6. Chapter Six #2
“I’m here to save you,” I tell them while I keep my eye on Denis. “I’m taking them with me and you can’t stop me.”
“I am not a danger to them, Natalya.”
“You’re going to force them to marry men they don’t want to marry. You are a danger to them.”
My mom appears from the kitchen, her eyes wide when she takes in what’s going on. “Natalya.”
“I’m here to save all of you,” I tell her.
“No,” she says. “You have a chance to be safe. Leave. Before Denis hurts you.”
“But he’s going to hurt you and my sisters.”
“We can handle ourselves. Just save yourself. Please.”
Denis crosses his arms, giving me a smug smile that makes me want to shoot him on principal. “Listen to your mother.”
“I have a gun pointed at you,” I remind him.
“Yes. And my guard can easily disarm you. If you don’t want to be a prisoner here, Natalya, then you should go.” It’s a threat.
“No. I’m taking my sisters with me.” And that’s when I shoot. The bullet lands in Denis’s shoulder, shocking him as he rocks backward. It shocks me too. I actually shot someone. I’ve never done that before.
In my shock, the guard grabs the gun from me and shoves me to the side.
“Natalya!” Mom shouts, running over to my side.
“She shot me,” Denis mutters. “She actually fucking shot me.”
“I could have shot you in the head,” I say. “That was a warning. Let my sisters go.”
“But you don’t have the gun anymore,” he says, nodding at his guard. “Lock her up with the rest of them.”
“Natalya, go now,” Mom says, pushing me towards the front door.
“Grab her,” Denis snarls at his guard but I open the door and run outside before he can. Todd is still there with his own gun drawn.
“Don’t,” he says to Denis’s guard. “Natalya, get in the car.”
I hurry to the car and Todd follows and we drive away.
I tried to save my sisters and I just made it a lot worse.
I pace around the bedroom, knowing that Mikhail is going to hear about this and be upset. But how upset? I’ve never seen him truly angry with me before. Will he seriously hurt me? I’m about to find out how bad my husband can be.
I hear the front door open and slam close and heavy footsteps on the stairs before the bedroom door is wrenched open and Mikhail storms inside.
We stare at each other for a moment.
“I just wanted to save them,” I say.
“Get on the bed. On your stomach. Now.”
“But -,”
“Natalya,” he snaps.
I remember what he told me last night: he’ll spank me when he thinks I’ve gotten out of line.
Mikhail is a powerful man that I can’t stop. I have to do as he says.
And if I’m being honest, I feel like I deserve to be punished for what I did. I made everything worse. Denis is now even more angry which just puts my sisters in even more danger. I wasn’t thinking and I should have been. I should have listened to Mikhail and not reacted.
I could have waited until the time was right to save them.
But I’m not sure if Mikhail was ever going to save my family.
Slowly, I lower myself onto the bed on my stomach. My backside is up. Just knowing that he’s going to spank me sends shivers down my spine. I want him to take my worry away, just for a moment. I need it to be able to function.
I can feel Mikhail step up behind me. His presence screams ‘I’m in trouble.’
“I told you to not worry about them but you went there. You shot your uncle.”
“How did you find out?”
“Word travels fast in our circles. He’ll be coming for me now. I knew he would eventually but now he’ll be even more pissed off. And you just put your sisters in more danger.”
I squeeze my eyes shut. “I know. I know that.”
“Do you? Because if you had known, you never would have gone over there in the first place.”
“I know. Ok? I know. So just spank me and get this over with.”
“So you can feel better? You deserve to feel bad for what you did. It’s a lesson you need to learn, Natalya. I know what’s best.”
I grip the blanket tightly. “But you don’t want to save them.”
“Enough talking. Let’s get this over with.”
I gasp when he flips the end of my dress up around my back. I startle when he pulls my panties down. I’ve never been naked in front of a man before.
My face burns after he places his hand to my backside. He just rests it there for the longest moment.
Then he lifts it off me and brings it down hard. I gasp from the sensation. It hurts, of course, but there’s also something thrilling about it. It makes me focus. Already, I feel less guilt.
Mikhail is silent as he brings his hand back down again and again and again. Each time hurts more than the last. I grit my teeth together to stop myself from crying out. I deserve this punishment.
The only sound in the room is his hand hitting my backside. I won’t be able to sit after this. It’s a strangely exciting thought.
He spanks me three times in quick succession. A small cry escapes my lips.
“Let it out,” he commands. “Cry. I want you to tell me how you’re feeling.”
“I’m sorry,” I sob after he spanks me even harder. “I made a mistake. I see that. I know that. Trust me, I know that.”
“You will never do something like that again.”
“Yes.”
Spank. “You will do as you’re told.”
“Yes.”
Spank. “You will never put yourself in danger like that ever again.”
“Yes!”
He gives me one final slap before he steps back, breathing heavy. I slump onto the bed, all my energy gone but there’s a sense of peace in my chest. Mikhail took the pain away. The guilt. I’ve been punished for what I did.
“I will try to save your sisters,” he says in a gruff voice. “I promise.”
“I thought you didn’t care about them.”
“I don’t. But you do and I don’t want you to ever put yourself in danger like that again. So I am promising you that I will find a way to save them. But until then, you will not go back there. You will listen to me. Is that understood?”
“Yes.”
He grips my panties and pulls it back up. I hiss when the fabric touches my hot skin. “There. You can stand.”
I do as he instructs, even though my legs are shaky.
He cups my face. “You are mine now, Natalya. I am in control here. You need me to tell you what to do. You’re lost. And I get that you’re worried. But as today showed, your fear can lead to reckless decisions. You could have been killed and then what? How would that have saved your sisters?”
I lower my gaze to the floor, knowing he’s right. “I’m sorry.”
“You’re forgiven. I took it easy on you for the first time. But don’t make me spank you again. Or worse.”
I gasp. “Or worse?”
“I have creative ways of punishing people. And while I loved seeing your bare ass before me, all red from my hand, I don’t want to have to do that to you all the time. Trust that I know what I’m doing.”
“I want to trust you but I still barely know you.”
“I understand. I hope now that you see I’m not an unreasonable man. I will find a way to save your sisters. Give me time. It won’t be easy. Denis will put them on lockdown even more now because of what you did.”
“I know.”
He stares at me for a moment before he smiles. “I heard you shot him.”
“I did. In the shoulder.”
“Where did you get the gun?”
“The closet.”
His smile disappears. “You could have been injured using a gun.”
“I know how to use one.” Might as well come clean since he already knows.
“You do?” His shock is palpable.
“My mom taught me. Me and Sasha. She wanted to make sure we both knew how to use a gun. We’ve gone to the shooting range before to practice.”
“Fine then. You know how to use one. Maybe I should be afraid then.”
A small smile crosses my lips. “No. I don’t want to shoot you.”
“But you want to do something to me, don’t you?”
“Maybe. I want to make sure I’m safe with you.”
“You are, baby. You are. I may push you but I will never put you in harm’s way. Is that understood?”
“Yes. I’m starting to see that now,” I say. “But you have to understand. I barely know you. I don’t know these things about you.”
He drops his hands from my face. “Then what do you want to know?”
“I don’t even know where to start. I’ve seen you angry now. Is this the worse you get? Or do I need to be afraid of you?”
“I’ll only ever discipline you if you do something stupid like you did today. But I’ll never beat you. I want you to be mine, Natalya. I don’t want you to fear me.” He opens his arms wide. “Come here.”
I let myself sink into his arms. It feels right.
“After a punishment comes the reward. I want you to know that you’re forgiven. That you’re safe now. And that you’ll never do anything like that again.”
I want to promise that I won’t be reckless but I’m still worried for my sisters. I just have to trust that Mikhail will save them. I have to try.
“I promise,” I say. “I won’t be reckless again.” But if the opportunity comes up to save my sisters, I’m taking it.
“We have plenty of time to learn more about each other,” he says. “But not if you’re dead.”
“I understand. I do, Mikhail.”
“Good. Because I wanted to take you somewhere tonight. I had it all planned out.”
“I’m not sure if I’m up to going anywhere after today.”
“It will do you good. And it will give you the chance to learn more about me.”
I can’t argue with him there.
“What is it?”
“It’s a surprise,” he says. “But I have an outfit I want you to wear.” He brings me to the closet where he pulls a white dress off a hanger. I notice right away just how short it is. It’s a babydoll dress. While cute, it looks like something made for a little girl.
“That will barely cover everything,” I say.
“Exactly. You’re going to wear this.” He hands it to me. “Put it on.”
“Where would I need to where this to?”
“Trust, Natalya. Trust.”
He’s right. I do have to learn to trust him or things like today will keep happening.
“Can I change without you looking?”
“Baby, I’ve touched your ass. You don’t need to hide from me.”
With a deep breath, I slip my dress off.
“Bra too,” he says.
I lower my gaze to the floor as I slip my bra off but Mikhail tilts my head up.
“Look me in the eye. I want to see you.”
I keep my eyes on his as I slip the white dress over my head. It ends on my upper thighs. The back of my underwear pokes out.
“I can’t wear this,” I say with a blush.
“You’ve danced on stage in a leotard. That shows every part of your body. Why is this any different?”
“Because a performance isn’t sexual. This… is.”
“You have a beautiful body, Natalya. I want to show it off tonight. Here. Wear these too.” He hands me a pair of small white kitten heels.
Once I’m in them, I look at myself in the mirror. I really do feel like I’m a lamb being led to the slaughter.