Dimitri's Forbidden Submissive(73)

Catrin met her gaze, and slowly shook her head with tears welling in her eyes. “I do. You don’t understand what it’s like in their world, Rya, what will happen to you if they decide you can be used against Dimitri. I had a friend who was kidnapped when we were teenagers. She was the daughter of a Russian political figure and was taken by a Bratva that wanted him to do some favors for them, favors he couldn’t do no matter how hard he tried. They did terrible things to her and took pictures of it. She was eventually sent to a whore house where a ‘doctor’ cut her ovaries out with no pain medication. That is the preferred form of contraception for the pimps of that Bratva, and they wouldn’t waste resources on anesthesia. Instead she was shot up with cheap street drugs. When my friend was finally found two months later she’d been raped by hundreds of men, was addicted to heroin and riddled with STDs. Her mind was…gone. I saw her once after they found her and she was broken, utterly and completely. If you’re in danger from the kind of men that did this to my friend, I will do anything I can to protect you, just like Dimitri.”

Stunned, Rya could only stare at the pretty woman who’d seen so much pain. Her stomach cramped up at the thought of someone doing that to her. Dimitri had some fucking shit to answer for. Fear sank into her gut and her voice trembled, “I’m so sorry.”

“Enough about that.” Gathering herself, Catrin sat up straight and patted Rya’s hand. “Now, let’s eat and then we can try on some outfits. We are close to the same size so I have some things you may like that I know will drive Dimitri crazy.”

“Don’t you mean Alex?”

“Well, maybe that too.” Catrin gave her a small smile. “Would it help if I told you Dimitri is a huge voyeur? That the sight of you having pleasure with other men will make him mad with lust?”

Memories of Dimitri watching Luka touch her made her flush. “I thought you said he’s possessive of me?”

“Oh, he is. He would never let anyone he doesn’t trust touch you.” She winked. “But he trusts Alex because, well he’s Alex. Dimitri knows his brother would never betray him, and he trusts Nico because he knows that my husband loves me unconditionally. This may be hard for you to understand, but sharing women among my husband and his close friends, it is like the ultimate honor, a bonding experience that draws them together like brothers. That is not to say I let my husband fuck their women, at least not without me there, but this sharing of women is not unusual among the people we associate with in the BDSM scene.”

“And you’re sure you’re okay with this?”

Catrin gave her a considering look, then sighed. “At first, no. I will admit the thought of watching Nico with some stranger made me very angry, but now that I have met you and I know you will not become emotionally attached to my husband, yes. I will confess, I am a bit of a voyeur as well, and since we are so physically similar other than the color of our hair, it will be erotic for me to watch you with him.”

“You know how weird this is, right?” Rya picked up a sandwich, took a bite then chased it down with more champagne, her appetite returning as Catrin’s words settled into her mind.

Laughing, Catrin topped off Rya’s glass. “I like you and I can see why Dimitri likes you. There is something very…honest and refreshing about you. I wish things were different.”

Heaving out a sigh, Rya nodded. “Me too. I’d be willing to risk my life to be with Dimitri, but after talking to Alex I couldn’t put Dimitri through the pain and guilt if something did happen to me.”

Catrin licked her lips and hesitated, then leaned forward. “This is strictly between you and me, okay?”

“Okay.”

“Dimitri and Alex are working very hard to change things. There is much…negotiations going on behind the scenes, but nothing can be done until their father passes, that evil bastard.”

“I don’t understand.”

Catrin made a frustrated noise. “I cannot tell you, if I could I would, but just know that someday things may be different.”

The champagne was buzzing through Rya now, numbing her frazzled nerves and helping her to mellow out. “Different how?”

Sighing, Catrin stood and stretched. “That does not matter right now. If we don’t get through this evening and convince those watching that you are merely an American submissive here to experience the BDSM scene, then the future will not matter because you won’t be around long enough to see it.”

“That’s reassuring,” Rya muttered before finishing off her sandwich. “What do you need me to do?”