Dimitri's Forbidden Submissive (Submissive's Wish) (17 page)

Dimitri removed his boots at the front door, trying to dismiss an unfamiliar pang of guilt at spying on Rya. He was only doing what he had to do to make sure he was safe. While he doubted Rya was going to hurt him, he couldn’t imagine why she wouldn’t want him to see something. Whatever she had to hide was something she was either ashamed of, or something that would make him angry.

The sounds of her moving around upstairs settled, then her soft, husky voice traveled down the staircase. He moved slowly, distributing his weight to make the least amount of noise possible. Sneaking up on Rya was easy, and he paused at the bottom of the stairs where he could hear her voice and a man’s voice.

Rya said, “Come on, Mark, I’m not showing you my breasts.”

The man laughed, his voice coming out slightly distorted from whatever device she was speaking to him on. “Awww, come on, baby. Don’t be like that. You know I think it’s cute when you pout.”

Dimitri crept up the stairs, his gut clenching at the openly flirting tone in the man’s voice. Could Rya have someone waiting at home for her? He tried to tell himself that it didn’t matter, that she was his for right now and that he had no concern about who she fucked after he left for Russia, but his gut churned with anger.

She laughed, the sound unguarded and full of genuine joy. His glut clenched at the thought of anyone making her laugh like that. He wanted to be the one to make her laugh, to make her smile. The greed for her affection burned through his blood like an addictive drug, driving him crazy.

Rya sighed with obvious exasperation. “When I get home I’m going to smack you upside your head.”

The man coughed. “What if I said it’s my last request?”

“No.”

“Where are you, by the way, Rya?”

She was silent for a moment, then said in a soft voice. “I’m in Sedona, Arizona. You should see it, Mark, it’s beautiful.”

“Drove my truck through there once. Prettiest sky you’ve ever seen at night. Do you have someone to watch those stars with, beautiful?”

Dimitri froze, part of him wanting Rya to tell that man that yes, she had someone to watch the stars with, the other part of him fearing that she would potentially endanger them both by using his name.

After a few long seconds she sighed. “No, no I don’t.”

Almost at the top of the stairs, Dimitri moved as slowly as possible, but was surprised when the man said, “That’s a shame. I keep hoping someone will come sweep you off your feet. If I’d met you five years ago I wouldn’t have let you go.”

When Dimitri lifted his head to see Rya, he found her with her back to him and her laptop open as she sat on the bed. He shifted enough to see who she was talking to and at first he couldn’t make sense of the person on the screen of her laptop. It was a middle aged man, and while he’d once probably been very handsome, an obvious illness had ravaged him. He sat up in a hospital bed, a tube coming out of his nose and dark circles beneath his sunken eyes. The flesh hung off his bones and to Dimitri he almost looked like a still moving cadaver, but there was a gleam in the man’s eyes as he smiled at Rya that was still full of life.

While Dimitri tried to figure out what the hell was going on, Rya hugged her knees to her chest. “That’s just assuming you could catch me in the first place. You know you have no game. None of the nurses have given you a pity blow job yet.”

Mark laughed. “I can’t believe you won’t honor a dying man’s last wish.” For a long moment Rya was silent and the man on the screen sighed. “Hey now, no sad face. I get enough of those around here already.”

Sitting up straight, Rya nodded. “Sorry. I’m just in a mood right now.”

“I’d bet you’d feel better if you gave me a blow job.”

Laughing, Rya shook her head. “Pervert.”

A woman’s voice came from the computer. “Mark, I told you to stop talking dirty to the nurses. The last thing I want to see when I come visit you is my baby brother doing that. Yuck.”

The woman that appeared on the screen next to the man smiled at the camera. She bore a striking resemblance to the sick man and Dimitri had a disconcerting image of what the man must have looked like while he was healthy. The woman winked at Rya. “How’s your vacation?”

Rya waved at the screen. “Hi, Charlotte. Great, I’m having a wonderful time.”

The woman on the screen gently stroked the man’s shoulder. “Good. Now, you’ve seen that Mark is still around to annoy us, so get the hell off your computer and go vacation.”

With a sigh Rya stretched out her arms. “Fine, fine. I don’t have my cell phone on me, but I’ll check it. Call me if you need me or email me.”

They said their goodbyes and Rya slowly closed the screen to her laptop, then began to cry in soft sobs. His heart broke for her and he sat down quietly on the stairs. He wanted to comfort her, to ask her who those people were, but he couldn’t because then she’d know he was spying on her. It went without saying that she would consider that a betrayal of trust, but it made his chest ache to hear the sound of her pain.

Sneaking back downstairs as quickly as possible, he moved across the living room and opened the door, then shut it loudly. Rya’s sobs immediately cut off, and a moment later, she ran down the stairs. He took one look at her red eyes and damp cheeks before opening his arms to her. With a sound that was a mixture of sorrow and relief, she threw herself at him. He swept her up and held her close before moving to the couches before the fireplace. Needing to soothe her, to somehow take away her sadness, he deposited her on the sofa before turning on the gas fire. By the time he sat down and pulled her onto his lap again her cries had gentled to hitching breaths followed by long, shuddering sighs.

Smoothing her hair back from her damp face, he hated himself for lying to her but tried to get her to open up. “What is wrong?”

“Are you mad at me?”

“What? No, no, I am not mad.”

“You looked mad when you left.” Her gaze searched his face. “I’m sorry, I swear I wasn’t doing anything bad. It’s just…well I have people that I’ve made promises to and I can’t betray their trust. Can you understand that? And believe that I would never betray you?”

“I believe you.” He stroked her cheek, brushing away a stray tear. “Why are you crying?”

Her lower lip trembled. “I…you know how I’m a nurse right?”

“
Da
.”

“Well, I’m a hospice nurse. Do you know what that means?”

He tried to remember what that word was, but couldn’t think of ever having heard it during his English lessons or during his time in English speaking countries. “No. I do not know this word–hospice.”

“I help people who have terminal illnesses. Basically, I help people facing death do so with the least amount of pain and the most dignity possible.”

Everything clicked into place and he realized the man Rya was talking to was one of her patients. “It is hard on your heart. Being around suffering, makes you sad.”

“Yeah, it does, but it also brings me peace.” She shuddered and buried her face against his chest. “There is nothing worse than dying alone. Nothing. If I can be there for my patients, if I can give them the comfort they need to exit from this world with as much peace as possible…it…it’s what I’m supposed to do. I know it probably doesn’t make any sense, but I feel like being a hospice nurse is my calling, it is one of the reasons I’m here. Like I’m making a difference. Not a lot of people in this world get to feel that anymore, so despite the pain that is a definite part of my job, I consider myself lucky, privileged even, to help them move on. They have wonderful things ahead of them, an ending to the pain and an amazing new adventure.”

He gathered her close and began to press gentle kisses on her face. “You humble me. Such a good heart with so much love to give. That is why it hurts you, because you love them.”

“I do.” She began to stroke his chest, almost like she was petting him. It made him feel good to know she took comfort from touching him. “When you’re dying you suddenly realize what’s important, and for most people, it’s the connection to other people. I don’t mourn for those who pass on. Yeah, I’m sad that they’re no longer with us, but it’s the family that’s left behind to grieve that tears me up.”

“I understand.”

And he did, all too well. For years he’d carried the pain of the loss of his mother and older sister, a never-ending ache, a hole in his life that was never filled. With the loss of Jessica, he’d forgotten how to feel compassion for a few years. He couldn’t imagine what it would be like to deal with that day after day, not only Rya’s own personal pain for the patients she obviously loved, but her empathy for the family left behind.

She studied him for a moment, then nodded. “You do understand. Thank you for, well, for being you.”

They stared into each other’s eyes and he ached to tell her how much she meant to him, how much he cared for her, but it would be selfish of him. She needed to move on after he left, to have her own life and find some lucky bastard and marry him, and make him the happiest man on earth. Everything inside of Dimitri screamed in protest at the thought and he struggled with himself, this unusual loss of control once again making him angry with himself. Before he could get too worked up, Rya’s stomach growled.

Loud.

A hot flush burned her cheeks and she pressed her hands to her stomach. “Oh my god. It sounds like I have a baby dragon in my belly.”

Laughing, he gave her a swift kiss before standing. “Go. In the black suitcase with the green tag is clothes for you. Pick a dress for dinner and come back down. We go eat.”

She smoothed her hands over his chest and grinned at him. “Where did you get clothes for me from?”

He winked, wanting to keep her smiling and chase the lingering shadows from her eyes. “I am man of many resources.”

“I’ll say.” She stood up on her tiptoes and he leaned his head down, closing the distance so she could give him a brief kiss. “I’ll be right back, and thank you again, Dimitri. For listening to me and just for being you.”

Dimitri sat next to Rya at the elegant bar of the restaurant within the resort. Like the rest of the place it had an American southwestern theme and the long bar was made up of some sort of pale wood that had been polished until it gleamed. A massive mirror etched with Native American designs of a more modern slant took up the entire side of the room, giving Dimitri a view of the space behind him. As much as he watched Rya, he also kept an eye on a group of middle aged men getting drunk in the corner. They kept throwing looks Rya’s way, looks that he did not like one bit, though he could hardly blame them.

She was stunning.

Dressed in a flowing turquoise green dress that reached just past her knees and dipped low in the back to show the edge of her tattoo, she was the stuff of every man’s fantasy. Her hair had been slicked back into a long ponytail that reached her waist and swung with her every movement, making him wish he could grab her by it and drag her back to their room, but he would fuck her raw if he wasn’t careful so he was attempting to give her a body a rest by keeping her in public. The dress fastened behind her neck in a halter top and it pleased him to see evidence of his bites on her shoulders and neck, marks that clearly indicated she belonged to him. Those marks had gotten a couple double takes by people, but every time someone noticed Rya would give a mysterious, but very pleased smile and touch the one of them with a lingering caress. Most often the person would look away with a blush, but a couple times he’d caught women looking from him to Rya with open envy.

Taking a sip from her fruity martini, Rya gave him a small smile. “You keep looking at me like that and I won’t be able to finish my drink.”

“Do not tease,
zaika moya
. I do not have much restraint with you.”

She grinned and took another sip before setting the glass down. “Where did you learn how to speak English?”

He toyed with his glass of excellent bourbon, trying to figure out how much he should tell her. “My…family is friends, maybe not friends but deals with many other families. My father’s first wife came from Dubini family. Her sister was brilliant woman who spoke many languages. She was entrusted with teaching the children of other families English. That is how I met some of my best friends. We were in her class together. English is the language of business and my father was very dedicated to teaching my brother and myself everything we need to survive and make our family thrive.”

“Wow. I can understand that. My step-dad got me into MMA when I was a teenager and started getting these.” She gestured to her large breasts and his hands twitched with the need to fill his palms with her abundant bounty. “I thought he was crazy at the time, but my friend Tawny took them with me and it’s helped keep guys in their place.”

“He is smart man. You are beautiful woman, stunning. Why do you not have a man in your life?”

She sighed and her right foot began to swing. As short as she was the stools were too tall for her feet to reach the ground. “I don’t know. My past relationships haven’t worked out for a variety of reasons. I mean it’s not like I haven’t been looking, I like to date and all of that. I just haven’t found anyone like you. Shit, never mind. Forget I said that. Damn vodka gets me every time.”

A scarlet flush spread from her chest all the way to her ears and he leaned forward, stroking the soft skin of her exposed back. “No, I not forget. I keep this memory forever, little Rya.”

When she looked over at him her gorgeous golden eyes were filled with tears. “This sucks.”

He cupped her chin. “Tell me what to do in order to bring the light back to your eyes. Ask me and I will make it happen.”

Her soft laugh was a reward like no other. “Really? Can you dance?”

“Of course. Though I am not traditionally well-educated, I have learned how to do many, many things well in my life.”

She slipped away from him with a smile and tugged him after her to where an old fashioned jukebox sat against the far adobe wall. Rya selected a song, then took him through the archway to the patio area. A single fountain lit from within gurgled in the yard and beautiful tiles made up the floor. A desert garden enclosed the patio and he took a moment to admire the moonlit cliffs in the distance. He’d never been anywhere like the American southwest, and he found the raw beauty of the place made his spirit quiet. Usually he only felt this kind of peace out in the middle of the forest during winter, after a snowfall.