5

She was so happy hearing that she was getting away from this place and Bepa she would have agreed to anything. “I promise.”

“Good, now go put on that red dress I bought you and when you are ready come downstairs.” He gives her a quick kiss. “Do not keep me waiting too long. I do not like waiting for anyone and I just might have to leave without you. You have forty minutes to get ready.” He smiled to himself when she practically ran to her closet.

When she came down five minutes before her time was up Vladimir and Bepa were arguing in Russian. But when they saw her they stopped and the other woman walked away and disappeared into one of the rooms. As much as she wanted to know what they were fighting about she kept quiet, knowing he would only get mad if she started asking questions.

His look of anger turned to one of pleasure when he saw Danica walking down the stairs. He was pleased that she listened to him and wore the red dress. He thought she looked absolutely beautiful. “You look stunning, this dress fits you like a glove.” He loved the way it hugged her curves. “Shall we go?” he asked, holding out his hand for her to take.

She liked seeing the warmth in his eyes as she placed her hand in his. His eyes were usually dark and cold which scared her a little. But there were times when he seemed gentle and caring, and that usually only occurred when they were making love. She could feel the heat from his hand on her back when he opened the door for her to get in. Once seated he got in beside her, placing his hand on her knee. “Can I ask where we’re going?”

“I have to stop at one of my clubs and talk to the manager before we go to the restaurant. It won’t take long.” He ran his thumb over her knee, he loved how she felt, so young, so soft and felt himself getting hard. This happened every time he touched her and he was starting to feel like a horny teenager. He had to get a grip on his feelings. He was a mafia boss for crying out loud, not some lovesick kid. The thing was he never felt this way around a woman before and he wasn’t sure he liked it.

When they arrived at the club he helped her out of the car and placed her arm through his. He saw heads turning when they entered and knew the men were checking her out. The ones who knew who he was quickly turned their heads. They didn’t want him to have his bodyguards beating them up for looking at the woman on his arm. A path through the crowd was opened up for them to make their way to his special table. Once seated he ordered a scotch for himself and a glass of white wine for her. Until he knew for sure she was pregnant he would allow her to have the odd drink every now and then. He looked around the club and was pleased with how busy it was, but he still had a problem to deal with. He turned to her, putting his arm over her shoulder. “I want you to wait here with Dennis, I’ll be back soon.”

She nodded her head and watched as he went towards the back, she looked up at Dennis who was standing so still, like a statue. Craig had gone with Vladimir. When a guy approached her he was chased away by the bodyguard, not that she was interested. She played with her glass, only taking a couple of sips. Never having alcohol before she didn’t really care for the taste of it. It felt like Vladimir had been gone a long time and she needed to use the lady’s room. Getting up Dennis stepped in front of her, blocking her from leaving.

She looked at him, letting out a loud sigh. “Oh for crying out loud, I’m just going to the bathroom.” All she got from him was a grunt as he stepped aside and followed her. It annoyed her that she couldn’t go anywhere on her own and was being watched like a hawk. It’s not like she had anywhere to go, no money, no friends, she was trapped. When she came out the man was there waiting for her but she wasn’t ready to go back to the table, she wanted to go to where Vladimir was. As she headed to the door he had entered Dennis grabbed her arm.

“You can’t go in there, you must go back to the table until the boss comes to get you.”

“Get your hands off me,” she said, trying to free herself from his grip.

“What the hell is going on?” Vladimir shouted when he came from the office and saw Dennis’s hand on her arm. “And get your hand off of her.”

“Sorry boss, but she was trying to go into the office and I had to stop her,” he answered, swallowing hard as he released her arm. “I didn’t think you would want Miss Burke walking in on you.”

 Vladimir ran his hand over the dark stubble on his face when he looked at her. “Did I not tell you to wait at the table for me to return?”

She lowered her eyes, knowing he was angry with her left her scared and speechless. She winched in pain when he grabbed her arm tightly and pulled her into the office.

“What the hell am I going to do with you? If you’re not asking questions you’re disobeying my orders.”

“I’m sorry, I was getting bored and you were taking so long. That goon of yours wouldn’t even let me go to the washroom by myself. I felt like a child and I’m surprised he didn’t go in with me.”

He wasn’t sure whether to be mad at her for using a snarky tone when she spoke to him or pleased that she was starting to stick up for herself. It was a good thing they were alone otherwise he wouldn’t have let her get away with it. He had to be tough and strong in front of his men. He went over and cupped her chin in the palm of his hand. “I will let it go this time but don’t disobey me again or next time I will have you chained to our bed and there you will stay. Now, let’s go eat,” he said, giving her a quick kiss on the cheek.

When they got to the restaurant they were shown to the best table in the place, it was obvious they all knew him. A bottle of champagne was brought over right away and the waiter poured them both a glass, waiting for Vladimir to taste it first and to give him the sign of his approval.

When he picked up his glass that was when she noticed that his knuckles were red and swollen. “How did you hurt your hand?”

“It is nothing. Have you decided what you would like? I highly recommend the beef wellington or if you’d prefer the seafood platter, both are excellent choices.”

She may not be the brightest person alive but she was smart enough to know not to pressure him into answering her questions. It would only anger him and she did not want to leave yet or to have him angry at her. “I think I’ll have the seafood platter,” she answered, giving him a weak smile.

The meal went pretty well, he got to know more about her when he started asking questions about her life before he met her. He did not like it when he heard how her stepfather treated her. Refusing to let her go to school or to have friends and turning her into his own personal maid. The fact that he even sold her to a strip club for a few measly thousand dollars had his blood boiling. It became clear to him how naïve she was in the way of the world. She was innocent, sweet and did not deserve the life she was given.

On the drive back to his place Dennis was driving the car and Craig sat up front in the passenger side when they noticed a car following behind them.

“Boss, someone seems to be following us. What do you want us to do?” Dennis asked, looking back at him through the rearview mirror.

Vladimir turned his head to look out the back window. “Just keep driving and if he’s still following us we’ll confront him when we get out of the city.”

She looked at him, fear raced through her body and she watched as he took out his gun. “Vladimir, what’s going on?”

He looked at her and reaching out he stroked the side of her face with his fingers. “Don’t worry, you are safe with me.” He kept looking back to see if the vehicle was following them. He ordered Dennis to step on the gas and when he did the other car speeded up too. “The bastards are still on our tail, do either of you men recognize the car?”

Both Dennis and Craig said they didn’t. When they got outside of the city he had them pull the car over, and wouldn’t you know it, the other car pulled over too, keeping some distance between them.

“What now boss?”

“They haven’t started shooting so maybe they want to talk. We’ll go out and see what they want but have your guns loaded and ready to use.”

“I’m scared,” she said, placing her hand on his arm when he went to open the door.

He placed his fingers under her chin. “I want you to get down on the floor and stay there until I come and get you. Do not be afraid, I will not let any harm come to you.”

As hard as it was to get down onto the floor wearing what she was she did as she was told. She could hear shouting and cursing and then the next thing she knew she heard the sound of gunshots. Even though he had told her to stay down after hearing the shots she lifted her head up and getting up on to the seat she looked out the back window and what she saw made her scream, causing Vladimir and his two men to look back at her. Three men were laying on the ground with blood flowing from their bodies. She was frozen to the spot, not able to move even when he got into the car and grabbed her arms and started shaking her. ********

Vladimir looked back towards the car when he heard her scream. Turning to his men he spoke in anger, not at them but at her for disobeying him. “Get rid of the bodies and clean up this mess.” Tucking his gun back into his holster he headed back towards the car. Opening the door he got in and grabbed her arms and started shaking her. “I told you to stay down and not to look and again you disobey me. I cannot and will not allow you to continue in this way.” Seeing how scared she was and the tears falling from her eyes he felt something he had never felt towards another human being, empathy and compassion. Pulling her into his arms he held her tight against him, stroking the back of her hair.

“Would you kill me as easily as you did those men?” she asked, sniffling as she rested her head on his chest.

“I could never kill the mother of my child to be. You should have listened to me, you weren’t meant to see what you did. Just so you know we had no choice but to kill those men, it was either them or us.” He lifted her head up by placing his fingers under her chin. “You know who and what I am and this is part of my life. It is on rare occasions that I need to use this type of violence as no one has ever dared to confront me with guns. But when they do I will defend myself.” He held her until she stopped sobbing and her body no longer was trembling.

As scared as she was she felt safe with his arms around her, comforting and protecting her. Never would she have thought that this life really existed until now. It had her thinking, could she really go through with giving him a child and walking away, leaving an innocent baby behind to live in this kind of lifestyle?

It was a good hour before the two men came back to the car and got in, smelling of sweat and dirt. “It’s been taken care of boss,” Dennis said as he started the car and drove off.

When they got back to the house Bepa was there to greet them. Seeing how upset Danica was she discreetly rolled her eyes. She took one look at the two men and told them that they could go wash up in the kitchen.

Vladimir placed his hand on the small of Danica’s back, leading her upstairs. Looking over his shoulder he told Bepa to make up a pot of coffee and to tell his men to meet him in the den in twenty minutes. Once they got upstairs he turned her around to face him. He placed the palm of his hand against her cheek, using his thumb lightly stroked her skin. “Why don’t you have a nice relaxing soak in the tub and then get ready for bed. Don’t wait up for me.”

“Are you going out again?”

“No, I just need to talk to my men and to make a few phone calls. I know what happened tonight scared you and I’m sorry you had to witness it. But you are safe and that’s all that matters. Would you like for me to have Bepa bring you anything up from the kitchen? Something to eat or to drink?”

The last thing she wanted was to see that witch and listen to her sarcastic comments. “No, there is nothing I want.”

Putting his hands behind her head pulled her in for a kiss. It was a long and passionate kiss, one which she was responding to. He would have stayed and taken her to bed but he had important things to take care of. So breaking the kiss he left the bedroom and went downstairs.

Picking out a white nightgown she went into the bathroom and ran the water into the tub, adding a generous amount of bubbles. She laid back, thinking about what she was going to say to Vladimir. She knew he was going to be angry but hoped he would understand, but her gut was telling her he wouldn’t. When the water started getting cold she stepped out, dried off and put on the silk nightgown he had brought for her. Her hands shook from being nervous and she needed something to calm her nerves. Going over to his mini-bar that Vladimir kept in his bedroom she took out the bottle of wine and poured herself a large glass full, taking a long swallow. She walked out onto the balcony with her wine, looking out at the ground below her. Cars were leaving and she knew he would be up soon so she finished her glass of wine and went to get more. Her hand tightened around the stem of the glass when she heard the bedroom door opening.

“I hope you aren’t drinking too much, in case you are pregnant,” he said when he saw her standing out on the balcony.

“This is my second glass,” she answered nervously.

He took the glass from her hand. “You’ve had enough then. I understand you’re still upset about what happened, but it’s nothing for you to worry about. Drinking too much will not help you, it’ll just make you sick since you are not used to alcohol.”

She leaned back against the wall, crossing her arms over her chest as she tried to find the courage to speak. “I can’t go through with this.”

He lifted his one eyebrow up as he looked at her. “What can’t you go through with?”

“I don’t want to bring a baby into this world of yours. It’s full of danger, killing, hurting people and the fear of being murdered. It’s not right to raise a child in it so I change my mind, I won’t do it.”

He raised the glass to his lips and finished the wine, setting the glass on the table. “You don’t have a choice, you will do it. We made a deal and I bought you from Rudy for a lot of money. No one goes back once they have made a deal with me. Have you forgotten I saved you from a life of prostitution, maybe even death?”

She moved further away from him. She knew him well enough that when his Russian accent got thicker it meant he was becoming angry. “I know and I thank you for that but I can’t do it. Please, just let me go and find someone else. You could hire a surrogate, someone who would be more than willing to give you a child. But my conscience would eat me alive so let me go,” she begged him, tears filled her eyes. She let out a strangled gasp when he grabbed her, pinning her between himself and the wall, his eyes filled with fury.

“Now you listen to me, you are going nowhere. It is you I want to give birth to my son so we can do this the hard way or the easy way.”

How she found the courage to speak was a mystery to her. “So are you saying you’re going to force yourself on me until I get pregnant? Are you that much of a monster? If you want a baby so bad why don’t you fuck Bepa?”

He laughed when she mentioned her. “Bepa, have you gone mad?”

“I’ve seen the way she looks at you. She’s in love with you and that’s probably why she hates me, she’s jealous you brought me here.”

“You are talking nonsense, she is older than me and has been with me for years. Besides, it’s you I want to fuck. You are so beautiful, skin so soft and you have a tight cunt.” He released her and stepped back when she slapped him across the face.

She backed away, covering her mouth in horror when she realized what she had done. She was so close to the edge of the balcony and wondered if he was going to throw her over it. Looking over her shoulder she saw what a long drop it was, knowing the fall would kill her. He stood staring at her, his eyes turning dark as he rubbed his cheek. Not once in his whole life had anyone ever slapped him. “Go inside and get into bed and wait for me.” He was not used to anyone talking back to him while looking him straight in the eyes. No one dared to do that and lived to tell about it. But he could not and would not hurt her. He also would not force himself on her. He may be a lot of things but a rapist wasn’t one of them. He touched his cheek, he actually liked her bravery and spunk and would give her time before climbing on top of her. It wouldn’t take much to get her in the mood, that he found out right away. He waited until he had his temper under control before going inside, removing his clothes and getting into bed. He could tell she was still awake by the way she was breathing. She was probably waiting for him to screw her but he wasn’t going to. He was going to make her wait, to sweat and worry about when he would pounce on her. Rolling onto his side, facing away from her he mumbled good night and closed his eyes.

She was expecting him to try and make love to her but instead, he rolled over onto his side and went to sleep. She was relieved, thinking that maybe he might be thinking of letting her go. It wasn’t long before she too was asleep. It was morning and she was still in a deep sleep and thought she was dreaming when she felt his mouth over her pussy, his tongue sucking and licking her bud and she started moaning. She realized it wasn’t a dream and opening her eyes she saw his head between her legs. Closing her eyes her fingers gripped the bedsheets, his tongue went in deep, lapping up her juices when she orgasmed. Her body went limp, the feel of his cock rubbed against her as he moved up. His lips crashed down hard on her as he spread her legs wider and entered her with one very hard thrust, making her scream out his name. His hips rotated, moving inside her like a crazed animal, going faster. Her arms wrapped around his body, her legs wrapping tightly around his waist as he pounded into her, hard and fast. It felt as though her eyes rolled to the back of her head, his grunts and moans added to her pleasure. She felt him releasing inside her, mixed with the juices from her orgasm.

He pulled out, staying on top of her he looked down at her face that was sweaty and flushed. “I enjoyed the taste of you, and you were so wet for me. I think you and I should go away for a couple of weeks. Would you like that?”

“Where would we go?” she asked, getting wet again from just the feel of him on top of her. She couldn’t help it. His body was so muscular, so toned and he smelled amazing. Even though he was her first she just knew that no other man would or could have this effect on her.

“I own an island far from here, no one else can get to it.”

“Will Bepa be going with us?”

“No, it will just be you and me. I will have my plane take us this afternoon. You will like it there, it’s private and we can go swimming and just relax.” He gave her a kiss before jumping out of bed and pulled on a pair of pants. “I’ll have Bepa pack our luggage.”

She watched as he went into the bathroom and heard the shower running. She would wait until he was done before taking one herself. She laid back, her body was still tingling from their lovemaking. When she heard him coming back into the room she closed her eyes and pretended to be asleep until he left. Then getting up she went and took her shower. After taking a long shower she dried off, wrapped a towel around her and went back into the bedroom to pick out some clothes to wear. She found Bepa there, filling a couple of suitcases.