Dimitri's Forbidden Submissive (Submissive's Wish) (8 page)

His gaze thawed and he smiled at her. “You are wrong. You are very special.”

She wasn’t usually one to blush, but his compliment warmed her from the inside out. “Thank you.”

“Now, back to proposal. I would like to be your Master for the time we have together. But you will need to know I cannot show you open affection—favor—in public. It cannot be known that I care for you.”

Elation filled her that this mysterious man said he cared for her, but then the rest of what he’d said filtered through her happy glow. “Are there people here who would hurt you?”

He hesitated, then nodded. “Yes.”

“Then we should go somewhere else.”

Once again his dark brows drew down. “It would be out of character for me.”

“Why?”

“Because I rarely leave my brother’s side.”

“You have brothers here?”

“Right now he is in Boston, but he will be back at the lodge in two days.”

“Okay, well then let’s get out of here for two days.”

He chuckled. “You trust me enough to leave with me, even knowing I am Bratva?”

“You might as well learn this now, Dimitri, I live my life to the fullest. I have a job that demands all of my attention so I rarely get to take vacations, but when I do, I try to experience everything I can. I’ve gone with my instincts my whole life, and so far, they’ve done a pretty good job at keeping me alive and happy. Right now, my instincts are telling me that I need to spend some time with you.”

“Why?”

“Because…because life is so very fragile.” Dark memories filled her and she shivered as phantom cold iced her skin.

“You are chilled.” He leaned forward enough to hold her with one arm, then the other as he took his jacket off and settled it around her shoulders.

The cloth was still warm from his body, and she took in a deep breath of his smell still lingering on the material. It was such a nice gesture she didn’t want to tell him that she wasn’t really cold, that the shiver came from a memory rather than reality. Talking about her past was a total mood killer, and she didn’t want to answer the questions he would ask right now.

“Thanks.”

He began to stroke her cheek with his thumb, the touch at once arousing and comforting. “If you could go anywhere, do anything, what would it be?”

“Hmmm…well, I’ve put a pretty good dent in my bucket list, but if I could go anywhere and do anything right now I’d have to say I would like to go motorcycle riding along the Grand Canyon. I’ve heard it’s stunning and my grandfather’s people were from that area.”

“That is natural wonder, yes? The Canyon?”

“Yeah. I’ve heard it’s really beautiful and I love riding on a motorcycle. It’s so…freeing. I can go where I want, do what I want and feel the world around me. Do you ride?”

“Yes, I can drive motorcycle. I have a Ducati Monster 696.”

She didn’t know that exact model, but Ducati’s were wicked expensive. “Wow, nice.”

“What about you? You have motorcycle?”

“Yeah. I have a Harley Davidson Softail Slim. I don’t get much of a chance to ride it in the winter because it’s cold as hell in Buffalo and we get a lot of snow, but if the weather’s nice, you won’t see me in a car if I can help it.”

He gave her a swift kiss on her nose then lifted her off his lap. “I must make call. Please sit here. I will not be long.”

Confused, she shrugged then sat back in the chair, cuddling into his jacket while she watched the sun set over the forest. She couldn’t decide if the sky was purple or blue in the beautiful twilight. Dimitri’s voice rumbled behind her as he spoke Russian during his phone call, enchanting her with how exotic the language sounded even if she had no idea what he was saying. She snuck a quick peek over her shoulder and found him staring back at the lodge. The lights were on inside and she could see people moving around behind the windows, though not as many as there had been last night. It seemed like over half of the guests at the lodge had left for the party in Boston, and she wondered who the people were that were a threat to Dimitri.

It still seemed surreal that Dimitri lived the kind of life where she could be in danger from just being seen with him. She should be more worried about it, any normal person would be, but she wasn’t scared of dying. Hell, she dealt with death every day at her job as a nurse at a hospice facility outside of Buffalo. Beyond that, she’d had her own brush with mortality and knew that there was life after death.

She was drawn from her dark thoughts by Dimitri’s hand rubbing her shoulder. “Rya, would you go on adventure with me?”

Blinking at him in the dim light, she stood and pulled his jacket around her. “What are you talking about?”

For a moment he hesitated, looking almost uncertain, then his usual arrogance returned. “I take you on two day adventure. Where we can be Rya and Dimitri.”

“Okay.”

He looked stunned. “Okay?”

She smiled up at him, remembering he wasn’t used to her impulsive ways. “It sounds like fun.”

“You do not want to know where? Or if you will be safe?”

“Sit down, please, I’m getting a cramp in my neck looking up at you.”

With a bemused smile he sat down then pulled her back onto his lap. “I do not understand you, Rya DeLuca. You are not like any woman I have met.”

“I hear that a lot.”

“Why do you not fear me?”

“I’m a very good judge of character and I have a fantastic bullshit detector.” He laughed and shook his head. “Fine, lie to me.”

“What?”

“Go ahead. Try to lie to me. Tell me three true things and one false. I’ll tell you which one is a lie.”

“Is this some sort of trick?”

“No. I’m just really, really good at spotting a lie.” She winked. “That’s why you should never play poker against me. How do you think I won Katya’s service from Tusya?”

He looked closely at her, studying her face, the nodded. “I have been trained on how to lie, so do not feel poorly if you do not know.”

She had to resist the urge to roll her eyes. “Just get on with it.”

“I have an army of over three thousand men that answer to me.”

Holy shit. Truth.

“My father is one of the most evil men on earth.”

Truth again.

“I am content being alone.”

Her chest ached for him. Lie.

“If I love a woman, she will die.”

Truth. Heartbreaking truth.

She swallowed hard, wondering why he chose to tell her those things. “I’m so sorry you’re so lonely.”

He jerked back as if she had slapped him. “How did you do that? You should have believed the part about three thousand men serving me as a lie.”

“I’ve just always had a gift for knowing when someone is trying to lie to me.”

Suddenly his face hardened and his grip on her tightened. “Who are you really? Who do you work for?”

“What?” She tried to get off his lap, but his arms held her in place. “What the hell are you talking about?”

“I have been trained by the best, Rya. It is impossible for you to read me. Tell me. Who are you really?”

“Jesus Christ! Can you be a little more paranoid? I am exactly who I say I am. A chick from Buffalo New York, who by some weird twist of fate, ended up on your lap tonight. I’m a fucking nurse, not a spy.” She smacked at his hands, but he wouldn’t loosen his grip. “You need to get a grip right the fuck now because you’re scaring me. Again.”

His head dropped and he blew out a hard breath. “Swear it.”

“What?”

Looking up, he gently held her chin and stared into her eyes. “Swear that you mean me no harm.”

The distrust in his expression hurt her, but even more, she felt pity that the world he lived in made him doubt everything and everyone. She rubbed her face against his hand, but didn’t look away from his eyes. “Dimitri, I mean you no harm, I swear it. Until this morning I had no idea you even existed.”

“How can you trust yourself alone with me? Do you have any idea of what
Bratva
means? Of the terrible things that I have done?”

“Good point.” She smoothed her fingers over his forehead, down his cheeks, and over his lips. “Have you ever raped anyone?”

“No.”

“Would you rape me?”

“Never.”

“Would you abuse me?”

“Never.”

“Would you kill me?”

“
Nyet
.”

He said the last word with such vehemence that she smiled up at him. “See, I’m safe with you.”

“You believe that? But you do not know.”

She shrugged. “I know what I need to know. You won’t hurt me.”

He looked at her in wonder. “You are either incredibly naïve or very brave.”

Trying to lighten the mood, she winked at him. “Or a fool.”

“No. Not fool. I think you are brave.”

Night had almost completely fallen around them and she looked up at him through her lashes. “So does this mean you’re my Master now?”

His hand convulsed on her hip and he said in a low, raspy voice. “Yes, little Rya, I am your Master. For the next two days you belong to me and only me. You are mine.”

Dimitri tried to keep his elation contained as he looked down at his Rya. She stared back up at him with complete trust, something so unusual he wasn’t sure what to make of it. Maybe she was foolish for believing him; maybe he was foolish for believing her, but the instincts that had kept him alive this long believed her. He knew about going with his gut and he admired Rya’s self-confidence. It was so refreshing to be with a strong woman, one who truly did not fear him. His gaze dropped down to her pretty lips and he took in a deep breath, his attraction for this small woman burning him. Her lipstick had gradually worn away, revealing her naturally pink lips. They looked so soft, so tender. He wanted to defile her mouth with his own.

His cock swelled against her bottom and her pretty hazel eyes went wide. “Well, hello there.”

She made him want to laugh, something he rarely did. “Hello,
zaika moya
.”

“What does that mean?”

“My rabbit.”

Her giggle lightened his heart. “Your rabbit?”

“Yes. You said I am a wolf hunting you and I agree. You are little, soft, and cute. I want to touch you, pet you. I want to eat my rabbit.”

Her lips parted and she shifted against him, the tempting softness of her body urging him to squeeze. “Then you’re my wolf? How do you say that in Russian?”

“In Russian wolf is
volk
, and my is
moy
or
moya
. So it would be
volk
moy
.”

“
Volk
moy
,” she said in her soft American accent and looked up at him with a small smile. “I like that. You remind me of a wolf. A predator.”

He didn’t like to think that she feared him, even though he was indeed a predator. “But for you I do not bite, yes?”

She wiggled her lush ass against him again. “Actually, I kind of like biting.”

It took a great deal of effort to not lean over right now and sink his teeth into the plump cleavage awaiting his touch. He allowed himself to slip into his dominant space, to look at Rya not only as a woman, but as a submissive, his submissive. The need to know what she liked, what she needed, filled him. He wanted to leave such an impression on her so that when she was old and gray, she would think of their time together and her heart would beat like a young girl’s. The fragility of being human struck him, and he wanted to take her someplace safe, to keep her in a gilded cage so that nothing could ever harm her, but that would not work. His Rya was indeed like a wild rabbit and she would eventually find a way out and run free. And she might be much harder to capture a second time.

Stroking his finger over her cheek, loving the soft feel of her skin, he looked into her eyes and asked, “What do you need to make you climax? What kind of spice do you like in your BDSM play?”

Even in the dim twilight he could see her pupils dilate. “Everything.”

He blinked in surprise. “Everything?”

“Sorry, let me collect my thoughts.” She looked away and a hint of a blush colored her cheeks. “You’re very distracting. I don’t like burning, or cutting, or anything that would leave scars. And I absolutely cannot stand any form of breath play.”

Her whole body tensed and he studied her, sensing something behind those words. When a slight tremble went through her his anger sparked in the visceral reaction. She was thinking about something that scared her, maybe even terrified her. Keeping his voice low and soothing he said, “Did something happen to you Rya?”

She muttered a few words he couldn’t make out and he grasped her chin, making her look at him. The thought of anyone harming her, even someone from her past, made him want to break bones. “Tell me who hurt you, and I will make them pay.”

It startled him when she laughed and gently stroked his hand still cupping her chin. “You know, you’re lucky I was raised around men who considered it perfectly acceptable to break the legs of any guy who hurt my feelings.”

“Tell me, Rya.”

“Fine, while it’s not a nice story, it’s also not what you think.”

He waited patiently, moving his hand from her chin and stroking her hair back from her face with a gentle touch. It surprised him to see how his hands, the same hands used to kill and do evil, could move so slowly and gently. Oh, he’d pleasured many, many women with his hands, but he’d never allowed himself the bliss of comforting a woman like this. He became fascinated by the warmth filling him, the tender feelings that he did not immediately try to reject. He had two days with Rya to pretend that he was a normal man and he was determined to enjoy every moment of the life he’d been denied before he had to return to his bleak existence.

She visibly gathered her courage then said in a tight voice, “The winter when I was twelve, right around Christmas, I was staying at my grandparent’s farm in upstate New York. They had a big pond behind their house that my grandfather would smooth out so my cousins and I could go ice skating on it. I loved doing that, loved the feeling of flying through the air on my skates. That year it had been an especially warm winter and we weren’t allowed to go out on the ice. I was out walking with one of their farm dogs, they always had at least three, when I spied the pond. Everyone else was inside helping grandma make cookies, or watching football, so I figured it wouldn’t hurt to just play a little.”