by Helen Bright
I rested my forehead against his and sighed. “I don’t know what to say to all that Gregor.”
“That’s because there is nothing to say, my love. Now let us speak to Mr. Yanev, and continue our journey home. Perhaps we will have time for a swim before I take you out for the evening.”
“A swim sounds nice, but I am quite tired,” I said as I dried my eyes. Maybe we could just relax by the pool?”
“As you wish, my love.”
Chapter Twenty-Four
Gregor
When we got back home, Chloe hurried upstairs to put on one of the new bikinis that Anna purchased for her. I readied the pool area by opening up the ceiling once again and had a selection of cold drinks, sandwiches, and fruit ready on the table for when she joined me. I then told my staff that we were not to be disturbed for two hours and that they should not enter the pool area until requested to do so.
As soon as Chloe entered, dressed once again in my bathrobe, I closed the doors to the pool, leaving us alone and closed off from the rest of my house.
“So, my love, are you going to show me how enticing you look in swimwear, or am I just to imagine how sexy you look in what I’m hoping is just a few scraps of material.”
“Well, you are one to talk, you are still fully dressed in what we went out in,” she said, folding her arms over her chest as she looked me up and down.
“That is easily remedied, Chloe,” I said as I took off my t-shirt and unbuckled the belt on my new jeans.
Chloe’s eyes grew wide when she realised that I was about to strip naked.
“Gregor, what if some of your staff come in. Surely you don’t let them see you naked.”
I shrugged my shoulders before pulling down my jeans and boxers at the same time. I had already removed my footwear and socks before entering this area, so I now stood completely naked before her.
“I’m keeping the bikini on,” she said as she opened the belt on the bathrobe and shrugged it off her shoulders.
Anna had done well when selecting this swimsuit. The bikini was a halter neck style, which tied at the back of the neck and each side of the panties.
Before my emerging erection got any more noticeable, I turned and dove into the pool. I quickly did a lap of the pool before coming back up for air. As I wiped my eyes, I saw Chloe descending steadily down the steps into the water. When she got to waist level, she pushed in and swam breaststroke towards me.
Before she could reach me, I swam away from her to the other side of the pool. I could see the confusion in her eyes, and I smiled a little before completing my lap.
Once again she swam towards me, and when she nearly reached my end of the pool, I pushed away from the side, as if to swim back to the other end. Only I didn’t. This time, I turned, grabbed her from behind, unhooked her bikini top and had it over her head in seconds. I threw it out of the pool and onto one of the chairs before she could stop me. She gasped and turned, but I swam away laughing.
“Oh, so it’s like that is it?” she said, treading water with her hands over her breasts.”
“It is,” I replied, still laughing.
When Chloe turned her back to hold onto the side of the pool I swam towards her and pulled the ties on both sides of her bikini bottoms. They didn’t come undone and this time, it was Chloe’s turn to laugh as she yelled, “Ha, double knotted.”
I grinned back, released my claws, and sliced through the material with ease. When I pulled them away from her and threw them onto the side of the pool, she slapped at my chest saying, “I can’t believe you just did that. They were brand new Gregor. I’ve only worn them for about twenty minutes.”
“I will buy you more, moya malen'kaya tsvetochnitsa, if you wish. But for now, just swim. Feel the water flow over your entire body as you move through it. Feel how liberating it is, just for a while.”
I swam away from her and watched as she slowly came to the realisation I had not stripped her of her clothes for a sexual purpose.
After a minute or so I saw the change in her as she started to swim steadily towards me. A few strokes more and she began to smile. Yes, my love, I thought to myself. Letting go of some of that prudish behaviour would do my flower girl so much more good than she realised.
After completing the lap to my side of the pool, she turned on her back, her whole body rising to the surface of the water before she opened her legs and kicked off into a perfect backstroke.
This time, it was her turn to laugh as I groaned at the sight. I was determined to be a gentleman, until she requested otherwise, but seeing my Chloe bared before me, was testing my control once more. I swam after her and circled her before she could reach the other end of the pool.
“What are you doing Gregor?”
“Well, I know what I would like to be doing,” I said, backing her into a corner.
“And what would that be?” She asked breathlessly.
“Dancing with you my love, what else?” I told her as I pulled her into my arms and spun us around in the water.
Chloe laughed out loud as we made our way all around, turning and swaying, chest to chest, until I lifted her high above me and kissed her lower belly.
“Gregor,” she almost whispered as she gazed down at me.
I lowered her back into the water and brought our bodies as close as they could be. She instinctively wrapped her legs around my back. Good. This was progress. But I needed more.
Chloe stared at my mouth, and I knew she expected me to kiss her. But I didn’t. I just held her body against mine and let the natural movement of the water rock us gently. My cock was hard and throbbing fiercely against the very place that would give it sweet relief, and it would have only taken a slight movement to get where it so desperately needed to be. But again, I did nothing. I left it to her.
I could sense her confusion about why I wasn’t giving in to the lust I so obviously felt, and my cock seemed to have that same confusion as it flexed against her.
I took us through the water to the side of the pool and lifted her out. I heaved myself up out of the water before walking over to the lounger where I had laid out towels for us. Wrapping one around my waist I made my way over to a waiting, bemused Chloe, and dried her thoroughly.
“I have drinks and food for us,” I told her as I picked up my bathrobe and helped her put it on. “Come, my darling let us sit and eat. All that dancing has given me quite an appetite, for something,” I winked. She blushed at my words but took my hand and let me lead her to the table.
Something I have always loved about Chloe is how easy it is just to be with her. Even though there was still strong sexual tension in the air, we were able to relax in each other’s company. She talked about the sights she had seen today, and I asked her which one was her favourite. She told me it was St Basil’s Cathedral, for its exterior architecture which she said reminded her of a mixed floral display; with different flowers of various sizes and colours that shouldn’t really go together, but looked great all the same.
She was so animated when she spoke and told me she was going to design a display with similar heights and colours, to make her smile and remind herself of her visit.
I didn’t remind her that she would be able to visit the real thing anytime she wanted because she was mine. I thought that little fact was better left unsaid, for now. What my Chloe didn’t yet realise was that the world was now her oyster, as they say. She would have unlimited financial reserves and access to a fleet of airplanes that would take her wherever she wanted to go. My little flower girl would want for nothing.
“Someone had been in my room and hung all my new clothes up. I would have done it when we got back, Gregor. We were in too much of a rush to do it earlier, but now I feel so guilty that someone thought they had to do it for me.”
“Nonsense, Chloe. My staff are here to take care of this house, and it’s residents. I pay them four times what they would be paid elsewhere, and always treat them with a great deal of respect. It ensures loyalty and lo
ngevity in their employment with me. This is all very necessary with the secrets that many of my human employees have to keep. But I would be a generous employer anyway, even if I didn’t have to safeguard my immortality.”
“I know that Gregor, I’m just not used to it. I’ve lived by myself for some time now, and you get used to not having to rely on anyone else.”
“Do you fear change, Chloe?” I asked.
“What? No, I don’t think so.”
“I think you do. But when you become mine you will become the mistress of this house, Rothley Manor, my palace in St Petersburg, and every other property that I own. You will have to get used to having staff.”
“You seem so sure that we have a future together Gregor. But…”
“Shh, no buts, Chloe. You will be mine, and I will be yours. It’s as simple as that. Whatever comes our way we will face it together. Whatever haunts us from our past can stay there or be brought out into the open. Whatever we feel is necessary to enable us to move forward and bind us together as one.
“Now let us go and get ready. I have an evening planned at the Bolshoi Theatre. We will watch the ballet, then dine at my favourite restaurant. The current ballet is Don Quixote, and I’m told it has excellent reviews.”
“Gregor, what do I wear? I’ve never been to a ballet before; I’m not sure it’s quite me.”
“You will love it, I’m sure. There is a selection of dresses and gowns suitable for this evening, in your wardrobe. Due to your height, Anna had to have most of the longer length gowns altered, and they were delivered while we were out. Choose something floor length, and wear the jewellery we picked up today. Tonight you will dazzle the whole of Moscow, moya malen'kaya tsvetochnitsa.”
Chapter Twenty-Five
Chloe
The third act of Don Quixote had just gotten underway, and I was already trying to hide my yawns. I was just so tired, and the ballet wasn’t something that was holding my attention. Of course, I was impressed with the talented dancers, scenery, and costumes; but I’m someone who likes to see a story come to life on a page, or screen, with words, not dance.
The theatre, however, did impress me. It was huge. We had a box to ourselves and from here I could see the hundreds of people below and all around us who were awestruck by the ballet, so what did that make me? I sat back in my plush red velvet seat and once again scanned my surroundings.
All around us, every bit of wall, ceiling and wooden moulding seemed beautifully carved and heavily gilded. As were most of the women in the building too. I wondered at one point how some of them could move as they seemed so weighted down with jewellery. Most of them wore their jewellery and fur as a status symbol, according to Gregor. But I thought it looked gaudy, and real fur offended, not impressed me.
I felt Gregor tug on my hand which he had held since I came down the stairs at his home, dressed in uncomfortably high heels and a beautiful deep green Vivienne Westwood gown, which I adored.
I heard him make a low growling noise deep in his throat as he saw me, but I nearly fell the last three steps when I finally saw him.
Looking at Gregor in black tie formal wear was like foreplay. This man was made for suits like this. The confident way he wore it showed me that this sort of formality was a common event in his life. I knew from our walk through this building that most of the ladies he encountered lusted after my blue-eyed vampire, and I couldn’t blame them. With the most kissable lips I had ever seen, abs that made me want to trace them with my tongue and that huge..
I felt another tug on my hand and was pulled to my feet in front of a standing Gregor.
“I can scent your arousal Chloe, and I know it's not the ballet that’s doing anything for you, as you haven’t looked at the stage in the last ten minutes. So tell me, does tiered seating turn you on, or has someone in the audience caught your eye?”
“Yeah right, as if any other man in this building could compete with you, Gregor.”
He stared at my lips as though they were the most fascinating thing on earth and I expected him to lean forward and kiss me; but he didn’t. Instead, he just smirked and tugged me towards the doorway.
Two of his guards were waiting for us out in the hallway, and tonight I had been grateful for their presence when I finally found out why Gregor needed them. As we climbed the theatre steps a gang of what I assumed to be press, started to shout at us and take photographs.
Alexei, one of the guards, shielded Gregor and me, while the other guard, Marat, pushed the photographers back. We also had a driver this evening, and he was currently waiting for us at a side exit. Gregor told me it was important that there were very few clear public photographs of him in circulation due to him never aging.
He explained the lengths he went to reinvent his identity every thirty years or so, but that he couldn’t keep passing for the younger generation of Antonov forever. I asked him whether he would ever retire, but he said he could never fully do that, as that would make it a very long life of doing nothing.
I popped into the bathroom as Gregor and his guards discussed our exit plan. Even the toilet stalls were beautifully decorated, and I felt that I had stepped into another world tonight. I knew that Gregor wanted to take me to one of his favourite restaurants, but all I wanted to do was get back to his home and take off my shoes.
Gregor took my arm as I emerged from the bathroom and we made our way down a grand hallway towards a door with a sign that I assumed meant Exit, in Russian. Just before we got there, a stocky, grey haired, older gentleman with his arm around a much younger, taller woman, stepped out in front of us.
“Good evening Gregor, there is yet another act to go, and yet you seem to be leaving. Is your young female not enjoying the ballet?”
“Semyon, you are speaking to me in English, which I assume is for the benefit of the woman on my arm. Tell me, how did you know she was English? Do you have your spies following us?”
Semyon tutted loudly. “Gregor, you wound me. I just happened to hear her beautiful voice as you entered the building earlier. Tell me, is she the reason you have been keeping away from your club? I haven’t seen you there in months. I must say you have left many subs disappointed in your absence.”
Gregor tensed beside me, and I felt his anger roll off him in waves.
“What is it to you, Semyon? Have you missed me, is that it?”
Semyon laughed but looked equally as angry for the moment.
“I just wanted to let you know that my offer is still on the table. I will purchase your club, as it stands, with the full member list and I will not haggle on the price. You know I am good for any amount you ask.”
“Why?” Asked Gregor. “You are a member and have been for many years. You are familiar with everyone who attends. Why do you need to own it?”
“There is nothing untoward in my need for this property, I assure you. However, as you say, I have regularly been attending for many years. Centuries even. I feel I should have the first refusal when it comes to the sale.”
“I have not yet made any decision regarding my club. But every member will be notified in due course if I decide to sell. Now, please excuse us Semyon,” he nodded to the woman, “Ophelia.”
Gregor placed his hand on my back and ushered me hastily out of the exit door and down a long staircase. We reached another door which opened up to reveal our waiting car.
As we pulled out of the side street, I turned to look at Gregor; his face was like stone.
“Can we just go back to your house tonight?” I asked. “I’m really tired, and my feet are killing me.”
“You must be hungry, Chloe. The restaurant is not very far away, and you would see all the sights around Red Square lit up against the night sky.”
“I really would like to head home and just grab a slice of toast or something. It’s way too late to eat out anyway.” I told him as I slid my shoes off and sighed.
“Very well,” Gregor said grumpily. He then tapped the glass partition on the huge limo
usine and uttered a few words in Russian when it opened. He then unbuckled my seatbelt before bending down and grabbing both my feet. I spun slightly so that my feet were now resting on his lap and I was facing him instead of just sitting beside him. His gaze never left mine as he started to massage my feet, his fingers finding the points that ached the most with relative ease.
“You're good at this,” I told him. “Did you do this for women in your club.”
He stopped massaging for a moment, then began again.
“I do this for Freya whenever we attend a function together. She will always take off her shoes as soon as we leave, often while we are there, too. She much prefers flat shoes, as do many women, but formal situations dictate you wear heels. And no, I have never massaged a woman's feet in my club, unless they were bound by them.”
There was an awkward silence for a moment until Gregor asked, “Do you have any more questions about my club?”
“Not right now,” I told him.
I did have a question, but I wanted to wait until tomorrow. Tonight I wanted to talk to Gregor about my past. I wanted to see what his reaction would be, and how he would look at me afterwards. If it was with pity, or as a victim needing protection from real life, because he thought I couldn’t handle certain situations, then I knew we wouldn't have a future together. Because I couldn’t live like that. Despite the love and obvious sexual attraction we had.
We were both quiet the rest of the way back. Maybe it was an awkward quiet at first, but after I had made a joke in his kitchen about me standing there buttering toast while wearing a Vivienne Westwood gown, the quiet was replaced by a laugh and idle chatter.
