Page 54 of Breaking Away

“Alright,” he croons. His lips barely skim up the line of my neck, moving from above my collarbone to right below my ear. “Go ahead, then. Fucking use me, Princess.”

21

DMITRI

Fingertips skimover the planes of my shirt, leading nowhere. Never mind, she’s toying with a button.

Meanwhile, I’m unintelligible and reduced to clenching so hard I could break in half. And if Kavi looked down, she would notice another part of me eager to be seen, but her eyes are stuck at my collar.

I roll my lips. “Is this what you really want?”

She inhales an uneven breath. “Yes.”

“This is you using me?”

“Yes.”

“We’ll be here all night.”

Big brown eyes frantically meet mine. A shine of uncertainty mixed with a glint of frustration. “Hey! I’m—I’m seeing… what I want to do.”

Fuck.

The woman capable of undoing all my discipline is not sure what she wants. What brutal hell is this?

My inner voice mocks me. Whywouldshe want you? The broken man who might lose it all? The one who can’t play hockeywithout fear his knee will give out? The one who doesn’t have any friends and doesn’t know how to laugh?

“I thought you wanted to make it count.” The mocking isn’t subtle.

“And I thought that meantyouwould do something, not me… doing it!”

“Fine.” I fist my hand back in her hair until she’s firmly in grasp, pulling her tighter to me. “That was my turn,” I offer, forcing my voice to stay even. “What’s yours?”

She goes to the button like it’s her damn fidget spinner. “I’m thinking.”

Thinking? Ortorturing?

I should ease her along. Say some nice words.

Kavi… skittish, mesmerizing Kavi. I said I couldn’t do this, but right now I can’t stop. So take what you need now. Just put me out of this fucking misery and touch me. Give me a chance to get this out of my system.

“Is that what you want?” I press like a proper asshole. “To go home having done nothing at all? Basra, all safe and sound, wrapped up in her predictable life again.”

Her teeth snap. “How dare you—I was being—trying to make sure you weren’t—Ugh!” Her hands stroke a hard line up my chest, stopping by my neck.

“This just got interesting. Go on.”

“I actually want to kill you!”

“I’m at your mercy, Princess. Not that you seem interested in doing anything about it.”

Her hands go higher, threading into my hair.“Shut up. Shut up. Shut up.”

I wait.

She pulls my hair harder. “I said shut-up.”

“I haven’t said anything, Basra.”

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