Nadezhda suspected Arkady's intervention when she came by the restaurant and her uncle paid her in full with no argument. He said nothing about her returning to work. When Nadezhda glanced down at the check Boris had written her, she blinked, seeing an amount significantly higher than she expected.
"Your cousin wishes to repay you for... the hard work you have done for her in the past and insisted that I give you a month of her wages."
Yep. Arkady had been around. What more could she say? "Thank you, Uncle Boris. I came here three years ago because you gave me an opportunity and it has done me well, but it is time for me to move on. I wish you the best of luck with your work and family."
He hesitated as he looked at her. "Family is supposed to look out for family and I did that when I took you in. I am sorry certain members have not been welcoming, but it appears that you are now taken care of and my role as your guardian is over."
"Thank you, Uncle Boris."
"Only remember that family is family, you will always be my niece," he said. Nadezhda had known him long enough to figure that this meant that even though she was no longer dependent on him, he was not banishing her.
"And you will always be my uncle. Dasvidaniya."
o0o
Since she no longer had a job, Nadezhda decided to take the rest of the semester off and devote part of her time to studying languages. Ukranian was close enough to Russian that it took her little effort to learn, but she'd bought Rosetta Stone programs in Polish and Czech, which, while also Slavic, was different enough from Russian to require more of her focus. The more languages she mastered, the more valuable she would be as an interpreter or translator.
In due time she would work on learning Chinese and French, and then more, for as long as she could grasp and learn languages. And it was nice that she didn't have to worry about work, at least for a bit of time. As a freshman, there was a fair amount of gen-ed classes she had to take, and she wanted to get the week's homework done with. Then she'd work on some Polish for an hour or two. After that... well, Arkady had made that clear. He was coming over for dinner, and it went without saying, more.
Sometimes she would spend the night at his place, but other times, he would come here and they would play in the large, comfortable king-sized bed that he had insisted on putting in her bedroom. It was something he'd already furnished her apartment with before he'd agreed to put a stop to his gift-giving. At least it was really comfortable and she could hardly complain after spending over a year on a sofa bed which wasn't much better than the twin bed she'd had for over a decade as a child and teenager.
She had been sincere in her expressions of gratitude for his generosity. A comfortable and clean place to live, a well-stocked pantry, a reasonable amount of money set aside. Overwhelming as she might find Arkady's more lavish gifts, she couldn't complain about not needing to worry about life's basics. So she set about on her studies, barely paying any attention to the time before she heard the click of the lock on the door to her apartment as Arkady let himself in.
He never knocked. But since he was paying for it, it was one of these things she chose to not bring up. She rose from her seat to see him slide off his shoes and set his small rolling suitcase to the side. Clad in a dark gray suit and with his hair tied back nearly, Arkady looked like he'd just come from a meeting.
He smiled as she approached him before he pulled her into a hug. His hand slid down to playfully cup her rear end before she pulled back, swatting at him playfully.
"Are you hungry now?" she asked. "What are you in the mood for?"
"Something light. I don't want a rich meal weighing us down," he replied with a light smirk. She feigned a roll of her eyes before turning away and heading into the kitchen as Arkady settled onto the sofa. From an outside perspective, this might almost appear like a slice of American life. Guy comes home from work and his woman cooks for him while he watches TV.
She pulled out a can of tomato soup. The secret to a creamy tomato soup when using canned soup was to use milk instead of water. As she set that to cooking with a dash of garlic and basil for flavor, she set about making grilled cheese sandwiches. When Arkady saw her put the food on the dining table, he rose from the couch and took his place in one of the chairs while she sat across from him. If they ordered out, they might relax in front of the television, but Arkady insisted on sitting at the table for a home-cooked meal.
"How have your studies been going?" Arkady asked casually.
"I've done all the homework I can do. I'm actually a few weeks ahead in my English 101 class, so now most of my studies are on Rosetta Stone. I'll be taking the Russian proficiency test this summer."
"Very good," he said approvingly.
"I certainly do earn my keep, don't I?" she teased.
"In more ways than one." His eyes gleamed with pent-up desire. She did not doubt that he fantasized about what he might do with her during his meetings, or whatever other business he did as part of his job for the Volga Group. Not that she could judge. She certainly had her own daydreams of him...
He didn't jump into sex after dinner, to her surprise, instead choosing to watch an episode of Star Trek. They'd been marathoning the original series a few episodes at a time.
"Come sit with me," he said, patting the area next to him on the couch, reclining comfortably on the cushions. She obeyed, feeling her body thrill as it came into contact with his own. His hand slid down her back, hip, and rear end, feeling out what he was already familiar with. Through the episode, he would stroke or squeeze various parts of her anatomy, and she squirmed around in anticipation, impatient for the ending of the show before his hand slid between her legs, slowly rubbing her through the fabric of her lounge pants.
She twisted against him, placing her hand on his chest, feeling the intake of breath. Her other hand groped downward, but he stopped her before she could make it to her destination, and she gave out a small whine.
"I let you have your way last time. Tonight, you are mine," he growled softly into her ear as he pulled her onto his lap. Last time pranced blissfully through her mind; the very satisfying cunnilingus he'd given her, and the ease with which he lay back and let her work herself on his cock, twisting and gyrating as she would, savoring the delicious fullness of him.
"That smile tells me of how you remember that night..." Arkady said with a knowing smirk.
"I didn't hear any complaints," she reminded him.
"There was nothing to complain about love, but tonight, I am in charge. And I have something in mind..." He reached down to rub her groin again, and she arched against him as he kissed the side of her neck. She pressed herself against him, hoping to encourage him to speed things up by signaling her eagerness.
"Arkady..."
"Ty khochesh' moy chlen vnutri sebya, ne tak li," he teased. You want my cock inside of you, don't you?
"Blya da," she moaned. Fuck, yes.
"Tyazhelo i gluboko vdavlivat' v tebya." Pushing into you hard and deep.
"Pozhaluysta da da!" Please, yes, yes.
"Ty moya, Nadezhda." You are mine, Nadezhda.
"Da, Arkady. Pozhaluysta, voz'mi menya seychas." Yes, Arkady. Please take me now.
"Moya lyubov'. Vy tak milo sprashivayete." My love. You ask so sweetly. He reached up to caress the side of her face before he rose to his feet. "YA dam tebe sebya ... v svoye vremya." I shall give you myself... in due time.
He staked over to his suitcase, tugging at a zipper before pulling out what resembled a bag from a high-end store.
It'd been nearly a month since that night he'd blindfolded and tied her up. He had not broached the subject since, and she wasn't sure if this meant that he had given up on these sorts of games. She'd been hesitant to ask him about it as well, not sure of what that might lead to. She hated to admit it, but she was a bit curious about playing more games with him. He'd piqued her curiosity with his short lecture about power.
What was in that bag? She gulped nervously and looked up at him as he approached her, sitting down and placing the bag on the coffee table.
"Remember when we talked about trust?" he asked.
"Um. Yes."
"Keep that in mind when you see what is in this bag."
"Oh dear," she whispered.
He reached into the bag and pulled out... oh my god, handcuffs. Fucking handcuffs! So this month's good behavior had been to lull her into a sense of false security. Was that why he'd backed off so quickly?
"-you can get out of them," she heard him say. She blinked and looked at the shiny metal dangling before her. He lifted a hand, pressing something on the side of the cuff, and it snapped open. "No keys needed."
"... Oh?" Well. That would be easier to deal with. She just didn't like the idea of being rendered completely helpless, but if she had an out...
She took the cuffs from him, examining them and pressing the small lever after closing the cuff. It snapped open just as easily as it had the first time. She looked him in the eyes.
"Is the sight of me bound really that much of a turn-on to you?" she asked.
He smirked slowly. "I am a man who likes to feel in power. While I am happy to let you have your way with me sometimes, there are other times where I am in a... mood." He pulled another set of cuffs out of the bag. "The posts on your bed are about to be put to very good use."
"I'm not a business rival to bring down," she argued gently. "You don't need to be so dominant with me. I thought you were enjoying what we already do."
