Chapter 21 Chapter 21
CHAPTER TWENTY-ONE
Irina's POV
"Pull off your clothes," he said again, grabbing the hem of my gown. "Now!" His voice echoed off the walls.
My whole body froze. This was not what I had expected. This was not part of the plan.
"Alexei, please…" my voice broke.
"I said now!" His voice was sharp and cold.
My hands trembled as I reached for the fabric. Tears made my vision blurry.
What had I done? What terrible mistake had I made?
I pulled the dress over my shoulders slowly. The silk fell to the floor at my feet.
I stood there in just my underwear.
My arms immediately crossed over my chest, trying to cover myself.
Thank God I was wearing a bra and panties. If I had been completely naked, I would have died from shame right there.
Tears streamed down my face. This was humiliation served hot.
Alexei just stood there, staring at my body. His green eyes moved from my face down to my stomach. Then back up again.
He did not say anything. He did not move, he just stared.
I had never felt so exposed, and so vulnerable in my entire life.
"Please," I whispered. "Please do not…"
He took a step closer and I immediately pressed myself harder against the wall. There was nowhere to go. Nowhere to run.
He stopped right in front of me. He was so close I could feel his breath on my face.
I bit my lips in shame.
He gently placed both his hands on my stomach.
His palms were warm against my skin. I could feel my belly, which was just starting to show the pregnancy.
He stared down at it then up into my eyes.
"The baby seems fine to me," he whispered.
His voice was soft.
I could not speak. I could not breathe. I just nodded as more tears fell from my face.
He kept his hands there for another moment, like he was feeling for something.
Then he pulled away.
"Get dressed," he said quietly.
I grabbed my dress from the floor with shaking hands, and pulled it back over my head as fast as I could.
When I was covered again, I felt like I could breathe.
But the shame did not go away. The humiliation burned inside me like fire.
"Go to sleep," he said, gesturing to the bed.
I looked at him, confusion etched on my face. "What?"
"Sleep," he repeated. "You need rest. The baby needs rest."
I didn't say anything. I couldn't. I just walked to the bed on unsteady legs and climbed under the covers.
Alexei walked over. He pulled the blanket up, and tucked it around my shoulders like I was a child.
The gesture was so gentle and unexpected, that it made more tears fall.
He turned and walked to the door.
"Alexei…" I whispered.
"Sleep, Irina," he said without turning around. "We will talk in the morning."
He opened the door and stepped out.
The room went dark as he turned off the lights.
The door closed softly behind him.
I lay there in the darkness, alone.
I couldn't stop the tears from flowing. They soaked into the pillow and made my face hot and swollen.
I had tried to manipulate him, tried to embarrass him and tried to make him angry enough to send me back.
Instead, I had humiliated myself, degraded myself all for nothing.
I curled into a ball under the covers and hugged my knees to my chest.
"Dimitri," I whispered into the darkness. "Where are you? Why have you not come for me yet?"
But there was no answer. Just silence and shadows.
Maybe he had given up. Maybe he decided I was not worth the trouble. Maybe…
No. I could not think like that.
Dimitri loves me, he would come for me. I know he would find a way.
He had to.
I closed my eyes and tried to sleep. But every time I did, I saw Alexei's face, I saw his hands on my stomach.
Hours passed, maybe minutes. I could not tell anymore.
Finally, exhaustion won and my body gave up fighting.
I started to drifting off to sleep when I felt something.
A light and gentle touch on my shoulder.
I froze. It was dark, I couldn't make out who or what.
Was Alexei back? Had he changed his mind about…
The touch came again. Not very light this time.
This person was trying to wake me up.
Alexei's hands were smooth and soft, just like Dmitri’s. But these hands felt different, rough and hard like half's that had done tough jobs.
My eyes flew open immediately. I turned my head slowly.
A figure stood beside the bed. I could barely see the outline in the darkness. But I could see it was the features of a man. He wasn't as tall as Alexei, neither was he as broad.
Fear shot through me.
Who was this?
One of the guards?
Had someone broken in?
"Who…" I started to say.
"Shh." The figure leaned closer. It was a man's voice. It was low and urgent. "Do not scream. Please. I am here to help you."
"Help me?" I whispered. "Who are you?"
"My name does not matter," he said. "What matters is that I can get you out of here. Tonight. Right now."
My heart started pounding. Was this real? Or was I dreaming?
"Miss," he whispered desperately again. "Let me help you escape.”
Tears filled my eyes again. "You would really help me escape?"
"Yes," he said. "But we have to go now. Before the shift changes. I am on guard duty tonight. I can get you out, but only if we leave immediately."
"But the other guards…"
"Are asleep," he said. "I put something in their drinks. We have maybe thirty minutes before they wake up."
I sat up too quickly, the room spun.
"Easy," the man said. "Can you walk?"
"Yes," I said. Even though I was not sure. "Yes, I can walk."
"Good." He moved back. "Get dressed, wear something warm. We have a long journey ahead."
I swung my legs out of bed. My whole body was shaking with fear
and desperation.
"Where will we go?" I asked as I grabbed a robe from the chair.
"To the docks first," he said. "I have a boat waiting, then we’ll go to the mainland. And from there, you can go wherever you want."
"Moscow," I said immediately. "I need to get to Moscow. To Dimitri Volkov."
The man was quiet for a moment, then he nodded.
Was this really happening? Could I really escape?