She darted one way then dashed the other, both of us laughing. “Catch me and I’m yours.”
Oh, milaya. The chase is on!
I shoved a small coffee table aside, cornering her with ease. Pressing my body into hers, she could not escape. Both of us laughed, her youthfulness rubbing off on me. I had never played or let loose like this before.
“I got you.”
She licked her lips, parting them softly, inviting me in.
“I’m all yours now.” Her cheeks were stained pink and her eyes sparkled with happiness. “What are you going to do with me?”
“Dimitry, there is a call for you,” Misha’s voice had us both turning our heads and I quickly shielded Anastasia’s body with mine. Although he wasn’t even attempting to look her way. “I transferred the line to your office.”
He wouldn’t have bothered me if it wasn’t important.Damn it, I was ready for my siren.
She pressed both her palms on my back and kissed me on the back of my neck. “You go take care of that,” she whispered into my skin. “We can finish this later.”
I took her mouth into a kiss, not giving a fuck that Misha stood there. Let the whole world see she was my woman.
When I lifted my head, her eyes were dazed and clouded with lust, her lips slightly swollen.
She blinked her eyes, smiling dreamily. “We’ll definitely finish this later,” she murmured against my lips. “Make sure you don’t catch a cold. Wrap yourself in a towel and then hurry into a hot shower after your call.”
Something in my chest shifted again, as if she was piecing me back together. Each beat of my heart craved more of her. Nobody had ever worried about my well-being. Unaware of her impact on me, she smiled again then ran up the stairs, cold goosebumps visible on her skin.
* * *
Much later that day, we sat by the fire in the bedroom, Anastasia wearing nothing but my shirt and skimpy panties underneath and me in my boxers. It was past eight in the evening and my goal was to have Anastasia get some rest tonight. She needed food and rest.
I raised another strawberry to her mouth.
“I'm stuffed,” she complained but she still opened her mouth to bite into it. There was something so erotic about watching her bite into it as I fed her. A little juice ran down my finger and she took the finger between her lips, sucking it clean. If she wasn’t careful, she’d end up on her back again. “Okay, seriously… no more, Morskoy.”
I smiled at her nickname for me. When we ate with the guards on rotation, she didn’t bring up the nickname. She was serious about keeping it our own little secret.
She scooted closer to me, leaning her back against my chest. My arm around her and her body curved into mine, as if we were one. We were magnetic, always pulled to each other.
“Tell me something nobody knows about you.” The question was impromptu. I wanted to know everything about her.
She turned her head, her eyes pensive. “Nobody?”
A shadow ran over her face, almost making me regret my question. There was shame in her eyes and sorrow, and silence stretched between us. I hadn’t seen shame on her face before, making me wonder what it could be. Whatever it was, I’d make it go away. Just as I thought she wouldn’t say anything, she started speaking in a low, sad voice; her eyes staring unseeing at the fireplace.
“A day before my tenth birthday, school dismissed early. My mom forgot about it so when the school called her, she rushed to pick me up. I thought I knew it all at that age. My mom called me a premature teenager. I firmly believed I was old enough to wait for her outside. So instead of waiting for Mom in the principal’s office, like I was supposed to, I ventured outside and waited outside the school gate. An older guy came over and stood a few feet away from me, waiting too. I didn’t pay any attention to him, but he struck up a conversation with me. He said his daughter was turning ten the next day and he had to rush to get something organized for her.” Her hand trembled slightly as she pulled it through her hair. “I got all excited because I was turning ten the next day too. I told him how I was having an all girls’ party at this venue whereDisney on Icewas playing and he should check it out. His daughter would love it.”
She stopped talking, her eyes focused on the fire. Silence loomed in the room, and I realized where it was going. She continued on a whisper, “The next day after the party, Mom and I were ambushed as we were leaving the venue. The guy from the bus stop was waiting for us. What’s even worse, I begged Dad to have the guards back off just for one day. We’ve had security detail for as long as I could remember but nothing ever happened so I thought it was stupid.”
Ah shit.I couldn’t imagine how much that guilt ate at her.
“You couldn’t have known.” I knew no amount of words could erase it though.
“We had a strict rule in our household to never speak to strangers. If we had to, we should never divulge personal information. I violated both that day.”
I took her head between my hands. “You were just a kid.”
Sadness in her eyes wrenched at me. “Yes, but I knew I shouldn’t have left the school or talked to that man.” Tears glistened in her eyes. “When we were locked in that basement and through all the horrible shit that happened, I never told my mom it was me that told them where to find us.” She scoffed sadly. “I was worried she’d be mad at me; that I’d get in trouble. While she kept protecting me through it all; telling me to close my eyes so I couldn’t see what they were doing at all… and it was me that caused it all.”
Tears rolled down her face and I kissed them, then wiped them dry with my thumb. Maybe it was our souls that spoke to each other. All the upbringing, money, power, status aside… our souls related to each other on the most basic level.