Chapter Seven #2
“Ivan, let her stay here. Just for the night. Please.”
“Dimitri will come here when he realizes she’s gone. It could ruin my alliance with him.”
“Fuck your alliance,” Mom hisses. “Our daughter should mean more to you than an alliance.”
“Polina, that alliance is going to make us more powerful than beyond compare. I cannot risk upsetting Dimitri. And Sofiya, you promised me you would be able to handle your husband. You’re not making me proud right now.”
His words sting me right to the core. I know I have to return to Dimitri and make all of this right.
I just can’t right now.
“I am taking Sofiya to her room,” Mom announces.
“Just for a little bit. You can call Dimitri and let him know she’s here and that we’ll be bringing her back soon.
But for right now, I haven’t seen my daughter in almost a week.
I want to talk with her. So back off, Ivan. ” She leads me upstairs to my bedroom.
Well, my old bedroom now. My new bedroom is at Dimitri’s house.
When I see my stuffed animals on the bed, I feel at home. Comforted. Safe.
Too bad that feeling won’t last forever.
I pick up my teddy bear, Chester, and hold him close to my chest.
“Sofiya, what happened with Dimitri?”
“I just missed you and Dad. I wanted to see you. That’s all.”
“Tell me.”
“Mom, no. I’m all right.”
“You wouldn’t have come here if you were all right.”
With a sigh, I slump down onto the bed. “Dimitri is just… exacting. He expects a lot out of me that I’m not sure I’m willing to give. I want to be a good wife. A good daughter. I want to make both Dad and Dimitri proud. I just…”
“Not sure if you can.”
“Yes.”
She sits down beside me and pulls me into her.
“You’re always safe with me. But your father isn’t wrong.
He will have to take you back to your husband.
I’m sure Dimitri will come barging in sooner or later if you don’t go back home with him.
But I’m going to make sure that we can always see each other.
Your husband will not keep me from you.”
“Thank you. I feel better already.”
“Do you want to go back?”
“You just said I have to.”
“I know.” She pushes my hair behind my ear. “But do you want to go back?”
For some reason, hugging Chester to me, and being with my mom, makes me miss Dimitri. He’s wedged himself into my mind and he refuses to leave. My body aches for him.
So, how can I get myself to accept what he wants me to be?
“All I know,” I say, “is that I want to stay here with you for just a little while longer.”
“Ok. Get some rest. You look tired.”
Mom helps me into my bed just like when I was a little girl and I hold onto my teddy bear for dear life.
It surprises me when I wake up because I never thought I could have fallen asleep after everything that has happened.
I stay light on my feet as I head down stairs and out the back door to where my garden is.
Neither my parents see me. I’m sure my dad is going to take me back to Dimitri soon and I’ll have to deal with my husband then but for right now, I just want to be with my plants, the ones I grew from the ground up. My babies of sorts.
It’s clear that someone has been tending to them, whether that’s my mom or a gardener. There’s no way it’s been my dad. He doesn’t believe growing flowers is manly work.
I’m studying the row of tulips I had planted a few months ago when I sense someone behind me. With a gasp, I turn around… only to see Dimitri standing there.
“Your father called me,” he explains. “Told me to come get you. That he had no part in you leaving me.”
“I didn’t leave you. I just needed some space.”
“You left the house. What do you call that?”
“Leaving you implies forever. I just left the house. You can’t control me forever, Dimitri. Not if you want my love.”
His eyes flick to the tulips behind me. “They’re beautiful.”
“I planted them.”
“You did?”
“Yes. I planted all the flowers in this garden.”
He takes a moment to look around at all the different types of flowers and colors and beauty. His eyes soften.
“I like how you look when you look like that,” I say.
His expression turns to one of surprise. It’s clear to me that he’s not used to people surprising him at all. “Like what?”
“Soft. Not so tense. Not so… intimidating.”
“Then I guess I have to change that. You are coming home with me, Sofiya. I need to punish you for leaving.”
“Spank me again?”
“If that’s what takes to make you mine. But I have something else in mind.”
“This is abuse, you know.”
He approaches me and I hold perfectly still. How come my body responds to his presence when he confuses me so much?
His fingers tilt my chin up. “I just want you to be mine. I married you so you could be mine. And I know you like the spankings. You like the pain. But you need to be punished for slapping me. For acting out of turn. That’s not what I want in a wife.”
“Maybe I don’t want a husband like you.”
“You feel safe saying that because you’re at your parents’ house. But you are mine, Sofiya. Not your parents’ any longer. Now, let us go. Did you honestly think you could stay here forever?”
“No. I knew I would go back eventually. I’ll give in to you, Dimitri. I want to make you proud. I really do. But you also frighten me.”
“I’m a mafia man, Sofiya. I frighten everybody. Now, let’s go.” He holds out his hand for me. I only hesitate for a second before I place my hand in his.
Dimitri takes me back home. I don’t even get to say goodbye to my parents.
“I never knew you had that kind of talent,” he says on the drive. “To grow flowers like that.”
“You said I could have my own garden.”
“And I meant it. I just didn’t realize you would take care of it yourself.”
“Can I? Please, Dimitri.”
His eyes are hard as he stares out at the road but he finally nods. “All right. You can take care of your own garden. I want my home to feel like yours. It’s already yours.”
I have no words for that.
When we return home, Dimitri opens the door to the basement without a word and looks at me. I know this has to happen. My body throbs in excitement for it, which only serves to confuse me more. The longer I’m with Dimitri, the more I find that I crave him in a way I’ve never craved anybody before.
I keep my head held high as I walk down to the basement. When I head for the cage, Dimitri stops me and points to a table near the cage. It’s a long rectangular wooden table. Nothing special.
“Take off your dress,” he orders. “And get on the table.”
I shiver, even though it’s not cold in the basement any longer, and slip my dress off my body. Dimitri’s eyes drink me in as I take off my bra and underwear. He’s already seen all of me anyway and yet, I still feel just as nervous as I did the first time.
With a deep breath, I get onto the table.
“Lay down.”
I do as he says. My heart is beating so fast it hurts. Dimitri stands by my side, looking me over.
“What are you going to do to me?” I whisper. “Torture me?”
“A torture of sorts. I have no desire to mar this perfect skin.” He skims his fingers down my arm, making goosebumps break out. “I am going to show you pleasure so good, you’ll never want to leave me again. Spread your legs for me and bring them into your chest.”
My hands are shaking as I bend my knees and spread my legs. I’m fully on display like this. Dimitri has all the control.
His hand cups my left breast, making me gasp. His touch is rough and the message behind it is clear: you will never leave me.
Despite the roughness, I feel a heat settle between my legs.
Dimitri trails his hand down to my stomach where I suck in a breath. It’s a ticklish part of my skin, making the entire sensation stronger.
“You are mine. You will not just walk out of this house without me knowing. Is that understood?” He cups me between my legs. I gasp from the sudden pleasure of it. My hips buck up of their own accord.
“Yes,” I gasp out.
“You know what happened in Greece. You could have been hurt there. I have enemies in New York, Sofiya. I need to know where you are. I made my deal with your father to have you. I will not lose you.”
He begins to rub his hand over my nub. The roughness only heightens the pleasure.
“I didn’t know,” I say. “About your enemies.”
“I know you didn’t know. But I told you to listen to me and you didn’t. But I can see that spanking isn’t the only way to get you to comply. Maybe this will.”
I continue to roll my hips around, trying to get closer and closer to his hand, but Dimitri keeps it just out of reach. He’ll touch me and then pull back, not quite giving me the full pleasure I need to find my release like earlier. This is his punishment: toying with me.
“Please,” I whine.
“I’ll give you what you want if you submit to me. Say you’ll be mine, Sofiya. Say it.”
It should be easy to say. Becoming Dimitri’s fully will solve all of my problems and yet… I cant get myself to say the words.
“I can’t,” I gasp out.
“Then I can’t give you what you want.” He brings his palm down hard on my nub and rubs it around until I’m ready for my release. But before I can reach it, he pulls his hand away, leaving me unsatisfied.
“This is your punishment,” he says. “You will stay down here and you will not touch yourself to finish yourself off. I’ll know if you do. You want to make me proud, Sofiya?”
I nod.
“Then do as I say. Submit for me. Break for me. And then, only then, will you get what you truly want from me.” He brings his hand to his nose and inhales.
“You smell so good. I can’t wait to taste you.
But until then…” He walks away and shuts the door behind him.
When I hear the lock turn, I know I’m stuck in here.
I get off the table and place my clothes back on. Dimitri didn’t say I couldn’t do that.
Then I find myself walking into the cage and shutting the door behind me. I can’t lock myself in from the inside but that’s not the point. The point is my mind and body are a mess. Warm and hot. Desperate and needy.
Needy for Dimitri.
I curl into a ball and lay down and shut my eyes, waiting for whenever Dimitri will come free me. When I’ll get his forgiveness. When he’ll tell me I made him proud.
Hours pass before I hear Dimitri return.
He pauses. I can feel him looking at me but I don’t dare look at him. What does his expression say? Surprise that I’m in the cage? Or a knowing look like he knew I was going to do this all along?
I’m not sure. All I know is that Dimitri opens the cage and pulls me into his arms and I cling to him like a child and let him carry me into our bedroom.
“How long was I in there for?” I whisper against his chest.
“For two hours. You did good, Sofiya. You did good.”
“Did I make you proud?”
He lays me onto the bed and stares down at me for a long moment before he says, “You made me proud.”