There is NO escape from this.”
“Oh my God. I am so pissed off!” Virginia practically roared in her office. The audacity of someone resorting to blackmail in a situation like this. Blackmail was one of the lowest things that anybody could do to another person. This person didn’t care what happened either way, they just wanted their money and to have Dmitri leave.
“I know right? They typed ‘build on lies’ instead of ‘built’. Whoever wrote this is an idiot.”
“Nancy, don’t joke,” Virginia groaned. Nancy snickered a bit but apologized.
$250,000 was nothing to someone like Virginia, but there was no way she would give in and pay off somebody to keep silent. She was worried that people would find out she married someone she barely knew, but it would be worse on her conscience if she gave into the demands of someone who could so easily blackmail her.
Nancy’s expression suddenly turned serious. She scowled at the computer screen and then looked at Virginia.
“You know what we have to do right?”
Chapter 8
“What do we have to do?” Virginia was curious.
“We need to find out whoever did this and destroy them,” she growled. “No one messes with my best friend, and then drag me into it. Like why send me something too?”
“Because whoever it was wanted to prove to me that they could get access to the people in my life. The person knows who’s close to me. I’m sure if I had even remotely given anything away about Dmitri then they would have found a way to send him one of these things too.”
“How are you so sure that they haven’t?” Nancy pointed out.
“You could be right. I don’t want to call him or worry him though. I don’t know who to trust or who it could be,” Virginia tried not to let her worry or rage consume her. She needed to find out who it was and what else they knew about her.
“You should tell them that the money is ready. Lure them out of their hiding spot and then get the cops on them.”
“I’m a black woman in New York City, and you want me to trust our cops?” Virginia shot Nancy a look. She was trying to make light of the situation, but there was a bit of truth in her words.
“No cops Nancy. We just have to find out who’s behind this and see what we can do about it to shut them up.”
*****
Virginia was having dinner with Dmitri. He cooked while she was at work and they were on the opposite ends of the dining table. This whole fiasco with the paparazzi made Virginia pull away again. She was more committed, but she was worried than any step they took could be monitored. She didn’t know how to move forward from this until the person responsible had been found out.
“Is there something on your mind?” Dmitri asked. Virginia was poking her food and barely eating. She had all sorts of thoughts running through her mind.
“Work,” she said solemnly. “And other things.”
“I’m here for you if there’s anything that you’d like to talk about,” Dmitri said patiently. “It helps if you’d let me in. I want to be here for you not just with you.”
“I know you do,” she sighed. “It’s just. I’m so swamped, and what’s going on with the media. I hate that I keep you locked away like this.”
“Well it’s not a dungeon,” Dmitri laughed at how dramatic Virginia was being. “I get that you want to keep me out of sight until this has been sorted. It gives me time to paint and focus on my work.”
“Paint. Oh Dmitri that reminds me! One of my clients wants to take a look at some of your work. She has a gallery opening. If she loves what you’ve done then she says she can give you the venue for a whole month.”
“Oh…you told someone about me?” his voice was curious, but Virginia couldn’t tell if he was happy about it or skeptical.
“One of my clients asked me what it was that you did. Can you believe some people think you’re a spy?”
“Who says I’m not,” Dmitri’s expression turned very serious. That made Virginia’s eyes widen, and Dmitri couldn’t help but crack a smile. “I wouldn’t know the first thing about being a spy.”
“You’ve got the wearing black down pat,” Virginia finally put a whole forkful of food in her mouth. Dmitri was an excellent cook. She took a few more bites while she laughed. She loved these few moments of love and laughter with Dmitri. It almost made her forget that she was nervous about the whole situation.
“Black is my color. Makes people think they shouldn’t mess with me. It also works with the ‘pained artist’ look that I’m going for.”
Dmitri making her laugh put her mind at ease for a bit. He made her laugh as much as Nancy did.
“Anyway, my client Marketa Versace wants to see your work. She got excited when I told her you were a brilliant artist.”
Virginia got up from her chair and moved closer to Dmitri. She sat in the seat next to him and they continued eating.
“Well I would be honored for her to see my work. Thank you moy milyy,” Dmitri kissed Virginia on the cheek.
“Do you mind if I ask you a personal question?” Dmitri said. Even though she was sure that it wasn’t going to be that personal, Virginia still appreciated that he asked her. She nodded.
“Why do you live in such a cozy apartment? Most billionaires like to have huge houses with a million rooms that they’re not using.”
“You know? No one’s ever asked me that,” Virginia started. “I guess it’s because of my mother. She was so hell bent on me and my siblings becoming rich that when it happened she expected us to therefore act accordingly. She wanted the big house and cars and for everyone to know that she was my mother. I wasn’t about that. I just wanted to take over the world with my designs.”
“Something that you have no doubt already accomplished before your 30th birthday,” Dmitri said with a smile.
“After a few years of arguing, pestering, and not so subtly asking to be remunerated for birthing me…I cut off my mother. I barely see Troy or Maralynn. I try to see Jade a few times a year. I was going to ask her to do a jewelry collection with me. It’s hard feeling like the people around you want you around them for their benefit, and not just because they want to be around you.”
“Is that why sometimes you’re unsure of us?”
“That’s more than one personal question,” Virginia said jokingly. She was pained having to think about it, but maybe it was a good time to talk about it. She wasn’t too good with expressing her emotional side to someone as informal as a therapist. Who better to tell than her husband?
“Fair enough. I don’t want to change your mind. I want you to open up and figure out your path. And I want to be there through it, if you’d let me. Whatever wall or news report, we will climb over it and meet each other on the other side. I want you, and I want you to want me because we like to be around each other.”
Dmitri had completely calmed Virginia’s nerves, even after bringing up a touchy subject like her family. She almost forgot that there was somebody around that was looking to sabotage them.
Almost.
*****
“I found out who it is!” Nancy said the next morning. She met Virginia in the lobby at work. There were racks full of clothes coming in and out of the building. They were getting ready for Metamorphosis.
“Really? Who? How did you find out?” Virginia’s words poured out of her.
“It’s Julian. That bastard!” Nancy hissed in a hushed voice.
“What?”
“Think about it. You humiliated him, got someone new, didn’t even answer his calls. His career is tanking and he was always a little opportunistic asshole if you ask me.”
“Gee thanks.”
“What can I say, you didn’t really know how to pick ‘em until Dmitri came and actually swept you off of your feet.”
Virginia thought it over for a minute. It was possible that it could have been Julian.
“But…”
“And Julian would have access to both of our personal emails. Yo
u spent enough time with him for him to know that. To double check, I hired a hacker named Lance to check out the IP address of the person who sent the email.”
“But even if it is Julian, what are we going to do to stop him?”
“Julian doesn’t have anything on you.”
“He knows the truth about Dmitri,” Virginia pointed out. She didn’t know how he could have had access to information like that and get someone to take their photos.
“Hell hath no fury like a model scorned. I dunno. He probably only knows that you’re both married and it’s too soon. The fact that Dmitri is Russian could have just made wheels turn in his head. It’s just to scare you into giving him what he wants,” Nancy spoke fast, but Virginia caught every word. She had no idea how to thank her. Even if it wasn’t Julian, she felt more at ease knowing that something could be done about this. She just wanted the lies and rumors surrounding her and Dmitri to stop.
“I’m not even gonna wait for that hacker guy to find anything. I’m gonna call Julian the second I get upstairs,” Virginia was letting the anger get the better of her, but she wanted to approach this rationally and calmly.
Virginia stepped into her office and headed straight for the phone.
“Hello Julian? It’s Virginia.”
“I’ve been trying to reach you. We need to talk.”
“Oh we most certainly do,” Virginia had put the call on speaker phone. She was sure that Nancy had something to say.
“You ruined my career V.”
“What career? And it’s about to get a lot worse for you you son of a-“ Nancy started but Virginia cut her off with a wave of her hand.
“Who was that?”
“That was Nancy. Julian, we know it was you.”
“What was me? I have no idea what you’re talking about.”
“The email? You’re actually going to lie to me about this Julian?” Virginia could feel her temper bubbling up, but she kept herself in check.
“If it has anything to do with that mail order husband of yours, then leave me out of it.”
That was when Virginia knew. No one else had referred to Dmitri as a mail order husband except the creep from the emails and Julian now. His voice had turned nasty.
“You’re full of shit, and you have nothing on me,” Virginia spat.
“I know that he came mighty quick after you dumped me. Did you leave me for him?”
“Dude! Get the fuck over yourself! You guys weren’t even serious!” Nancy wailed. She threw her hands up in the air and started pacing around the office.
“The world deserves to know the truth, V.”
“And you deserve your teeth knocked out…”
Virginia had to wave her hand at Nancy again.
“Just know you’re not getting a cent from me Julian.”
“What’s 250k to a spoiled rich bitch like you?” Julian said coolly.
“Nothing, but I know that it’ll mean a whole lot to you. You have no leverage. I’m clean. And you’re gonna have to earn your money just like I did. Good luck with your career…”
“Even though after this I’m sure you won’t even get a job driving cabs,” Nancy growled.
Virginia ignored Nancy’s angry outbursts and put her hand on the phone. “You think you have something on me? Bring it.” She hung up the phone without waiting to hear whatever it was that Julian could respond with. The battle wasn’t over, but she felt ten times more at ease than she did a day ago.
“Nancy?”
Nancy’s breathing was heavy because of her anger and her pacing.
“What?”
“Please…remind me to give you a raise.”
*****
“Tonight on Access Hollywood! Virginia Maxwell’s jaded lover caught trying to blackmail her. Julian Walker, the designer’s jilted ex tried to coerce Virginia into coughing up a hefty sum of money in order to keep secrets about her new husband under wraps. Virginia’s spokesperson claims that there are no secrets to report, just lies conjured up by a bitter ex who wanted revenge.” Billy Bush spoke into the camera.
“And tonight is the grand opening of socialite Marketa Versace’s new gallery. The event is invite only, but Access Hollywood will have an exclusive on all the stars including Marketa’s personal designer Virginia herself and her husband Dmitri Ivanov. The gallery opening will actually be featuring Mrs. Maxwell-Ivanov’s husband’s work. Gosh that was a tongue twister to say, haha. But that’s right, Virginia’s half Australian and half Russian renaissance painter husband already has some much sought after pieces, including a signature portrait of none other than his beautiful new wife Virginia,” Liz said.
“The two were seen walking around Manhattan and going shopping earlier this week. They looked very adorable and very much in love in matching denim outfits and polo shirts. We wish them all the best. That’s it for Access Hollywood folks, I’m Billy Bush.”
“And I’m Liz Hernandez. Good night.”
*****
“Did you enjoy your night Mrs. Maxwell-Ivanov?” Dmitri held his wife as they danced to soft jazz playing throughout the apartment. He dipped her and ran his fingers from her neck to her chest and in between her perfect breasts.
“Not as much as I’m sure you did. Everyone loved you. I think Marketa wants to steal you away from me.”
“Ah, she was lovely. But I can’t be stolen. Someone else has already taken my heart for safe keeping.”
“I hope whoever it was is doing a good job.”
“A wonderful job. The most beautiful woman my heart has come across,” Dmitri whispered into Virginia’s ear. He spun her around slowly and brought her back over to him. He danced and brought his face closer to hers for a warm kiss. The hand that was around her waist brought her in closer. One of her favorite things was feeling his body so closely pressed up against her own.
Virginia was in a form fitting dark blue dress. There was a slit on either side of her pelvic bone so everyone could see her long beautiful legs as she glided and walked.
They had left early. Something told them to spend the rest of the evening enjoying each other’s company.
“What would you like to do now, moy milyy?”
“Right now?” she brought her face closer to his ear so that she could whisper seductively into it. “Right now I’d like to make love to my husband.”
“That sounds like a lovely way to spend an evening,” he whispered back to her. He kissed her lightly on her earlobe, creating goosebumps on the nape of her neck. He kissed right below her ear. The kisses were so light at first, and then they became more passionate as he kissed and sucked on her flesh.
Virginia tilted her head back to make room for his bites and kisses. He held her gently, but kept her close. She held the collar of his jacket and moved her hands underneath so that she could feel his broad shoulders. She slid her hands behind him to help him take off the jacket.
Overcome with passion, Virginia yanked so hard at the bowtie around his neck that it tore off. His lips found hers again. He was hungry and wild, and she was begging to be ravaged. They had not made love as often as either of them had wanted, but now they were definitely going to change that.
Dmitri squeezed Virginia’s ass and used his strength to pick her up by her legs. He spread them and wrapped them around his body. Virginia’s hands were running through Dmitri’s hair and she made soft purring noises into his ear when he bit down on her neck again.
He took her to the kitchen and placed her on the island. She kept her legs spread for him. She moved the front of her dress aside and started to play with the wet spot on her panties. She was so turned on by him that she couldn’t help getting moist whenever he kissed her passionately enough.
Dmitri grabbed a hold of her waist and tugged at the sides of the thong she was wearing. She raised her hips so that he could take it off of her. She spread her legs again, revealing her plump clit and her sweet pink hole. He smiled and grunted, undoing his belt. Virginia could see the imprint of his har
d form inside of his pants.
He raised one of her legs and kissed her ankle. He used his right hand and started to play with her clit. He lowered his fingers and felt the wetness of her pussy. Her clit jumped and tingled, begging to be touched. Dmitri kissed all down her leg until he was at her inner thigh. He slid a long finger inside her.
Virginia breathed and sighed at the familiar feeling of Dmitri being inside her. His thumb was rubbing against her hardened nub and he kept a slow rhythm. He loved feeling her juices on him, and he slid another finger in. His kisses moved from her inner thigh to her pubic region. The tip of his soft tongue now flicked against her clit. He continued to finger her as he buried his face in between her legs.
“Ohhh Dmitri,” Virginia whimpered. She watched, and the sight of him turned her on all the more. Her pussy pulsated and tightened around his fingers. His fingers curved upward and moved inside her as if he was beckoning the orgasm inside her to come out and make itself known. His movements continued to be slow, but his tongue was not, beginning to move more and more rapidly.
Virginia was in so much ecstasy that she leaned back on her hands. She could do nothing but watch and feel. She moved her hips to match the pace of the way he fingered her, loving every sensation of the touch of him.
Dmitri placed his lips around her clit and flicked his tongue from side to side. The sensation caused Virginia to cry out and gasp for air. He could feel her getting closer and closer. He moved his tongue even faster, tasting her sweet pussy and fingering her deeper and harder. Her juices continued to leak out of her and down his long fingers.
“Fuck!” Virginia cried. “Oh my God…Yesssss!”
Virginia put her hand on the back of his head as her legs started to shake around him. She felt so good she almost couldn’t take it anymore. Waves of pleasure crashed on her lower body. He was going to make her cum.
Virginia didn’t know what to do. There was nothing that she could do to prepare her for the orgasm she felt. Her eyes rolled all the way into the back of her head as she let out a final scream. Her body shook and undulated, her orgasm taking her higher and higher than she had ever been before. She felt like she would never stop cumming. She continued to scream and Dmitri did not cease the flicking of his tongue or the thrusting of his fingers until he was sure she was finished with her orgasm.
Take My Hand: BWWM Romance Page 24
