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"Go ahead, I've been waiting for
a chance to fuck you up!"

- Sergey
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Chapter 26 - The Hidden Monster

▪️N A T A S H A▪️

I had to blink twice to ensure that I was seeing correctly.

Of all the people I had been expecting to see tonight, Karl Speckhahn had not been one of them. Judging from the way Sergey tensed up beside me, he clearly had not expected to see the German either.

With him being a business associate of both Aleksandr and Dominic, it was not uncommon to see Karl at a few functions. However, I did not think that he was so close to the Aelbank Russian mafia boss that he would have been invited to the engagement celebration dinner.

Considering that Karl was one of my regular clients, we had been developing what I might call some form of friendship. After all, whenever he was in the country, I would see him at least three times a week.

I never had any problems with Karl and he was always very respectful whenever we were together. So much so that I looked forward to his visits as I thoroughly enjoyed his company.

It was not as if I was not happy to see him, but I could feel the tension rolling off of Sergey. Since they always seemed to butt heads whenever they were in the same room, I did not want them ruining Aleksandr and Litizia's celebration with their male posturing.

"Be nice..." I whispered.

Sergey raised an eyebrow and replied in a soft hiss, "Like fuck! Look at him, dressed in that all white, looking like a fucking piece of string cheese..."

Letting out a sigh, I braced myself as I noticed Karl walking towards us.

I did not know why I felt as though Karl had been waiting for me to show up but I could not help but notice how his face seemed to light up when he spotted me. The German had been idly chatting with Dominic and Vincent while facing the entrance and as soon as he glanced up and saw that Sergey and I had entered, he seemed to quickly excuse himself from their table and headed straight towards me.

There was no denying that he stood out in the crowd wearing a crisp all-white suit consisting of a trim-fit jacket, trousers, a classic necktie and black shoes. It was not something that most men could pull off, but Karl did and his wavy dark blond hair was combed back neatly, finishing off the look.

"Natasha! So good to see you, my dear!" Karl greeted while leaning in to kiss my cheek.

The hair of his low beard tickled my skin and for some reason, my words got stuck in my throat as all I could do was smile back at him.

"You look absolutely stunning tonight! And what a coincidence, we're almost matching. A shade or two lighter and people would have claimed that we planned this," he motioned to my cream-coloured dress.

The slight German accent that Karl had as he spoke English was something that I had always intrigued me. I often found that I enjoyed listening to him speak, especially since he had a soothing voice. Not to mention the fact that since he was also fluent in Russian, we often spoke in my native language, which was always nice.

His captivating smile was genuine as he stared down at me, and after a few seconds, I finally found my voice and my smile widened, "What are you doing here? I thought you weren't coming to the U.S. until next weekend?"

He was about to answer when the man standing next to me suddenly cut in.

"Indeed, what are you doing here? "Who invited you?" Sergey asked, the tone of his voice rather impolite.

Karl's blue eyes were bright as he looked at me, but I could see something dark flicker in his gaze when he was abruptly addressed. I internally cringed, hoping that he would not react to the harshness that had been directed at him.

Casting his eyes to Sergey, Karl kept a calm face and replied, "Good evening to you too. If you must know..."

My eyes widened as his words trailed off while he turned his attention back to me, clearly dismissing Sergey. Taking my hand in his, Karl pulled me more to his side before he continued to speak as though he had not been interrupted only moments before.

"Things ended up changing during my flight back to Europe from Nicaragua. I came into some important intel that I needed to personally give to Aleksandr so when he replied to my message I called and realised that the drive over was not too far away from the private airfield I was scheduled to land on so he told me to come and that I could stay for the festivities. I would have called you, but I was hoping to surprise you."

"Oh!" I said, unable to hide the shock in my voice at him openly telling me about his activities.

"Would you care to go somewhere for a drink after dinner?"

Before I could even contemplate an answer, Sergey interjected and pulled me back to his side while saying, "No, she's busy!"

My eyes widened as I watched the two men stare each other down.

Thankfully, they had been keeping their voices low so as not to draw much attention to themselves. To anyone else observing the scene, it probably looked like the two men were discussing something business-related, given the nature of their relationship.

Sergey looked so imposing, standing at 6'4 wearing all black, while Karl, in all white looked almost as striking. Even though he was about two inches shorter, Karl was still intimidating in his own way. His body was similar to Sergey's, though somewhat leaner.

It was like watching day and night as my eyes flittered between the two men.

Though Karl seemed to be a few years older than Sergey, he looked great for his age. I found myself being pulled from my thoughts upon being addressed.

"Are you busy tonight, Natasha?" Karl enquired before continuing, "I know that it's a last-minute request but I would pay double, triple even, or whatever you want, just for the honour of your company tonight."

Sergey stepped forward and said, "She's not going anywhere with you!"

Karl chuckled softly as he responded, "Look, I know you handle the schedule, Sergey, but surely Natasha can speak for herself, no? Besides, what she does in her personal time isn't any of your business."

Oh fuck, I silently thought, knowing that Sergey would not respond well. However, Karl was not done as he continued.

Directing his next question to me, Karl said, "We had fun the last time, didn't we, Nat?"

My body immediately stiffened at his false insinuation and a part of me wondered if he was drunk or high on something, for I had never seem him act like this in front of me. Not to mention addressing me so informally; Karl had never called me Nat before and I could not help but wonder what he was playing at, clearly trying to taunt the other man in front of him.

Whenever he and Sergey went at each other, it was always out of ear shot of others, but now, both men did not seem to care that I was present for their pissing contest.

Even though I had been curious, I never really cared enough about their personal grievances towards each other to try and find out.

What really bothered me tonight, however, was Karl suggesting that there was something more going on between us. Especially after Sergey had thought that I had been dating Karl based on the attention the German gave me.

I immediately began to panic, wondering if Sergey would not believe me regarding what I had told him about never having slept with any of my clients.

From the way the Russian man's shoulders stiffened, I could see that Karl's words affected him.

Did Sergey believe him?

There was no way that I could prove my celibacy and I bit the inside of my cheek as I looked up at Karl.

My eyes silently pleaded with him, questioning why his behaviour seemed out of the ordinary. What I could only assume was a silent apology as his face softened, while our eyes remained locked, Karl slowly reached out his hand towards me.

"Touch her again, I dare you! Go ahead, I've been waiting for a chance to fuck you up!" Sergey snarled.

My gaze snapped to my side as I observed Sergey with rounded eyes while a low growl sounded deep in his throat. From the way his brows creased, I could tell that Sergey was one comment away from pulling his gun out and doing something that I know he would have regretted.

Needing to diffuse the situation, I quickly said, "Excuse us for a moment please, Karl. Let me just speak to Sergey for a moment."

"No problem, my dear. Come find me when you've finished talking some sense into him," he taunted before he walked back towards Dominic's table.

"I swear, if Aleksandr didn't have business with him, I'd fucking kill that piece of shit Baconcock bastard!" Sergey seethed, his eyes never leaving the German.

Shaking my head, I tugged on his arm, "You can't, not tonight!"

"Why not? I'm a monster, remember?"

Under that beautiful face of his was a vicious monster that remained hidden, ready and waiting to attack at any moment.

I had not forgotten the type of man Sergey was. But as violent and unhinged as I knew he could be, I knew that he would not willingly do anything to ruin Aleksandr and Litizia's special night.

"Please, Sergey..." I tried calming him down and was surprised when he allowed me to pull him towards a darkened corner hidden behind a half wall topped with various plants.

When Sergey could no longer see Karl, he turned his face forward to look at me and I gasped at how dilated his pupils were. It was clear from his body language that he was pissed off as his rage seemed to radiate from his entire being.

I was glad that we were hidden behind the half wall, but our privacy could be interrupted any moment if someone decided to follow us back here. Sergey did not seem to care though for he pushed me up against the wall in the corner and blocked my body with his.

With a frown, he spoke, "So, you've gone out with him on your personal time? I thought you told me that you didn't take off your clothes for your clients."

Sergey's words stung, but I did not let it get to me as I let him continued.

"Remember when we spoke about it and I asked, 'not even for Karl' and you told me not even for him? Was that all just bullshit? I told you it's wasn't my business to care about who you share your body with, so there was no reason to lie about your relationship with Karl!"

I did not know what possessed me to say what I said next, but I could not help but retort, "You sound jealous."

"Of course, I'm fucking jealous!" Sergey whisper yelled at me.

The corners of my mouth twitched but I forced myself not to smile as I said, "There's no need to be. I don't know why Karl tried to insinuate that there was something going on between us, but I wasn't lying when I told you that I never slept with any of my clients. Like I've told you before, Sergey, you're the only man I want touching me–"

"You're coming home with me tonight!"

"I am?"

Keeping our eyes locked, he asked, "Do you not want to?"

"Of course, I do! I'm just shocked," I admitted then asked, "Does that mean you believe me?"

Sergey's hands moved to rest on either side of my head while he leaned in "Why wouldn't I believe you? Even before I knew that you had been celibate, I told you that I didn't care how many men you've fucked. Either way, I'm going to fuck you so good that you will not think of any other man, except me."

I gulped, my words soft as I replied, "I already do, and I haven't even slept with you yet..."

Sergey seemed to pause at my words, his eyes staring intently into mine.

Obviously, I had not meant to say such a thing out loud, not wanting to let him know how emotionally invested I was. But unfortunately, my mouth moved faster than my brain in that moment and I hoped that my confession did not scare him away.

Wanting to rectify the situation I quickly said, "I know that we have not really discussed what would happen between us–"

Resting his forehead against mine, Sergey interrupted, "Yes, and given what happened tonight, we definitely need to change that!"

Sergey pushed his body into mine even more, the feel of him standing so close had me momentarily closing my eyes, forgetting that there was a whole restaurant of people just over the half wall. Raising my arms, my fingers clutched on to the lapels of his jacket, and I enjoyed the feel of his hard body pressing against me.

"Now?" I asked.

"What better time than now? It's not that complicated, you want to discreetly explore your sexuality and experiment with me. I have no problem with this, nor do I have a problem with keeping our arrangement a secret, but I have one condition."

"Tell me..." I probed.

In the blink of an eye, Sergey moved his right hand to cup my jaw, the feel of his thumb moving over my bottom lip caused me to shiver with excitement. I was happy that he was willing to go forward with our agreement, even though my earlier confession may have hinted to my feelings towards him.

"I told you that I was a fucking greedy and selfish bastard. I won't be sharing you with anyone else. So, as long as you're going to be in my bed, you're mine. Do you understand me, Natasha?"

I nodded.

"Use your words, gorgeous..."

My voice stuttered in eagerness, "I understand."

A part of me desperately wanted to ask Sergey if he would be mine as well, but I was afraid of coming off too clingy, especially after my previous comment about me only thinking about him. I suppose my facial expression must have given something away, it made Sergey chuckle deeply as he lowered his face to mine so that our lips gently brushed.

"Don't worry, I don't plan on sleeping with anyone else. Or have you forgotten; I haven't had sex in months. And trust me, Natasha, I plan on making up for lost time..."

I visibly gulped at his assertion.

Unable to help myself, I writhed against him, enjoying the feel of his hardened length pressing into me. I was so close to asking him to fuck me now, but before I could give the notion anymore thought, Sergey's voice pulled me from my thoughts.

"Originally, I had planned to spend the night at yours. But now that I think about it, we'll head to your apartment to get you some clothes then we'll head to my place," he stated.

"How come?"

Slowly, he moved his hips while whispering, "Because I realise that the first time I take you, I want it to be with you sprawled out on my bed. I want you to watch as you squirt all over my sheets..."

His words had me panting as he went on to say.

"Plus, with you at my penthouse, there's no chance of Jade popping over, it being the weekend and all," he ended with a grin.

I almost choked on a laugh but it soon died in my throat as Sergey's gaze intensified as he continued to look down at me. His hand that was still cupping my jaw tightened sightly and he slowly raked his mouth over mine, teasing us both.

Sergey's voice was husky as he pulled away and said, "I'm going to go have a word with dear old Karl. Meet me in the men's bathroom in fifteen minutes."

"W-what? We can't! We shouldn't!" I stammered.

Smirking, he replied, "Ask me if I give a shit! Besides, we won't be gone too long."

I stood in a daze as Sergey unexpectedly leaned in and pressed his mouth to mine. He kissed me passionately and his left hand moved to bury his fingers into my hair while his lips and tongue devoured me. 

My lips tingled deliciously as he reluctantly pulled away. Giving me a wink, he then stuffed his hands in his pants' pockets and slowly walked away from me, disappearing behind the half wall. 

The fact that he kissed me knowing that we could have been caught at any moment made my stomach flutter.

I tried not to read too much into Sergey's actions, but it was becoming clear to me that even though he agreed to keeping things a secret, it would seem that he did not mind if people knew that there was something going on between us.

After a few seconds, I shook my head and took a few calming breaths before I inconspicuously walked back into the main area.

Knowing that it was impossible to stop Sergey, I said a silent prayer, hoping that the monster in him would play nice tonight.

With a smile on my face, I increased my steps as I made my way towards Litizia while helplessly observing the man I was falling for glide across the room. Sergey's voice was clear over the soft music as he approached Dominic's table.

"Karl, a word..."

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A/N: Oh Sergey... 🤭