Chapter Eleven - Sylvia
When she got back to the house, there wasn’t a single human soul in sight. It was past midday, and she had spent a few hours by herself on the beach, trying to hold back tears that had threatened to appear.
This was what she had wanted! She wanted to seduce Fedor Volkov, fuck him so that she could tell her father and make him mad for sending her here. So what did it matter if he ran away from her? She had accomplished her mission.
He was nowhere in sight, and neither was Pyotr. Sylvia dejectedly climbed up the stairs to her room. She showered and changed into a flowing summery dress in cream with orange flowers. She looked at herself in the mirror as she did her hair. Her curls were thick and tight and she bunched them up, away from her face and clipped them to the back of her head.
She touched her neck where he had touched her, there was a burning sensation still on her breasts, around her nipples where his beard had grazed her skin.
She could still feel him inside her. She wasn’t a virgin anymore. She had orgasmed for the first time in her life. How had he done it? How had he made her come so quickly? It was like a drug. She wanted more of him. But he didn’t seem to want her.
It wasn’t a surprise. Fedor Volkov was a proud man. He also seemed like the kind of man who upheld codes and moral conduct. She knew it must have made him feel guilty, that he had fucked his friend’s daughter.
There was a knock on the door, and then Pyotr’s thick Russian accent floated through.
“Lunch is served in dining room, Miss,” he said and then she heard his retreating footsteps.
Pyotr’s accent reminded Sylvia of the tattoos on Fedor’s body. Till she saw his naked torso she could forget who he was. But now she knew for sure that he had served time in prison. That he was a criminal. No matter how soft-spoken and a gentle giant he might seem to be, it was all an act. Inside, he was a cold-hearted killer and a criminal like all her father’s friends.
Sylvia clenched her jaw as she looked at her own reflection. Her body was still reeling. She wanted to hate him so badly, but she couldn’t. She didn’t know why she couldn’t stop thinking that there was more to Fedor than met the eye.
She was starving. So she left the room and walked towards the dining room.
What she wasn’t expecting was Fedor to be standing at the head of the table, behind the chair. The food was laid out, for one, just for her. Beautiful luxurious food that she wasn’t interested in eating anymore.
All she was concerned about was him. Fedor seemed to have showered too. His dark hair was damp and neatly combed to the side, his beard was freshly brushed and neat as well. He was in a fresh green shirt and dark tailored slacks and he stood with his hands clutching the back of the chair.
“Fedor.” His name escaped her lips when she came into the room. His eyes were a glassy blue and his pink lips were set in a grim straight line.
“Sit down, Sylvia,” he said, and she felt the goosebumps appear on her skin. Just his voice was enough. She wanted him again, but she was also suddenly afraid of him.
“Will you be joining me for lunch?” she asked, walking towards the chair that had been reserved for her. Fedor turned his eyes on her, and in the same flat gruff tone, he repeated himself.
“Sit down.”
She sat down, and turned to him in silence, looking at him with hopeful eyes again. She didn’t want him to apologize for what had just happened. She wanted him to tell her that he wanted her again, that she was irresistible to him. She felt like she could cry out of desperation for him.
“You have to leave,” he said and she gasped. Her hand flew to her mouth. She had been expecting something else, anything else but this. The thought that he might send her away had never crossed her mind.
“I can’t leave,” she cried. Tears had pooled around her eyes. She had tried so desperately to believe that Fedor wasn’t the cold-hearted man she knew he was.
He shook his head in silence, his eyes narrowed and now he wasn’t shying away from looking at her.
“I’m sorry but you have to leave. You can’t stay here. Not after all this,” he said, still standing. Sylvia breathed in deeply and bit down on her lip. She had to try with all her might not to cry. She thought she could fix this. That it had all started off as a mistake but she could make amends. Their time together had been short but she had felt the connection, she had felt it in her bones. It was unmistakable. It didn’t make sense but it was there. And she thought that he had felt it too.
“You said it yourself, that I need to stay here for my own safety,” Sylvia said, clutching her fingers together in her lap. She knew that if she kept chewing her lip she would draw blood very soon, but she couldn’t stop. It was all she could do to stop herself from breaking into tears at the dining table.
“You need to stay out of harm’s way. Out of New York, but there are lots of other places you can be just as safe,” Fedor said, now breathing deeply. He looked angry more than anything else, and it seemed like he was directing all his anger towards her.