by Sherie Keys
“How long have you two been dating?” Barbara wanted to know. Dating, yeah, they’d never really done that part.
“Has it been almost two months now, Alicia?” Dimitri asked. She turned, seeing him looking at her. Alicia tried to snap herself out of her nerves. She nodded immediately.
“Right. Right. Almost two months now.” She smiled at him. She wondered if she shouldn’t tell her parents about their marriage. Why couldn’t they just think that she had found a nice boyfriend? Wouldn’t that be easier on everyone else?
But she couldn’t lie. She couldn’t be honest with her friends and turn around and lie to her parents. That wasn’t who she was. She was going to do tell them everything. But not right now. They were going to get through dinner first. They were going to see what a wonderful man that Dimitri was.
Before she realized what was happening, Dimitri was placing platters of food on the table. He also added a small basket of neatly painted eggs. The one Easter tradition that she and Dimitri had both understood was the concept of painting eggs. He was above simply putting egg dye tablets into hot water to let the eggs soak in the color. Instead, he had purchased actual paints and sat at the table for most of Saturday night carefully painting designs on them. Alicia had been fascinated, and completely unable to concentrate on her own plain pastel eggs decorated with bunny stickers.
“Those are just beautiful.” Barbara leaned over to further examine the eggs. She turned to look at Alicia. “You certainly did not do these.”
“Um, no, I didn’t.” Alicia blushed slightly. She was being shown up by her Russian born husband. If it made her parents happy, she did not mind it.
“Those are incredible, Dimitri.” Barbara shook her head. “Absolutely stunning.”
“Thank you, Mrs. Augustus. I have been doing it for many years.”
“Is your family here?” Barbara turned from the eggs to look up at him. Dimitri shook his head as he set the ham on the table.
“No. They are still in Russia.”
“Oh I’m sorry.” Barbara’s look turned sympathetic.
“Thank you. I talk to them a bit.” Dimitri gave her a firm smile. “OK Let us all eat, yes?”
“Yes.” Wayne’s attention was firmly on the food. Alicia had to admit it did look good. She quickly poured everyone a glass of wine and another of water. Then she took her own place at the table.
The meal went off without a hitch. It was delicious, another of Dimitri’s triumphs. Alicia felt she became more impressed with each meal. Actually, she was simply becoming more impressed with Dimitri.
They made small talk through the meal. Dimitri was not quite the type of man that Wayne would connect to, but they seemed to get along. Dimitri tried to follow baseball, and Wayne seemed to appreciate that. He also seemed to enjoy hearing Dimitri’s stories of working with cars. He could get behind that. Alicia let out a breath of relief. They seemed to working everything out. Maybe it would not both them as much as she thought that it would when she confessed the marriage.
“Alicia, that is the nicest fellow you’ve ever brought home.” Barbara and Alicia were in the kitchen, cleaning up the remnants of the meal while Dimitri and Wayne watched the evening news. Wayne had enjoyed learning that Dimitri was as much of a news junkie as he.
“Thanks, Mom.” Alicia sighed. She knew that she was on the verge of having to tell something big. They’d made it through a nice holiday dinner, and now it was time to get the truth out in the open. “Um, Mom? Maybe we should go into the living room for a minute. Dimitri and I need to tell you and Dad something.”
Barbara looked a bit concerned, but she said nothing and followed Alicia. Once in the other room, Alicia picked up the television remote. She quickly flipped off the set. Dimitri looked at her for a moment, and then seemed to understand.
“Hey, we were watching that.” Wayne laughed, looking over to see if Dimitri was expressing the same humored outrage. Dimitri merely gave him a faint smile. He got up to stand beside Alicia.
“Mrs. Augustus, why don’t you sit down while we talk? I think it would be easiest on you.” Barbara sat, this time looking more concerned.
“Alicia, what’s happened? Is something wrong?” A look suddenly flashed across her face. “You’re pregnant, aren’t you? You two got pregnant?”
“Mom no!” Alicia wished that it was that simple. She could handle a baby. She even thought that her parents might like that idea. But this was something entirely different.
“What’s wrong?” Wayne’s tone had taken a more serious note. He looked a bit more like the protective father type now than he had the rest of the day.
“Well, so,” Alicia began carefully, “this is going to be hard to explain, but I hope that you two will understand.”
“We’re listening.” Barbara responded suspiciously.
“So, Dimitri and I aren’t actually dating.” Alicia looked over at Dimitri. “We actually…got married a couple of months ago.”
Both of her parents sat in stunned silence for a moment. They exchanged glances at each other. Alicia held her breath, waiting for whatever fallout was about to come.
“So this was what…” Wayne looked confused. “One of those ‘what happens in Vegas stays in Vegas deals’?”
“Not exactly.” Alicia murmured softly.
“Than what, exactly, was it?” Barbara asked.
“It was…” Alicia glanced over at Dimitri.
“It was a Green Card marriage.” Dimitri answered for her. “It was one so that I could remain in this country.”
“What?” Wayne snapped immediately. Alicia lowered her head. “Alicia, do you mean to tell me that you married a boy who came into this country just so that he could stay here?”
“Yeah,” Alicia whispered, “yeah, Dad, that’s what I did.” Wayne shook his head.
“How could you do this? Just how long did you two date before this marriage?” Alicia and Dimitri exchanged another long look.
“Well, we didn’t quite date….” Alicia didn’t know if she had the heart to finish that statement.
“You do not mean--" Barbara stared at them. Alicia nodded.
“Yeah, Mom, I do. We met online. Dimitri needed to get married so that he could stay in the country. I…agreed to it.” She decided to leave out the mention of the five thousand dollars. Her parents were already not taking this great. If they found out that Alicia had gotten into this because of money woes, she could only imagine the fallout. She would take that one to her grave.
Both of her parents were staring at them open mouthed. Alicia was fairly certain that they thought she had gone insane. She didn’t quite know what else to say.
"Please, please don’t let this drag things down. You guys liked Dimitri…before you knew about this we were all having a good day.”
“You must have lost your mind.” Wayne shook his head as he got up. “Barbara, I think I’ve heard enough.” Barbara Augustus did not waste any time. She got up, shaking her head.
“Alicia, I do not know what is going through your mind.”
She followed her husband out of the apartment. Alicia heard the door close behind them. Horrified, Alicia sank down on the couch. She wasn’t exactly sure what she’d been expecting, but this had gone bad enough. She knew she would have been stupid to assume that everyone would have been thrilled with their marriage. She supposed that she could take pride in the fact that her friends at least liked it.
She was vaguely aware of Dimitri sitting down on the sofa beside her. His arm slipped around her. She turned, pressing her face into his strong chest.
“Alicia, I am so sorry.” He rubbed her back soothingly. Alicia let a few tears slip down her cheeks. She didn’t want to hurt her parents. They were the two people that she never, ever wanted to hurt. But she had just single handedly trashed everything that they had ever had together.
“It’s my fault as much as yours,” she whispered. “I went along with this. I let us both get sucked into it.”
&nbs
p; “But you wouldn’t have done it if you had never met me.” Alicia felt his lips on the top of her head.
“Yes I would have,” she mumbled sadly. “I still would have joined that site. I still would have met someone. At least with you, I met a decent man.” She raised her head, looking up at him. “While I am sorry that my parents are hurt, I am not sorry that I met you. You are a wonderful man. And any woman would be lucky to have you.”
Dimitri studied her for a few minutes. Then, slowly, his lips dropped down to hers. Alicia lifted her head, realizing that she was not arguing about kissing him. Maybe it was her upset at the situation, maybe it was just that she needed his contact-whatever it was, she needed his kiss right now.
The passion in the kiss rose. Dimitri was leaning into her, kissing her more passionately. Alicia felt herself gasp against him. Her hands moved up to cup his face, holding him more firmly to her. Dimitri let the kiss progress for a few more moments before he pulled back.
“I am sorry. We should not--"
“Yes.” Alicia reached for him once more. “Yes, we should.”
“Alicia…now is not the time--"
“Now is the time.” Alicia pulled him back to her for another kiss. Despite his words, he did not really argue with her. His lips met hers again with the same passion that they had shared just a few minutes before.
Slowly, his hands slipped down her side. They brushed ever so slightly over the sides of her breasts. Alicia groaned into his mouth. Slowly, Dimitri pulled his lips back a fraction of an inch from hers.
“Do you want me to stop?”
“No.” She didn’t. Not at all. She wanted him to keep going. Suddenly, she needed him. She needed him to erase the anger, hurt and disappointment she felt after their meeting with her parents. “Let’s go to my bedroom.” The words left her lips, and she meant them.
Dimitri did not hesitate. He got up, reaching out to take her hand. She took his hand, pulling herself up and letting him lead her across the room and into the small bedroom. There, he turned her. His hands fell to her waist as he pulled her to him. Alicia’s hands went back to his face to pull him down to her.
This time, the kiss was a bit slower. It still held the same amount of passion, but there was not as much urgency as the one they had shared in the living room. Alicia felt that in this moment, she could kiss him forever. She liked the slower intimacy. Dimitri’s hands slipped up until they found the hem of her t-shirt. They pulled up. Alicia stepped back, allowing him to drag the garment over her head. She stepped back, allowing him to see her half naked.
Dimitri’s hands cupped her breasts through the white lacey bra that she was wearing. He squeezed them, rubbing his fingers over the soft skin. Ashley’s eyes closed. This was too good. She wondered if she’d actually wanted him all of this time. He was attractive, and they had been bonding so nicely lately. She figured that it was only natural they would reach this place.
He was now reaching behind her to free the clasp of her bra. She slipped it down her arms and tossed it aside. Dimitri shook his head.
“You have the perfect body, Alicia.”
“Thank you.” She lifted her head to drop a quick kiss onto his lips. “But do I get to see yours?” Dimitri smiled at her. He reached up, beginning to unbutton the shirt that he wore. One by one, the buttons slipped open. He shrugged it off onto the floor. As she suspected, his body was a force of chiseled muscle. Dimitri saw her look.
“Do you like? Some women…do not like a man with too many muscles.”
“Good thing I’m not one of them.” Alicia leaned forward. Lightly, she ran her tongue over his skin. This time it was Dimitri’s turn to groan. She took his hands, pulling him back to the bed.
Dimitri leaned in to kiss her again. He eased her to sit on the edge of the bed. He dropped to his knees, renewing the kiss. His hands reached up to begin working her jeans open. Once he had them open, he pulled them down her legs. Alicia shivered slightly in arousal, kicking the pants off. Her breath caught at now being fully naked for the first time in front of this man. She had never felt so exposed in her life-physically or emotionally.
Dimitri began to kiss down her throat. He sucked lightly at her pulse point before continuing down her shoulder. His lips moved across her collar bone. His tongue dragged a path along it until it reached her breast bone. He moved his tongue down until it met the curve of her breast. Alicia’s mouth opened in surprise at the feeling of his mouth sucking the soft flesh. Her cry grew louder as he took the nipple into his mouth.
His lips sucked for a long time before switching over to the opposite breast. Alicia whimpered softly. Dimitri pulled back, easing her to lay back on the bed. She watched as his hands hooked beneath the waistband of her underwear. She watched the soft white fabric disappear down her dark skin. Dimitri finally pulled them off of her feet and threw them aside.
For a moment he just looked at her. Then he moved forward to press kisses to her stomach. Alicia waited in heavy anticipation as he kissed down further. He used one hand to spread her thighs further. Then his mouth was settling between her thighs, and Alicia couldn’t think any more.
His tongue was swirling through the folds of her sex. Alicia whimpered. It had been so long since anyone had touched her like this. Her hands wrapped themselves into the blankets. She drew her legs back, resting them on the edge of the bed. Dimitri’s fingers were working into her. The combination of his tongue and his fingers was so incredible, she almost collapsed into herself.
“Dimitri…” She whispered. “I need you.”
That was all that it took. He got to his feet. She moved fully onto the bed as he quickly removed his shoes and socks. Then his hands were at his belt. They opened it, dropping his jeans down his legs. His thighs were just as muscles as the rest of him. Alicia shook her head. She had never imagined she would end up married to such a big, strong man. Next, his boxer shorts were coming down. He tossed them onto the growing pile of clothing. Alicia gasped, seeing the size and thickness of his erection.
“You are incredible.” She sat up, turning to face him. “I mean it. Your body is fabulous.” He chuckled at that.
“Well, in this case, I am glad that you like it.” He leaned down to kiss her once more. Alicia was lost in the kiss, but not blind to him climbing onto the bed with her. He shifted on top of her. Alicia held her breath. It had been awhile. She hadn’t had a man of his physical size before. But she wasn’t nervous. Dimitri had been nothing but gentle with her so far.
He kept kissing her as he positioned himself against her. Alicia felt the first sensations of him pushing himself into her. She pulled back from his lips, sighing in pleasure. Her hips rose up to take him in. His eyes locked onto hers.
“Yes?” He whispered.
“Yes.” Alicia pushed up to meet him, taking him all the way into her. They stayed like that for a moment. Alicia closed her eyes to enjoy the sensation. She hoped that they would be doing this more often-and she wouldn’t be wondering when it would come again.
His hips began to move into hers. She’d never had sex like this before. He felt like no one else. He seemed to know the exact tempo, the exact rhythm, and the exact angle. It was so incredible. He was hitting a spot inside of him that she had only heard about. It was too good…almost too much.
“Dimitri…” She whispered. “Oh yes. Just like that…please.”
He did not stop. He kept up with her pleas and soft cries. She knew that she was going to want him again, that she would never want him to stop. Just when she didn’t think that it could get better, his hand moved from the bed to slip between them. His fingers found her clit. He began to rub in slow circles around her. It made her eyes widen, and her hips move harder against him.
“Oh…I….” He was moaning too. The sounds of it, combined with the speed of his thrusts told her that he wasn’t far off. That was good. At his angle, and with the work of his fingers, she was not going to last much longer herself. It felt too good-it was too much.
&
nbsp; Alicia felt her body explode around him. Dimitri dropped his head down to hers. His forehead was resting on hers. He thrust hard one more time, releasing himself hard inside of her. His body shook as hers clamped around him.
“Alicia.” He whispered her name almost reverently. She loved how he said it with his accent. It came out to be more elegant, almost exotic.
“Dimitri.” She murmured. “You are so good.”
“So are you.” He pressed kisses gently onto her forehead. “It has been…awhile.”
“Me too.” Alicia looked up at him. “Dimitri…should we have…?”
“Yes, we should have.” He pressed his lips to hers. “We are married. It is all right.”
The word married made her remembered everything that had transpired with her parents. She sighed, shaking her head. Easing Dimitri off of her, she curled up tightly on one side.
“Do not think about.” Dimitri lay down beside her. He slipped his arm tightly around her waist. “This…it will pass. You will see.”
“You can’t be certain.” She shook her head against the pillow, staring down at her comforter.
“I am.” Dimitri kissed her ear. “Can I stay here tonight…or should I go back to my own room?” Alicia had to laugh at that request.
“No,” she turned to face him. “You can stay right here. With me.” Tonight, she did not want him anywhere else.
In the end, Dimitri had been proven right. Alicia had taken the step a few days after Easter to call her mother. Her mother had just kept repeating that she simply could not believe that Alicia had gotten herself into such a thing. But they had finally admitted that Alicia could have done far worse. Dimitri was a nice man. He was good to Alicia, and he was good to her family. They had her parents over for dinner again, and this time they left on a much higher note. So it was taking some time, and it was taking some work, but they were finally coming around.
Dimitri’s and Alicia’s relationship was becoming closer. They had been becoming friends before, but now they were escalating. They were friends, and now flirtatious lovers too. It was also not helping that the sex was excellent. After that first night, Alicia had not been able to stop herself from giving into him. She wanted him every night. She wanted him in her bed. She needed him near her. Dimitri had wasted no time in moving into the master bedroom.