At count sixteen, it was pulled open and standing before me was a blonde with laughing cornflower blue eyes. She was a bit taller than April but looked no older. Her eyes widened when she saw me. “You’re Yuri,” she said, then shook her head. “I mean April’s employer. Yulia’s Uncle.”
“Where’s Yulia?” I barked.
“Down the hall,” she said and jerked her head to indicate the location. “April’s giving her a bath.”
She stepped out of my way hurriedly at the same time that I barged in and barreled down the direction she had signaled.
“Hey, hang on a minute!” she called.
Ignoring her, I burst open the door at the end of the hallway to a picture that should have warmed my heart, but I was too angry to be reasonable. Yulia was squealing as April tousled her wet hair in a towel while laughing.
At my sudden arrival, both jumped in shock. “Yuri?” April gasped. Her eyes immediately filled with dismay.
This made me even more furious.
I turned to gaze down at Yulia.
She stepped behind April’s legs, her eyes showed the usual terror that appeared in them whenever I was near. Her hair was bright red.
“What the fuck have you done with her hair?” I yelled.
“It’s not hair dye. It’s just Kool-Aid. It’s perfectly safe,” April rushed to explain.
“Get her dressed and in my car in five minutes,” I said and walked away.
Chapter 21
April
“He fired everyone!” Zelda exclaimed.
The strength left my legs as I lowered myself onto the couch and shut my eyes, my phone cradled against my ears. “How is that possible?”
“All sixteen of us,” she said. “He’s given us twenty-four hours to get out. I’m packing my things now. I’m so confused.”
“He can’t do that. I’ll be right there,” I said.
“I don’t think you should come. I’ve seen him angry before, but never like this. It’s a scary sight.”
“Then what about your jobs?” I cried guiltily.
“There’s nothing you can do either way. You’re automatically fired too. The only person that could probably change his mind is Mr. Vasiliev.”
“Who is that?”
“His best friend. You know that big guy with tattoos on his neck and face that’s always around him,” she explained.
Oh, yeah. “Do you have his number?”
“Of course, but I’m still bound by my NDA. I am not allowed to give it out under any circumstances,” she paused. “Give me a minute, Anton,” she said, referring to the aged gardener.
“Oh my God, did he fire Mr. Orman too?” I asked in shock. He was one of the few people I actually liked when I was introduced to the staff that first day I arrived.
“No. Not him. He’s like a father to Mr. Volkov. He is the only one left and the security. The very ones who didn't do their jobs in the first place. No offense to you, dear.”
“I am so sorry. He was meant to be away for two days. I didn’t know that he would return so suddenly in this way,” I cried, filled with remorse. “I’ll find a way to fix this. Please send me Mr. Vasiliev’s number.”
Seconds later, I received the text message containing the number.
Charlotte was sitting on the couch watching me, a steaming cup of hot chocolate and marshmallows in hand. “I don't think I've ever seen you so bothered,” she commented. “Calm down, will you?”
With shaky hands, I paced around our tiny living room as I waited to be connected to the giant’s number. My heart slammed painfully against the wall of my chest when the ringing stopped. “Mr. Vasiliev? T-this is…er…April Winters. Yulia’s nanny.”
“Yes. What do you want?” he asked coldly
At his tone, my hope died on the spot, but I couldn't give up. Not until he told me no to my face and even then I wouldn’t stop trying to sort out the mess I caused by my careless actions. “Could you please help me by speaking to Yu—I mean…Mr. Volkov. Taking Yulia from the house was my sole doing. None of the other staff were even aware. He can’t make everyone suffer on my account.” I could hear my voice begin to crack so I paused and took a deep breath.
“Why are you contacting me?” he asked indifferently. “I’m not the one who fired them.”
“You’re the only… I heard you’re the only one he listens to.”
“Yuri listens to everyone,” he said.
For a moment, I was taken aback. Whether his words were bad, or good news, I couldn’t tell.
“Now, if you excuse me, I have other matters to attend to.”
Suddenly, there was nothing but silence on the other end.
I stared at the empty screen of my phone until Charlotte’s voice pulled me back to the present.
“What did he say?” she asked.
“He said he couldn’t help. That Yuri listens to everyone.” I stared at her. “What does that mean, anyway?”
She gazed at me blankly, then grimaced. “That can’t be good.”
“What do I do now?”
She raised her eyes to the ceiling to think. “No one listens to everyone. Who is this guy? Is he as hot as Yuri? God, that Yuri is holy-moly-macaroni hot.”
“Charlotte!” I nearly screamed. “Not now.”
“All right. All right. Calm down.”
“These bloody Russians. They are so freaking cold and unfeeling. They speak as if words cost money.” I racked my brain for an answer. “What if it means just what he says? Not that he listens to everyone, but that he gives everyone a chance and then makes his own decisions?”
“Doesn’t that mean the same thing?” Charlotte asked. “Since he is Russian too, maybe it’s a second language thing.”
“Yes,” I said distractedly. “I can’t see I have any other choice, but to go and see Yuri.”
She smiled mysteriously. “Hmmm.”
“What do you mean Hmm?”
“Nothing.”
I shot her a dark look and hurried off to get ready.
Chapter 22
Yuri
When I drove home with Yulia in the backseat, I should’ve been relieved, instead I was infuriated. What I really wanted to do was go back and take April into my arms. I wanted to scold her for being so careless and willfully negligent and…then punish her. The way I knew would drive her crazy. I wanted to whip her ass until it was as red as her hair and when it was burning with pain, I would fuck her so that every time I pushed into her she would scream with pain and pleasure. I wanted to see her spread open before me and begging me to use her. Not creeping down the stairs with her fucking luggage to run away.
I glanced into the rearview mirror at Yulia. She was staring sullenly out of the window. The morning sun had turned her bright red hair into a halo of fire. When I had found them, my niece looked happy. I hadn’t seen her happy for so long. I can’t even remember when I last saw her laughing.
As I looked at my niece, I understood that April had taken her with good intentions. If only she could have fathomed the danger she had exposed Yulia to by removing her from the compound, she would never had done it. She had no idea how dangerous a thing she had risked because she hadn’t been brought into the picture. She couldn’t. Not for the time being, but…
I needed a way to bring April back into the picture.
All I’d been able to think about since the previous day had been her. How I had fucked us both out of our minds, and how at the end of it all, she had flinched at my touch. That act had bruised and angered me because I couldn’t understand the reason behind it.
I never had a woman do that to me before.
The sight of her packed luggage the following morning was rejection in its most brutal form. It had shot the bullet straight into my eyes. I even cut my trip short because of her. I couldn’t concentrate on anything. A few times Alex gave me a funny look. Well, what the fuck did he know? He’d never had a woman grab his cock the way April did mine.
It was drastic to put my entire domestic
staff out of a job, but it was the only way to bring April back. She couldn’t leave yet, no way, not when I wasn’t done with her.
I looked at my watch. Anytime now, I expected her to come back. If I knew anything about her, I knew she had a big heart.
I was on the phone when her feeble knock sounded on the door. I didn’t respond and kept my eye on the heavy oak for a moment before turning to watch her from the surveillance monitor by my desk. She dropped her head into her hands and then tousled her hair in frustration. For a second, she put her palms on either side of her face and closed her eyes. When she opened them, she rapped her knuckles on the door… a lot louder this time.
I waited, enthralled even by the sight of her on my tiny monitor, until my Lawyer spoke up, “Mr. Volkov?” he called. “Are you there?”
“I am,” I said and looked at the monitor in amusement as she pounded the door with her fist.
I held a hand to the speaker. “Hold on,” I said to my lawyer and turned towards the door. “Come in.”
A few moments later, it was swung open. She’d been in my home office before so her eyes immediately went to my chair, but when she didn't see me there, she turned and found me leaning against the mantle. She opened her mouth to speak, but stopped herself when she realized I was on the phone.
I watched her, my gaze boring into hers, until she looked away.
I finished my conversation with my lawyer, returned to my chair, and took my seat. “What do you want?” I asked.
For a second, she looked as though she was going to cry. “I want to apologize. Please don’t fire everyone.”
I stared at her expressionlessly.
She looked pale. There were blue shadows under her eyes. “I’ll take all the blame. It was my fault, they had absolutely nothing to do with it. Why punish them when it is clear that it was my fault?”
“It’s the responsibility of the entire household to ensure Yulia’s safety.”
“She wasn’t in any danger. I just thought that it would do her some good to get out of the house. She was a bit down earlier in the day.”
I watched her for a few moments and then my response came, “No.”
“Yuri,” she called.
At the sound of my name from her mouth, I raised my head. I wanted to hear it again.
As usual, she instantly withdrew. “I beg of you, please. I cannot have the entire household’s unemployment on my conscience.”
“Didn’t you read the terms of your employment contract? Her removal from the compound without permission was explicitly banned.”
She shut her eyes. “I am so sorry. Look Yuri, if there’s something I can do to make up for it, I will.”
“Fine, I’ll keep everyone…”
Her eyes shot wide open.
“If you return.”
She looked confused. “What do you mean?”
“You know exactly what I mean. I saw Yulia laughing for the first time in almost a year and that was because of you. I want to you to carry on doing what you were, only please do not take her out of this compound again, or you could endanger her life.”
Her eyes became huge. “Why is she in danger?”
“I cannot divulge that information to you at this present moment, but you must take my word for it.”
She dropped her eyes. “All right, I’ll return.”
I didn’t let her see how glad I was with my easy victory. “Good. You may return to your duties. Call Zelda and tell her the good news.”
She looked up then.
Questions I needed answers to swirled through my head, but I knew better than to ask them now. “That will be all,” I said and returned my attention to my computer.
“Thank you,” she said, standing up.
“Be in my room tonight,” was my reply. I didn’t look up until I heard the sound of the door as it banged shut behind her.
I leaned back against my chair and smiled. “That’s my girl.”
Chapter 23
April
I would stay for Yulia and the household staff.
I’d taken the easier route earlier to run away, but thanks to Yuri, the harder path was now my only option.
The rest of the household however remained wrought in confusion for the remainder of the day. No doubt, everyone would be walking on eggshells for a while whether Yuri was in sight or not.
“I just don’t get it,” Sandra mouthed off later that night after dinner. She was the youngest member of the housekeeping staff and my room was one of her duties. She and I were quite friendly with each other. She was English in a household full of Russians. “He fires us all and then rehires everyone back in the space of just three hours. Including you.”
I glanced back and shrugged. She didn’t need more information than what she already had. Deep in thought, I tuned out the rest of the chatter in the room and retrieved my mug from the cupboard. The kettle had nearly boiled. I wanted the Chrysanthemum blend at the top of the cupboard, but as I was reaching for it, I was startled by the ring of my phone. Jumping, I put a hand to my chest.
“April, are you all right?” Orlav voiced his concern. “You’ve been jumpy all day.”
“I would be the same if I were her,” Sandra piped in.
I looked at my screen and stared for a moment at the unrecognizable number. Curious, I picked it up to find out who it was.
“Hello,”
“It’s almost ten,” came Yuri’s voice. “Where are you?”
For a moment, I was too stunned by his voice to reply, then I was filled with embarrassment at the way he was summoning me to go to his room as if I was a prostitute he hired in front of all the other staff. I was livid, but at the same time, I had made this deal with him. And a deal is a deal. “I’ll be right there.” My voice was cold and hard.
“Are you going somewhere?” Margot asked.
She knew. “Mr. Volkov,“ I replied calmly. “He called for some tea.”
“But he only drinks black coffee,” Sandra said innocently.
I could only muster a shrug and try to ignore the eight pairs of eyes on me as I retrieved the jar of dried chrysanthemum, set up a tray, and got on my way.
“He’s now living on the top floor,” Margot said.
“Thanks Margot, and goodnight everybody,” I called as I went out of the door. I knew they would talk about me when I left, but there was nothing I could do about it.
His room was on the top floor of the house, however when I reached the first floor stairs, I met a dead end I wondered what was going on.
I didn’t want to return to the scrutiny of the others in the kitchen so setting the tray on a nearby console, I dialed his number.
“There’s an elevator on the ground floor down the hallway from my office,” he said. “It’s the only access to my floor. Type in the code 3372 and it will lead you straight up.”
I did as instructed and found the doors to the elevator opening before me. As I stepped into its glass and chrome interior, the door swished close and I was swept up.
There was only one door past the massive centerpiece of flowers by the lift. By the time I arrived at it, I was breathing too fast.
I didn’t have to knock. The moment I arrived, Yuri pulled open the door. I didn't notice anything apart from his eyes. They were piecing and seemed to sear deep into parts of me that I didn’t want him to reach. Clearing my throat, I opened my mouth to speak, but before any words could come out, he rasped out his instruction, “Lose the tray.”
I placed it on the floor and as I straightened, his mouth was on mine. I forgot to be furious for showing me up in front of the other staff, for treating me as if I was a prostitute. My hands fisted his shirt, desperate to hold him close… or terrified of him eventually disposing of me. I couldn’t tell.
I slid my hands into his hair and gave the kiss everything I had in me. Earlier that day, I had been sure that I would never lay eyes on him again, but he had fought for us. For whatever this crazy fiery desire was between us and in
that moment, I appreciated him.
I tore at his buttons as my entire body began to tremble with need for him. To be completely possessed and fucked senseless the way only he knew to do. He would be the lust of my life, of this, I was certain. Nothing else or no one else would ever compare to him.
He dragged his lips from mine. “How could you leave so easily?” he rasped out.
Panting, I grabbed at his belt buckle and began to pull at the leather.
He pulled me away from him and forced me to look into his eyes. “Talk to me,” he commanded.
My eyes were hazed, the blood in my veins ablaze, but what could I say to him? It would be nothing that he wanted to hear anyway, so I tugged on the tie that cinched my cotton dress at the waist and pulled it over my head. I flung the material aside and stood before him in nothing but my underwear. I saw his eyes grow dark with lust. It was all I had.
His lust for my body.
“There is no need for us to speak,” I said. “I want you desperately. It’s okay for it not to go beyond that.” Even as the words left my mouth, I knew they weren’t true. It wasn’t okay for me. I wanted more. Far more, but I knew I couldn’t have it. My heart was going to be broken, but I would rather have this and a broken heart than nothing.
A heavy silence so thick you could slice through it hung in the air between us as his eyes greedily feasted on my body. Then he turned around and headed towards the bed. Facing me, he began to unbutton his shirt. He stripped quietly.
I watched him, transfixed by the pure virility of his body. My clit was swollen and throbbing as he pushed his slacks down his hips to reveal his firm butt.
I was dripping wet when I went to him then. With my hands on his shoulder to support myself, I stood on tiptoes and began to trace wet, worshiping kisses down his perfectly toned back. My pussy was pulsating with need for him.
Simultaneously, I unsnapped my bra and pressed my breasts to his warm flesh.
I felt him shudder just for a moment at the contact, but he didn't turn around. He allowed me the chance to explore and soon my mouth was on his ass. I didn't know if it would be too much, but at that moment, I didn’t care. I went down on my knees, edged my head between his legs and covered his balls with my mouth.
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