His Hostile Takeover

by Fiona Murphy

  Chapter Seven

  Her hands shook as she tore off the tags, biting her lip she told herself he couldn’t know yet, not yet. She had just figured it out herself yesterday. It had been six weeks since they moved to Chicago and she had changed their diet and now she had gone down a size. Any other time she would have jumped for joy, now her stomach wouldn’t settle from worry. Today she had gone shopping, most of her clothes showed the new loss of weight. She was hoping if she replaced them in the smaller size maybe he couldn’t tell. When he first detected a few pounds lost a few weeks ago, his face had been hard with annoyance. A quick check in the mirror told her that her curves hadn’t gone, as he commanded, but it was visible now.

  Stepping out of the walk-in-closet, she prayed the light sundress wouldn’t show and couldn’t believe she was actually annoyed at the better weather in Chicago that made bare arms necessary. Mainly, the weight had traveled down, her arms were smoother and her face was less round. The buzzer went off, telling her the vegetables she was roasting were done.

  As she came out of their bedroom, she was surprised to see Dmitri in the kitchen turning off the oven.

  “Dmitri, you’re home early.”

  “I got a call from the card company because you went shopping and I know you hate to shop. I’m home to confirm what I thought was happening for the last few weeks.” His words were clipped and harsh, his face was hard. His eyes roamed over her and he stalked her. She leaned against the wall for support, her knees weak at what she saw in his eyes. A hand went out and grabbed the strap of the dress, he pulled hard and it ripped. Standing in front of him in just a silky red bra and matching panties she took a deep breath and prepared for the fight. “I fucking knew it! This stops now. I won’t have you changing your body to fit some stupid fucking American ideal of what is appealing when I loved your body as I found it.”

  Dmitri’s words slammed into her chest and filled her so full she thought she would explode with it. Her knees went weak and she slid down the wall, her legs unable to hold her up. Tears sprang to her eyes that she couldn’t hold back, she had no idea his words would affect her so strongly. She knew she surprised him. Immediately, she was in his arms, held so tightly she almost couldn’t breathe.

  “Damn it, Elise, don’t you dare cry on me. I’m sorry, please don’t cry, if you feel you have to do this, then fine, but as long as you see a doctor and they say you’re still healthy. You aren’t skipping meals, promise me that.” He was wiping away her tears with a handkerchief. As she realized his hands were shaking, she was able to take a deep breath. She loved this man so much.

  She ran a hand over his cheek. “I’m not skipping meals, I promise you. It really is simply from eating better. Before, with Steeltech floundering, everything I ate was take out and fast food, the few things that weren’t, were frozen meals. Don’t be angry, Dmitri, please, losing weight wasn’t something I set out to do, but I am happier with it. I feel better and have more energy now. My curves aren’t gone. I’ve only gone down one size. I’m sorry I cried, that was silly, it was just that you said the words I always wanted to hear but never thought I would. Just, don’t be mad when I tell you this, okay? The eating better, it isn’t about me, it’s about you. The same way asking you to cut back on your work hours isn’t a hundred percent about me. I do want to spend more time with you, but really it’s because I’m scared.”

  Running a hand through his hair, he fought to control his relief and the riot of emotions running through him, confusion higher than he wanted. Her tears always undid him, “What the hell could you be scared of?”

  “Losing you! Jasper had a heart attack young because of his workaholic ways. Don’t look like that Dmitri! I know you have a body women fantasize about, but you hardly sleep, you don’t eat well and you are always under stress. Yes, you come home early but half the week I still have to pull you out of the office to come to bed. No, Jasper wasn’t as in shape as you are, but he still exercised every day, he was found on the jogging path in the park. If it hadn’t been a nurse who found him he wouldn’t have made it.”

  Looking into her still watery, dark blue eyes, he saw the fear in them and it tore at him all over again. Not even Sonia and Misha had worried about him before, seeing him as tough and strong as he felt. It was a new feeling to him. “Okay, don’t be scared. I’m not going anywhere, I’ll do better. I promise you that. If I was going to make you see a doctor it’s only fair that I do too. We’ll both go and make sure everything is good. I’ll take a look at restructuring. Drew and Gus have put in the work. Now is the time to give them the ability to show me what they can do. Come here, sweetheart, don’t cry. You know it kills me when you do that.”

  With that, he carried her to bed, and using the excuse of needing to de-stress, they spent the rest of the day there.

  It was such a beautiful bright spring day. Dmitri and Elise were hosting lunch out on the large balcony. Not even Misha’s constant teasing of both Dmitri and Elise was bothering Dmitri. Elise was stunned when Sonia casually plopped baby Harry in her lap, and quickly cuddled the round, fat baby to her. He was such a good baby, he rarely cried, and as long as the person holding him smiled at him, he was content.

  “Getting in practice, my little sister, very good. I don’t want you dropping my nephews and nieces.” Misha taunted, and the words tugged at her deep down so hard a flash of tears swam across her eyes.

  “Hush, Misha.” She was relieved to see Dmitri hadn’t returned from inside and looked down at the baby with all the longing building inside her.

  “Little sister, careful now, if Dmitri were to see you looking at Harry like that, he’d kick us all out and have you back in the bedroom.”

  Elise sighed as she shook her head. “I don’t know about that, Misha. Even though nothing would make me happier than to have Dmitri’s baby, half the time I remember to take my pill it’s because he reminds me.”

  “Ah, my poor little sister, so very young. I can see why Dmitri worries for you. Perhaps, if you told him you what you wanted, as I have heard you have been good at doing so far, he would give you what you want.”

  Her hand ran through the thick curls of the baby’s hair and trembled at the thought. “It’s one thing to demand time and respect from Dmitri. To tell him I want his baby is another. A baby is a real commitment, and Dmitri doesn’t have a good history of doing commitments.”

  Misha laughed, “Dmitri also doesn’t have a history of being in one place for long, or taking days off. He’s given in as meekly, as I never thought he would. You’ve only traveled twice in the three months since you moved to Chicago. That company in Paris and the other in Milan. Both times you were there for well over a week, from what Sonia tells me, mainly enjoying the cities, work tied up in pretty little bows all finished. If I hadn’t been sitting, I would have found myself on the ground. Before you, Dmitri would have been flitting about the globe for half of that time, in and out of each country like lightning, but he knows you like a slower pace.

  I call Dmitri and find he’s not at work, but at home with you cuddled up on the couch watching movies like an old married couple. Weekends, you two roam the city and he’s following you from tourist trap to tourist trap. To even hear him mention Tula or our parents again was a shock, but to know you have managed to get him to talk of them is a gift to Sonia and me. I would tease him if I didn’t love the change in him so much.

  I love my brother, the sacrifices he’s made for Sonia and me, but this Dmitri of the last few months, smiling and happy, this brother I like very much. So, I thank you, little sister, and don’t go timid on me now. I think if you were to share your desire for a baby with Dmitri, you would be happily surprised.”

  Cuddling the baby to her, Elise wondered, but then she felt Dmitri’s eyes on her. She couldn’t stop the blush, wondering if he had heard Misha’s words. When he picked her up and took her seat, settling her into his lap his hand ran over her stomach with the lightest of touches and she sighed. Dmitri’s large ha
nd cradled the baby’s tiny hand and she bit her lip against the words threatening to spill out. She kissed him then, for once not the slightest inhibited by everyone around them. His arm tightened around her and Sonia came back, laughing, as she retrieved her baby.

  Clearing the mess in the kitchen she watched Sonia gather up the baby’s things while her husband, Neil kept a hold of his son. Misha and Dmitri were speaking in Russian and it frustrated her not to understand them. She promised herself, next week she was going to start learning Russian, it frustrated her when Misha taunted Dmitri in Russian and she couldn’t understand. Misha was teasing, but Dmitri’s face was stiff and then they both looked at her; she wondered what they could be arguing about. She hated it when they argued, which they did surprisingly often, but they were flashes of fire that burned bright and hot and then out in seconds with them both laughing only minutes later.

  Later, as Misha left he was brave enough to hug her close and while doing so whispered in her ear. “Talk to him, little sister, fear is no reason to keep your mouth closed when love is all you are asking for.”

  As she prepared for bed, she sighed as she ran the lotion over her body, her hand running over her stomach. No matter what Misha said, she wasn’t brave enough to ask for that level of permanence from Dmitri. She loved him and she knew that sexually she had his full attention, but still, there were times outside of bed she had to fight for him against a phone call or a contract. A child should have the full attention of both parents... would Dmitri resent the needs of their child?

  Elise also knew Dmitri enough to know his sexual needs wouldn’t wane with a child and she would need to continue to be his lover, available to him when he reached for her. She never refused him, even if she wasn’t in the mood or didn’t feel like sex. Always, she responded with passion and every time, somewhere in the moments of her initial forced response, desire became very real and she never resented or felt used by him. That was part of the reason she always responded positively to his need. He was always considerate of her needs and took care to make sure she found her enjoyment. Refusing his touch wasn’t something she could even contemplate.

  She could admit that her need for Dmitri’s body was strong enough that the idea of even a few weeks without him wasn’t appealing in the slightest. Yet, the reward would be their child and it would be enough for her, but would he agree? Maybe it was best just to wait, it had only been only a few months. She would take Pam’s advice and just enjoy the time she had with him now.

  With her mind finally quiet, she slipped nude from their master bathroom to find the bedroom empty. With a sigh, she knew she would find him in his home office. He was doing better, as he had promised. Most days he was home a little after six and there were some days he even worked from home. Drew and Gus were now the ones who flitted about the country. Dmitri only went if an acquisition would take a hostile edge or, as Misha had mentioned, it was overseas and then they went together, enjoying the city, work almost secondary.

  Entering their walk-in-closet, she opened a drawer she rarely had a need for, and picked out a sinfully sexy black negligee that went well with her black hair and pearly white skin. It was sheer with just the slightest ruffle that hid not a single thing and fell just below her hips. She thought about underwear for a moment and decided against it. Already, her body was wet with anticipation, she didn’t want to delay Dmitri for even a second.

  Leaning against the open door to his office, her eyes only brushed over him for a heartbeat and his head went up to find her. Dmitri went still as his eyes roamed over her. She smiled and walked toward him. He began to rise and she shook her head, she needed him too badly to make it back to their bedroom and she loved his smile of satisfaction. Then he wasn’t smiling anymore, pulling her to him he settled her on the edge of the desk and moved the edge of the negligee so that her pussy was on display.

  “Why the hell did you shave yourself bare?” He gritted the words out and stepped back from her.

  Instantly contrite, she blushed bright red, “I thought it was what you wanted. A few times you did, as you did last night, you know, I thought you didn’t like it. I read it was the fashion, so I thought you preferred it.”

  Frustration bubbled up, at her and at himself. Fear drove him to turn and make his way to their bedroom. If he opened his mouth now his usual fluency would be lost and she would know the tumbling emotions inside him. He wanted to give her more time, to know for sure and to make the decisions on her own. It didn’t matter that the last three months had felt so full and amazing it had the double feeling of twice the time and yet a blink of an eye. Dmitri had never known he could be as happy as he was with her, for him the idea of her out of his life was torture. Just a simple touch of her skin felt better than making his first million, when she moaned his name in need he would put his world at her feet. There were many times he thought she felt the same, the day he had confronted her about her loss of weight he had known it for sure. Yet, outside of the bedroom she spoke only of need, not the love he felt for her and he would have sworn she felt for him. It felt like she was protecting herself from him outside of their bedroom, the way she gave her body so completely was glaringly different than the feelings she shared with him.

  Yanking off his shirt, he flung it away from him and turned, intent on a shower when he saw she was blocking him.

  “Please, don’t be angry with me, Dmitri. I’m sorry, I won’t do it again. I just wanted to please you.”

  “I was pleased with your body the way it was. My fingers played in the hair of your pussy out of enjoyment, because I liked the feel of it. It might be the fashion, but I hate it. I don’t like feeling I’m with a damned school girl. I want a woman in my bed.” Shaking his head, he walked around her, “Go to bed, Elise. I’m going to take a shower. I’m no longer in the mood.”

  Elise watched the door close the bathroom with a mixture of shock and pure fear. Dmitri had never refused her sex, there had been times she knew he was tired or busy working in his office, but she had only to say his name and he knew what she wanted and gave it to her. There had been a time she woke in the middle of the night and need had been hard and tight within her. She had kissed him awake. Even though he was obviously tired, he had pulled her onto him and over him and she rode him. She had begun to feel embarrassed at her need and as if she was using him, but his hands had roamed over her breasts and then down to her hips and he’d urged her on. When she came, although it took a few minutes longer of her moving on him for him to achieve his orgasm, she’d been reassured when he pulled her down to him and he’d whispered how much she pleased him.

  Getting into bed, she wondered how to fix her blunder, it felt odd to slide the covers over the negligee she still wore. Dmitri liked her naked in bed, the coward in her turned off the light and settled into bed when she heard the shower go off. It was a long time before Dmitri came out of the bathroom and got into bed. She said nothing, scared to move, scared to make him angry.

  He was on his back and she watched him breathe evenly and wondered if he was already asleep. Then he sighed, and the sound seemed loud in the quiet of their bedroom. “I’m sorry, I shouldn’t have gotten angry. Many women prefer to be bare, and if it is what you want to do with your body then you have every right to do what feels good to you.”

  Sitting up, she leaned against the headboard and looked toward him but was still too scared to turn on the light. “Dmitri, there are times when it feels like I can do no wrong with you, and even though that should make me feel better, it doesn’t. I know you have made allowances for the fact that I was a virgin, and I appreciate it, but I can’t always be getting this right. As someone as highly sexed as you are, I can’t help but feel there are still more things you need or want that you are afraid to ask of me. I want to please you as much as you please me, I don’t want you holding back from me and there are times when I feel that you are. It leaves me feeling inhibited and worried that you aren’t asking for it because you think I won’t please
you.”

  He flicked on the light and she saw his shock and was relieved for it. “I cannot believe you just said that. I’m holding back? That has got to be the craziest thing I’ve heard come out of your mouth. Elise, as gently as I could, I have introduced you to the things I need from you and you have learned very quickly what pleases me. I have been happily surprised and more than satisfied with you. You don’t do any wrong because the things you do that you feel comfortable with, and how you do them, are what’s important. There has never been a time when I was unsatisfied with your mouth, your hands or body.”

  Her relief was high, but she could also read between his lines, he was so damned good at hiding behind his words. “What about the time a few weeks ago when you slipped a finger in my ass and because it surprised me, I got tense, and you’ve never tried it again? Is that something that you like and regularly had with other lovers? Is that something that would make you happy, but because of my reaction to that one attempt, something you have gone without?”

  “Damn it, Elise! Needs can change, I can be satisfied with what you are comfortable with. Your body tells me what makes you feel good and what doesn’t. We don’t have to have the exact same appetites for our relationship to work. Anal is something that many women are not comfortable with, or find no satisfaction in. I refuse to use your body for my own satisfaction while giving nothing back.”

  “Dmitri, why can’t you just say yes? Have you not figured out that so often my enjoyment comes from giving you satisfaction? Yes, I love the taste of your cock and the feel of you in my mouth, but I also love knowing that I’ve given you pleasure. When you come in my mouth, it’s the proof of that pleasure, that enjoyment, and is what really makes me wet. I’m not stupid. I know that if I ever didn’t like something or felt uncomfortable with something, you’d stop in an instant. But here’s the thing, have you considered I don’t know what I like and don’t like because I’ve never done it before? Why can’t you give me the chance to know for sure? Maybe I will love it once we get going. Sure, I could hate it, and not want to do it again, or maybe it won’t be so bad, and I’ll just need other stimulation to find it truly enjoyable.