Chapter Ten

ESMé

It was late when Daniil’s brother, Rudolf, came to tell us that everything was safe. I became anxious when I realized that Daniil was not with him.

I finally gathered the courage to ask his brother, Sergei, about his whereabouts, but I was told that he had to pick up a last-minute gift.

I briefly wonder if that gift has anything to do with my parents or me. There are so many gifts around every tree in this log cabin. Three beautiful floors of this mansion are decorated beautifully in Christmas décor, as are the other cabins on the property.

I was surprised to see my father and mother arrive earlier. She informed me that while no details were given to her about where they were traveling or why, she understood it was urgent.

I caught her up to speed on everything that had happened in the last twenty-four hours.

The two of us were happy to be together, especially at Christmas, considering I hadn’t thought I would be with my family this year.

“Honey, are you okay?”

“Yes, Maman,”

I say, turning away from the window with a mug of coffee and smiling at her. “Why do you ask?”

“You’ve been quiet for so long.”

“I’m still trying to decompress from everything that’s occurred in the last twenty-four hours. Trying to wrap my head around how Daniil was sent to kill me but ended up rescuing me.”

“You know you never did tell me how you knew this young man.”

Smiling, I say, “He’s someone I met three years ago.”

“Hmm…your little escape to America two days before your wedding?”

she asks with wise, knowing eyes.

“Yes, Maman,”

I say softly.

“You love this man.”

“Maman, I hardly know him. We met briefly for a weekend, and that was it,”

I say, refusing to acknowledge to her that though we didn’t know each other in some ways, our bodies knew one another very well.

“Sometimes, the mind cannot comprehend what the heart already knows. Your heart knew its keeper the moment that you met. I can see it in the way that you look at him and the way he looks at you.”

I take a sip, staring at her before I laugh and say, “That’s probably lust, Maman.”

“No, child. Lust was what was in Royal’s eyes whenever he looked at you. That’s not what’s in this man’s eyes. I know love when I see it. It is the way that your Papa looks at me,”

Maman says graciously.

She removes my mug from my hands setting it on the counter. Staring into my eyes, she says, “It is okay to follow your heart. In the end, sometimes that’s all we have. Trust your heart and let it lead the way. It will not steer you wrong.”

Laughing, I reply, “You know what Papa would say if he heard you, right?”

“Yes. He would say that the French have foolish, romantic ideals.”

“Yes, he would.”

“And you know what I would tell him?”

she asks cheerily with a spark in her brown eyes.

“What?”

“That I wasn’t too foolish, I trapped him, didn’t I?”

We laugh, and I say, “He’s so different towards you. I know Papa loves us and wants what’s best for us, but he dismisses love and romance when it comes to his girls. Yet, he’s very romantic and loving with you.”

“I think he understands now. Trust me,”

she says, smiling.

We hear Daniil’s mother, Katya, calling for everyone to gather around to exchange one gift for tonight. It’s Christmas Eve, and I smile at their thoughtfulness. I overheard a conversation between his mother and his sister, Oksana. Apparently, the moment they learned that I was coming and my family, something I hadn’t even known, Oksana and Dominika, Daniil’s cousin, had gone out shopping.

“Come on, let’s go,”

Maman says, grabbing my hand.

When we step into the living room, I see Daniil jogging down the stairs. His hair is wet, and he’s wearing basketball shorts, a t-shirt, and some Nike slides.

He’s beautiful, and my heart sings with joy at his appearance.

Maman smiles and winks at me as he comes up and pulls me into his arms.

“I’m glad you made it in time,” I say.

Daniil kisses my lips and says, “Don’t ever doubt me.”

“I didn’t see you come in, though, or hear the front door open.”

Shrugging, he says, “I came through the back.”

“Oh. Well, let’s get in here with everyone else.”

I sit back and watch happily as everyone exchanges gifts and speaks about what it means to them. I open my gift from Daniil’s sister, Oksana.

I’m a little shocked.

“A flogger?”

I say before and his siblings and cousins laugh.

“Yes, we all know that Daniil’s tastes run dark. So, if he’s as enamored with you as he appears to be, then I know you must be kinky, too,”

she says, winking at me.

I drag it up Daniil’s arm and say, “I think I can find some uses for this, Oksana.”

Daniil’s eyes darken and a low growl emits from his throat.

My father clears his throat, and I look up to see him passing a present to my mother, who’s smiling gracefully at me.

Luckily, the attention moves off Daniil and me long enough for me to ask, “What happened?”

Leaning close, his lips brush the shell of my ear, and he replies, “No longer your worry. You’re mine now. Mine to keep.”

My breath whooshes out of me, and for the first time, I realize that I have been holding it. His hand is on my lower back, and the look in his eyes has me heating up.

“How much longer?” I ask.

“Five minutes. Head upstairs to use the bathroom, and I’ll be right behind you.”

Five minutes later I do exactly as he says. Getting undressed and wearing nothing but a strand of pearls and the gold heels that I packed, I wait for him to appear. It only takes two minutes before he does.

I pull my fingers through the falls of the flogger as he steps into the bedroom.

“You know, I don’t get naughty for anybody but you. Somehow, you bring things out in me that I never knew existed,” I say.

“Is that so?”

“Yes. Tonight, I’d like to be in control.”

“Never.”

“I promise you won’t regret it.”

“Esmé,”

he says in a warning tone.

“You will be nicely rewarded,”

I say, winking at him.

Slowly I walk around him, gripping his ass, before circling to the front.

“Undress,”

I command before walking behind him again.

He chuckles deeply.

I flick the flogger against his ass, and he grumbles deep in his throat, causing my pussy to tighten and get moist. I’m pleasantly surprised when he pulls his T-shirt over his head, throwing it to the floor.

Sharp abs, a tightly toned chest with a smattering of hair, and lean but muscular arms with defined veins greet me. Stepping closer, I lick my tongue across his nipple, and he groans.

“Remove the shorts,”

I whisper, dragging the flogger over his dick.

“Be careful where you use that thing. You’re not trained, Esmé, and you might fuck something up,” he warns.

“Trust me. I know where to hit and how to hit. I’ve learned from the best,”

I tease, sliding the flogger across his shoulders.

“Mmmm,”

he groans deep in his throat, losing his shorts.

“That’s what I like, an obedient sub.”

“I’m nobody’s fucking sub.”

“Oh, you’re a bratty one, huh? Well, you’re gonna bottom very well for me tonight, Dani,”

I say, grabbing his hand and placing it between my moist thighs.

He slicks his finger through my folds and pulls it back, slipping them into his mouth. Sucking hard, he groans, and his eyes darken in lust.

“You didn’t ask my permission, now did you?”

“No, I did not. You plan to punish me, kitten?”

Laughing, I hiss, “On your knees. Now!”

I command him when he hesitates.

I place a heeled shoe on his shoulder when he kneels before me. His body tenses, but I see him welcoming the pain as he closes his eyes, inhales, and then relaxes.

“That’s a good boy.”

His jaw clenches, and I swear I’m having so much fun with him like this. I think of all the fun that I missed out on. Who knows? Maybe we wouldn’t still be together after all this time if I’d stayed with him back then. But maybe we would have. All I have is now.

“You may eat,”

I instruct him.

Daniil’s long fingers part my folds, and he looks up at me with those golden eyes as he sticks his tongue out, circling my clit and then flicking it.

“Don’t tease me, or you might regret it.”

“That’s what I’m counting on,”

he says, winking up at me.

I whip the flogger out, catching him across his upper shoulders. Daniil’s lips suck in my lower ones, and I find it hard to focus on what’s happening. All I want is his mouth all over me, quenching my desire and heating me up all at once.

My fingers play in his carefully groomed hair, and I enjoy fucking it up. Daniil’s a man of structure and discipline and it shows in every aspect of his life. There’s seldom a hair out of place. I guess all that routine and self-determination is what has him into kink. He needs to be carefree and wild somewhere in his life.

When his head begins to move in uncontrolled circles, I know that he can barely hold on. He needs and wants me as desperately as I do him. With his tongue licking my sex and two fingers inside of me, he vigorously eats my pussy.

I grab the back of his head, pumping my hips forward while thrusting into his mouth. It’s no surprise when I cum as quickly as I do.