Page 17

Amelia

It’s nearly nine by the time I walk in the front door of Dmitri’s penthouse. Boris, the spy assigned to me for today, walks in behind me carrying the boxes I’ve brought back from Lucas’ apartment.

“Let’s put them in the spare bedroom.” I try to lift the top box from him, but Boris turns and shakes his head. “Fine, you stubborn ox. Carry them yourself.”

We’re halfway up the staircase when Dmitri appears at the top of the stairs. He hooks his hands on his hips, staring down at us. I try to keep my gaze from lingering, but he’s already stripped out of his suit jacket and tie.

His shirt is unbuttoned halfway, and his shoes and socks are gone. He looks so casual. Casually hot.

It’s not fair that he looks so damn good after a full day of work, and I look like I’ve been through a tornado.

My hair is all windblown and messy from all the times I’ve sunk my hands in it today.

I haven’t checked a mirror lately, but I would bet this month’s salary that my makeup is smeared and half gone from rubbing my eyes. It’s a horrible habit, but I’ve never been able to beat it.

By late afternoon, most of my mascara is gone. But this time of night, I probably look like the walking dead.

“What’s all of this?” Dmitri asks as I reach him.

“All of the ledgers I found at Lucas’ apartment. He had more hidden in his bedroom closet in a locked chest. There’s a few more boxes in the car, but Boris refused to let me get them.” I shoot a dark look at Boris who completely ignores me, steps around us, and continues down the hall to the spare room.

“He was right.” Dmitri watches Boris turn into the bedroom. “You’re keeping them in there?”

“I didn’t want to clutter up your bedroom.”

“Our bedroom,” he corrects immediately.

“Okay.” I’m too tired to argue with him tonight.

I just want to find the box I marked so I can get the bank reports out of it.

Boris passes us to go back down and collect the other boxes.

“You know, you don’t need to have someone sitting outside my building all day,” I say as we make our way to the bedroom at the end of the hall.

“Until the issue with my shipments in Russia is resolved, Boris will be with you to be sure you’re safe.”

“You think someone involved in that will hurt me?” I stop short at the bedroom door.

“No. But it’s a precaution. I won’t let you be in danger.” He’s so firm when he says it, a warm current runs through me.

Lucas had been protective, but it wasn’t in this sort of way. It was a brotherly duty. He felt obligated, but with Dmitri it’s different.

I suppose he has an obligation since I’m his wife now, but it’s deeper than that. It’s personal to him.

“All right. But if he’s going to be there, he might as well come inside.”

“I’ll let him know.” His lips curl at the edges.

“Good. Now, I’ve been thinking about a hot bath all day.” Walking past him, my hand brushes across his body, across the hardness in his pants.

Another thing I’ve been thinking about all day.

It’s really becoming an annoying habit to find myself drifting off into thoughts of his hands on me, his lips on mine, and his cock filling me.

Worse is when my daydreams bring me to thoughts of sitting with his arms around me. The casual intimacy of his lips brushing across my cheek before I left for the center this morning. It’s alarming how much of my day was spent reliving that moment.

I make it all the way to the bathroom door before the words hit me.

“Of course. I’ll allow it.”

Pausing for a moment, a scathing response burns my tongue. If he’s looking for an argument, he’s going to have to wait. As much as I would like to rip his pride in half, I want that bath more.

“Great,” I mutter and head into the bathroom.

His tub could hold three people, it’s so large, and there are power jets. Growing up, I’d never wanted for anything. Material-wise anyway. Love and affection from a father who seemed more relieved when his wife overdosed in her en suite than heartbroken was more my desire growing up.

We’d always had a beautiful house and wonderful things to fill it, but I never knew true wealth until meeting Dmitri. The white, high-gloss acrylic tub stands free, as though it’s hovering over the floor.

“Hello, bath.”

I lean into the tub and turn on the hot water, feeling the temperature of it as it falls from the waterfall spout. Once it’s the perfect temperature, I close off the drain and let it fill.

Dmitri’s staff completely unpacked my things. I find my hair ties all bundled in a crystal bowl on the marble countertop. My other toiletries have been put away in my own set of drawers. Even my toothbrush has its own place, beside Dmitri’s.

Beside Dmitri.

How long can this relationship actually last before we turn on each other? When does the resentment of having to marry me settle in for him?

And when it does, will he banish me to my own set of rooms like my father did to my mother?

It wasn’t enough that he barely spoke to her when he was home. He had her things moved to a different bedroom altogether. He’d played it off that he was always getting home so late he didn’t want to wake her, but she’d known what it meant.

He was finished with her.

The water cut off behind me and I spun around, expecting to find Dmitri standing there.

He wasn’t.

A sensor panel had been reached, and it must have shut off the water to keep the tub from overflowing. I turn the faucet to close it off, then peel off my clothes.

As soon as my feet touch the warm water, a sigh escapes me. Sinking into the heated pool softens each muscle as I find a comfortable spot. The built-in headrest is a marvel. Whoever invented it should be given a raise.

Moments pass as I lie with my eyes closed, my body softening into the heat, and the quiet of the room giving me peace.

It’s been nonstop problems today. Then the accountant happened and my visit to Dmitri’s office.

I was awful to him, barging in the way I did. He had every right to be angry with me for it. If he’d marched into my office that way, I would have been more than angry; I would have probably thrown him out.

Not that he would go.

He’s an unmovable force.

“What has you so worried?” His voice falls over me like silk.

My eyes fly open to find him standing over me, stripped down to his boxers. It takes a long moment before I can get my brain to function properly. I mean the man is all muscle and beauty and he’s just standing there looking down at me with concern and sexiness.

“Nothing.” I suddenly wish I’d used bubbles or something. He can see everything through the water.

Not that he hasn’t already, but it’s different when he’s just looking at me like this.

Like he’s ready to devour a dessert he’s being waiting the whole meal to have.

“This tub is enormous. Do you have parties in here?” I make a horrible attempt at a joke.

“Standard tubs are too small for me. I’m a large man.” He grins as my cheeks burst into flames and my eyes move down to the hard bulge in his boxers.

“What were you thinking about when I came in?” he questions again.

“I already said nothing. Just relaxing.” I lean back against the edge of the tub.

My muscles have softened thanks to the heat of the water and some of the tension has eased from my neck. Even the dull ache behind my eyes has finally subsided.

“Hmm, I think you’re lying.” He slides a towel from the rack. “I’m feeling generous tonight, and I’ll give you another chance to come clean. What were you thinking about?”

After he pushes the button to start the tub draining, he opens the towel for me. I sit up, pulling my knees to my chest.

“Maybe I’m not ready to get out?”

“Don’t make me ask a third time.” He frowns. “Tell me.”

I sigh as I push up to my feet. He really is an unmovable force.

“This afternoon. I was thinking about what happened in your office,” I confess, stepping out of the tub onto the lush bathmat.

He wraps the towel around my body, pulling me into his chest.

“What about your visit?” Using his big hands, he rubs the towel over my skin, gently wiping away the beads of water left over from my bath.

From the reflection in the mirror, I catch the way he looks at me as he moves lower on my body, over my hips and legs. He’s fully attentive to his task, but his expression warms as he runs the towel back up my legs to my pussy.

“Amelia,” he prompts me, grinning at me through the mirror when moments have passed, and I’ve remained quiet.

“I was rude.” I try to take the towel to wrap it around me when he’s finished, but he tosses it onto the counter, out of reach.

“You were,” he agrees, turning us so we’re facing the mirror head on. His arms wrap around my waist. “But you were upset.”

“You didn’t punish me.” I say it so softly, he has to lean into me to hear my words.

“Did you want me to?” he questions, moving his hands to my hips and holding me against him.

“No.” It’s a lie.

A bold-faced lie, and he can see through me like the human lie detector he is.

“Did you want to try that answer again?”

“Not really.” I frown at us. “I don’t want to say it.”

He grins. “Then I definitely want to hear it.”

“You just like embarrassing me.”

“I like your blush. It’s not the same thing.” He pauses. “Do you want me to punish you? Should I bend you over my knee again and spank you for being so naughty today? Being rude and loud and yelling accusations?”

His words do things to my body that hands have never been able to.

“Do you want me to make you bend over the counter here so I can make your ass as red as your face? Punish you until you beg for mercy?”

I press my legs together tightly, sure he can see my arousal building at his words.

He moves his hands from my hips to cup my breasts. Taking my nipples between his fingers, he pinches them.

“Do you want me to punish your body for being a bad girl today?” He licks the sensitive spot behind my ear.

Somehow this man has learned in only a week what no boyfriend has ever been able to master. Every spot on my body that reacts to his touch is mapped out in his mind.

“I don’t know.” The conflict inside of me grows as he pinches harder and a spark of pain forms, shooting through my body.

“You do know, but you don’t want to say it.” He kisses my shoulder, releasing my nipples at the same time.

Exquisite burn spreads with a new sort of pain as the blood rushes back into place. I raise my hands, thinking to rub away the new sensation, but he grabs them and holds my arms at my sides.

“It hurts,” I whine, but it’s more of a plea for more and not a cry for it to stop.

“Say it, Amelia. Tell me what you want.”

His dark eyes lock with mine in the mirror. There’s a warmth inside the storm of arousal and dominance that pulls me closer to him.

“I want you to punish me, Dmitri.” I breathe out the words, certain he’s going to laugh.

Why wouldn’t he? A grown woman asking to be punished by her husband? It’s absurd.

“Place your hands on your head.” He pats my ass and steps out of the way.

He waits as I lift my arms up, placing one on top of the other. I’m completely on display with this position. Every part of me is vulnerable to his gaze, his touch.

“Don’t move.” He pats my ass again and disappears into the bedroom.

Moments tick by and I’m wondering if the punishment is just to leave me here while he goes to bed. A little humility probably wouldn’t hurt, I suppose.

Just when I’m ready to drop my hands, he appears in the doorway. He’s holding my vibrator.

Heat surges through my face and I have to look away. How did he find that? I packed it myself, but I didn’t unpack.

Oh, no.

His staff unpacked my vibrator.

“What’s wrong, Amelia?” he questions with too much levity.

“Who… dammit, Dmitri, you should have let me unpack my own things.” I start to drop my hands.

“Get back into position,” he snaps. “Or I can get my belt. A punishment to begin the punishment.”

Slowly, I put my hands back. My embarrassment radiates through my entire body, sending a blush all the way down to my legs.

“I didn’t know a body could blush this way,” he says, coming to stand behind me. “Open your eyes. You don’t get to ignore me.”

When I open them, he’s staring at me in the mirror.

“Spread your legs a little for me.” He touches my left leg with my vibrator.

It’s a short device, meant mostly for clitoral stimulation, but it still has the usual shape of a penis. And to see it in his large hand is almost comical.

Sliding my feet apart, he dips the vibrator between my thighs. He presses the tip just above my clit, but the soft vibrations seep into my body.

“Does that feel good, Amelia?” His breath is warm against my neck.

I swallow, trying my best to remain unmoved by the pleasure he’s giving me. But Dmitri isn’t one to be ignored. He twists the base until the vibrations grow stronger.

“How about now?” He pushes the head of the device harder against me until my clit shoots little shocks of pleasure through me.

I moan. It’s impossible not to when his lips are so close to my ear and the vibrations are dragging me closer to the edge. How does this man know how to do this so fucking well?

“What was it you said to me in my office?” He nips my earlobe as I push my pelvis toward the toy. My muscles are already tightening.

“I don’t know.” It’s the truth.

I don’t remember anything at this moment other than my orgasm is only a breath away. I bite down on my lip, leaning back into him.

“Hmm, really? You don’t remember what you said? Something about what I will and will not allow when it comes to you?”

The first wave crests. I’m so close.

My toes curl into the bathmat. I’m going to launch into space at any moment. Just another second.

“Please,” I whimper, already guessing what he’s going to do. “Please.”

“Sorry. Naughty girls aren’t allowed to come so quickly.” He pulls the device away just as the first glimpse of my orgasm ripples through me.

“No!” I cry out.

Keeping my hands planted on top of my head is nothing short of a miracle, but I’m learning quickly that Dmitri will only prolong my punishment if I don’t.

“Did you want to come?” he asks; a rueful grin hits me from the reflection in the mirror.

“I’ll get you back for this,” I threaten, but we both know I have no way to follow through.

Even if I were to try the same thing with him, he’d simply have to run his fingertips over my body to get me to soften and fall at his feet.

It’s insane. This power he holds over me.

I would hate it, if I didn’t love it so much.

“I would love for you to try,” he chuckles. “Let’s do this again.”

He wraps one arm around my middle, holding me tightly as he presses the vibrator directly against my clit.

“Oh, god!” I cry out as my body immediately tenses with pleasure.

In the mirror I witness the effect on my body. My thighs tremble, my nipples could probably cut glass at this point, and my face is cherry red.

“Should I allow you to come?” he asks in that sultry tone he’s perfected. “Do you want me to allow you to come?”

I clench my teeth, and my eyelids close. If I can ignore him, if I can just tap into my body, I can get to the finish line.

“I guess not.” He takes the toy away again with impeccably horrible timing.

“Dmitri!” I stomp my foot, missing him by a hair.

He laughs.

“All you have to do is ask. Just ask me to allow you to come, and I will.” He kisses the spot behind my earlobe that he’s learned all too quickly sets a fire burning in my core.

“Let’s try something else.” He picks me up and brings me to the counter. “Sit here.”

My ass hits the chilled countertop, but before I can get settled, he pulls me forward until I’m seated at the very edge.

“Keep your hands up,” he orders when I go to reach for the counter. “I won’t let you fall,” he promises.

He pushes my chest until I’m leaning back against the mirror. I’m only given a moment to assess this new position before the thick head of his cock pushes into me.

“Oh, fuck,” I moan as I’m stretched around his cock.

“That’s the point, yes.” He pushes further in. “Now, let’s try this again.”

The vibrator makes another appearance, pressing directly onto my clit at the fastest speed while at the same time he thrusts fully into me.

With one hand, he’s holding my hip, keeping me still as he plows into me. The other twists the vibrator over my clit, rubbing it in circles, making the sensations increase ten times over.

“Should I allow you to come?” he asks again, though I can hear the tension in his tone now too.

This little lesson is punishing him at the same time.

If I wasn’t so desperate to find my release, I’d use it to my advantage. But desperation has definitely set in.

“Yes!”

“Not good enough, say it,” he orders, thrusting harder.

The burn of my body stretching around him makes my need even greater.

“Please, Dmitri. Let me come,” I beg him, my hands fisting in my hair.

I don’t dare disobey him right now.

“Try again,” he orders, driving harder into me as he pushes the vibrator against my clit.

“Allow! Please allow me to come! Please!”

“Fuck,” he groans. “Come, baby. Come hard.”

He drops the vibrator, grabbing my hips with both hands and pulling me toward him as he plows into me.

“Oh, god. Oh!” I come unglued. Every nerve ending in my body fires off and the waves of pleasure ripple through me at an intense rate.

“Fuck. Fuck,” he chants as he drives into me again and again until he stills.

His eyes widen and he grunts as his own release carries him away, his forehead dropping to mine.

My body hums as we stay like this for long moments.

Slowly, I ease my arms down and frame his face with my hands.

“You’re cruel,” I whisper, lifting his head to kiss him.

There’s no heat or accusation in my words. I’m too tired, too satisfied to really hold a grudge against him.

“I did tell you I’d teach you.” He kisses me back. It’s different than before.

The possession is still there, and the hunger, but it’s more intimate now. He’s not trying to grind me beneath his heel. There’s no power struggle here. Just a man kissing his wife.

“Did you learn?” he asks after breaking the kiss.

“I think so,” I sigh, snuggling into his neck. “But you might have to go over it again in the morning. You know, just to be sure.”