Her Russian

Chapter 4-Meeting Him

Ilia had never in his life seen someone as tiny as her.  Sure he'd been with really skinny women but they were usually taller than a field mouse.  There was just something about her though.

Maxim had called him earlier to say they were waiting at Zoya's house for her to get back from the market and then Max told him what happened when they surprised her.  That's when he told his under boss to bring the girl here.

No one had ever said anything about her having a heart condition.  Max had given him her bottle of pills and he had his doctor look it up.  It was legit.  This made everything very difficult now.

Her moaning brought his eyes back to her as he watched the girl struggle to sit up.  Her long blonde hair fanning around her face and hanging below her shoulders.

"You should take it slow" he said, his speech heavily accented, still hidden in the shadows of his study.  He would expose himself to her dramatically so he could judge her reaction.  That would tell him everything he needed to know.

"I-I, uh, where am I?" Galina asked, confused by her surroundings, her mind trying to piece together what she recalled last.  She just shook her head slowly, not being able to recall anything except coming home from the market.

"You're in my home, kotenok (kitten)" he answered.  He watched her scoot to the end of the sofa and lean her head into her hands.  "Zachem (why)?" she asked.  He stepped forward at that moment to reveal himself.

He heard her gasp when her eyes landed on him.  He watched her eyes rake over him, from his feet to his head.  He could tell just by her eyes that she had no recollection of ever meeting him before or even knowing him.

She was either a really good actress or she really didn't know him.  This should be interesting he thought as he continued the little game with her.

But he wasn't expecting what happened next, when she finally made it to his eyes; his caught hers and that's when he felt a little stirring, something that had not ever been there before and that was curiosity.  He wanted to know her better.

Ilia Savin doesn't want to know people better.  He wants to use them, fuck them, make money off of them or kill them.  He has no personal interest in them and couldn't give two fucks about their lives.

He walked over to his credenza, grabbed the water pitcher and poured her a glass.  He wasn't completely without feelings.  He didn't want the pain of having to remove a dead body from his study because she died of dehydration.  Yeah, he was an asshole and he knew it.

He felt her eyes on him the whole time.  It was kind of unsettling how she was starting to affect him and they'd just met minutes ago.  He was starting to get pissed off at himself.

Ilia handed her the water which she gratefully accepted with a "Spasibo."  She drank every bit of it.  "When may I go home?" her soft voice asked.  Never he wanted to tell her but that would come later, after he'd studied her a bit more.

"I'll have Maxim take you home soon but before that happens, I have one request" Ilia said to her.  She studied him a moment and then responded.  "And that is?"  He closed the distance.  "Have dinner with me."

He was shocked at the fact that she seemed surprised by his request.  He was used to women just throwing themselves at him for attention but she was most definitely not like any other women he'd ever been around.

"Alright" she said softly.  "Otlichno! (Excellent)" he responded.  He headed for the door but turned just before he reached it.  "I'll be right back" he said.  She nodded and he left the room.

Maxim was waiting just outside the study, wondering what his boss was up to now.  "You want me to bring her home now, Ilia?" he asked.  His boss turned to him and shook his head.  "I've asked her to eat dinner with me first and then you can take her home."

Maxim was shocked but didn't let any of what he was thinking about the subject come through in his facial expressions.  He just nodded and said "Okay, boss.  Let me know when."  Ilia nodded and continued to the kitchen.

Once Ilia had taken care of the dinner arrangements, he headed back to his study and when he went it in, he noticed she wasn't on the couch anymore.  Instead she was in front of his many book shelves, running her finger along the spines.

He watched on as she seemed mesmerized by so many.  He had a lot of the classics, American, Russian, English, Italian authors among the many that he'd collected over the years.  He watched her reach for one, open it and start reading.

After reading the first couple of pages, he watched her bring the book to her nose and inhale.  He'd never seen anyone do that before.

"You make a habit of sniffing strangers books?" he asked jokingly, prepared to have a little fun at her expense.  She slammed the book and whirled around, her hand automatically went to her heart.

"I-I'm sorry" she stammered.  "I should have waited for you to come back and asked permission.  But I just couldn't help myself.  You have so many wonderful books.  

I know these days you can download everything, but to me, nothing can substitute the feeling of a real book in your hands or the smell of the pages and ink."

Who was this woman?  "Which did you chose?" he asked walking towards her.  He could hear the subtle change in her breathing as he got closer to her.

He watched her eyes widened as she took in his stature.  "I, uh, Charles Dickens A Tale of Two Cities" she answered craning her neck to look at him.  "Hmm, interesting choice" he responded.

"I believe a proper introduction is in order.  I'm Ilia Savin and your host for the evening" he said bowing slightly.  He enjoyed watching her blush.  "Galina Ivanov and I'm your guest for the evening" she responded, playing the game nicely so far.

She stuck out her hand to shake his.  She blushed deeper the moment their hands made contact.  The girl's hand felt so tiny in his, he didn't want to squeeze too hard, afraid he might injure her.

Withdrawing his hand slowly, he asked if she was ready to eat.  She nodded but stopped suddenly.  "Do you know if when I was brought here, my purse came with me?" she asked, seeming a bit on edge.  

Ilia nodded and pointed to the floor by the coffee table.  "It's there on the floor" he told her.  Immediately he could see the relief pour from her as she walked quickly to retrieve it.

He watched as she pulled the medicine bottle from the bag, opened it and placed a pill in her mouth.  She closed it and returned it to her purse.  "Can't forget to take those" she explained.  He just nodded.

"This way please" he said putting his hand just below her shoulders as he escorted her from the room.  "I hope you like fish" he said to her.  "I love fish" she told him.  "Very good.  I asked chef to prepare a white cod along with some grilled vegetables and whatever else" Ilia told her.

"Sounds perfect" she said as she looked up at him and smiled.  He usually didn't smile at people but he managed a little smirk back at her and it felt strange to him.  Then he remembered that women make you weak.  Ilia Savin is not weak.

"Come" he said a little gruffer than he wanted to and immediately the smile disappeared from her face.  He did feel bad for about a millisecond.  It was going to be fun toying with her.