Chapter 10

Mikhail: Chapter 10

Holding onto Tajah's hand as I took her toward my inner sanctuary, my personal retreat, I took one last opportunity to think about what I was doing. Other than Reuben and a select few others, no one had been in my home. Certainly, no women I'd had sex with or just played with. I hadn't wanted them to leave any memories of them here. Maybe that made me an asshole, but it was just the way I was wired.

Did I want her in my space and to leave her imprint there? And possibly, or more like definitely leaving things here, which would mix with mine? I thought about it as we rode up the elevator with the chatty couple, I knew it was the right thing to do. No matter how little time I'd known her, I was never more certain she was to be mine. In order for it to happen, I had to let her in all the way, like she would have to do the same with me. Secrets led to mistrust and the inability to communicate, which would kill everything. She had to know all of me to love me. I had to know all of her to do the same. And make no mistake, having her love was crucial to me, which shocked me as much as it had Reuben.

After the very frustrating time with the fire marshal, I pulled Reub aside to tell him I was having Tajah come to the club, and I needed him to keep an eye on things, since I would be behind closed doors with her in my apartment. The look of astonishment on his face when he heard it was comical. He literally did a double take.

"Mikhail, did I hear you right? I swear you just said Tajah will be in your apartment."

"Yeah, you heard me right. We have unfinished business, the fire inspector interrupted earlier. I want to focus on her and not the club."

"I get you wanting to spend time with her, but isn't it a bit soon to invite her into your home? You've never had a woman up there. Maybe you should slow things down some. I know what you said about her, but still."

"I'm not slowing anything down. She's the one, I know it. And I know it sounds crazy to you, but it's true. I want her to share herself with me in every way. She's going to have to learn how to live in my world. In order to do it and make it work, there can't be pieces held back."

He'd tried to convince me to wait, but I refused to consider it. Now that she was here, I did one final internal check to be sure I was totally at peace with it. As we got to the door of my home, I knew I was. There was only excitement inside of me, no worry or unease. Like my office door and the access on the elevator to this floor, it took a handprint to get into my apartment. Keys could be lost or stolen. Yeah, someone could hack my scanner too, but it was much less likely. Plus, I loved tech stuff. I pressed my hand to it and the screen lit up green, so I could open it. I held onto her hand, as I brought her inside my sanctum. I wanted to see her reactions to it.

The lights were on one of those automatic deals, so they came on at the lowest setting. The entire space was three thousand square feet. Most of it, with the exception of the bedrooms, bathrooms, my office, and one other room was open into each other. The ceiling had metal rafters and beams, giving it a rather industrial feel. I liked metal and colors like black and red. There were splashes of gray too. So it wouldn't be too dark in here, I kept the walls white but the furniture and artwork on the walls were filled with color. I went for things that not only looked good but were comfortable and would be able to hold up to a big guy like me. No tiny chairs you had to fear sitting on, or that felt like a slab of concrete.

There was an electric fireplace in the living room and the master bedroom. A large fully equipped chef's kitchen, with a big island separated the living room from the kitchen area. Off to the side was the dining nook. She was looking around with curiosity on her face.

"Let me give you the tour. We'll start over here."

I led her to the kitchen. As we worked our way around it, then the other open spaces, she asked me questions about how I came up with the design and the colors. After we were done with those, it was onto my office and the guest rooms and baths. I had three of them with two bathrooms. She paused in my office when I took her there after the bedrooms.

"Misha, you have that gorgeous office down the hall and this one, too. You're a very lucky man. Either space is to die for to work in. These make my tiny closet of a room look pathetic. I have office envy," she said with a laugh.

"I'm incredibly lucky, I know. I do most of my work in the main office, but sometimes when I'm home and something comes up, I don't want to go to it, so I work from this one. I can work in the nude if I stay here," I said with a grin.

She laughed again. "I guess you don't want to chance just anyone walking in and finding you like that, although you said not a lot of people have access to up here. You must be worried you'll scandalize Reuben."

"It would take more than that to scandalize Reub, believe me. It's not as if he hasn't seen me naked."

"I guess not. It amazes me you can be so casual about so many people seeing you that way. I'm not sure I could do it."

I heard the worry in her voice. I hurried to clarify something. It was a good place to start. I took both of her hands and led her to a chair. I sat then had her sit on my lap. She gave me a puzzled look.

"Dove, yes, I've been naked in front of plenty of people. It has never bothered me. Nor has it bothered me to have those same people see the person I was playing with." She stiffened hearing this, but I held her so she wouldn't move away.

"Wait and let me finish. They didn't bother me. Now, you, I can't see myself letting anyone see you naked, Tajah. The thought makes the beast side of me want to rip heads off. That's new for me, so you never have to worry about me insisting on us doing that. If we want to play downstairs, we'll go to a private room, but I don't think we'll have to do it often."

"Why not? Don't you want to play anymore?"

"Oh, I do and we will, but we have other options. Come on, let's finish the tour."

I let her go, so we could stand. Taking her next door, I showed her my bedroom and bathroom. Both were big and had every comfort. The bathroom had a high-tech multiple heads shower system and a separate soaking tub along with double sinks. She gasped when she saw them, but she got even more excited when she saw the walk-in closet.

"That's it, I'm stealing your closet. I have no idea how I'll get it in my tiny apartment, but I'll figure it out. No wonder you don't bring many people up here. They'd want to kill you for this place."

I hugged her against me. "Do you want to kill me for it?"

"No, but if I could sneak this out, and come over once in a while to soak up everything else, I'd be happy."

I had to bite my tongue to keep from telling her she could have it every damn day if she moved in with me. That was going way too fast, so I held it in. Instead, I told her, "You're welcome to come over as often as you like. Okay, there's two more things I want to show you."

I led her to the opposite end of my apartment. I had two rooms there. One was a small gym. She was impressed with the equipment. "Misha, I see the secret of your body now. You're a gym rat. I wish I was. Then I'd have a six-pack and be a size six," she said with a sad sigh.

"I work out a lot, but I don't want you to do anything to change your body. It's perfect the way it is. I don't want a woman who feels like a man. I like soft. A size six would make you even more breakable. I love the way you are now," I told her sternly.

She surprised me by giving me a kiss. I was about to take it further when she broke away. "That right there might just get you laid tonight, Mr. Ivanova. What a sweet talker."

"Babe, I am getting laid tonight, and it wasn't sweet talk. It was the damn truth. Now, before we get distracted again, I have one more room to show you."

Taking her out in the hall and over to the last door, I placed my hand on a scanner next to it. When it was unlocked, I didn't open the door immediately. She frowned. "What is it, another office? Don't you have enough of those? Or is this where you keep your valuables?"

I shook my head. "Nope, it's neither of those. This is a very private place to me and you're the only woman to ever see it."

I pushed the door open and took her inside. The lights came on and she gasped. This was my inner playroom. One I'd designed to have all the equipment and things I loved the most. The dream was to one day be able to bring someone up here to play with me. Until her, I'd never been tempted. I was glad I never did it. This would be our space. I had so many things I wanted to explore with her in this room, and in my other personal space. It was fine to do things downstairs, but this was all ours.

She slowly walked the room looking at everything. She didn't say anything. I watched her stop and study some things, while she picked up other items. I let her look her fill. I knew she'd have questions soon. I was ready to answer them. The idea of teaching a neophyte had never interested me, but doing it with her, I was all in.

It was a good twenty minutes or more before she stopped and looked up at me. I saw wonder, a little worry, and excitement all on her face. "Misha, I don't know what to say. This is incredible. I can't believe you've never brought anyone here. If you have this, why play downstairs? Is it because you wanted to be watched? You admitted you're a voyeur and if you didn't mind being seen playing, you're an exhibitionist. Is that why? But still, surely sometimes you wouldn't mind playing in private?"

"I didn't always have to be watched. The reason I never brought anyone up here is it's special, and I didn't want to just have anyone in it. I always hoped I might one day get to use it, but after more than a decade and nothing, I gave up hoping. And then this romance author wormed her way into my club and knocked me for a loop. When that happened, I knew it had been waiting for you, for us. This is our place to play. Well, it's the one here anyway."

She was staring at me with her mouth open. I could see I'd shocked her. Unable to resist, I tugged her to me and lowered my head to kiss her. She wasn't a passive participant, and within moments we were hungrily devouring each other. I lifted her and walked her over to the leather chaise I had in the corner. I lay her on it, then straddled her so I wouldn't squash her.

My temperature was going through the roof. I planned to have dinner with her and then let the rest of the evening progress. It was remembering that and the fact I'd ordered dinner after I texted her, which made me reluctantly move off her. She sat up and gave me a concerned look. "What's wrong, Misha?"

God, I loved her calling me that. It was a nickname from my youth, which I rarely heard. It reminded me of people who loved me. Earlier it had hit me. I wanted her to call me that, not that I didn't like my actual name, I did, but Misha was more personal.

"Nothing's wrong. I forgot. I ordered us dinner, and it should be here any minute. Damn it, I don't want to stop, believe me, but we'll need our energy so food is a must."

Her concerned look turned to a smile. I saw amusement. "Oh really, you think I'll need energy, do ya? That's a lot to live up to. Are you sure you can do it? Maybe we should eat and watch movies."

She shrieked when I stood and snatched her up. I attacked her neck. I bit her lightly as I pressed her to the wall beside the chaise. The tease wrapped her legs around me and ground her pussy against my growing hard-on.

"Misha," she gasped out so prettily.

"Does this feel like I can't live up to it? There won't be any movies tonight. Now, behave and stop tempting me. I only have so much self-control. Let's go back to the living room and I'll get you a drink."

She sighed but nodded. I slowly let her slide down until her feet touched the floor. She rubbed against me so sensually, I was tempted to say fuck the food, but I didn't. She had to be hungry, I knew I was. Plus, it was her favorite. Over the weeks we'd been talking, we hadn't just talked about kink. We had shared personal things, like our favorite foods and what we liked to do to relax. Which movies and television shows we enjoyed. It was from one of those discussions I got the idea for dinner.

She loved Thai food and it was a favorite of mine. When we talked about places to get it, she had never heard of the one I went to religiously. She said she had to try it. As of a couple of days ago, I knew she hadn't gotten a chance yet. Well, tonight she would.

Closing the playroom's door, we went back to the main area. She came into the kitchen and checked out the drink selection. It wasn't a surprise to me that she stuck to a non-alcoholic choice—a bottle of green tea which she was partial to. I'd paid attention to what she drank downstairs and what she told me, too. She gave me an appreciative look when she saw I had it. I winked at her. She would find out this was all part of my inner need to take care of her. It wouldn't just be after sex and playing. I would need to take care of her in everyday ways, too.

Since the food was to be here any time, we sat at the island. I was drinking a beer. When I worked downstairs, I rarely drank alcohol, but here in my home, I could relax. We were only a couple of sips into our drinks when my phone buzzed. I knew what it meant, but I checked it to be sure and saw I was right. The delivery person wouldn't be brought to the third floor, so I had to go get it. Some might see that as a pain, but I didn't. I got up.

"The food is here. I'll be right back. I have to go grab it downstairs."

"Do you want me to come with you?"

"No, you stay here and relax. It won't take me long."

Before I walked out, I couldn't leave without giving her a quick kiss. God, she was becoming a drug I needed constantly. I dragged myself away and hustled to get the food. The ride down to the first floor was quick. It had been Laura who texted me, so I went to the front table to get it. She was sitting there with a tense look on her face. I almost asked her what was wrong but didn't. I was off tonight. If she had a problem, she could let Reuben handle it. The days of me constantly being on and available were over. I wanted alone time with Tajah. All the staff had been informed not to disturb me tonight.

"Thanks for texting me. I'll get this out of your way."

"Is everything alright, Mikhail?"

"Yeah, why wouldn't it be?"

"Well, we were told not to disturb you tonight and to go to Reuben. That's not like you. You're not sick, are you?"

"No, Laura, I'm not sick. I just need private time tonight. Thanks. I'll see you later," I told her as I picked up the bag. Her hand on my wrist stopped me from walking off. I stepped away. I didn't let people freely touch me. "Was there something else?" I asked.

"I wondered if you wanted company later. I'm only working half a night. I wanted to relax, and if you're doing the same, maybe we could do it together."

To say I was stunned would be an understatement. Did I know she had a fascination with me, yes, but I never gave her encouragement, and she had never gone past admiring glances and very mild flirting. To have her suggest this was new and unwanted. I hurried to shut her down as nicely as possible.

"I have company, but even if I didn't, I'd never get involved with an employee, Laura. You know that. Why are you suggesting this?"

She got a cross expression on her face. "You mean you've got that patron, that Delilah up there? You don't let people in your personal spaces, Mikhail. Why her? She's nothing special, just another person curious to see what we do here. Why pick her? I've been waiting for you to decide it's time to choose another sub. I think we can be good together."

Shit, this was worse than I'd thought. "Laura, I don't mean to be mean, but I've never seen you that way. You're a great employee, however, that's as far as our relationship will ever go. As for Delilah, she and I aren't up for discussion. All you or anyone needs to know is she's in my life, and she's here to stay."

She gave me a look which was partly upset and partly disbelieving. I decided not to waste any more time talking about it. There was nothing she could say or do to change my mind. My woman was waiting for me. I needed to see to her needs. I walked off without another word. The ride back up to my place gave me time to push Laura out of my mind. She'd get over it. If she didn't, then I guess we'd have to find a new greeter. As long as she stayed in line, she could stay.

Tajah was where I left her. When I came in, she jumped up to help me. I set down the bags and began to take out all the various containers. I'd gone a little overboard, but who didn't love Thai food and it warmed up to make great leftovers. Plus, I found a lot of Asian food seemed to burn off fast and you'd be hungry again in a few hours.

As I got plates, bowls, and utensils out, she opened one of the containers. I heard her inhale then moan. Hearing her make that sound made my cock stiffen. Get your mind out of the gutter. You need to feed her, I lectured my inner self.

"Oh God, Misha, this smells so good. I've died and gone to heaven. Is this from that place you told me about?"

"It is and no, you're not dead. There's lots to choose from. I got fried rice as well as steamed. There's hot and sour soup, Laab meat salad, stir-fry with pork, basil and green beans, a red curry with chicken, and for dessert mango sticky rice. Here, do you want a fork or chopsticks?" I set our plates and bowls on the island. She reached to take a plate, but I shook my head no.

"I'll serve you. Tell me what you want. First, chopsticks or fork?"

"Chopsticks. I'm not used to anyone waiting on me. I can do it myself, you know?"

"I know, but this is part of me taking care of you. Tell me what you want." She'd find I was driven to take care of her in many ways.

"I want to try everything, so a little of each please."

I quickly dipped her a bowl of soup and passed it to her with a spoon, before I loaded the rest on a plate and gave it to her with the chopsticks. "Go ahead and start."

"I'd rather wait for you," she said.

While I didn't mind her starting, it did make me feel good she wanted to wait on me. This relationship thing was opening a bunch of new things up to me and triggering characteristics I didn't even know I had. This need to care for a woman outside of a scene never happened in the past. When I had mine, I took a seat next to her and we dug in. There were a lot of satisfied moans coming not just from her. I'd forgotten how good this place was. It didn't take us long to inhale it and then sit back full and happy.

"Do you want another tea? We can go outside on the terrace." Outside, there was a third story terrace on the backside of the building. Sure, it overlooked other buildings around us, but it was nice sometimes to just be out in the air.

"Sure, but first, we should clean this up and I'm helping."

I let her get away this time with demanding, but not always. Nodding, so she knew I agreed. We quickly cleaned up and put the dirty dishes in the dishwasher, then got our drinks and went outside. I had a large lounger out there as well as a patio set. I took her to the lounger and situated us, so she was reclining back against my chest with her between my legs. For a summer night, it was surprisingly nice out. Summer could be very hot and humid in Tennessee.

This section of Nashville was called The Gulch. It was south of downtown, so we weren't in the middle of all that. It had once been an industrial area, which had been abandoned so there were lots of empty warehouses. I'd been lucky enough to get one of those, and be a part of the remodeling, which happened to a lot of those warehouses. It now had some of the best real estate in the city, and I shared it with restaurants, clubs, and upscale hotels along with cafés, boutiques, and other small businesses.

"It's surprisingly nice out here," she said.

"It can be. It's not as nice as being out of town. We'll do that soon."

"We will? Where do you want to go?"

"It's a surprise. Just know it's private and exceptionally beautiful, or I think it is."

"Sounds fun. I love being out in nature. If I could afford it, I'd buy a place out in the country. I don't mind people, but I'd rather be somewhere more secluded."

"Then I think you'll love the place I'll take you for sure. I like this location for the club, and the different businesses around here help to bring in more people. If I need anything, most are within walking distance, but as a true primal, I need the outdoors, too."

The next hour sped by as we talked about anything and everything. It was just more getting to know each other, but all of it told me we were going to be more than compatible. It was dark and the outside noise had grown due to the nightlife, so I suggested we go inside. I was finding it harder and harder to resist starting something and if I did, I didn't want to do it out where someone in a building across from us would see us. I wanted her all to myself.

Inside, I took our glasses to the kitchen then I held out my hand. "Let's go to my room."

She gave me a small smile. "I'd like that." As we walked by the couch, I grabbed the bag she brought in with her. Once we were in my room, I put it on the bench at the foot of the bed. "Why don't you use my bathroom? You can shower or take a bath. I'll use one of the others."

"I'd love a bath in that tub, although the shower is tempting, too. But why do you have to go to another bathroom? Why don't you join me? There's more than enough room in there."

"I'd like nothing more. I just thought you might want to be alone. You know, so you could perform secret female rituals we men aren't supposed to know about," I teased her. Even when I was involved with my mentoring kink lover, we hadn't lived together. She always wanted her space. Another reason I should've been suspicious.

She laughed at me. "Sure, I swear there's nothing that mysterious. I promise I don't need to shave my legs or underarms. I did that earlier. It's all unexciting, just bathing and brushing teeth. See, boring. You'll probably fall asleep."

I smacked her ass. She jerked and gave me a wide-eyed look, but the flush that came over her cheeks told me she enjoyed it. "Smart ass. Grab what you need and let's go. I'll try not to fall asleep."

She couldn't wipe the smirk off her face, as I left her to get her things. I went ahead and started running water in the tub. Not knowing how hot she liked it, I called out to her. "Sweetest Dove, how hot do you like your water?"

She came striding in. "I like it as hot as you can get it. I need to be a nice shade of red when I get out. Anything less, and it's not worth a soak in my opinion."

"Good, we agree. I'm the same way. If that's the case, would you mind company in this tub?"

"I'd love company."

Letting the water run, I straightened and went to her. I was happy to see she wasn't trying to undress herself. She remembered. That was something I'd noticed about her. Once she heard something, she recalled it. I wondered how much she'd remember and comply, and how much she'd resist. Earlier today had shown me she might just have some brat in her. I was fine with that. I could be a brat handler and enjoy the process, although I was far from an expert unlike some I knew. One in particular came to mind.

"We need to get rid of these pesky clothes. I've endured them covering up this sexy body long enough," I told her as I grasped the bottom of her tank and slowly lifted it.

She'd worn a tank paired with a long flowy skirt and sandals. Her shoes were by the front door. I didn't wear outdoor shoes around the house. I was barefoot and dressed in a pair of cargo pants and a t-shirt. Her hair was up in a bun on the top of her head, so no worries about it in the tub. After we were done, I'd take it down. I wanted to feel her hair against my skin and in my hands.

I groaned when I removed her tank. It had a built-in section, so underneath there was no bra for me to remove. I cupped her tits and gave them each a squeeze, before placing a kiss on each nipple, after swirling my tongue around them. She whimpered and pressed them into my lips. Raising up, I hooked my fingers into either side of the waist of her skirt and pushed it down. When I got it down to her hips, I saw the other thing she was missing. She had no panties on. Jesus, she was trying to kill me.

I kissed right above her mound then kept pushing it down until she could step out of it. Not wasting time, I shrugged out of my shirt and then took my pants off. Like her, I was commando. She watched my every move. I took all of our clothes and tossed them in the nearby hamper. I walked around her to take in all of her. Earlier, I hadn't done this. She was so damn perfect. Her lush ass caught my attention. I had to pause and squeeze both globes of her ass, before continuing to circle her. When I got back to the front, I held up a finger. She stayed there while I got under the sink on the right. It would be hers.

Underneath I'd put a bottle of bath salts. Normally I didn't use any unless it was one for a medicinal muscle soak, but she always smelled so good. I'd asked her one time what it was she used, and she said it was a combination of several flowers. I'd paid attention and found one with those same ones in it. For tonight, I wouldn't mind smelling like flowers, if I could be in the tub with her. I poured some in the water then put it back.

"Misha, where did you get that? It smells like…" she paused.

"It smells like you. I found them at a specialty shop not far from here. I went in and told the sales lady what I wanted and she told me this was the one. I hope you like it. Let's try it."

I held out my hand. She took it and I led her to the edge. There were steps so it was easier to get into the tall tub. I held onto her so she wouldn't slip. She gave me a grateful smile, as she sank into the water and sighed in bliss. I didn't waste time joining her. I slid in behind her, so she was between my legs. She leaned back against my chest. With us in it, the tub was almost at max capacity, so I used my foot to turn off the water.

"When did you have time to go get those bath salts with the whole fire inspector deal?"

"I didn't get them today. I got them a few days ago. See, I was planning to make my move soon, but the whole misunderstanding about Tessa made me realize I didn't want to delay a second longer. You'll have to make me a list of the other things you use and like, so I can get them stocked for you."

"Misha, you don't need to do that. If you want me here overnight, I can bring a few things with me or even bring some from home."

"I'll want you either here with me or me with you at your place. It makes sense to have stuff here and I'll get them. Now, relax and let me wash you. When we're done soaking, I have plans to get you dirty again. We'll get to use that shower tonight before we're done."

She laughed. We spent the next fifteen or so minutes soaking and she let me wash her, which I loved doing. It was my first time bathing a woman. It was going on my list of caring. Sure, I'd done aftercare with a woman before, but not to this extent. Holding, getting her something to eat or drink, playing soothing music, and talking had been the extent of it.

When she was clean and we were both relaxed, I helped her out of the water and took down her hair. It was time to make love to her. Tonight, we wouldn't go full force into the whole Dom/sub dynamic, but I would be making demands of her, and I'd see how she complied.