“Budem!” everyone replied at once, toasting Royal and her staff.
Instantly, the music began again and the ginger chatter resumed. Royal was happy in that fact. Now all eyes were not on her, but she could still feel a few burning through her back. She turned slightly to observe. Around them sat several men that she had never met before but who were most definitely Russian and wealthy. All of them were adorned in expensive suits, shoes and polished accessories. With them were women of the finest breed – beautiful, exotic beneficiaries of fine living.
Near the end of the table were Renée and Cory eating and laughing, both enjoying each other’s company and their new found success. Royal observed everyone while she sipped on her wine, feeling a small buzz as she neared the bottom of the glass. She smiled to herself feeling more apart of something than she had ever felt before. Suddenly, a warm hand crept across hers, and she looked over to find Dmitry. His bright eyes were fixed on her.
“Are you alright?” he asked, concerned.
“I’m wonderful,” she said, holding back tears. She clinched his hand tightly. “Thanks for all of this. It’s beautiful. I’ve never had anything like this done for me before.” Her voice was nearly a whisper.
“Get used to it.” He waved over the waiter for more wine. He could see her wide brown eyes start to relax. Her long lashes flopped lazily and the tension had started to come out of her erect posture.
“You feel relaxed yet?” He ran his large hand over her shoulder and massaged her back.
“Umm, yes,” she said empting her glass. She wiped her lips gently with her finger tips. The wine perfumed her breath and hazed her thoughts.
Dmitry watched her, still smitten by her small perfect movements. He looked away for a moment and smiled to himself.
Royal looked over and caught his smirk. She raised her brow and set down her glass. Used to his idiosyncrasies, she knew sex was on his mind.
“Can you manage to keep that mind of yours out of the gutter, Dmitry?” she asked slurring her words a little but still in control of her thoughts.
“You’ve now gone from shop girl to mind reader?” Dmitry laid his long arm around her chair and her exposed back like a boa constrictor and let his thumb rub against the bare skin of her back.
“It doesn’t take much to read your mind.” His move-ments aroused her.
“If that were true, I’d be out of business.” He smirked again showing his long dimples.
“It’s not that. I’ve just had more time to know how to read you.”
She met his eyes and swallowed hard as he leaned in.
“What am I thinking right now? Tell me exactly. Each and every word.”
“You’re thinking you want to give me a raise,” she said smiling.
He grinned. Her humor continuously renewed him. “You have proven yourself to be quite the remarkable woman,” he said softly. “I have watched you transform from this diamond in the rough to…Hope diamond. Irreplaceable. Irresistible. Irritating.” He smiled.
She laughed.
“Jeez, don’t set the bar so high,” she whispered.
The band played in the background, hand organs bel-lowing out beautiful Russian music. He smiled. “Dance with me?” he asked, urging her from her seat. His hand caressed her back.
“Alright.” Royal stood, placed her napkin in the chair and followed Dmitry to the quaint, candlelit dance floor. Again she could feel the many eyes burning through her. They all watched her like spectacle she was. It would have driven her crazy if Dmitry had not continued to steal her thoughts.
He turned to her and bowed gracefully.
“May I have this dance and every other there after?” He winked at her.
“Yes, but I have to warn you, I tend to lead.”
“So you’ve danced with many seven foot men, huh?”
“A couple,” she grinned. “Okay. You’re the first, but don’t let it go to your head.”
“Too late,” he hummed. “If I was foolish enough to omit observation earlier…you look absolutely beautiful tonight.”
“Thank you.” Royal smiled. “You do too.”
Dmitry looked regal in his black tailored suit, cut for his large lion frame. As normal, there was nothing out of place. His hair was just the right shade of blonde, his tan just the right shade of bronze, his eyes just the right shade of blue and his lips just the right shade of pink. Even more was his intoxicating cologne – a signaturefragrance that she had never smelled before meeting him, but could not forget.
He dipped his head to greet her, ever so gentle and re-fined in all of his movements. As he took her small manicured hand in his own, he pulled her close into his towering body. She slipped her hand in between the tailored shirt and satin on the inside of his jacket; gripping his marble body and feeling the heat come from under his clothes. Their bodies fused together.
Seeing Dmitry swaying softly, the band instantly stopped their upbeat tune and started a more romantic melody. The violins harmonized, tickling her ears with delicious sounds. She smiled at him as he looked down at her.
“What are you thinking now, Royal?” he asked as they swayed.
“They don’t sound nearly as good as you do, when you play.”
Dmitry grinned.
Softly, she laid her head against his body and felt his arm tighten around her waist. The guests looked on as the two danced, somehow moving with every step further into their own world, where no one else existed. Her eyes closed as she danced dizzily with the harmony of the music. He nearly hid her from the others with his massive frame. She felt safe in his embrace, protected by his presence.
The other guests soon began to move to the dance floor as well, partnering up to join in the beautiful moment. Without words, the room spoke in volumes. There was love in the air, contagious, crazy love-even if it was just for as long as the band played.
“I don’t ever want this moment to end,” Royal finally said, unsure of how Dmitry would react.
“Umm….me either, shop girl,” Dmitry hummed, hold-ing her tighter.
Minutes later, Anatoly appeared from the back room, dressed in his normal dark boot cut jeans, black boots and a black t-shirt. Obviously, he had not been invited or not accepted an invitation to the event. His hooded, brooding eyes were menacing and his walk forceful, each pace gaining momentum. Dmitry saw him from a far and stopped dancing. Royal looked over, sensing urgency as Anatoly approached. Her heart sank.
Not now, she thought.
“Excuse me for just a moment,” Dmitry said, walking away, giving her no time to respond. She stood on the dance floor alone as the others danced. The mood changed quickly. Like a king at court, all eyes followed him as he left the floor, but it was Royal who truly felt like the jester.
Anatoly spoke to Dmitry under a calm but urgent voice, gesturing something violent with his hands. Dmitry looked towards the front window and then back at the men on the floor and at the table. They all stopped talking and dancing and migrated collectively from their dates to circle around Dmitry and Anatoly.
Dmitry said something to them, then they quickly dis-persed out of the front door without bothering to inform their guests of their departure, then he walked back over to Royal, who stood clueless.
“I’m so sorry, Royal. It appears that I must excuse my-self for just a while,” he said, escorting her back to the table. His hand caressed the small of her back. “You should finish your dinner, and I’ll return shortly, if I can.” He pulled out the seat for her again. She sat down with a dumbfounded look on her face. Was he serious? He would just leave like this?
“What’s wrong?” Royal asked, concerned. “I don’t un-derstand…”
Dmitry interrupted. “A small problem with another business that I own,” he said, a little irritated by her inquiry. He bit his lip and humbled himself.
“How many businesses do you own?” There was no reply for her question. He simply pushed up her chair to the table.
“I am sorry, Royal. St
ay and wait for me as long you can.” He kneeled down to make eye contact with her. “I’ll return later. Enjoy the meal that I’ve prepared for you and your guests.” He rubbed the tip of her nose with his index finger and stood back up. He could clearly see the disappointment in her eyes.
With an apology, he left the now nearly empty restau-rant. His heavy footsteps echoed across the hardwood flooras he walked out without turning around. She watched his body disappear beyond the gilded glow of the decadent room through the front door that Anatoly held open for him.
“And he’s gone just like that,” she said, absently.
∞♥∞
Royal had managed to stay and wait, despite her bewil-dered embarrassment. She was like a birthday girl at a party with no guests. All dressed up and no where to go, she sat in the same seat that Dmitry had placed her in before he left and waited faithfully, obediently and most of all perplexed.
As she sat talking to an old man, more than likely in his eighties about the various types of caviar and its history in Russia with royal families, the front doors to the restaurant opened suddenly, and Dmitry and his large entourage of men flooded into the building. They came in by the droves, filling the place back to capacity. They came in like nothing had happened, like there had been no interruption.
Royal sat up and watched on like everyone else who was left behind. Each man found his date and settled down to talk and smile.
Anatoly immediately disappeared into the back again, and Dmitry came in and locked eyes on Royal. As he passed them, the women, who were left behind in the whirlwind of urgency only hours before, looked up at him like hungry wolves each pining for his attention. But he did not look their way. His eyes were fixed on Royal, glad that she had stayed and waited for him. He zoomed in on her with an irate scowl on his face. His furrowed brow straigh-tened as he approached the table. Royal noted the transfor-mation, giving him a curious frown. What had he been up to?
“I’m sorry that I was taken from you for so long,” he said, seriously. His voice was distant. He tried to regain his composure and get back the moment that he had clearly lost with her on the dance floor.
“It’s okay.” Royal’s smiled lacked all enthusiasm. “I’m going to get out of here in just a minute, anyway. Have to get ready for tomorrow. I…can just walk over,” she said, trying to hide her sadness. “Cory and Renée are going back with me. I just didn’t want to leave before you returned considering all that you’ve done for us.”
“Nonsense. I’ll have you driven back over. Anatoly will take you.”
“Oh, I don’t want to bother him.”
“There is no bother. As a matter of fact, Anatoly will stay at the store from now on, down in basement. It’s not safe for you to be there alone. People know there are large sums of money at the shop now. I wouldn’t want anyone to think they can take advantage. Someone has to be on the premises to protect you.”
“I didn’t know that the place had a basement.”
“A very nice one,” he said, tasting the caviar.
“How does Anatoly feel about this?” She watched him eat, frustrated at his quick commands and the fact that he was ignoring her discomfort. “I don’t like this. Now, he has to uproot himself to stay with me. I don’t want to be a bother. Maybe we can just get a security system or…”
“Anatoly does as he’s told. And he’s been told to stay in basement and make sure that no one disturbs you after or before hours.” He wiped his face and looked at her sternly, the full strength of his prominent bone structure obvious as he gritted his teeth. He picked up his wine and took a big gulp, most unlike him.
“It looks like everyone around here does what they are told,” she huffed. “Does anyone ever ask why? Because I’m not the go fetch dog type.”
Dmitry noted her anger and possible hurt. He calmed. “I told you why,” his voice was softer. “It’s not safe.”
“You seem…different, Dmitry. Strange.” She looked down at the table to control her own growing resentment and distress.
Dmitry sighed. “I seem, because I am.” He tried to lighten his forceful tongue. “Just... listen to me, Royal. Anatoly does not mind at all.” He reasoned softly with her, smiling to make his point more agreeable for her. “The basement is nice enough. He’ll be fine. You’ll barely know he’s there.” He lifted her chin to see her face.
Royal rested her case, realizing that Dmitry had come to his final decision. She nodded to him in agreement and gathered her things.
“Well, thanks again for everything,” she said, under-standing that something else was bothering Dmitry. “I’ll see you later.”
“Dah, you will,” he said,making eye contact with her. Royal didn’t respond. Dmitry stood up as she stood and escorted her quietly to the door.
She stopped at the threshold of the restaurant with her jacket in her hands and her purse under her arm waiting for the to limo pull up to the front of the restaurant. It was amazing to her how in a couple of months, she had com-pletely gotten used to having a driver, a limo and a staff of people.
Renée and Cory stood behind them intrigued by the oddly-matched couple.
“I’m very proud of you, Royal,” he reiterated with con-viction. His large hands rested on her bare shoulders. He gazed at her for moment then motioned for Anatoly, who waited just outside of the door with the car. “You’d better get out of the night air.”
“Is he my bodyguard now? I don’t need a slave, you know.” She rolled her eyes.
“Think of him as your unofficial assistant.” He ran his index finger down the side of her neck. “I will see you later to make up for having to depart from you so abruptly.”
Royal still did not respond. She just touched the soft-ness of his face and walked away.
Watching her and her staff into the car, Dmitry closed the doors of the restaurant behind him as they drove off.
∞♥∞
Renée and Cory watched on as Royal sat beside Anatoly in dead silence. She was broken hearted and completely incapable of hiding it. Ignoring them all, she sat in her v-neck, satin black Bagley Mischa dress, spoiled by the night’s events. She had worked so hard to get dressed, to make him see her tonight. It was all in vain.
Her diamonds earrings sparkled in the darkness, weigh-ing down her small lobes. Beautiful canary yellow diamonds laid close to her neck dangling from the gold necklace and created a spectrum of beautiful light every time a reflection hit them just right.
Her newest diamond gift had come only days before and had been the largest so far in celebration of her recent accomplishments. In his normal fashion, Dmitry had kissed her only on the forehead and in return was allowed to place the necklace on her himself.
She wore only the jewelry he had given her tonight. She wanted him to know how much she appreciated him. But how could she show him when he was barely there?
Her smoky eyes were adverted to the window staring past tinted glass into the clear, dark night. Her glossy, pouty lips were pierced together, clinched by perfect white teeth. She was a picture of true beauty and true agony.
While Royal sank into the leather drowning in her thoughts, Anatoly looked at her staff with a sort of disdain, never uttering a word, but making them very uncomforta-ble.
Unsure if he was provoked by direct eye contact, Cory shifted in his seat and tried to keep from staring the husky brut in his pupils. They were always worried that perhaps Royal had forgotten to hook him to his chain.
However, Royal had learned over the past couple of months to simply ignore Anatoly.
He was like a permanent prop in her life. She was only inches from him, but they were miles away only connected only through Dmitry. His close proximity to her body did not bother her at all. She leaned against him as she pouted, absorbing his body heat and sulking profusely. He was like the personal assistant that she had grown accustomed to having around. It was a good thing too, especially now that he would be living in her hidden basement.
Cory looked over
at Renee with unspoken suspicion of Royal’s relationship with the rich and powerful Dmitry Medlov. They had watched as he embraced her not only with his physical touch but his pulsating eyes every time he was around her.
The mysterious couple was the constant subject of endless conversations when Royal was not around. Everyone marveled at the infinite number of expensive gifts that he showered upon her; the quiet conversations between them in the back office that would erupt into sudden laughter and the sexual tension that wrapped the store like a hungry fog.
“Thanks for today,” Royal said, trying to change the silent subject. A faint smiled came across her face, but she continued to pierce her lips, visibly worried. Moving the soft wisps of her hair from her face, she focused in. “Remember to be here tomorrow by nine. We open at ten. I want to spend some time meeting about today and ensuring that we have it all together for the rest of the week. It’s all up hill from here.” She gave a fake, almost disturbing smile.
“Sure thing,” Renée said, cocking her brow.
When the limo pulled into to the back parking lot of the shop, Cory and Renee jumped out and headed to their respective cars before the chauffer could properly open the door. Each was trying desperately to get away from the glaring pit bull Anatoly.
Ignoring them both, Anatoly got out of the limo before Royal and helped her inside of the empty shop.
“Thank you,” she said, not expecting a response. He did not. Anatoly was always quiet, not bothering to respond to any of her constant gestures of kindness.
He walked in front of her to check the shop as he had been instructed, while Royal stopped and looked over her office to make sure that she had left nothing out of place or unlocked. She was looking at a business card left by one of the women who had visited her earlier when Anatoly appeared in the doorway.
He looked at her for a minute before he sighed. “I’ll be downstairs, if you need me,” he said,giving her the same icy stare as Dmitry. His eyes were a riveting cobalt blue shaded by layers of thick lash. His voice was a deep, silky baritone.
Dmitry's Closet Page 6
