Page 109 of Bratva Butcher

“You know him well.”

“Well enough.”

I’d forgotten how chatty he could be.

Not.

He twirled me without slowing down, and I found it unbearably easy to follow through, my arm gliding through the air. We moved together well.Too well.Almost like we were one person, each of us just an extension of the other.

The music was beautiful; soft and pleasant. It made the moment feel like we were in some sort of fairytale, our feet moving in tandem, our bodies inching closer and closer with each spin until we were pressed right up against one another.

His face was hard as stone, jaw clenched, body tight. I wondered if he was uncomfortable, but the way he held me… It felt like he didn’t want to let me go.

Or maybe that was just whatIwas hoping he was feeling.

The truth of it was, I had no idea.

“Why are you here?” I asked, trying desperately to ignore the tension rising between us.

“Why are you?” he threw back.

“That’s none of your business.”

“Then whatI’mdoing here is none ofyours.”

“Fine.”

“Fine,” he parroted.

We sped up, spinning faster and faster as we made our way around the dance floor. It was like we were gliding, the movements almost effortless. Every now and then, he would twirl me and then reel me back into him, bringing me closer eachtime. Our faces were mere inches from each other, his lips only a hair’s breadth away from mine. It was a fucking tease, having them right there and not being able to do a damn thing about it.

“Why did you leave without saying goodbye?” he asked casually, and I almost stumbled from surprise, but he danced us right through it, his hold remaining tight and unwavering.

“I didn’t think you cared.”

“I don’t,” he bit out between gritted teeth.

“Then why are you asking?”

“Just think it was quite rude of you.” He pushed me away but kept holding my left hand with his right as our arms pulled taut. We took a few steps forward ,and then he spun me back into him quickly, almost as if he didn’t want to be that far away from me. “You didn’t think that after everything we went through, that I deserved a simple goodbye?”

Of course he did. But I knew my limits. I had an addictive personality, and Dimitri was the kind of man I could very easily become addicted to. If I wasn’t already. I already craved those rare smiles he would sometimes give. That deep, baritone laugh of his. The sound of his voice. I feared that if I didn’t get away from him when the opportunity first presented itself, I never would.

“I said goodbye. You just didn’t hear me.”

He arched an eyebrow. “And how far away were you when you said thisgoodbye, hmm?”

My mouth twisted into a knowing smile. “Not that far.”

“You’re such a liar. What’s the matter,malen’kaya d’yavolitsa,afraid to tell the truth?”

What the fuck did those Russian words mean? I was dying to know, but refused to ask.

When he turned his head left and then right as we floated across the dance floor, I mimicked him, moving my head in the opposite direction to him. “Careful, Butcher. It’s really soundinglike it bothered you that I didn’t say goodbye to your face. That you, oh, I don’t know,care. Perhaps about me?”

His eyes darkened with something feral. He twirled me and then yanked me back to him so sharply that I ploughed right into him, our bodies smacking together hard enough to force a grunt from my lips. “That would be foolish of you to think,” he whispered, still spinning us around the dance floor, never slowing down. “If it wouldn’t get me kicked out of here, I’d drive my knife right through your heart without blinking an eye.”

Something I’d noticed about Dimitri was that he resorted to threats when he was put in uncomfortable situations. There was something between us. Iknewthere was, and he did, too. It wasn’t just physical. We connected on a much deeper level. Something about his dark, ferocious soul called to mine. But he was refusing to acknowledge it, and like Johnathon said, he resorted to anger when confronted with it.

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