Dmitry's Closet (25 page)

     Royal agreed with Dmitry, but she could count on her hands how many similarities that they shared versus the countless things that she could not relate to him about, mostly surrounding money. No one ever prepared her for this in her many fairy tale stories as a girl. The knight in shining armor showed up, just as the story promised, but there were no details of what happened during the
ever after.
She was completely and utterly clueless. With a shake of her head, she looked back over at Dmitry, who was studying her.

     "I like it better when you think out loud," he said, taking her glass and sipping her champagne.

     She watched the crystal touch his delicate pink lips. "I just hope that you're the real thing, Dmitry. Because I'm definitely in over my head. And you don't make it any better spoiling me like this." She moved her hair from her face and rested her elbow on the arm rest.

     Dmitry looked over at her and raised his eyebrow. "Oh, I am the real thing." He put the crystal flute back on her table and smiled.

∞♥∞

     To Royal's surprise and delight, they stopped in New York City before their long trip across the ocean. She had never been to New York but had always dreamt about the opportunity. Now she was in a limo being rushed around the busy city in style. She sat quietly in the limo looking out the window, gawking at the sights while Dmitry talked to Anatoly in Russian.

     Dmitry mentioned that the reason for his stop was two-fold. He needed to stop for a quick business meeting and to buy Royal a proper mink coat for the Russian cold. Both errands would be short, because they were blocks from each other in the busy burrow of Manhattan. Instead of sending Royal with Anatoly, Dmitry had taken Royal personally to an upscale shop on Madison Avenue.

     The bodyguards stood outside while Royal and Dmitry went inside of the luxury fur gallery, Royal Chie. The innovative Japanese designer Chie Imai's collection was breathtaking. It was internationally recognized for its eco-friendly designs, versatility and high-profile clients.

     However, up until now, Royal had only read about the shop. Now, she was in it being shown their finest coats and accessories. She felt like a kid in a candy store. She was allowed to look through the entire new line of furs before making her selection, a chocolate Swakala Coat with Russian Sable Trimming, and matching muffler and ear-muffs.

     The sales woman was about to wrap her new gifts, when Dmitry instructed her to dress Royal quickly in the furs immediately so that they could leave for his meeting. With a bow and smile, she was escorted to the fitting area and came back out looking richer than she had ever felt in her life.

     As she came out, he was sitting on a chair texting. She walked in front of him and cleared her voice. He looked up at her pleased. Having already paid for the merchandise while she was putting them on, he was ready to go and on schedule. Under his arm, she followed him back out of the shop and into the limo where they ended up at the Wall Street Bath and Spa a short while later.

     Instead of going inside the bath house with Dmitry, he insisted that Royal stay in the car. She did so obediently. She preferred it, in fact. It gave her the perfect opportunity to call and tell Renée about her newest gift and her trip thus far.

     She wasn't left alone, however. She was accompanied by a driver and a blonde, brick of a man, who Royal concluded was one of Dmitry's men. She had never seen him before, but he was a cookie cutter copy of all of Dmitry's bodyguards—huge, arctic polar bears.

     He sat across from her, trying not to look directly at her, but she caught him staring several times. Sliding her shades over her eyes, she tried to ignore the brut while she talked on her cell phone.

     Thirty-minutes later, Dmitry returned with Anatoly and his men to the car, and they were back on the jet eating lunch before noon.

∞♥∞

     Before dawn of the next day, Royal and her party arrived in Moscow, Russia. Dmitry had been right when he said that she would need a big coat. It was the most bone-chilling winds and rain that she had ever experienced in her life.

     Two very large black G550 Mercedes —Benz trucks were awaiting them outside of customs. Once they received their clearance into the country, they were immediately carted off to the Le Royal Meridien National Hotel.

     To Royal's amazement, the hotel was directly across from the Kremlin. She stood gazing out the elaborately decorated windows of their presidential suite at the palace in her view. The gold sphere-like tips of the cathedrals caught embers of light that reflected from sun trying to break free from the cloudy day and shined into her room. It was a spectacular sight. She could not take her eyes off the fortress.

     The architecture was amazing, and the massive size of the great bricked wall surrounding it was astonishing. It was so remarkable until it held her attention beyond her own control. By far, it was the grandest thing that she had ever encountered, but there was something else very special about the wondrous place—perhaps just the thought that Dmitry was born and raised in the country.

     While she basked in the beauty of her view, room attendants quickly put away their things, changed out a few amenities per Royal's request and ran a bath for Dmitry. With all the commotion in the room, she never broke her gaze. Dmitry found her new interest intriguing. He spoke to men in Russian, flipped through his blackberry and gave out orders, but mostly he admired how entranced she had become. She was like a child with a shiny new toy.

     Dmitry noticed how Royal seemed to be maturing day-by-day, not that she had been a child when he met her. It was just that he had exposed her to so much so very quickly, until she was forced to elevate herself at a hyper speed. When he first met her, saw her, he knew that she was a diamond in the rough, but even he did not know how beautiful and brightly she would shine once she was groomed.

     Royal did not notice that everyone had left the room until she felt Dmitry's hands on her shoulders. She turned around and looked at him.

     "It's... mind-blowing," she said, shaking her head. "I've never seen anything like it." She touched the frosted window. "That's the Kremlin? It's huge... massive."

     Dmitry massaged her shoulders. "I'll make sure to take you to the Kremlin
later
this week."

     "Tomorrow," Royal demanded. "I've got a whole day lined up for myself. I brought gym shoes, jeans, a camera with a butt load of memory and a pea coat." She smiled at him. "What? Why are you looking at me like that?"

     "You're such a little tourist. Tomorrow, I actually had other plans, but I'll cancel them, and you and I will spend it touring the entire Red Square and your precious Kremlin. Well, the part that we can get inside. You know the President of Russia lives there."

     "Like the White House? Wow. I can't wait until tomorrow then." She reached out and gave him a big hug. "This entire place is like one big dream, Dmitry. I still can't believe that I'm actually here." She released him and turned back towards the window.

     Dmitry huffed. "When I was your age, I thought this place was nightmare. I couldn't leave here soon enough. And look at you... you want permanent visa." He wrapped his arms around her waist and kissed her neck.

     "That was when you were young. Surely, you miss it now."

     "No. I just come here to take care of things I can't take care of anywhere else."

     "But it's a part of you?"

     "A very big part of me," he confirmed.

     "Well, I feel like it's a part of me, as much as you talk about it."

     That made Dmitry smile. "You feel that strongly about it, eh?"

     "Yes," Royal couldn't control her smile. "It's so different from Memphis."

     Dmitry laughed so hard, his voice rattled the room. Her only point of reference was Memphis, yet to look at her, Royal looked like she had traveled the world for years.

     He turned Royal around and pulled her to him.

     "I will open your little eyes to this big beautiful world soon enough. And you will see that everything is quite different from Memphis. Maybe even, you appreciate it more. Who knows?"

     "I appreciate it... when I'm away from it," she said, hanging her arms around his neck. "I don't want to live there forever."

     "I'm certain that you will not." Dmitry rubbed his hands through her hair.

     "Oh, change of subject. Tomorrow is Christmas Eve. So, I've got to go and get your other gifts while we're out."

     "Other gifts?"

     "I brought some things with me." She wiggled her nose. She knew how much he enjoyed her gifts.

     "What it is? I want to see it now." He gripped her waist in his hands.

     "No. You have to wait till Christmas."

     "I haven't had Christmas gifts since I was little boy."

     "Well, it's a good thing that I'm around, because I've got a great Christmas planned. We're going to have eggnog and Christmas stockings and the whole nine."

     "You and your holidays." His thick accent covered his words. "I have to step out for a few hours and take care of some business. So, you'll have the suite to yourself." He pulled away from her and went into the master bedroom to take off his clothes.

     "Completely to myself or will that big blonde dude be outside of my door?"

     "What? You don't like blondes. Fine. I get you redhead." He laughed.

     "Whatever." She pulled her coat off and pulled her hair out of its pony tail. Scratching her head, she went over and sat on the bed in front of him. "Do you think that he'll take me to get something to eat? I'm starving."

     "Order in."

     "I don't want to. I want to stretch my legs. I've been in a jet for hours."

     Dmitry pulled his tie loose and looked at her. "Alright." He began to unbutton his shirt. "He'll take you anywhere you want to go."

     Royal stood up on her knees in front of him and started to unbutton his tailor made oxford for him. He ran his hands down her back to her bottom.

     They made eye contact.

     She raised her eyebrow.

     "Are you thinking of cancelling your plans for this afternoon." Her hair sat flirtatiously around her shoulders. "If I could, I would."

     Unbuttoning Dmitry's shirt, she pulled the fine clothing from his body revealing his massive chest. She reached for his belt and pulled him closer. The smell of his cologne danced about her nose. She inhaled his fragrance and bit her lip.

     "Can you... cancel?" she asked suggestively.

     Dmitry gave a devilish grin and licked his lips. His voice was low and baritone. "If I could, you'd already be screaming and crawling the walls, my dear." He tapped her behind softly, indicating his commitment to his previous engagement.

     Sulking, Royal let go of his belt and watched him walk into the large bathroom. He smiled playfully at her and closed the gold double doors behind him. Defeated, she slumped down in the bed. It was highly unlike Dmitry to turn her down. He must have had something very important to do. And what did she have to do?

     It was snowing like crazy, the skies were blackened with dark clouds, and she didn't speak much Russian. Maybe the brick wall standing outside of the hotel door wouldn't mind escorting her to the restaurant for something to eat? She sat back up on the bed and slipped on her shoes.

Chapter 18

     Morning rays crept through the curtains of the presidential suite, as Royal and Dmitry lay wrapped in each other's arms snuggled comfortably in their king-sized canopy bed. Dmitry snored lightly, and Royal listened to the grandfather clock in the corner tick the seconds away. She had been awake for nearly an hour, tossing moderately under the strain of Dmitry's long arm wrapped protectively around her waist.

     Twirling her fingers in her tangled hair, she thought about where she would have her blonde bodyguard Davyd take her today. She had seen many the sites in the last few days, even though Dmitry had cancelled on her repeatedly. He apologized everyday promising also to spend time with her the next, but everyday he left her in Davyd's care. To her surprise, however, Davyd had been quite the tour guide. Plus, he seemed to enjoy doing something other than taking orders from her anally-retentive boyfriend.

     Today, she planned on shopping. Dmitry had given her the American Express Black Card and told her to "knock herself out". She was going to do just that. Evropeiski Mall was supposedly the superior shopping experience, and their stores would give her insight on what new things she could bring to
Dmitry's Closet.
Then she would go over to Tverskaya Street, which was filled with hundreds of shops and boutiques, where she would do more shopping, and then dine at the finest restaurant that she could find. She might even buy her bodyguard something nice.

     Strangely enough shopping had become a well-proven stress reliever for her. She relished in the idea of seeking out bold statements made with expensive fabrics. Accessorizing with precious gems, bold bags and beautiful shoes made her giddy with excitement and temporarily satisfied some insatiable lust for more that dwelled inside of her. It was bizarre to her that such materialistic things brought her comfort, but they did, especially when she was not receiving ample attention from Dmitry.

     Rolling over on her, Dmitry nuzzled his face down in her hair and pulled her closer to him, grunting as he did so. Royal looked over and touched his face. He growled, acknowledging that she was already awake. Sparkling diamonds emerged as the slits of his eyes opened. He gave her a content smile. She turned towards him and slipped her arms around his neck.

     "Morning," she whispered.

     "Good morning." His deep baritone voice cut through the silence.

     "I'm glad that you slept later than normal."

     "What time is it?" He raised up a little.

     She pulled him back down. "It's early. Don't go yet. I miss you."