A Life Less Ordinary

by Scarlett Cross

  “I expect that question will answer itself in a few…” Before Ivan could say seconds, Aleksei came into the room, breathing hard. He had recovered his towel, thankfully, and was clutching it around his slender waist. Oleg, who was still holding the door open pointed outside and Aleksei snarled and shot out into the cold, and Oleg slammed the door behind him.

  “How long do you think it will take him to figure it out?” Oleg asked as Ivan looked up at the door with interest, waiting for the answer to that very question.

  “Figure it out or realize he made stupid decision?” Ivan said, shaking his head as Aleksei, whose now-blue lips matched his pink hair nicely, came back in.

  “Between the two of you I don’t know who I wish would fuck off more.” Aleksei grabbed the cup of coffee Ivan had just poured and headed towards his room.

  “What happened to his hair?” Oleg asked and Ivan shrugged as he roared with laughter. When he was finally able to get himself under control, he explained.

  “Yuri. He is getting bored and he has started playing pranks. Most of them are harmless but some…some can be downright dangerous. Twice I have had to prevent someone getting hurt. Once it was me.” Ivan sighed. “Why did you come all this way? Could not be for social call.”

  “They found him, Ivan.” Oleg said, softly, and Ivan held up a hand, then closed the sliding door to the kitchen and locked it.

  “Keep your voice down and tell me everything you know.” Ivan said, he was awake now, his troubling lack of female attention forgotten.

  “Some nomads found him close to death apparently, two days after you left him. Not knowing who or what he was, they nursed him back to…well…they kept him alive.” Oleg said, pouring himself a cup of coffee before continuing. “He does not know who he is, nor does he know where he came from or how he ended up in Africa. Hell, I am not sure he even knows he is in Africa. Police picked him up wandering streets of Cape Town, took him to hospital. Mental evaluation was done and he was involuntarily committed. If you are wondering how I know, Omar told me. He called as soon as he had confirmed it was Dmitri.”

  “Let him stay there. Let him rot. I do not care. I knew I should have cut his fucking throat but Ndigwe and Omar would have left me to die with him. They would not see me murder my own brother, they said it would bring bad spirits on all of us or some shit. Superstitious, you know.” Ivan shrugged.

  “Ivan…they have discovered who he is. Russian Army had his DNA on file because of covert ops he ran during war, apparently. They contacted me because I am listed as last known living relative with stable address…you could not be listed because you were carnival worker and moved around constantly, no address. African hospital cannot handle him…he is dangerous…and we cannot bring him back to Moscow. Someone would certainly recognize him sooner or later. What should we do?”

  “Put him in asylum in America. I can have Aleksei draw up paperwork for him…how long do we have before he is released?” Ivan asked.

  “One week at most. He attacked nurse, tore her to pieces inside and out before they were able to subdue him.” Oleg sighed heavily. “Only reason he is not being hanged is it was nurse’s fault. Da, I know, that sort of thing is never woman’s fault, but she did not follow protocol. Women nurses were not supposed to go into ward with men. Ever. They do not even allow women doctors. No one knows why she was there, but one other nurse said she had ‘thing’ for Dmitri. Again, how she saw him or knew him, no one seems to know.”

  “I am sorry for her. He can be very persuasive and even more violent. Perhaps he won her over somehow…maybe by flirting; we may never know. In that case, we are going to need decisive action.” Ivan said, leaning on the marble top of the center island. Oleg’s satellite phone rang and he went outside to answer it, so Ivan unlocked the kitchen door only to nearly get bowled over by a clothed Yuri who was now using him as a human shield. “Yuri I am not…your…bodyguard.” Unable to rid himself of Yuri, who simply turned with him, Ivan hopped up on the center island and sat, cross-legged. Aleksei appeared in the doorway, also dressed, and looking as stern as Ivan had ever seen him. Come to think of it, he realized, he’d never seen Aleksei acting stern, let alone, angry.

  “You have been very bad boy, Yuri.” He said and Ivan rolled his eyes. Yuri pretended to have nowhere to run and allowed Aleksei to slam him against the center island. After trying not to watch them kissing for the next five minutes, Ivan finally spoke.

  “For love of God, I am not fucking centerpiece here for decoration. Would you get fucking room already?” Aleksei looked up and blushed almost as pink as his hair. “And Aleksei, I need to see you…as soon as possible.”

  “Won’t be soon I can promise you that.” Yuri said as Aleksei shoved him out of the kitchen just as Oleg came back in.

  “Ivan why are you sitting up there?” He looked at the open kitchen door. “Are they still chasing each other?”

  “Nyet, I think is safe to assume they are…making up.” Ivan said, then hopped down. “Aleksei will talk to us soon.”

  “I have to go back to Moscow. Talk to him, use tablet to contact me, is secure, and we will set something in motion. How is…woman?” He asked and Ivan motioned to him to follow. “Oh, I like this, I had never considered it. Perhaps when you have gotten her better I will fill it and stock it with fish and I can fish from up here.”

  Ivan shook his head, amused but relieved all the same. He had worried about his uncle’s reaction when he saw the newly installed observation window that allowed Ivan to keep an eye on Rosa at all times. Particularly when Yuri was in the tank with her. Ivan pointed towards her as she squatted monkey-like and gnawed on some fruit Yuri had given her the previous night. At least the hair Dmitri had shaved off was growing back so she wasn’t putting on so much of a show with her improper squatting. He never understood the attraction of shaving off a woman’s pubic hair, to him it had something to do with childhood, that lack of hair, and he disliked it. He longed to stroke that soft, curly down, and felt something stirring and had to change his train of thought since Oleg was right beside him.

  “How is she progressing?” He asked and Ivan shrugged.

  “Slowly. Dmitri really did number on her. But Yuri thinks there is hope, as he says, look at him. Other than few missteps along way, he has done very well.” Ivan said, flopping down on the sofa. “God Oleg, I need woman.”

  “I can have one flown in…” Oleg said, then glanced at Ivan and gave his nephew a sad nod. “You need your woman. I understand…I wish that I could just make her better, you know?”

  “As do I.”

  Chapter 44

  Aleksei shifted nervously in the spacious back seat of the touring sedan that had picked him up at the Cape Town airport. He wasn’t entirely comfortable with the way things were happening, but he also knew the importance of this ruse. The hospital loomed up ahead, Ivan had familiarized him with its appearance and exactly where and in what ward Dmitri could be found, so, when the car dropped him off Aleksei walked in purposefully. To his surprise, he was met just inside the air conditioned first floor by a very pretty young woman who smiled up at him with more than professional interest. He returned the smile, but not the interest.

  “You must be Dr. Kruchev?” She offered her hand and he shook it gently, telling her just how uninterested he was without saying a word. She pulled her hand away and looked a little disappointed, though her demeanor remained that of a professional. “Right this way Doctor. I must say, he has been in quite a state since we told him we’d found his doctor. He seems almost…happy.”

  “That’s great. I don’t know how he got from Dubai all the way to South Africa…” Aleksei started their cover story as they boarded the elevator, she pressed the button and he noted what floor he was on in case he had to flee.

  “He was in Dubai? I…we didn’t…he was found wandering in the slums…here, in Cape Town.” She was confused, good, Aleksei smiled inwardly but spoke in a tone that was as genuine as he could make it.


  “Yes, Ms.” He checked her identification, “Excuse me, Doctor Johansson. He was institutionalized there in a health club of a facility, but the place was shut down. The sheik who owned it was apparently ousted and that was that. I was not notified, Mr. Sergeivich was released without any warning, and there should have been warning because as you know, he is dangerous.”

  “Oh, I think the nurse he savaged can attest to that.” The young doctor said, a grim smile on her face. “I am, of course, not his acting physician, but I am on the board that handles cases such as his. Ah, here we are.”

  She ushered him into a board room full of more suits than he’d seen at Sergei’s last dinner party, and showed him to an empty chair. Once introductions were made, they walked Aleksei through all that they had found out. Then he was shown full-body photographs of the scars, scars Aleksei had not known about, scars from wounds only Ivan could have inflicted. He felt the blood drain from his face and the head of the hospital board spoke up.

  “You seem quite shocked, Dr. Kruchev…are you alright?” The venerable older man with a glossy shine to his bare dome that looked rather like an egg in a curly gray nest.

  “He didn’t…who did that to him? He did not have any scars other than his eye when last I visited him in Dubai.” Aleksei took on an air of outrage, which he honestly felt because he hadn’t known Ivan had done this and as a doctor, as a humanitarian, it angered him. Regardless of who and what Dmitri was, no one deserved this brutality. “I demand to know what has happened to this man!”

  “We do not know, any more than we knew what his name was until we ran his DNA through the missing person’s database. All we know is two men named Ivan and Yuri are involved in some way…though I can tell you we did extensive tests on him and found he was never sodomized, at least, not recently. He seems to believe he has been; he has attempted suicide four times, once getting close enough his heart stopped. Since, he has been on the locked ward where he is under 24 hour video surveillance. Despite being heavily sedated he just…doesn’t stop moving. What can you tell me about how he came to be under your care?”

  Aleksei launched into an explanation of Dedovschina, painting Dmitri as a victim rather than a perpetrator. Then, he also poured it on about PTSD from the war, among other issues that he had suffered from that only worsened due to the disorder. Finally, he explained that he had decided that Mr. Sergeivich was a threat to himself as much as others and he had made the decision to institutionalize him. He could almost see the dollar signs in their eyes when he mentioned that Dmitri’s father was a Russian politician, and then the disappointment when he informed them he would be taking his patient to America, closer to where he now practiced.

  Chapter 45

  Ivan breathed in deeply, a rumbling sound coming from his chest as he caught a scent on the air he did not recognize. He did not recognize it, but he did like it and he had been smelling it for days now, though he could not tell where it was coming from. Kicking his feet up on the enormous padded stool/table in front of him, he flicked boredly through the channels, occasionally looking down on Yuri and Rosa. Yuri was teaching her how to use a chair, and it seemed to not be going well, because she kept tugging at Yuri’s arm insistently. Finally, Yuri gave her some fruit as a reward and left, jogging up the service ramp and into the living room.

  “Ivan…I need to talk to you.” His face wore an expression Ivan could read clearly, Yuri was excited about something, but he was speaking cautiously. “Rosa has indicated to me that she…that she wishes to mate.”

  “Little bastard.” Ivan snarled, sitting upright now, his body tight with rage and pent up testosterone.

  “Can you not smell her on the air? But I am curious…you said she cannot have children, right?” Yuri said, idly, and Ivan observed his posture. He was relaxed, calm, not seeming to be on edge as if waiting for Ivan to allow him to ‘mate’ Rosa.

  “Nyet, she had procedure. Is reversible but I do not think Dmitri knew about it…and she obviously cannot have had it undone...no doctor would have agreed to do so in her current mental state.”

  “Well, either he’s shooting blanks or she’s unable to get pregnant because she is without a doubt ovulating. I can smell it on her. If she wasn’t your woman I’d have already mated her.” Yuri held up his hand to stop Ivan’s outburst before it started. “I want you to introduce yourself as her mate. Tonight. Now if you’d like…have you showered today?”

  “Nyet…need to if I am going to…” Ivan said but Yuri shook his head and he stopped, his brows furrowing. “But is nasty, Yuri, I have worked out all morning and I smell of old sweat and…”

  “And that will attract her like a fly to honey, Ivan. Trust me. That sweat has pheromones in it.” Yuri stood and said, “Well, do you want to take a stab at this or not?”

  “What do I have to do?” Ivan asked, standing and looking down at Rosa, who was moving back and forth at the door, whimpering.

  “You’ll have to go in naked.” Yuri said, hesitantly, when Ivan started pulling off his shirt, he nodded and continued. “Go in and sit on the floor. Let her come to you, do not pursue her. When she presents…and believe me, she will, you must mate her immediately. Remember, this is not about pleasure to her, it is about reproduction.”

  “And if she refuses me?” Ivan asked, he was now wearing only his boxer-briefs, standing at the cistern door. “What then?”

  “I doubt she will, but if she does we will continue to try. She may become a little…clingy…after you mate, so try to let her down easy when you depart. It would be best if you wait until she is asleep.” Yuri said, keeping himself out of her line of sight at the door.

  “Can I sit on her bed? I feel bad slamming her back into concrete floor…” Ivan said and Yuri shook his head, much to Ivan’s dismay.

  “Unfortunately no. That ‘bed’ will become her ‘nest’ once you are mated. She will protect it with her life…but we will talk on that later. Of course, she may invite you and then it’s okay. She was trying to drag me to it earlier. I refused and came to get you. I do not want her, Ivan, she is your mate…your woman. Go…and good luck!” Yuri pulled back the heavy bar that kept the door closed as Ivan pulled off the last stitch of clothing, then walked right into the cistern.

  Rosa fled from him when she saw him, walking upright and so unlike Yuri had been. Ivan did not turn his head to watch her as he sat on the floor in the center of the room, the concrete hard and uncomfortable against his naked backside. He could see Yuri watching from the observation window, but his focus was on Rosa. She crept closer, sniffing the air, small and submissive whimpering coming from her. Ivan knew better than trust that. The moment he tried to touch her she’d attack, so he heeded Yuri’s advice, for once, and sat perfectly still. She brushed against his back and it was like she’d flicked a switch, his body reacted immediately, despite his trying to stop it. He’d been so long without a woman he’d almost forgot how one tasted or felt.

  He felt her sniffing at the back of his neck, her nose pushing his long blonde hair aside, and then her tongue trailing up the sensitive scar tissue there. Then, to his utter astonishment, she pulled on his arm, dragging him as he stood and followed her, showing him her ‘nest’ as Yuri put it. He had no idea how to react to this and, when he looked up, saw that Yuri had disappeared, clearly not wanting to observe what was about to happen. What Ivan hoped was about to happen, anyway.

  When he did not move forward, Rosa got behind him and pushed him until he turned and sat on the edge of the bare mattress, suddenly feeling nervous, though he had no idea why. Nervousness had certainly never occurred when he’d been in bed with a woman before. Growling her frustration, a sound that brought a slight smile to Ivan’s lips despite the situation, Rosa pushed him onto his back even though he’d understood already that she wanted him to lie down, he let her do everything so as not to push her. Then she nudged at him until he was in the middle of the bed, painfully aware of his enormous erection as he was literally in pain it was so hard fr
om under-use and it was so enormous he thought he could have hung the Russian flag on it. Proudly.

  Rosa hopped on him and just, sat. Sinking him all the way in in one swift motion. Ivan groaned at the feeling. Whatever had happened to her, she didn’t feel any different than the first time he’d been with her all that time ago. The very act of sliding onto him made her orgasm, he could feel the fluttering inside of her as he moved quickly and flipped so that she was under him, her legs firmly wrapped around his thighs, pulling him in as deep as she could. The animal in Ivan took over, and for what he would later discover had been hours, he went at her.

  He remembered spilling into her the first time and the last, but couldn’t remember anything in between. When the mating was complete, she curled up beside him and fell asleep almost immediately, which was good, his lower regions were already beginning to itch from their combined juices drying on him. When he came out, he saw that Yuri had cleaned up his clothes already, but kindly left a towel for him to wrap around his waist. He did so, bounding up the ramp feeling buoyant and exhausted all at once.

  “It went well, I take it?” Yuri smiled at him knowingly as he entered the den from the cistern access ramp, a broad smile on his face.

  “Da, very well. Thank you, Yuri.” Ivan said, then glanced down at the towel. “I need shower. How long was I…?”

  “Four hours.” Yuri smirked, then stood and slouched off to his own empty bed. Ivan went the opposite direction, as his was the Master bedroom on the far side of the house.

  Chapter 46

  It was three months before Aleksei was in contact with the safe house, two months longer than Ivan’s instructions. He was still brimming with righteous anger at Ivan’s mistreatment of the unfortunate Dmitri so much so that even when he reached Russia and as he waited on layover for a month before hopping a train to Siberia, he did not call in. So, when he arrived at Oleg’s safe house, he was a little disconcerted at the silence that greeted him, at first thinking he might have missed something. Then, after leaving his boots in the kitchen entryway and then stepping into the house proper, he heard both Ivan and Yuri laughing and turned in every direction but the cistern. Until he realized their laughter was coming from the cistern.