Chapter 7
Chapter
Seven
ANTON
W atching Katya run away from me excites me to my core.
It’s interesting to see what route she chooses. Her first instinct is to run toward her bedroom. That’s not going to protect her, I’m afraid. She’s a vulnerable little creature.
She’s all mine.
I give her a couple of seconds to get a head start before I give chase. My blood pounds in my ears. My body tingles with energy I need to unleash.
She picks up her pace as I get closer. Credit to her, she is fast. I was surprised by that when we had our first running game. Now, I’m not surprised.
She manages to reach her room and tries to close the door, but I slam my hand into it, forcing it open. The door bangs against the wall. I’m sure my mother can hear it, but I don’t give a fuck. She’s overstayed her welcome in my opinion, anyway.
I kick the door shut behind me as Katya whirls around, her eyes wide and her cheeks flushed. God, she’s never looked more beautiful than at this moment.
“Caught you.”
“No, you haven’t.” She jumps onto the bed and tries to run around me, but I grab her around the waist and pull her flush with my body.
“Now, I’ve caught you.”
“What are you going to do to me?” Instead of her typical bravado, there’s a hint of fear in her voice. She’s truly afraid I’m going to hurt her.
“Were you actually considering leaving me?”
Her breath catches. “No.”
“Liar.”
She stops struggling against me and finally slumps into my arms. “Fine. My friends wanted me to leave you. They just wanted to make sure I was safe.”
“So, you were going to leave me.”
She’s quiet for a long moment before sighing. “Yes. I was. But Nikolai didn’t want to help. He wants to keep peace with you. That’s why he brought me back. Don’t punish my friends for this. Please.”
“Don’t worry. I won’t.”
“Thank god.”
“I wouldn’t be thanking anyone yet. It’s not your friends who are going to be punished.”
Her entire body tenses. “What do you mean?”
“Get on the bed.”
“What are you going to do to me?” I can feel her pulse beating fast. She’s absolutely terrified. As she should be.
No wife of mine gets to try to leave me and expect no consequences.
“Get on the bed, Katya.”
“Just tell me what you’re going to do!”
“You just have to trust me.”
“How can you actually ask that of me?” When she starts struggling again, I tighten my hold.
“If you want this marriage to work, then you need to trust me. So, get on the bed. On your stomach. Do as I say.”
She tries to kick me. “Anton, please.”
“Struggling won’t help you. If you want to fix this, then get on the bed. Now.”
I can feel her weighing her options: keep struggling, or do as I say. It’s a long drawn out few seconds before I feel her give up. “Ok.”
“Good.” I let her go.
And she immediately tries to run again.
I’ll give her this: she’s a fighter.
“Katya,” I growl, catching her around the waist again. “I’m not going to rape you if that’s what you’re worried about. Just get on the bed.”
“Why can’t you tell me what you’re going to do to me?”
“Because it’s more fun this way,” I say into her ear.
“You’re sick.”
“I think you sort of like it. Now, get on the bed.”
With a huff, she pulls away from me and walks over to the bed. “I hate you.”
“Duly noted.”
She looks down at the bed like she can will it into changing. When she realizes she can’t, she lies down on her stomach.
I stand behind her.
The power coursing through my body is undeniable. It’s thrilling.
I flip the end of her dress over her hips and quickly pull her underwear down. The sight of Katya’s naked ass is a thing to behold.
“What are you doing?” she gasps, squirming around.
“I’m doing this.” I bring my hand down onto her ass. Hard .
The spank startles Katya so much that she lets out a scream. “What was that?”
“I’m spanking you.” I give her ass three quick spanks in quick succession.
“It hurts,” she whines.
“Oh, I know. That’s why I’m doing it. This is your punishment, baby. After this, you’ll never try to leave me again.”
Spank. She cries out.
“Need I remind you I can kill your family for trying to leave me?”
Spank. Katya’s hands dig into the blanket.
“Now, I don’t want to have to kill them. That’s why I wanted to make peace in the first place. So, why don’t you make this easy on me and be a good girl, and we won’t have any more problems.”
One last hard spank.
Her body finally stops struggling, and she lies there and lets me do what I need to do.
I’m ruthless with her ass. The sight of it turning red makes my cock hard. I can’t wait to make her fully mine someday. But until then, this will just have to do.
Once I’m done, I step away from her and watch to see what she’ll do next. It’s all so fascinating.
She doesn’t run. She doesn’t cry. She only lies there.
“How do you feel?” I ask.
“Alone,” she whispers.
I lean over her body to speak into her ear. “You don’t have to be alone. We can have fun together. You just have to learn to trust me.”
“You’re a bad man, Anton. How can I ever trust you?”
“That’s a dilemma for you, I think. Stop trying to fight for power with me. I know what you were doing, walking around in lingerie and trying to cook for me. I have the power here. Once you accept that, everything will work between us.”
“I can’t do that,” she admits.
“Baby, you’re going to have to learn to try.” I give her ass one last pat, making her wince. “Have fun sleeping on your stomach tonight.”
I leave her to contemplate her next move. Whatever it is, it’ll excite me.
KATYA
My ass is on fire as I walk around the clothing store.
Every step makes my dress swish around me. I thought wearing a dress would help because it’s more breathable than pants, but it doesn’t seem like anything will help.
All last night, I had to sleep on my side or stomach, and this morning, at breakfast, I had to eat standing up. Anton smirked at me the entire time.
Now, I’m here, shopping with Katerina because she wanted to go shopping, and Anton told me I should go. I guess it’s another test to see if I’ll try to run again.
Well, I learned my lesson. I’m not going anywhere.
Katerina is a giving me the silent treatment, which I’m more than fine with. She’s upset I made a fool of her by leaving at the tea function without her even knowing.
She’s a fool in my opinion.
I stare around at the other customers and wonder what their lives are like. If they were just spanked by their partners the day before. The way my life has changed is almost crazy. Just a week ago, I was in my normal world with Dimitri and Evie, and now, I’m married to a man who likes to spank me.
Just freaking wonderful.
I need to let Evie and the others know I’m all right. They’re probably worried Anton murdered me yesterday.
Once Katerina finishes buying what she wanted to buy, we head home. We sit in the back seat while a driver steers the car. I can’t help but wince as I sit. Katerina smirks.
Bitch.
I can’t help myself. “If you have something to say, say it.”
“I don’t have anything to say to you.”
“Well, good.”
She turns to me in a huff. “But you should know I didn’t appreciate you trying to leave my son.”
“Why not? You hate me. You don’t want me as Anton’s wife.”
“I know. But you’re married now, which means that trying to leave Anton makes a fool out of him. It makes him less powerful.”
“I think that’s a him problem. Nothing to do with me.”
“If you truly think that, you’re stupider than I thought you were.”
The urge to slap Katerina is so strong, but I hold back at the last moment. Slapping my mother-in-law in the face won’t help me at all, though it would be pretty funny.
We both fall silent again.
It’s a very tense car ride back to the mansion. I feel a little bad for the driver.
Katerina storms inside, her clothes bags flapping at her sides. “I can’t wait to try out my new outfits.”
“I’m sure.”
She eyes me over critically. “You could add a little more fat to your body. You’re too thin.”
“I am not.”
“Yes, you are. Anton doesn’t want a scrawny wife.”
“Well, Anton has seen me naked and liked what he saw.”
Katerina’s face turns beet red, and it’s so satisfying. She talks a big game, but she’s human like the rest of us. “You are nothing, little girl. I’m his mother. I’ll always be here to stay.”
“And where do you think I’m going? I’m stuck in this marriage. Till death do us part. So, unless you plan on outliving Anton, I think I’m going to be here for much longer.”
Not that that’s something I want.
“I hate you,” she hisses.
“Ditto.”
Rage contorts her face, and I don’t see the slap coming until it happens. The sudden sting makes me jerk back.
Everything goes silent.
Then I lunge at Katerina, grabbing her arms. “You are insufferable. Stop acting like you’re Anton’s wife when you’re his mom. You’re crazy. Officially crazy!”
“What’s going on in here?” Anton asks. His voice sucks all the warmth from the room.
I let Katerina go.
“She’s insane,” Katerina gasps. “Insane.”
“She slapped me,” I explain.
Anton looks between the two of us without a word.
“You can’t believe her,” Katerina says. “You just can’t.”
“I’ll believe what I want.” He walks over to me and places his finger under my chin, raising my face up to him. He looks at the cheek Katerina slapped. I let it speak for itself.
He drops his hand and turns to Katerina. “Mother, I think it’s time for you to leave.”
Her jaw drops at the same time mine does. I never thought he’d get rid of her in a million years. It’s clear Katerina thought the same thing.
“But, Anton?—”
He holds up his hand. “No. I’m tired of this. I let you stay because you’re easier to deal with when you’re happy, but if you’re going to be slapping my wife, I can’t stand for that.”
Funny considering he spanked me last night. But I’ll take whatever win I can get.
“Anton, I didn’t mean to do it. Please. You have to understand. This little twit kept getting under my skin.”
“I don’t want to hear it anymore. You have your own house you can return to. It’s time. Katya and I need some time to ourselves anyway.”
I don’t like the sound of that. And I especially don’t like the look he gives me—one of desire and darkness.
“You can’t make me leave,” she threatens.
“Oh, I can. But I’m not going to make one of my guards throw you over his shoulder and make you leave. So, I’m giving you the choice to leave gracefully. Right now. Pack up your things and go.”
“Anton—”
“Mother. Just go.”
She huffs. There’s a fight in her eyes where she thinks she can win. But Anton isn’t backing down. Finally, she walks away with her nose in the air.
“I’ll be a while. I have a lot of items to pack.”
“Then I’ll come help,” he says.
She nods once, then walks away.
Anton starts to follow his mother, but I grab his arm, stopping him. He gives me a surprised look that makes me blush.
“Yes?”
I rip my hand away from him. “I just wanted to say …” Here we go. “Thank you.”
His eyebrows rise so high that it’s almost funny. “Thank you? I never thought I’d hear you say those words.”
“And don’t make me regret them.”
“Ok. Well, you’re welcome. I know my mom can be a real pain in the ass.”
“Don’t remind me,” I grumble.
He laughs, and the sound is nicer than I want to admit. “I’m going to help her pack. The sooner she’s out of here, the better.”
“You know, choosing me over your mom is a sign that I can trust you. So, if you want me to truly trust you, then keep making me happy.”
“Mmm. It’s a two-way street, baby. You need to make me happy, too.”
“Don’t I always?”
He smirks. “I have to go help my mother. Go rest. Or don’t. I know your ass must still be on fire.”
I swat at him, and he jerks away, laughing as he goes. For just a moment, I let myself smile.
And then it’s gone in an instant.
I’m looking forward to a life without Katerina constantly criticizing me. A quiet house. Just Anton and me figuring out our relationship.
But the quiet I was hoping for doesn’t last long because Anton tells me he’s invited some of his men over for a small party.
“When?” I ask warily. Normally, I’d be excited at the prospect of a party, but anything involving Anton and his men just doesn’t sound like a good idea to me.
“Tonight.” He gives me a cheery smile, then walks past me to the kitchen cabinet and pulls out a bowel. I watch him as he fills it with oats.
“Tonight?”
“Yep.” He adds milk to the bowel, then places it in the microwave.
“But your mother just left yesterday. Why can’t we have one quiet day together?”
“Aww. You want to spend time with me?”
“No,” I say flatly. “Not when you tease me like that. I just thought …”
“Thought what?”
Thought that we could maybe get to know one another better . But there’s no way I’m telling Anton that. I would die of humiliation. “Never mind.”
“It’s just a couple of my men. It’s good to meet up and have a few drinks every so often.”
“But does it have to be here?”
“Well, it is my house.” He grabs the bowl out of the microwave. “Do you have a problem with this?”
“What if I did? Would you end the party?”
He snorts. “No.” He grabs a spoon and digs into his oatmeal.
My hands flap to my sides. “Well, there you go. I guess what I want doesn’t matter. Excuse me for thinking this was a marriage.”
“It is a marriage. I just never said it was an equal one.” He winks before walking out of the kitchen.
I hate him. Literally hate him.
The party in question involves four of Anton’s men coming over. Two of them, John and Theo, are younger than forty, and the other two, Gary and Benjamin, are older than forty.
“Not Ben. Not Benji. Jut Benjamin,” he tells me. I want to tell him he has a piece of spinach stuck in his teeth, but I keep quiet.
“So, this is your new wife,” Theo says, sidling up to me. He’s at least decently handsome, but that doesn’t mean I want him anywhere near me.
“This is Katya.” Anton puts his hand on Theo’s shoulder and gets him to back away from me. Interesting.
“Hello, Katya,” Gary says, giving me his hand. “It’s nice to meet you. Shame we weren’t there at the wedding. I would’ve loved to have been there.”
“It was a surprise to us all,” I say, making them all laugh. Well, all of them except Anton.
“Why don’t we head into the living room.” He motions for me to follow. The men all take up spots on the couches, leaving only the chairs available. Anton sits down in one, and I try to sit down in the other, but he pulls me into his lap instead.
“What are you doing?” I whisper.
“Having fun.” He wraps his arm around my waist, keeping me in place. I could try to get off him, but something tells me Anton wants to play another game. How far will he push me now?
John shakes his head, eyeing me over. “I must say, you are beautiful.”
“She really is.” Anton runs his hand over my thigh like I’m his property.
“It’s just good genes and yoga.”
That makes the men laugh again. At least I can amuse them even though this is the last place I want to be. The only woman surrounded by a group of men. I don’t feel safe. This would have been the exact situation Dimitri would’ve kept me from. Anton doesn’t seem to have any qualms about having me at this party.
“Mmm.” John looks at me like I’m a juicy steak. “You’re one beautiful woman. Legs for days.”
“Yes,” Anton says. “We’ve established Katya is beautiful. It’s partly why I wanted her to be my wife.”
“I thought you wanted me to be your wife because you wanted to gain more power.”
I can feel his eyes on me, but I don’t meet them. His men shift around uncomfortably.
“It’s true,” he finally says. “I did want power. My men know this. It benefits us all. There’s no shame in it.”
“Maybe not. But being greedy is shameful in my book.”
His hands tighten around my waist. “Did I ask for your opinion on the matter?”
“Do you need to ask? Can’t I, as your wife, freely express my opinion?”
“She has you there, Anton,” Gary says, chuckling.
Anton lets me go, nudging me off his lap. “Katya, since you seem so inclined to be the center of attention, why don’t you go get us some drinks?”
“I’m not your housekeeper.”
“Oh, I gave Connie the night off. So, go make us some drinks.”
I know exactly what he’s doing; he’s trying to put me in my place. Well, fine. I’ll go make him a drink, and I’ll spit in it, too.
I keep my head held high as I go into the kitchen, but the moment I step foot into the room, I can hear the men in the living room still talking about me.
“She’s a spitfire,” Theo says. “How do you handle her?”
“By playing games.”
“I don’t like women who speak,” Benjamin says. “It’s distasteful.” Ok. Benjamin is also going to get a spit in his drink.
Since I have no idea how to make a “drink,” I just wing it. I find whiskey on a shelf and pour five glasses. I spit in all of them just to be safe.
I carry them back out to the men. “Here.”
Anton raises an eyebrow. “I didn’t ask for whiskey.”
“You told me to make you a drink, so I’ve made you a drink. You can either drink it or not. I don’t really care.”
“I’ll take mine,” Gary says, taking a large gulp of it. I feel kind of bad for spitting into his glass, but the rest of them can go fuck themselves.
“I want a gin and tonic,” Theo says.
“I want an old-fashioned,” Benjamin says.
“I want a Negroni,” John says.
I turn to Anton. “And you?”
“A gin martini would be great.”
My smile is stretched thin. “You know, I have no fucking clue how to make any of those. So, if you actually want a good drink, you can make it yourself.”
“But that’s what we have you for,” John says.
I scoff. And right before them all, I drop the plate full of glass, spilling whiskey all over the floor. A piece of the glass hits my shin, making me gasp. Anton sits up and stares at me intently.
It’s then I notice I’m bleeding. “Shit.”
“Come on,” Anton says, standing up and walking toward the bathroom. I glare at his men, then follow him. He grabs a first-aid kit from the bathroom and takes out an alcohol wipe. “Sit down.”
I sit on the toilet, and he kneels before me and dabs the wipe against my cut. I wince, my leg jerking back.
“That’s what you get for being careless and dropping glasses onto the ground.”
“I’m mad at you.”
“Oh, really? I couldn’t tell.” He flashes me a grin. “Fine. I’ll admit, I was just having fun. I like to see how far you’re willing to go. You could have told me from the start you weren’t going to make any drinks.”
“I tried to.”
“Well, you could’ve tried harder.” He inspects the cut. “There’s no glass, and it’s not a deep. All you need is a bandage.” He grabs one and places it over the wound. “There. Do you need me to kiss it and make you feel better?”
“I think I’m good.”
“I’m not so sure.” He lifts my leg and brings it to his lips. I wince.
“That hurts.”
I try moving my leg, but he doesn’t let me go.
“So, what are we going to do now?”
“What do you mean?” I ask exasperated.
“I mean, are you going to go back out there and be a good girl, or are you going to continue to cause trouble?”
“I’m not sure which one you want me to be. I think you like it when I cause a little trouble.”
He doesn’t say another word, but his smile tells me everything.
When we go back into the living room, Benjamin snaps his fingers at me. “You should clean up that mess and get me a new drink.”
Anton looks at me questioningly.
“Fine,” I say. “I’ll get you a drink. But it’s not going to be an old-fashioned. It’s going to be whatever I chose. So, deal with it.”
I head into the kitchen before any of the men can make another stupid remark. I fill another four glasses with the whiskey. Just for good measure, I spit in Benjamin’s.
“Hey.”
I startle and turn to see John standing in the doorway. “Hey.”
He nods at the glasses. “Do you need any help?”
“I got this, but thanks.” I try walking past him, but he blocks my way.
“You know, you’re so beautiful.”
“You’ve said that before, but thank you.”
He doesn’t let me pass. “God, you’re beautiful.” He tucks a piece of my hair behind my ear. I jerk back, and it causes me to drop the new set of glasses onto the floor. John corners me against a counter. “I just want to look at you. Is that so wrong?”
“Get away from me.” I shove him, but he doesn’t move.
“Is there a problem here?” Anton asks, appearing in the doorway.
“Nope. No problem,” John says.
Anton looks between John and me before calmly walking over to John and promptly punching him in the face. It shocks me so much I stumble back with a gasp.
John falls to the floor, clutching his face and groaning in pain. “What the fuck, Anton?”
“Don’t mess with my wife. Only I can do that.” He looks at the broken glass on the floor before going over to the cabinet, pulling out a few more glasses, filling them with the whiskey, and walking out of the kitchen. “John, come along.”
I sag against the counter once John leaves.
But then I hear Anton say, “Oh, and Katya, be a dear and clean up the mess.”
I decide to do the opposite of what Anton wants and go into my room, leaving the party behind.