**Moscow, 1921**
Natasha knew Borya was in a mood when they left that Friday afternoon for their cabin. He grumbled about the latest crisis as the taxi drove them to the stables, then continued to vent his frustration as they rode their horses to the snug cabin tucked in a valley along the river. Once there, the horses were put away and they retreated inside to decompress from a very long week.
A fire was lit and the samovar was set to boil water for tea. Natasha was hopeful that once they settled in and relaxed, his mood would lighten. There was most likely little chance of that happening. The revolution Borya so desperately wanted had torn apart the country for three years now and he had found the people were not as willing to lock step to his plans as he had anticipated. There had already been several attempts on his life. His moods were worsening, the battles against his unpopular policies a daily event. His restless, analytical mind refused to let up even at a quiet retreat in the mountains.
Borya spent much of the evening at the table pouring over notes and periodically launching into complaints about people he deemed incompetent and their misdeeds. Natasha knew it was his foul mood that was being the judge of character tonight, prompting him to be particularly harsh. Lying across the bed, she quietly listened to him grouse as she busily sketched some new ideas for a painting. Eventually she looked over at him and gave a sigh. She set her sketchbook down, got up and walked over to him. She wrapped her arms around him and gave him a kiss on the neck.
He reacted immediately, taking a deep breath and exhaling slowly. Just her touch was enough to ease his troubled mind. He looked up from his notes and took her hand, kissing it softly.
"Natasha...I am so tired," he said with a weary voice.
"Come to bed, then," she said. She began to rub her hand over his chest, down his torso and to his crotch, which she cupped and squeezed his cock and balls gently.
"I know what will make you forget your pain," she whispered.
He shook his head and looked up at her with weary regret.
"I am sorry to report that I am absolutely exhausted, my dear. So very tired. You would have to tie a splint to my cock to get it upright."
She gave him a hug and went back over to the bed to lie down. Borya looked up with a bit of guilt.
"I hope you are not disappointed with me. My mind is with you, but my body refuses to follow suit. Tomorrow, I promise. I just need to get thru all of this damned paperwork and get a good night's sleep."
"We have all weekend," she said. "Finish your work and tomorrow will be our day...without stupid people and their stupid ideas," she said with a laugh, recounting his many complaints that evening.
Natasha was anticipating by morning his mood would have improved along with his energy reserves but her hopes were soundly dashed. The next morning they were having breakfast, discussing a propaganda pamphlet she had proposed writing. It was on a subject close to her heart. She described it to him with enthusiasm she thought certainly he would share.
"I am proposing that we create the pamphlet explaining Alexandra Konin's theories on sexuality. That sex needn't be only a feature of marriage but available to women whenever they feel the desire. It should not need to come with obligation or attachment."
Borya snorted.
"Alexandra's theories cheapen the relations between men and women!" he sneered. "She reduces the female desire to merely taking a drink of water whenever thirsty. That is un-Marxist and un-social!"
"All she is saying is that sexual relations need not come with all the many burdens."
"Burdens? You mean love. Is love such a burden?" Borya asked defensively. "The way you are speaking, you are suggesting people should be entirely free of any significant intimate connection to one another!"
"Why shouldn't a woman be able to satisfy herself with minimum connection or effort?" Natasha asked. "Why can't she have many lovers? Why can't sex be-"
"I know...I know!" Borya interrupted. "As simple as drinking a glass of water. But you say nothing about the actual quality of the connection! Tell me. Will the normal man in normal circumstances lie down in the gutter and drink out of a puddle, or out of a glass with a rim greasy from many lips? You are essentially telling women to pursue quantity over quality."
"Is quantity a terrible thing, if you require it?"
Borya looked at her with disgust. He knew she was very open minded when it came to sex as were many of the female Marxists. But he did not approve of their extreme points of view. More specifically, the thought of Natasha being a "loose" woman drinking down men like glasses of water was a threat.
It made him bristle with anger.
"You will not write such a pamphlet!" he said emphatically. "I do not approve of your theories and you are forbidden to promote such outlandish ideas!"
Natasha felt a flash of anger.
"You....forbid?" she questioned, her brow furrowed.