4. Chapter Four #2
“Head of the Italian mafia. He’s causing me problems. I’ll try to help but for right now, keep your conversations with your sisters over the phone. Not in person. Is that clear?”
I want to object but this is the life I signed up for. I chose what I chose to save my family and I have to hope it pays off. “Yes. I understand.”
“Now, I have some business to take care of. You can go anywhere in the house. Explore.”
“Except that one room.”
A small smile crosses his lips. “Ah. That room. We’ll get to that in the future. Now, call your sisters. I’ll be back in a few hours.”
He leaves the room without a look back.
What did he mean ‘we’ll get to that in the future?’ What is in that room to get to?
All I can do is shiver because I’m starting to wonder if I made a mistake in agreeing to marry Mikhail.
I call Irina first, since I know she’ll worry the most.
“Natalya? Where are you? You weren’t here when we all woke up this morning, Uncle Denis is very upset.”
“Did Mom tell you anything?”
“No. But she knows something. Uncle Denis isn’t letting her out of his sights. It’s why she hasn’t said.”
“I’m married, Irina.”
“What?” I’ve never heard my soft spoken sister sound so shocked before.
“Yes. To a man named Mikhail Novikoff. He worked with Father. He killed Antoni to save me from having to marry him. And to save any of you from having to marry him. I’m at his house now. I know it’s a lot. But I’m safe. Ok? You don’t need to worry.”
She lets out a slow breath. “Well, at least you’re safe. But when can we come see you?”
“Not for a while. Once Denis finds out, he won’t let you leave. It’s not safe at the moment. Tell the others but don’t tell Denis. Try to hold out for as long as possible. I’m hoping Mikhail can do something about him soon enough.”
“Ok. This has all happened so fast. Dad’s funeral was only a few days ago.”
“I know.” My throat tightens at the memory.
“I know. And I’m a little scared, I’ll admit.
It’s all so new for me. It’s a lot of change for all of us.
Just try to be safe. You and Sasha and Ana.
I can’t lose any of you. And help Mom out.
She’s being strong but she can only take so much.
The moment I can see you again, I will.”
“I love you.”
“I love you too.”
She gasps. “I hear Uncle Denis on the stairs. He’s calling for me to come down.”
“Then we’ll say goodbye. For now. We’ll talk again. I promise.”
“Bye, Natalya.” The pain in my sister’s voice makes a few tears escape my eyes.
“Bye, Irina.”
When I hang up, I notice that my hands are shaking.
I just have to hope that Denis wont hurt any of them for the decision I made.
That didn’t even cross my mind until right now.
Mikhail made it sound like choosing him would instantly save my family but now I’m not so sure.
With me gone, there will be no buffer between Sasha and any man Denis wants for her.
Irina is seventeen, so she’s safe for a year but a year isn’t a long time.
Denis could marry her off if he wanted to.
There’s so much uncertainty and I’ve put my trust into a man I barely know.
Mikhail
The strip club is upscale and well kept. I’ll give it to Nico. He knows how to make the experience of strippers a classy one.
I’m lead into his back office by two guards. They confiscated my gun but I figured they would. I’m here to talk with Nico himself. See if we can come to an arrangement about this war we’re currently in.
Nico’s office is typical. High black leather chair that makes him feel all important. Large desk that makes up for his probably small penis. I wouldn’t know since I’ve never seen it and I don’t intend to.
I just hate the guy so it’s easier to assume he has a small dick to make myself feel a tiny bit better.
“Mikhail,” Nico says, leaning back in his seat. Of course he doesn’t stand up to greet me.
“Nico. You stole one of my gun shipments.”
“Did I? Oh. How inconsiderate of me.”
“Lost me millions.”
“Oh?” He smirks as he motions for his guards to leave us. Nico is around the same age as me with similar features except his eyes are brown and his skin is slightly tanner. We could almost pass for brothers. How fucking ironic is that?
“I’m here to discuss a working relationship. If we worked together rather than apart, we could accomplish so much more.”
Nico thinks on it but I know he’s not really thinking about it. He’s too stubborn. “It’s a good idea. But the issue is, I don’t fucking trust you.”
“And you think I trust you? You just stole from me.”
“And you stole one of my drug shipments the other week. Lost me millions.”
“So, we’re in the same boat,” I say. “Instead of fighting and costing us money, let’s work together.”
“You really want to work with me?”
“I would rather stab a hot poker in my eye but I’m a practical man. And practically speaking, working with you would be a good move. I’ve come here, unarmed, to propose this deal. What do you say?”
“I say I agree with you. I hate the idea of working with you but your idea has merit.” He leans forward in his seat.
“But the thing is, I’ll rot in hell before I ever work with you.
You wasted a trip coming here, Mikhail. You can see yourself out.
You can even enjoy one of my girls if you want. As a consolation prize.”
I grit my teeth. I knew coming here would amount to nothing but I had to try. “Fine. It was worth a shot.”
“It was. I’m impressed by it. But not impressed enough to work with you.” He waves me towards the door.
I leave with a huff. A few of the strippers try to offer me lap dances but I brush them all off. There’s only woman I want to be with and she’s waiting for me back home.
Another reason to hate Nico: he took me away from my wife on our wedding night.
Natalya
I spend the day exploring the house in my wedding dress. I can’t get all the back buttons undone and I don’t want to rip the dress so I’m stuck in it until Mikhail returns.
The house is beautiful from the large marble kitchen counters to the soft wood floors to the calm cream and forest green of the walls. It’s very modern and luxurious but also has an old school feel, like Mikhail is from a different time.
There’s no one else here so it’s kind of eerie walking around the house all by myself. I feel like a stranger here. Like I’m waiting for someone to come along and kick me out.
When I hear Mikhail return home, I almost sag in relief. Being alone in such a big house is well… lonely. I’m used to a loud house with three sisters. I’m not used to such quiet.
I greet him in the foyer. “Hello.”
“Hello.” He eyes me over. “You’re still in your wedding dress.”
I can’t stop myself from blushing. “I couldn’t take it off.”
“Do you need help?”
“I… I just want to make it clear. You won’t touch me without my consent, yes?”
“I promise, Natalya. If you don’t want me to touch you, I won’t. All you have to do is ask me and I’ll gladly touch you whenever you want.”
My body feels like it’s somehow both on fire and plunged into an icy bath.
“Let’s go to our room,” he says, holding out his hand to me. Slowly, I take it. He is my husband now. I should start getting used to his touch.
Once we’re back in the master bedroom, Mikhail stands behind me, not touching me, but I can feel his presence all the way down to my toes.
“When I saw you dancing, all I wanted to do was see what was underneath your costume.”
I let out a slow breath. Steady, I tell myself. Steady.
His fingertips brush my back, making me gasp. “I hated seeing that man put his hands on you.” He unbuttons the first one.
“Who?”
“The man you were dancing with.”
He means Jake, I realize. “Jake? He’s gay. We’ve been partners for years. It’s like my own brother touching me.”
“I didn’t know. I have to admit, that makes me feel better.” He continues to make slow work of each of the buttons. His fingertips brush against my skin as he moves further down. Is it accidental or on purpose?
It feels like it’s on purpose.
“So, Natalya, have you ever been with a man?”
“No,” I whisper as his fingers settle on my low back. All my buttons are undone.
“Why not? You’re beautiful. You’re young. You could have any man you wanted.”
“My father didn’t want me dating. He wanted me to wait until I was married.”
“Of course. Lev was strict about that. I remember that now. He would tell me how he was worried for his daughters in this world.”
“How well did you know my dad? You said you worked with him.”
“I knew him very well.”
“Then why did you never come over to our house?” I ask. “I remember meeting some of my father’s coworkers, though not many. He liked to keep distance between his job and his home life.”
“That’s exactly it then. He didn’t want to put any of you in danger.”
There’s an implication there that Mikhail will put me in danger if he hasn’t already.
“There,” he says, stepping back. “All done. You should be able to get out of the dress now.”
“Thank you.”
“But before you go and change, turn around for me. I want to see you.”
Slowly, I face him, holding my dress up so it doesn’t fall down.
“You are beautiful,” he murmurs, his fingers skimming along my cheek. I feel the urge to lean into his touch and remind myself that I can. He’s my husband after all. I’m allowed to like his touch.
And yet, it feels like I shouldn’t. Like I have to hold myself apart from the darkness that surrounds him.
“I never asked,” he says, dropping his hand back to his side. “Do you find me handsome?”
“I do,” I admit. “Very much so.”
His smile lights up his eyes and only makes me blush even more. “Then we have that in common at least. I know we’re still strangers to each other. But we have time to get to know one another. And trust me, baby, I want to get to know you. All of you.”
Something tells me he means more than just my mind. He wants to get to know my body too.
I’m curious to see what he looks like under his clothes but I know I’m nowhere near ready for that.
“Let go of your dress for me,” he gently commands.
I could say no. I could walk into the closet and change without him looking.
But there’s so much power in him that makes me want to obey so I let go of my dress and feel as it falls down my body. My white bra and underwear are on display for him to see.
And judging from the way his eyes darken, he likes what he sees.
Neither of us speak or move as we look at each other. I resist the urge to cover my body. For some reason, I want Mikhail to look. I have never felt more womanly than in this moment.
“Put on the white silk nightgown,” he tells me in his warm voice. It’s not forceful but it speaks to his power.
As if I’m being pulled by strings, I do as he says. I find the silk nightgown in the closet and take my bra off and replace it with the nightgown. It ends on my upper thighs.
I’m entering into a brand new life and it’s scary and yet, it also feels right.