Page 92 of Sinful Lies

“Dimitri, I’m fine.” She presses her hands to my chest. “You don’t need to worry.”

The way she’s refusing to meet my eyes has me doing the exact opposite of that.

“You’re not fine. You’ve been sick fordays.”

“It’s just a bug, it’ll pass on its own.”

I let out a long breath as I narrow my eyes at her.

Something’s wrong, but I don’t want to push Zara. It’s becoming clear that it’s important for her to feel in control of herself, of herbody, and if she assures me that she doesn’t need a doctor, then I need to respect her wishes, as much as it kills me to do so.

I hate that Zara’s feeling like this all because of some guy who refuses to take no for an answer. I wish she would take a few more sick days, but she’s worried about falling behind, so we compromised with her working from her laptop on the couch for the past few days.

“If I can’t call a doctor, at least let me run you a bath.” I tuck her hair behind her ear.

She sighs, her eyes fluttering closed as she leans into my touch. “A bath sounds amazing.”

“I’ll be right back.” I press a soft kiss to her forehead before getting to my feet.

I head upstairs to her room and get to work prepping the bath, turning on all the jacuzzi jets and adding plenty of calming essential oils and salts. I light a few candles on the edge of the bath and turn off the lights to add to the ambiance.

When it’s ready, I go back downstairs and cross the living area to where Zara is lounging on the couch, her laptop perched on her lap.

I reach over and shut the lid.

“Excuse me, I was working?—”

I pick up the laptop and toss it aside before wrapping my arms around Zara and lifting her off the couch.

“What are you doing?” she squeals, clinging to my shirt.

“Carrying you upstairs.”

“Dimitri, I can walk!”

“You can, but that doesn’t mean I’ll let you. You’re sick, let me take care of you,sladkaya zhizn’.” I nuzzle her neck, inhaling the sweet smell of her hair.

“You’re impossible.” She sighs as she moves her hands to my neck, her fingers softly caressing the nape.

“I think you meant to say impossibly handsome.” I smirk as she rolls her eyes at me.

There’s my Zara.

I carry her upstairs to her bathroom where I gently set her down on the cold tiles. She reaches for her shirt, but I grab her wrist, halting her movements.

“Let me.” I reach for the hem of her T-shirt. “Arms up.”

Zara does as I say, and I carefully lift the shirt up over her head, taking a moment to admire her full breasts.

“You don’t need to do this…” She wraps her arms around herself.

Her green eyes are filled with worry as she looks up at me under her lashes.

I gently cup her cheek, rubbing my thumb back and forth over the soft skin.

“Relax,sladkaya. Let me take care of you.”

She nods, her throat bobbing.

---