Dimitri (3 page)

Dimitri let out a shocked sound. "Ten months,
Benny? How the hell are you surviving?"

"I had some money left over from Mom and Dad's
life insurance payout. It's running low so I've got to make some
drastic cuts to my home budget."

"Why didn't you tell me? I would have loaned
you money!"

I squirmed uncomfortably. "I don't want your
money, Dimitri. That would make things weird. No money between
friends, right?"

His pale blue eyes seemed to darken. I could
tell he wanted to say something but he bit his tongue. Instead, he
asked, "Can you recover?"

I nodded. "It will be painful, but
yes."

"How?"

I ran my finger over the rim of the wine glass.
"I'm going to sell the house."

He went rigid. "Your home? But where will you
live?"

"I'm not sure. I'll probably try to get an
apartment closer to here." Trying to make myself feel better about
losing the house I'd grown up in, I said, "Johnny and I don’t need
that much space. We're never there so we don’t get to enjoy the big
yard or the pool. The market is really hot in our neighborhood. We
own the house outright so I hope we can get enough from the sale to
clear the business debts."

Dimitri downed the rest of his wine and set
aside his glass. "You should move in here."

At first I didn't understand him. The wine made
my thoughts a little fuzzy. Then it hit me. "You're moving out?
When?" My voice climbed higher and higher as I spoke but I had to
know. "Why?"

He peered at me so intently the fine hairs on
my arms and the back of my neck stood on edge. "It's time. This
place was always supposed to be a transition for me but I got
comfortable here."

"Isn't that a good thing?" I couldn’t believe
how pathetic I sounded.

"Sure," Dimitri replied gently, "but that mess
downstairs proved to me that it's time for me to go."

"I don’t understand."

"I shouldn't have gotten involved with you and
Johnny this evening. Every time I do, he gets nasty with you. I try
to help you but I'm only making things worse."

"That's not true. I know you've gotten Johnny
out of some bad scrapes." He started to protest but I shook my
head. "I hear things, Dimitri. I know you've put your ass on the
line for him once or twice. I don't…I don't know what I'd do if I
didn't have you here."

"Even if I'm not living here, I'll always be
there for you and Johnny."

It was a small comfort but it didn't ease the
painful ache surrounding my heart. "I worry Johnny is going to get
into real trouble one of these days."

Dimitri exhaled slowly. "Becoming a man isn't
an easy thing, Benny. Some men find it easier than others. If
Johnny wants to play grown-up, let him deal with the
consequences."

The idea of Johnny getting hurt made my belly
ache. "I don't know if I can."

"You have to cut the apron strings." He made a
scissor-like gesture. "You have enough on your plate without
worrying about Johnny too. God, Benny, you deserve to have a life
of your own."

I snorted softly. "A life? I can't even
remember what that was like." Loose-lipped from the wine, I
confessed, "I haven't had a date in nearly two years. Hell, I can't
even remember the last time I was kissed or had sex."

The second my embarrassing confession escaped
my lips, I wanted to die. I dropped my gaze to my lap and wished a
hole would open up and swallow me.

I held my breath as Dimitri moved. I prayed he
wouldn’t say something trite or make an awkward joke to ease my
uncomfortable gaffe. When his fingers closed around my wine glass,
I let him take it away. The message was pretty clear. He was
cutting me off.

But then he did the most shocking thing. He
slid so close our thighs touched. Those big, strong hands cupped my
face and forced me to meet his gaze. I felt the air rush out of my
lungs as we stared at one another.

"We just broke your streak."

I blinked. "What?"

His thumb made lazy circles on my skin. "We
just had a date."

Feeling a bit dizzy, I asked, "Did
we?"

His lips twitched with amusement. "We
did."

And then he kissed me.

I held my breath as his lips moved against
mine, the kiss so tender and sweet it stunned me. Imaginary
fireworks burst around me as Dimitri deepened the kiss, daring to
swipe his tongue against my lips and coaxing me to let him inside.
I clutched at his arms as he plundered my mouth, kissing me like no
other man ever had. I melted into his warm embrace and prayed the
moment would never end.

When it did, I experienced a quiver of
embarrassment as the reality of what he'd done hit me. I couldn't
meet his gaze. "You didn't have to do that."

"Do what?" he asked softly and brushed his
fingers through the ends of my ponytail.

Face aflame, I said, "I don't need your pity
kisses, Dimitri."

He grasped my chin and lifted my gaze. I was
surprised by the frustration written so clearly on his handsome
face. "Is that what you think? That I pity you?"

I gaped at him. "I don't know. I mean—look at
you. You're, like, so far out of my league."

"League?" He growled with disgust. "Jesus
Christ, Benny, is that what you think? That I don’t find you
attractive?"

"I—"

He cut me off with another kiss, this one
punishing and demanding. I gasped as he grabbed me by the waist and
dragged me onto his lap. The way he so easily manhandled me made my
belly clench. His hands rode the curve of my back to settle on my
bottom.

I inhaled a shuddery breath as he clasped my
backside. Suddenly my jeans felt incredibly thin.
"Dimitri…"

"Hush," he whispered and kissed me again. "Do
you know what I see when I look at you?"

Feeling totally out of my depth and completely
off-kilter, I simply shook my head.

"I see the prettiest brown eyes and the most
tempting lips." He nuzzled our noses together. "If you only knew
how many nights I've dreamed about having your soft, swollen lips
wrapped around my cock."

My eyes widened at his frank
admission. Lightheaded with surprise and desire, I couldn't believe
this was happening.
Am I
dreaming
?

Dimitri's hand left my bottom and slid around
to my front. He palmed my breast through the thin cotton of my
bakery t-shirt. "I fantasize about seeing you naked. I imagine what
it would be like to lick and kiss your breasts while you're pinned
beneath me in my bed." His other hand gave my backside a little
swat. "Some nights I stroke my dick and imagine that it's your
tight, wet pussy squeezing me. That it's your ass bouncing on my
lap while you ride me and come on my cock."

Breathless now, I began to tremble.
White-hot currents raced through me. Was this really happening? My
inner cynic shouted this was all some kind of colossal prank but
the hungry look in Dimitri's pale blue eyes assured me he was dead
serious.
He
wanted
me
!

Dimitri's hand moved to the back of my head and
he tugged me down for another one of his wildly sensual kisses. My
toes curled against the couch as his tongue darted into my mouth.
He nibbled my lower lip. "You're staying with me
tonight."

I gulped. "Am I?"

He shot me a devilishly sexy grin.
"Yes."

Suddenly, I became self-conscious to the
extreme. Working dough, icing trays of pastries, rushing from the
hot kitchen to the crowded front room—it was all hard, sweaty work.
Feeling less than sexy, I asked nervously, "Could I maybe, um, get
a shower first?"

He chuckled and kissed me again. "Only if I get
to join you."

"Oh!" I chewed my lower lip. The idea of
Dimitri seeing me stark naked under the bright lights of his
bathroom made me more nervous. "Well…"

"That wasn't a request." He shifted me off his
lap but gripped my hand in his as he stood. I got the feeling he
feared I would dash for the door if he let go. He was probably
right. Even though I'd fantasized about spending a night with
Dimitri, I found my courage fleeing at the reality of it
happening.

Wordlessly, he tugged me along behind him. He
dragged me to the front door and flipped the deadbolt before
pulling me across the living room to the bedroom in the back of the
apartment. I still couldn't quite believe what was happening. I
felt sure that any moment I would jerk awake and find myself
slumped over my desk, passed out from the sheer exhaustion of
working twenty-hour days for months on end.

But it was real. This was really
happening.

I was shaking by the time we reached his
bathroom. I hadn't seen the inside of the space since he'd moved
into the apartment. I knew he'd done work to the place—Abuelita let
him have a break on the rent any time he made improvements—but I
had no idea it looked this nice. The soft blue glass tile in the
shower made the small space look so much bigger. He'd switched out
the faucet and cabinets for something sleeker and more
modern.

After he turned on and adjusted the water temp,
Dimitri faced me. For a long moment, we simply stared at one
another. He toed off his boots and jerked off his socks. When his
fingers started to flick through the buttons lining the front of
his steel grey shirt, a thrill of excitement coursed through me. My
eyes widened with appreciation as he shucked the piece of
clothing.

Incredibly toned, his lean muscles rippled as
he moved. I raked my gaze over him, taking in every delicious inch
of that ridiculously sexy chest. Old war wounds and scars dotted
his skin. I understood then why he never spoke of his time in the
Russian army. I doubted the memories were very good.

When he turned to drop his shirt into the
hamper against the wall, I caught sight of the tattoo covering most
of his back. It was beautiful with bold bursts of color and heavy
dark lines. Unlike the obvious prison pieces I'd seen on Ivan's
hands, the tattoo on Dimitri's back showed real skill and
artistry.

"A phoenix?" I asked, surprised by the mythical
beast he'd chosen.

He quirked an amused smile. "Why does that
surprise you?"

"I don't know. I suppose I expected that if you
had tattoos they'd be more…" I searched for the right word.
"Primitive. Primal."

"I had this done when I left the service and
came here." He gestured to his back. "It seemed like a good
representation of the change I was making. Here? In this country? I
could be anything I wanted. I was starting over from the ashes of
my old life."

His reasoning resonated with me. As the
granddaughter of immigrants, I understood his story and related to
it. From birth, my grandparents had drilled into my head how lucky
I was to be born here, in a place where anything was possible with
enough hard work and dedication.

"I get it, Dimitri."

"I knew you would." He started to
unbuckle his belt and my heart began to race. The
whomp-whomp-whomp
of
blood rushing by my eardrums accompanied my discovery that Dimitri
preferred boxers. I thought for sure he would keep them on but he
slipped out of them without a moment's hesitation.

It was all I could do to stop my jaw from
dropping to the floor. His magnificent cock jutted forth from
neatly trimmed curls—and pointed right at me. Whatever doubts I'd
harbored about his attraction to me fled in that instant. There was
no faking that response.

Dimitri took a step toward me and I took one
back. His grin turned a bit playful and he continued to advance
upon me. With one hand, he shut the door and backed me up against
it. Caught between Dimitri's hard body and the stiff wood at my
back, I had no choice but to surrender to his seeking mouth and
roaming hands. The ruddy head of his thick cock rubbed against my
belly and caused my mind to race with filthy thoughts.

My brain began to misfire as his rough palms
slipped under my t-shirt to stroke my bare skin. Heat flooded my
core. I squeezed my thighs together to ease the throbbing there.
Years of running myself ragged as my grandmother fought and lost
her battle with cancer, my brother spiraled out of control and the
business nosedived had taken their toll on me. My body had learned
to run on fumes and in doing so had all but shut down my
libido.

But Dimitri's strong hands moving over my skin
stoked the embers of my desire. When his lips touched my neck, the
flames of need flared to life within me. My skin burned under his
touch and I arched into him, welcoming the quicksilver flashes of
excitement he evoked with his mouth and hands.

Kneeling in front of me, we were almost eye to
eye. I stood only an inch over five feet and he had a good foot on
me in the height department. He smiled mischievously before kissing
me. I'm sure he was thinking how odd we must look right
now.

When he grasped the bottom of my shirt, I
lifted my arms and let him drag it up and over my head. Standing
there with my bra bared to him, I was grateful I'd put on a cute
pair of undies today. The bright purple print with white polka dots
was more playful than sexy but at least I hadn't gone for the super
comfortable sports bra and full briefs that I often slid into when
half-asleep in the morning.