I muttered, though I wasn’t exactly surprised, all part of the plan.

From the way the ropes were tied, it was clear he hadn’t wanted to hurt me. I easily untied them.

I stood slowly, eyes scanning the dim room. Everything was dark wood, minimal light leaking through a slit in the curtains.

The lock clicked when I tried the doorknob. Of course, locked.

He hadn’t undressed me, and I was glad for that,I hadn’t expected much from him, but he hadn’t crossed that line.

I reached under my bra and pulled out the pin I always stashed there. Never failed me. I twisted it into the lock,one, two,click.

Thank you, Mother Russia.

The hallway stretched out like a lung about to inhale me. Ornate carpets, oil paintings, and gold accents. Not old money,too sharp for that. The smell of cigars, the echo of shoes on marble, security cameras hidden in antique déco gave off a different vibe.

I found the stairs and moved fast, sock-footed down marble steps into what looked like a sitting room. My eyes locked on the front door.

I lunged for it,

“Going somewhere, little red?”

A large hand fisted my hair and yanked me back. I stumbled, spine colliding with a warm chest. His scent,leather and sin,hit me first.

Nikolaus.

“You jerk, let me go!” I hissed, struggling as his arm slid around my waist like a lock.

He leaned in, voice groggy with sleep. “How rude of you to leave without a goodbye.”

“Fuck you.”

“Uncle Nik?”

The tiniest voice shattered the tension. A child’s voice.

Nikolaus immediately stiffened. His grip loosened, and he leaned forward to whisper something into my ear.

“Don’t do anything stupid.”

Then, smoothing my hair like a lover, he turned me with him toward the voice.

A little cute girl ran into the room, curls bouncing, cupcake in hand. A woman followed her, glamorous in that casual, lethal way only mafioso wives mastered.

Interesting.

“Oh, Nik! We didn’t know you had company,” the woman teased.

The woman’s gaze flicked to me. “And who’s this dime?”

“Nobody, Lizzie,” Nikolaus replied, tone flat and sharp as broken glass.

“Uncle Mark! Nik brought a girl home!” Lizzie yelled across the house.

Nikolaus exhaled heavily through his nose,irritated. I chuckled.

“A girl? That’s impossible. I didn’t even think his dick worked anymore,” a man’s voice chimed in as he entered,Lizzie threw him a glare for the vulgar words, especially with her daughter present.

“Let me get a look at her…” the man, Mark,paused mid-sentence as his eyes locked with mine.

Tall, lean, familiar. Too familiar.

When his eyes met mine, everything clicked.

Shit.

Mark. Mr. 006. A high-value client back at base. He’d seen my face before. And he looked like he was about to piss himself.

“Do you know her?” Lizzie asked, catching the energy between us.

He swallowed. This man knew exactly what I was capable of. And if I was here, in his family’s home, it only meant one thing, someone was going to die. Maybe more than one.

“No. She has a very, very… very regular, Plain face. A regular Jane,” he said flatly.

Ouch.

Nik stood. “Skye’s tired. We’ll be upstairs.”

Before I could object, he gripped my wrist and practically dragged me back to the room I’d just escaped.

Honestly I am getting too good at this, damsel act.

Door locked behind us.

“Let me go. I have a flight to catch, Nik,” I snapped.

“Skye, We both know you don’t want that,” he said calmly.

“And who the hell are you to tell me what I want? One date, and you think you know everything about me?”

He stepped forward. I stepped back. He kept coming until his hand caught my arm.

“I listened to you. I heard every word. You do need saving. Not just from your family… but from yourself.”

“This is how you save me? By kidnapping me? I was right about you,” I spat.

“I’m not going to hurt you, Skye. If anything, I want to protect you.” His eyes scanned mine. “It’s in your eyes. The way you breathe. You’re lost, Skye,and I see it”

“You’re insane,” I said, slipping out of his hold.

“And you’re in denial!” he snapped. “Let me help you. You said you wanted experience,then let me give you all of it.”

“No! Take me home. Please.” My voice cracked, tears spilling despite my fight to hold them back.

“I can’t. I’m not letting you go,” he said, voice final, hard as stone. And I knew then,he meant it.

“Let me go now!” I yelled.

“Sit down, Skye.”

“I said let me go now!”

“Sit. Down.”

“You don’t command me!” I screamed,and the room went still.

“Yes… I don’t want to go home,” I finally said, breath trembling. “And I meant everything I told you. But are you really helping me? Or just locking me up like my father did?”

“You’re not a prisoner.”

“Then why won’t you let me leave?!”

He exhaled and ran his fingers through his hair, his brows arched.

“Because you already know what you want!” he thundered. “Let me give it to you. I want you, Skye. A part of me wants to keep you. And I don’t even understand it. But I can’t let you go.”

“You want experience?” he said, his voice dipping. “Princess, I’ll give you the kind that turns you into a survivor.”

“You want to be ruined?” He stepped closer, eyes burning into mine. “Darling, I’ll ruin you beyond repair,.”

“I never asked for this.”

“But you need it,” he whispered. “Let me help, the part you keep buried. I see it in you. You’re lost. Angry. Starving for something that breaks all your rules.”

The silence stretched between us. I finally looked away.

“For how long?”

“A year,” he said, almost like a plea.

“One month,” I countered. I need to see how desperate he is to want me.

“Six months, Skye”

“Three months. Ninety days. Deal or not?”

“Deal,” he said, the corners of his lips lifting, like he won a battle.

“That didn’t take long,” He murmured, his gaze settling on my lips.

“What’s the point in fighting it… when I know it’s exactly what I need?” I whispered. “Besides, whether I agree or not… you’ve already made your decision. I’m just scared.”

“Of what?” he asked.

“What if I fall for you?”

Something flashed in his eyes,raw, dangerous,before he replied.

“Then fall,” he said, low and steady. “But know this,once you’re mine, there’s no getting back up.”

His eyes lingered, softening.

“And I won’t let you land anywhere else but in my arms… even if it breaks us both.”

My heart stuttered.

“What about my father?”

“Say the word, and I’ll kill him.” He said with a glint of seriousness in his eyes.

He definitely wants me as a toy, and that’s exactly what I wanted besides stained men like innocent girls.

~

A moment later, I excused myself for a little tour.

In the hallway, Mark was waiting,looking panicked.

I slipped in behind him, whispering, “Can you stop trembling? I’m not killing you yet. That’s… if you don’t make me.”

“What do you want with Nik? Are you here to kill him? My family?” he asked, voice tight.

“Yes,” I said simply, walking right up to him.

“Keep your mouth shut, Mark. If you try anything stupid, I’ll kill you,” I warned, my voice like silk over steel.

He stumbled back, clearly shaken.

“Good,” I whispered, before I walked off and headed back upstairs to shower.

After my shower, I wrapped a towel around my body and stepped out. Nik was already dressed, getting ready to leave.

“Leaving already?” I asked, and his gaze fell on me.

“I’ll be back soon,” he said, eyes flicking away.

But the next time he turned, I was standing so close, he could taste the steam off my skin.

“I need to go somewhere too,” I said softly. “Don’t worry, I won’t run.” I smiled.

He smirked, his thumb grazing my lips.

In the next second, he scooped me up and dropped me onto the table.

His hands curled around my neck.

My eyes fell to his lips. They looked too good to resist.

“God, you’re poison,” he groaned into my ear.

I bit my lip without meaning to.

“Biting your lip only makes me want to kiss you more.”

He yearned.

“Then do.”

“I’ll be back soon,” he said again, loosening his grip and turning for the door,but stopped.

And in the very next breath, he turned back, stormed toward me, and crushed his lips against mine.

The kiss wasn’t gentle, at all. It was fire meeting gasoline, clashing and consuming. His hands gripped my face with a desperation that stole the breath right out of me.I clutched at his shirt, tugging him closer like I needed him to stay or I’d drown.

He groaned into my mouth, deep and raw, like the taste of me undid something in him.

His tongue slid past my lips, commanding, claiming.My slowly legs wrapped around him instinctively as his hand moved to my waist, anchoring me in place.

I whimpered into the kiss, and he swallowed the sound like a secret.

And then, just as suddenly as it began, he pulled back,his forehead pressed to mine, both of us gasping for air like we’d survived a storm.

A knock at the door shattered the moment.

Nikolaus cursed under his breath and stalked to the door. When he opened it, Lizzie stood on the other side, panic etched deep into her features.

“Uncle Mark… he… he fell down the stairs. He’s barely breathing.”

Nik tensed.

Behind him, I smiled, slow, sharp.

“Oops,” I whispered to myself.