by Jaden Wilkes
Columbia was lightness, airiness, the warmth of sun on his skin. Since she entered his life, such a short time ago, her light was bleeding through those cracks, exposing his darkest fears. The funny thing was that once the light hit them and exposed them in her beautiful radiance, they seemed smaller. His fears and anxieties thrived in dark places, as Columbia slowly opened these places up, they dissipated like so much smoke on a windy day.
It was all happening so fast, he supposed too fast some might say, but when you feel it, you know it, and you can’t help but allow yourself to be dragged along by events that are larger than yourself. And love is the largest thing of all.
He pulled away from her slowly and let her fall back onto the pillow, her dark hair fanning around her head, her pale skin decorated with her scars, perfect and beautiful. He needed to contact the concierge about her papers, so he pulled the comforter up to her chin and went down the hall to the office. At the door he turned and took one last look at her, snug in his bed, his space...their space. He shook his head and marveled for the hundredth time that day at how quickly life threw things at you. Sometimes, in the event of Sergei’s attack, it was a punch to the face. Sometimes, like now, it was a gift, something you didn’t know you wanted until she landed on your lap, climbing out of a food cart in the middle of your life.
*****
He waited until the concierge appeared on screen before revealing the need for this call. He didn’t want to risk giving him information about Columbia via text; he was terrified at the thought of Sergei’s men finding out about her. He knew that would immediately put a target on her head and he would have to constantly wonder if they would harm her to get to him.
“Good-” the concierge paused and look at his watch, “evening?” he said when he appeared, bleary eyed, on the monitor.
“I am sorry to disturb your sleep, friend, but this is of the utmost urgency,” Dimitri told him.
The concierge widened his eyes and said, “Are you ok? Did they come for you?”
Dimitri smiled and said, “Not at all, but plans have changed. We now need passage for another member of our household, a girl.”
The concierge did not change his expression, but rubbed his eyes and narrowed them. “A girl? Did I hear you right?”
“Yes, I cannot get into details, but arrange it please.”
“You mean a child? Or...a woman?”
“Well, if you want to get specific, a woman. Get everything lined up and we can send her photograph and details when you arrive.”
“But these things take time, and we were moving just days after I return. And you know I will be there on Friday, that’s just two days from now,” the concierge protested.
“Just do it, my friend. I will explain it all when you arrive.”
“Yes, Sir. I will do as you ask. But I don’t like it. I don’t like you throwing a wrench into the workings at the last minute.”
“You have no idea how accurate that description is,” Dimitri said and laughed. The concierge looked confused, Dimitri knew it had been a long while since he saw his boss happy; it must look like madness from overseas. “Just make the calls, all will become clear and I will see you soon,” he said and wrapped it up. He smiled to himself after the concierge went offline, he could only imagine the storm brewing in his friend’s mind. This was a side of Dimitri that had never been seen, a man in love.
He padded down the hallway to his room, everything looked different to him somehow, brighter, as though his vision had been clarified. He slid into bed next to her warm body and allowed himself the indulgence of an afternoon nap with his lover, his love.
Chapter Twenty – Columbia
She woke with a start, unaware of her surroundings. In her dream she had felt her father’s weight on the mattress, pushing it down as he crept up her bed like a stealthy predator. She knew, in her dream, what would follow. He would wrap his hand over her mouth so she couldn’t scream or breath, and shove himself inside her, dry and fast, pain radiating from her cunny, as he called it. She whimpered in the darkened room, unsure of the time or circumstances that brought her here.
“Shhhhh, little dove, it’s ok, I’ve got you,” Dimitri whispered in the dark and pulled her close to his body. The moment she felt his strong arms around her and ran her hands over his broad chest, she knew the terror had passed. She was safe here in his arms.
“I was having a nightmare,” she said and wiggled close to him, “about my father.”
He ran his hand over her back and stroked her hair, “It’s ok, I’m with you now. Nobody will ever hurt you again,” he replied, his voice thick with sleep.
“What time is it? It’s so dark, did we sleep that late?” she asked him.
He stirred beside her and pushed himself up on an elbow. “I don’t think so,” he replied and reached for something on the bedside table. He held his arm out and the windows changed, they became clear.
“Oh my god, how did you do that?” she said and sat up. The sun was setting and the evening shadows from the North Shore Mountains stretched long into the water.
“Technology,” he replied and sat up next to her. He handed her a small remote and said, “Push that button, the windows go dark, push that button, they go clear. That’s as much as I know. But if it impresses you, then let’s say I invented this amazing magic, I am a magician.”
She played with the buttons a few times, then handed the remote back to him and told him. “Naw, I don’t need fancy technology to be impressed.” She reached down and grabbed his cock, making him grin at her bold move. “You’ve got everything I need right here.”
They fell back onto the bed and she climbed atop him, rode him awake and reinforced the creeping feeling in the back of her mind that she was helplessly, undeniably meant to be with this man for the rest of her life.
She curled back up in the safe circle of his arms when they had both reached their finish. She laughed to herself at how much her world had changed and he asked her, “What’s funny, little dove?”
Once again her heart melted when he said those words, and she grew serious at her next thought. “I am thinking about how much life can change in the blink of an eye,” she said, “I mean, three days ago I was hell bent on self destruction, living on the narrow edge between life and death, and agreeing to this stupid plan just to impress a guy I thought I liked.”
He stiffened and was quiet, finally saying, “Who is he?”
She laughed again and replied, “Nobody for you to be concerned with, Dimi, he’s just a boy.”
“What about other lovers?” he asked, pausing for the answer.
“I’ve had no other lovers,” she said and her face went dark. She didn’t consider her father a lover, and nobody else had been worth the risk of exposing her scarred body to.
“You have obviously been with somebody,” he prodded gently.
“I told you about that, my father, that was the only person and I would hardly call him a lover,” she spat.
“I am so sorry,” he said and pulled her face to his for a kiss, “I am such a jealous ass that I couldn’t see how much this conversation hurt you.” He kissed her deeply; she could feel his apology on his lips. She loved how possessive he was in fact; it made her feel secure. She knew, logically, that this didn’t make sense, that he was probably a controlling psycho, but it felt a lot safer than anywhere else she’d ever been. He pulled away and looked at her, a fire in his eyes, and said, “Do you want me to kill him for you?”
She thought about it. Really thought about it, really wanted it, but had to say, “No, I couldn't do that to my mother. She needs him, as crazy as it seems, I don’t know what they’d do without his income.”
“You know that’s not a problem,” he told her. “I could have him taken care of and send them more money than they’d ever need.”
“I will think about it,” she said. “But give me some time, this is all such a brand new idea that I don’t know how to process it.”
“I�
��ll give you all the time in the world, you just say the word and it’s done,” he reassured her and pulled her close.
She felt her stomach growl and wiggled away to look at the clock on the wall. It was almost eight in the evening and she knew, from experience, that the kitchen staff would be gone. Had it only been a day? It had been, just a day since she thought she was going to die, then found herself revived and renewed by the most unlikely of men.
She sighed and pushed herself up. “I’m starving, can we get something to eat this late?” she asked.
“We can get anything we want at any time. You will never want for anything when you’re with me,” he said and noticed her frown. “Except your freedom, I know this hurts you now but you will eventually regain it, I promise. At this time I need to keep you close, for your own safety.”
“What safety? You know I would never leave you, but what are you concerned about?” she asked.
“I am one of the most hunted men in the world, one of the most dangerous and powerful men in the world failed in his attempt to destroy me. Since then I have defied him with my very existence and enraged him with my continued financial success. I am a smarter man than he, and he knows it.”
She took this information in and shook her head. She said, “This is all so crazy anyways, all of it, why not add ‘Internationally Wanted Criminal’ to the top of the list?”
“I was a criminal, little dove, I did terrible things for reasons you might never understand. I do not apologize about my past, but I do apologize that I am now bringing you into this dangerous world,” he said and pursed his lips. “For that I am sorry, if anything were to ever happen to you…”
“I am tougher than you think,” she replied, “and besides, they don’t know a thing about me, right?”
“Not yet,” he agreed, “but they will. Sometimes it feels like Sergei’s people are one step ahead of me. As though they only gave me the illusion of anonymity in Vancouver to extend the hunt, to make it sweeter for him to kill me. I know this is not the case, but in this life, you can never be too careful.”
“I suppose everything happens for a reason,” she said, rubbing his arm to calm him down. “I mean look at me, I have had such a fucked up, terrible life but in a weird way it prepared me for you.”
He looked at her, startled, and asked, “In what way?”
“I have been living in fear for over a decade, fear for my life, fear for my sister’s life. I’ve been essentially held captive by my father. It does strange things to a person, to lose personal freedom.”
He nodded his agreement and indicated for her to go on.
She thought about how she wanted to phrase the next part and said, “So in a way, I was ripe for the picking. I mean, you captured me and I fought a little, but not that hard. I know this might be, you know what they call it, Stockholm Syndrome? But it feels so real that I would argue with anyone who might deem it such.”
“I suppose,” he agreed with some reluctance. “But I would argue that sometimes two people are just meant to be together, their souls align perfectly.”
“I believe that is part of it,” she said, “But even our sex...I mean…” she trailed off and looked down, embarrassed to go on.
“You can tell me,” he coaxed her, “tell me anything.”
“I like it, I like it when you grab my neck and I like the pain. But I don’t think that’s normal, I don’t think I’m normal,” she told him and felt tears welling up in her eyes. “Every time I think about you fucking me and holding me down, I get so wet, I want it so bad...but maybe that’s just from my past? Is that my father still controlling me?”
He took her in his arms and soothed her as she cried. She worried because she knew how much he hated tears, but this time it didn’t seem to bother him. “Don’t ever think that, you are exactly who you are because of the things that happened, but they don’t define you. There are plenty of normal people who want harder and crazier things than we’ve ever done,” he said but she felt skeptical. He went on, “Think of it this way, human desires, lust, they are a destination, you arrive at what turns you on eventually...be it wearing a latex body suit and being fucked up the ass, or laying under your husband in the dark, waiting for him to finish. Which of these is normal?”
She shook her head; she didn't know where he was going with this.
He went on, “Ok, my English isn’t perfect, so I might not be getting my point across. I love women, I want to fuck women and be with them.” She pulled back and glared at him. “Ok, I’m making this worse. What I am trying to say is that I am straight, but I have done some things in my past that would lead you to think otherwise. When I was a child, I was used...and when I left my home I was desperate for cash so I did things to survive. These do not make me any less of a man because I still want pussy...your pussy.”
“I am so sorry you went through that,” she said and ran her hand along the scarred side of his face, the skin felt bumpy under her fingers which still gave her an odd thrill from the sensation.
“I meant to say that I am normal, in spite of it,” he replied and touched the scars along her arm. “We are normal. Whatever we do here is normal. If desire is like a destination, then you are not defined by how you arrived.”
She finally understood what he was getting at. Her father no longer controlled her life, he had been involved in shaping her, but he had nothing to do with the here and now. All of her lust and desires, they came from her...and Dimitri. She lusted for him and the crazy things he did to her, how his body was perfect for her, scars and all…and how safe he made her feel. “I think I see your point,” she said and touched the scars along his rib cage. “No matter how damaged we were by our lives, we are whole when we are together. No matter how we got here, the thing that makes us normal is exactly what we decide together.”
“Exactly!” he exclaimed and kissed the top of her head. “You have summed it up in two sentences where I struggled for words. You are amazing.”
“Ok, I can agree with that, now can we go eat before you really do fuck me to death? And call it normal?” she said and laughed.
*****
They raided the kitchen, the place she had remained hidden all that time, expecting to jump out and find Jarrod Jacobs. It all looked different now, she felt drunk on the high of their mutual acceptance and admiration. It was an incredible feeling.
As he pulled items out of the oversized glass fronted fridge, she perched on a stainless steel stool near an island. She was about five feet from the door to the front of the penthouse; a sudden dash and she would have her freedom. His back was to her, he was rummaging for some kind of cheese he insisted she try, and she turned the stool to look at the door.
On the other side was her freedom. Even if there was a guard at the door, she could probably surprise him and make it past. She was wearing a lush, red bathrobe and soft slippers, but she could still find a way home. It was her city after all. Once they got to Hong Kong she would never be able to get away. She stared at the door and thought about Eden. She might still be at Kate’s house, when Columbia didn’t return for her and Kate's mother couldn’t find theirs...she might have kept her there.
Or she could be at home. Alone. With their father. The more she stared at the door, the more she worried about her little sister. The more she considered Dimitri’s offer to kill him. She would discuss it with him tomorrow, when there was a possibility of doing something about it. For now she would have to believe that Eden was at Kate’s and Columbia was allowed to enjoy the rush of new love with no feelings of guilt. Besides, some part of Columbia reasoned, she had put her own needs and safety aside for years to protect her sister. It might be time for her to live her own life.
She turned the stool back and saw Dimitri standing there, watching her, his face an unreadable mask.
“I was just-” she started to say, but how could she explain it?
“You were just thinking about running, I know,” he said. Her heart flip-flopped in fear an
d her pulse increased dramatically.
“I wasn’t going to,” she protested, her mouth suddenly dry.
“I know,” he said and smiled, “I wanted to see what you would do, given the chance to make a break. You didn’t even stand up, you’re not going anywhere.”
She exhaled and smiled back. Her heart slowed and her body calmed down. She wasn’t in danger; he knew she wanted to stay. All was right in the world again.
Chapter Twenty One – Dimitri
His heart dropped when he turned from the fridge with the Norwegian cheese, his favourite. He saw her staring at the door, and he knew she was contemplating her freedom. He quietly set the food on the island and tensed, waiting for her to make her move. He knew he could grab her before she made the door, but it would crush him if she tried.
But she didn’t, she turned back and blanched white when she caught him watching. Part of him wanted to make her squirm, fear his anger and remember this moment the next time she wanted to escape. But he couldn’t, this was Columbia and he had to reassure her immediately.
She didn’t make the attempt, which was the most important thing, the thing he focused on. She looked so relieved when he wasn't angry that he felt a pang of guilt for ever abusing her. He vowed from that moment on to only touch her roughly in times of love, for their mutual benefit, their version of normal.
“Shall we go eat before we both waste away into nothingness?” he asked her and all at once felt ungainly and vulnerable for being so relieved that she chose to stay. She grinned and nodded. He mentally gave himself a shake for being so weak and pointed to a bottle of wine he had chosen. “Why don’t you find an opener there in the drawer in front of you, and bring the bottle?”
“Of course,” she replied, found it, picked up the bottle and followed him into the dining room. Dimitri laid out the food and they dove in. He fed her little morsels of his favourite cheeses and foie gras, tidbits from here and there around the world that he had picked up a taste for in his travels.
