Sasha: The Wallflower (The Wallflower Series Book 1) (8 page)

“I missed you,” she supplied while pulling away with a wide grin spread across her face.

Dmitri, still leaning over towards her seat, caressed her smooth cheek. He knew he had to tell her today about his plans to leave but he held back. Everything was still very muddled in his head; he had no idea how long he would even be away. He silently feared that if it was longer than a couple of weeks, he would be forced to let her go.

Instead of voicing this, he said, “My place or yours?”

“Teagan is home,” she stated simply.

“In that case, we can go to my place but…this time,” he continued without thinking. Dmitri just knew that tonight he needed to be with her in whatever capacity he could. “Can you stay over?”

Sasha, who had been in the process of putting on her seatbelt, looked back up at him with wide eyes. Her lips quivered and she licked them unconsciously, trying to cool the excitement that ran through her veins at the thought of sleeping in the same bed as Dmitri once more. “Yes!” She cringed at the loudness of her answer but he seemed to not notice or care as he gave her a reassuring smile and turned to the road.

After stopping at Sasha’s tiny apartment so that she could retrieve necessities (this time she wanted to be prepared and not walk around without underwear), Dmitri drove straight to his condo. Sasha tried to uphold conversation but she soon realized Dmitri’s somewhat somber mood and thought it best to leave him to his reflections.

Dmitri, while not overly emotional, could be quite moody, she had noticed in their weeks together. At first, she had always immediately asked him what was wrong but she soon realized that if he felt cornered, like their first night together, he would either close himself off even more or lash out. Instead, like now, it was best to allow him his time to contemplate and give silent support. Tenderly, Sasha reached over and took hold of his hand. It dwarfed her own so she interlocked her left hand with his and then caressed the back with her right.

For a moment, he tensed up but with her continued ministrations he eventually let out a deep sigh and allowed her to place his hand upon her lap. They continued like this, silence enveloping the car, as they made their way to his condo. Sasha enjoyed the contact with him and knew on some level, he was comforted. So, she felt a twinge of regret once he parked in front of the Ritz and opened the door to hand his keys over to the valet.

He took her overnight bag from her hands once she stepped out as well. Placing it nonchalantly over his shoulder, he grasped her hand and they walked up together. Once they entered his place, Dmitri casually began to undress: ripping off his tie, and unbuttoning his shirt. Sasha looked on with heat rising to her face. Failing, she tried to keep her eyes averted but couldn’t help turning back to take in the musculature of his chest and the deep v indicated by his low-hanging slacks.

“I’ll be back. I just have to change into something more comfortable,” he said walking away.

Something more comfortable turned out to be just boxer briefs. Sasha coughed, her thoughts immediately returning to the events of that Sunday morning.

“Would you like me to make dinner?” she asked, trying to distract herself from his body.

He looked to her with a warm smile. “No, you’re my guest. How does spaghetti sound? I’ll include a Greek salad.”

Sasha nodded her enthusiastically. “But only if I get to help.” She followed him to the kitchen and, together, they began to prepare dinner. “Are you ready to tell me what’s wrong?” she asked softly.

Dmitri sighed; he was in the process of boiling the water when he turned to her. She watched as he stepped closer until her back was pressed against the corner of the counter and his hands caged her in. His face was eerily serious, a slight frown marring his good looks.

Trying to lighten the mood, Sasha reached up to smooth out the lines above his nose and whispered, “You shouldn’t frown so much. You’ll get wrinkles.” Sasha laughed softly at her own joke.

Dmitri’s eyes warmed as he looked down at her. The thought of taking her against the counter crossed his mind but he stubbornly pushed it back. ‘Not now,’ he told himself. The coolness of the counter beneath his palms contrasted with the warmth he felt emanating from her body. Tired of looking down at her and feeling the uncontrollable urge to be closer, he lifted her from beneath her arms and settled her bottom gently on the surface of the counter. Then, he pushed his hips between her spread legs. Grasping her behind the knees, he pulled until she was settled directly against his stomach. Dmitri inwardly groaned at the feel of her breasts rubbing against his chest and the soft brush of her breath near the crook of his neck.

“I have to tell you something, Sasha.” The words sounded strained as he wrapped his arms around her.  Not having sex with her was beginning to take its toll on his body. He had never waited so long for anyone before her and his body and mind was acting accordingly. Now, anytime he was with her, he felt the need to touch her in any way that was possible. Like this.

“We never really speak of our families, do we?”

Sasha nodded. “Well, you know that I…don’t have one. And I always assumed you were uncomfortable speaking about your past so I didn’t want to push.”

“What do you mean?”

She wrapped her arms around his neck, and caressed the ends of his hair. “Dmitri you are a really private person. I get that. So am I- at least in regards to my…past. For me, it’s difficult to talk about and whenever I asked you if you had siblings or where you grew up…you seemed to just shut down. Like today in the car.

“I assumed it was because you had a painful past as well. I know what it’s like to not want to share something like that and…I didn’t want you to think I was being intrusive so…” she shrugged.

Dmitri couldn’t help but laugh at the irony. With every woman he had ever been with, he detested their need to always pry into his life. But now, for the first time, he was slightly disappointed Sasha avoided inquiring about his past.

“I want you to know.”

Sasha smiled. “So tell me. I’m all ears!”

He opened his mouth to speak but was interrupted by the sound of a heavy knock at the front door. Reluctantly, he separated himself from her immediately missing her warmth and answered it. Dmitri felt ice run through his veins at the sight before him.

“What are you doing here?” he asked in shock.

Dmitri looked down into the eyes of his younger sister Nadia. His breath hitched in his throat as he took her in completely. At nearly 5’ 11”, Nadia had grown into a tall and beautiful woman but as his gaze travelled down her body he soon realized the truth. She was dressed in a t-shirt and jeans that seemed to just drown her in the material.

“Dmitri,” she whispered. He heard the thud of something dropping at his feet before he felt her body thrown against his own. Her tiny arms wrapped around his neck and she delved her face into his shoulder, sobbing.

He stood for several minutes in a complete state of shock before he slowly returned her embrace. He felt his throat clog with the effort of holding back tears as the memories of time spent with his younger sister came flooding back all at once. Dmitri lowered his head and breathed in her familiar scent, a smile on his face as hugged her for the first time in years.

Finally, they broke apart. Nadia bent down and grabbed a large suitcase before looking back up at him with eyes reddened with tears. Her smile quivered as she said, “It’s been so long.”

At the sound of her voice, the reason for his initial harshness returned. “Nadia, you never answered my question. What are you doing here? You’re supposed to be in the hospital.”

Once again, she avoided answering his question. Instead, she playfully pushed him out of the way and entered his condo. Her steps halted at the sight of a short black woman standing in the middle of his living room. Nadia immediately paid attention to her size, taking in the thickness of her thighs and the slight roundness to her tummy. Her hair was thick and styled in dreadlocks that flowed to her mid-back. Dismissively, she turned to her brother and tilted her head in the direction of the stranger in a ‘who’s this?’ way.

Dmitri closed his door and turned to his younger sister. Some things seemed to never change. He could honestly admit without hesitation that Nadia was very well-loved by his entire family; she was their princess and always had been. And her behavior indicated as such.

“Nadia, answer my question,” he said firmly. “Are you not supposed to be in the hospital? How did you even get here? Travel is too much stress to be putting on your body.”

Nadia rolled her eyes. “My friend brought me. And no, I haven’t been in the hospital. I’m not sick!”

Sasha awkwardly stood there, not sure what to make of the tall woman that had entered Dmitri’s condo. He obviously knew her but she was afraid to know in what capacity. The young woman was beautiful with her milky white skin and dark hair. Nadia, as he had called her, had full, plump lips accentuated by a straight nose and large wide eyes. Sasha continued to observe them, deciding it was probably best not to interrupt.

Dmitri grunted at Nadia’s response. “Does Father know you are gone?”

Nadia shrugged, “He should by now. I’ve been away for several days. I left my phone so he wouldn’t bother me though. He probably put a tracker on it anyways.”

It all made sense to him then as he stood in front of his sister. The true reason for Dominic’s visit and his father’s sudden change of heart hadn’t been because of Nadia’s worsening health- though, judging from her appearance, he could easily tell that it hadn’t gotten better in any way. His father had known when she disappeared that she would be going to see him, her long lost brother, and had tried to pass an olive branch only so Dmitri would be persuaded to return her home.

Dmitri’s jaw clenched at this revelation and his fists tightened in anger.

“That manipulative bastard,” he whispered to himself.

Sasha, at the sign of Dmitri’s distress, finally decided to intervene. “Dmitri, what’s wrong? What’s going on?”

The sound of Sasha’s voice, tinged with heartfelt worry, brought him from his dark thoughts. He hadn’t seen her standing before them. With great effort, he loosened his fists and tried to ignore the swell of anger that had settled in his chest.

“Sasha, this is my younger sister Nadia. Nadia, this is Sasha.”

Nadia looked over at the other woman who smiled at her politely. “Are you the maid or something?” Nadia asked; her chin lifted snobbishly.

The smile on Sasha’s face immediately disappeared. The hand she had been bringing up to greet Nadia fell back to her side and she stood there in shocked silence.

“Nadia!” Dmitri chastised. He waited for her to turn back to him before continuing. “Do not come into my home with such disrespect. Sasha is my” he glanced at her quickly, “friend.”

If Nadia’s disrespect was not enough of a shock, Dmitri’s comment was enough for Sasha’s breath to audibly hitch. She put on a stiff smile when Nadia glanced at her suspiciously. Her hands quivered slightly as she tried to mask the hurt she immediately felt at his words. She tried to tell herself not to think much of it but it was hard to ignore its implications and importance when being introduced to his family.

“It is nice meeting you Nadia. I’ll get back to dinner and allow you two to talk,” she stated. Without waiting for a response from either of them, she walked back to the kitchen.

Dmitri silently cursed himself as he watched her walk away. Before he could delve too deeply into his thoughts on Sasha, Nadia stole his attention once more. She grabbed onto his arm and pulled him to the couch, forcing him to sit down next to her.

“I’ve missed you so much, Dmitri. What Daddy did to you was cruel and I’ve wanted to see you to apologize for so long. I know you were only looking out for me.”

Dmitri didn’t want to reconsider the past but this day had been filled with it. First, Dominic in his office and now…Nadia. Despite her beauty, she looked sickly; there didn’t seem to be an ounce of fat or muscle on her body even with the baggy clothes to hide it. Her face no longer had its youthful fullness like he remembered. Dmitri brought up a hand and gently cupped her cheek.

“Why are you here, Nadia?”

She seemed to be hurt by his question. Tears sprung in her eyes and she shook her head as she said passionately, “How could you even ask me that? I haven’t seen you in years, Dmitri! You knew how I felt being in that house; how my mother treated me. And you still didn’t fight Daddy- you didn’t bother to fight for me.”

Dmitri bristled at her pleas. It seemed he had disappointed more than just himself but both of his siblings. He was not surprised by Nadia’s outcries but he had been shocked by Dominic’s emotional outburst earlier today. “I never abandoned you, Nadia. But it is not my battle to fight. If you want to leave them behind, you are old enough to do so but you will never be free from them if you don’t take care of yourself. You need to be in a rehabilitation center. I told Father that before I left- I told you! But you are still in denial about how sick you are!”

Nadia scowled at him at the mere mention of it. “I am not-”

“Yes, you are! And I will not stand as a scape goat for you and your problems. I am here for you; I will always be here for support. You are my little sister, Nady, and I love you. But I cannot fight your battles for you.”

At the sound of her nickname, Nadia seemed to crumble before him. She fell into his arms and sobbed as he gently patted her dark hair. Her hands clenched into fists as she shivered in his arms.

“I need you, Dmitri. Daddy doesn’t understand; he thinks I’m being ridiculous. I can’t control it, though. I-I just can’t live there anymore. Please…please let me stay with you.”

When he didn’t respond, she rushed ahead. “Just for a little while. I think the change would be good for me and I’ll get better. Please don’t abandon me, Dmitri. I need you now.”

Dmitri looked down at her and nodded his head with a sigh. She was right; he couldn’t take her back when she so obviously needed to be away from his Father and her mother. “But, if I don’t see you getting better, I will take you back. Maybe then I can convince Father to enter you into rehabilitation.”

Hesitantly, Nadia agreed.

They sat there for several minutes, until the sounds coming from the kitchen finally entered their cocoon. Nadia pushed herself away from her brother and wiped her eyes with a sniffle. She watched as Dmitri stood up and walked into the kitchen. She continued to sit on the couch, thinking of the tiny black woman he had introduced her to.

Though Dmitri had identified her as a friend, she knew they had to be more. And it didn’t make sense to her.  Her brother deserved someone better, Nadia contemplated. With the large age difference between them as half-siblings and her parents’ absence as she grew up, Dmitri was more of a father figure to her. This made his departure even more painful. He had always been the one to listen to her while everyone else often ignored what they considered to be the annoying ramblings of a child.

Coming to live with him had been partly a whim of youthful disobedience but also the desperate act to see and be with her brother once more. She knew the part she played in his ‘banishment’ and regretted her immature and impulsive actions the moment she saw him leave. Nadia came to make things right and the first thing on her agenda, she thought as she walked into the kitchen and noticed their physical closeness, was to get rid of the woman who was obviously not good enough for her brother.

Sasha jumped when she felt a hand rest on her lower back. Her pulse calmed at the familiar feel of Dmitri’s soft lips against her cheek, however. She had just finished cleaning off the glass table after the three of them had had a rather awkward dinner together. Besides being asked rather intrusive questions on the part of Dmitri’s younger sister, she had not bothered to speak much; instead, deciding it was best to have them reacquaint themselves with one another. She had heard a few tidbits of their conversation in the living room while she had cooked but hadn’t been able to make much sense of it.

It was obvious that Nadia wasn’t a fan of hers. Nadia’s sly comments about her eating a large portion of the spaghetti and asking if she regularly went to the gym seemed to have gotten past Dmitri but Sasha had been exposed to enough underhanded insults from Faye and Jaelynn to identify them. Sasha’s enthusiasm about her budding relationship with Dmitri had curtailed dramatically. So, she didn’t lean into Dmitri’s kiss as she would have usually done. Instead, her back stiffened and her head turned away.

Dmitri noted this and let out a deep sigh. Nadia had retired for the night, claiming travel exhaustion. He was thankful she had left because he could now focus on mending the rift his statement seemed to have created in their relationship.

“Come on, Sasha. Let’s go to bed. It’s getting late.”

She walked away from him, placing the surface sponge near the sink. “I was thinking I should take the bus and just go back to my apartment. I overheard that you and your sister haven’t seen each other for a while and I’d rather not stand in the way.” She started to walk in the direction of the living room to fetch her overnight bag.

Lightning quick, Dmitri grasped her forearm and spun her back around. “Do not do that,” he said sternly. “Don’t lie to me. I know what this is really about. And I’m sorry you were hurt but…what would you have me say? I’m not ready to introduce you to my family as more than just a friend right now, okay? Geez, I wasn’t expecting her. I was planning to simply talk about my family for the first time with you, not have you meet one of them! I won’t apologize for not wanting to put a label on us just yet!”

She tore her arm from his grasp. “A ‘friend’, Dmitri? It’s been close to a month! Admittedly, I’m not very experienced with matters like this but I would think that after a month of spending almost every day together, I would be just a little more than a friend. Heck, all you had to say was this is the woman I’ve been dating. But…you d-didn’t. You denied even the semblance of a romantic relationship with me, Dmitri. As if…you’re ashamed of it.” She paused. Sasha closed her eyes, her lips trembling in fear at his response to her next question. “Are you?”

If it were possible, Dmitri’s eyes darkened even more in anger. He backed away from her and paced in the kitchen, his hands constantly brushing through his dark locks in frustration. With a growl, he faced her once more. “How can you blow something so minute-”

She shook her head sorrowfully. “That’s where you’re wrong, Dmitri. It was your chance to show me that…this relationship means something to you. Enough for you to not want to hide it.” If the situation wasn’t so serious, Sasha would have laughed at the cute look of utter bewilderment on his face. “It’s because you consider it to be temporary, isn’t it?” Her heartbeat was racing as she engaged in this verbal altercation with him. They didn’t usually butt heads but this felt different. She felt an ominous ambience in the room as she continued, “Tell me, have you told anyone about me? Slade even?”

She knew the answer the moment a red flush came over his cheeks. “I’ve told everyone,” she said in a whisper though it was pointless. Her fight seemed to just deflate after this. She turned away from him and tried to search for her overnight bag again. Her hands were shaking so much she could hardly grasp the strap when she found it on the floor.

To her shock, Dmitri had rushed over. Not willing to let her walk out like this, he impulsively picked Sasha up and carried her down the hallway to his room. Closing the door, he dropped her onto the bed and stood before her with the same scowl spread across his handsome features.

“Okay, you’re angry with me,” he stated obviously. “But I will not let you just leave in the middle of the night because of a disagreement. At least let me explain!” He took in a deep breath, taking in her small stature sitting at the edge of the king size bed.