Chapter 3

Placing her fingernail in her mouth, she started chewing on it as she thought about his offer. Could she sleep with a stranger to give him a baby and then walk away, leaving her child?

The alternative was far worse. Here, she would be used by all types of men for sex, beaten, and God only knows what else. She glanced over at him; he was drop-dead gorgeous and had a body any woman would admire.

Maybe having him as her first lover might not be so bad, and with the money he was going to give her, she could go so far away that he and her evil stepfather would never find her.

She could start a new life and someday meet a good man and have more children.

“Time’s up—what is your decision?” he asked, getting to his feet.

“If I do this, will you promise me that you won’t hurt me?”

He cupped her face in his hands. “I hurt people, but I have never laid a hand on a woman. My father, God rest his soul, taught me that. You will remain faithful to me until after the baby is born; after that, you may do as you please.

“If you allow another to touch you, I will kill him and will do so right in front of your eyes. Do you understand and agree to my terms?”

She swallowed the lump in her throat, wondering just who this guy was. “I agree,” she said, feeling like she was going to cry.

He lifted her chin up so that she had to look at him. “Don’t worry, my little one; since you are a virgin, I will be gentle the first time. I feel I must warn you, though, that I am a very passionate man in bed and love sex with a beautiful woman.

“I will make sure to satisfy you sexually, and soon you will be craving me as a junkie craves drugs.”

The feel of his hand on her skin had her feeling warm; it was gentle.

“I’m afraid,” she said, looking into his cold, dark eyes.

“I will not hurt you. It is late, and I’m tired. It is time for us to leave.”

“What about my clothes?”

“I will buy you new ones.” He fought the urge not to throw her down on the bed and have her right then, but he would wait until he got her home.

Through the jacket, she could feel the heat from his hand when he placed it on the small of her back as he led her out. She noticed two men, both wearing dark suits and sunglasses. Even though it was dark out, they were following them.

She looked over at Dmitry, who didn’t look worried and figured he knew them. When they got outside and over to a dark car, he opened the door for her to get in—he followed behind her while the two men got in the front.

“Is your home far from here?”

“Just a few miles outside of Chicago. It is very private, away from everyone, and well-guarded. You will be safe there with me—just don’t leave the grounds. It is one of my many homes and is one of my favorites.”

She sat back and looked out the window, trying to ignore the heat that was coming from his thigh that was touching hers. She liked his thick Russian accent, and she thought it made him even sexier than he already was.

“You’re Russian?”

“Yes, but I moved to this country many years ago; my mother was Italian.”

“Will I be meeting your parents?”

“No, they are both dead.”

The rest of the drive was silent; not even the two men up front spoke. They finally came to what looked like a castle, stopping first at a gate and waiting for it to be opened before driving through.

When they stepped out of the vehicle, she said, “It looks like a castle. How is that possible?”

Dmitry stood beside her, looking up at it when she did. “I visited Scotland and fell in love with the castles, so when I returned home, I had a smaller version of one made. Of all the homes I own, I like this one the best. Let’s get you inside; you must be starving.”

She was hungry; Rudy wasn’t big on feeding his girls. She wondered why the two with them stayed outside when she and Dmitry went in.

“This is so beautiful,” she said when she looked around the huge entrance.

“Just wait until you see the rest of the place, but first, let’s get you upstairs. You can shower while I have my chef make us something to eat,” he said, leading her up the winding staircase.

Reaching the top of the stairs, they descended a long hallway and stopped at one of the doors. He opened it, allowing her to walk in first. She was floored. She had never seen anything like it before, not even in magazines.

The bedroom was the size of a small apartment with a sofa and chair. She hadn’t even seen all of it when she saw the bed. It was huge, and she started trembling when she thought about what he would soon be doing to her in it.

She felt his warm, minty breath on the back of her neck when he came up behind her, sliding his jacket off of her, leaving her in just her bra and panties.

“You can shower in there,” he said, pointing to a door at the far end of the room. “I think I have something for you to wear to bed. Wait here, and I will check my closet.”

He walked over and opened a door. Going inside, he found what he was looking for. Grabbing it, he went back to Danica and handed it to her.

“I’m sure this will fit you,” he said.

“Who does it belong to?” she dared to ask.

“No one. I like to have some women’s clothing around in case I have any unexpected guests. I will go have a meal prepared for you. Go shower, and I will be back soon.”

When he left the bedroom, she laid the nightgown on the bed. It was a satin, cream-colored gown with the price tag still on it. Her eyes just about bugged out when she saw the price—eight hundred dollars for both gown and robe.

She carefully removed the tag and was relieved that she wouldn’t be wearing another woman’s clothing. Picking it up, she headed to the bathroom; stepping inside, she couldn’t believe what she was seeing. Again, it was something out of a magazine.

The shower was big enough for two or more, with glass doors and a tub, also big enough for two. Everything about it was something out of this world.

Turning on the water, she removed her bra and panties, then stepped into the shower. She lifted her face and let the water pour over it and down her body. It felt so great showering somewhere that was so clean instead of a shower that had a dirty floor and spiders crawling on the wall.

She used the shampoo there; it was one that a man would use, but nothing else was available.

Stepping out of the shower, she dried off with the softest towel. It felt so nice against her skin. She was glad to find some new toothbrushes still in their packages.

Seeing a dryer, she dried her hair and used his hairbrush. Then she put on the nightgown and robe.

The door opened as she entered the bedroom, and a woman entered, carrying a tray of food and something to drink. Something about the woman gave her the creeps; she looked like something out of a horror movie.

“Mr. Smirnov said you could go ahead and eat without him; he had some business to take care of,” she said.

She placed the tray on the small table and left the room without another word.

She didn’t like the woman’s looks; she wore a long black dress, and her black hair was done up on top of her head in a bun. It wasn’t just her looks; she was unfriendly and had given her a look of disgust.

She lifted the cover, and the smell of delicious pot roast and mashed potatoes filled her nostrils. Her stomach growled, making an unladylike noise.

Sitting down, she ate every last bite, finishing it off with a glass of red wine. Not having had alcohol before, the wine gave her a slight buzz.

Getting up, she went over and opened the door to the balcony. It was a warm night, and standing there enjoying the fresh air, she looked down below. She could see everything as the yard was well lit.

She crossed her arms, glancing back inside at the bed. Soon, he would be coming back and was expecting her to let him make love to her. Being a virgin and not knowing much about men, she didn’t know what to expect.

Would it hurt, or would she like it? Letting out a sigh, she went back inside, closing the door behind her.

She walked slowly over to the bed, taking off the robe. She climbed in, pulled the covers over her, and waited for him to return. Her eyes slowly started to close, and she tried to stay awake, but sleep consumed her.

Dmitry finished up with the business he had to take care of and headed upstairs to his bedroom. He was anxious to start the baby-making process but was more so at the thought of having sex with the young lady who was waiting in his bed.

He walked in, removing his tie and jacket. He looked over and saw her in bed, but to his disappointment, she was asleep.

He then removed the rest of his clothes and went to take a shower. As he washed up, he realized that he would have to get her a few things, such as her own shampoo and other things that women liked.

Drying off, he went back into the bedroom, pulling down the covers. He climbed in, getting close to her; he watched as she slept. He watched her breasts rising and falling with every breath she took.

He could have awakened her, but she looked so peaceful and didn’t have the heart to do it—he would wait until morning.

Just when he was almost asleep, his phone rang; he reached over and picked it up from the nightstand.

“This better be important, or I’ll have your head on a silver platter,” he said.

Hearing what the person on the other end had to say, he got out of bed.

“Have my car brought around to the front; I’ll be right down.”

The three men who waited for Dmitry were shaking in their boots. They all knew he had a woman in his bed and wasn’t going to be happy about being disturbed. But not to tell him what was going on, they would have paid a much higher price.

Dmitry came storming out and got in the back seat, followed by the others.

“Who wants to be the one to tell me how someone was able to break into my warehouse and leave with the cargo of guns?” he asked.

The man sitting beside the driver cleared his throat before speaking.

“The alarm was disabled, and the men guarding the warehouse were ambushed. Only one man lived and told us who did it.”

“Who?” Dmitry barked.

“Wilson and his gang.”

“That small-time thug. Well, boys, let’s visit him and call for more backup. I want my property back.”

Within the hour, he and ten more of his men arrived outside of town at an old abandoned building. Pulling out their weapons, they took out the guys guarding the place and carrying guns.

Busting through the door with their weapons raised, they didn’t bother asking questions, just took down everyone who was there. The only one who was left alive was Wilson, who was down on his knees, his hands behind the back of his head, begging for his life to be spared.

Dmitry pointed his gun at him.

“I know you’re not smart enough to do this, so tell me who you work for.”

“It was no one, just me.”

“Wrong answer,” Dmitry said, cocking his gun and holding it to Wilson’s head.

“Wait, it was John Richards. Please, don’t kill me,” he cried out, pissing his pants.

“I’m not going to kill you,” he answered, walking away.

Going over to one of his men, he handed him the gun.

“Take care of him, and after returning my goods to the warehouse, clean up this mess. I’m going home.”

A shot rang out when he got to the car, knowing that Wilson would never be a problem again.

He drove himself home. He was tired and needed some sleep. When he got home, he washed up before going to bed.

He really needed something to relax him. “There was one thing that always did the trick. But did he really want to wake her up?” he wondered.