Page 166 of Bratva Butcher

I could see on his face that he meant every word. The despair in his voice begged me to understand, and I so desperately wanted to.

It was the realest he’d ever been with me. He was literally cutting himself open, baring his soul and everything he felt to me. It was like he was a completely different Dimitri. Open and honest. Not hiding a single thing behind cryptic phrases or unidentifiable looks. I didn’t know what to make of it. I was completely thrown off guard, unsure about what to do.

“What is it that you want from me?” I asked softly, my resolve almost cracking.

“Don’t you know?” he said, eyes filled with longing. He got to his feet and cradled my face in his hands, tilting my head up to look him in the eyes. It was insane how such a simple move could make me feel so…cherished.

Perhaps it was because Dimitri had never acted that way with me before.

“You,” he murmured over my lips. “Just you. From now until the end of time.”

My heartscreamedto listen to him. To let bygones be bygones. Forgive and move on…with him. Just accept the apology and be happy.

But my brain couldn’t forgive that easily, a horrible, sinking thought playing in my head over and over again.

“I wish I could believe you.” Even though it killed me, I stepped back out of his reach. Hurt flashed across his face, his hands hovering in the air where my head was for a few seconds before falling dejectedly to his side. “But this has happened before. It could happen again—”

He shook his head earnestly. “It won’t. I swear.”

I smiled sadly. Tears stung in my eyes, but I held them back, refusing to shed any more tears over him. “You love her, Dimitri. That’s not just going to change. And while I can understand how hard this must be for you, I refuse to continuously compete for first place in your heart.”

“No, baby,” he murmured softly, stepping forward to grasp my face again with both hands. “There’s no competition. She was the mother of my children. A huge part of my life. I’ll always respect and care for her on some level. But my heart no longer belongs to her.It belongs to you.” When I went to look away, he forced my head back, and lowered himself until our eyes locked, his gaze focused entirely on me. “I’m in love withyou,Autumn. You’re the one I think about. The one I dream about. The one I can’t bear to be without.You.”He took my hand and placed it over his heart. “You own all of me. It’s all yours, to do with as you wish. If you wanted to cut my heart out and destroy it in your hands for what I did to you, I would let you. I would do whatever it takes to make you happy. To see you smile. To hear your laugh.” His thumb ran over my bottom lip in a soft caress. My breath hitched. “To feel your lips again. I would do anything becauseyou’rethe one I cannot live without. Mymalen’kaya d'yavolista."

I swallowed the lump in my throat, staring into those mesmerising eyes, seeing nothing but truth. My heart and mind soared with happiness. A combination of his words and actions convinced me to take another chance on him.

But it would come with a warning.

I reached up and grabbed a fistful of his hair roughly. He hissed, lust and confusion flaring in his eyes. “Get back on your knees,” I demanded.

He didn’t hesitate, lowering himself before me. My stomach tightened at the sight, excitement fluttering in my core at his obedience. At the big, strong alpha male in an expensive Armani suit on his knees all because I told him to. I leant forward slowly until my lips hovered over his. “You fuck with me again, and believemewhenIsay, they’ll never find your fucking body, Butcher.”

He smiled, a big, beaming, over the moon type of smile that lit up his whole face. “Can I kiss you now?”

Keeping one hand tightly on his hair, I used my other to reach up and unzip my pants. Hunger flashed across his face. “You can kiss me here,” I said, pointing to my pussy. “Because although I may have forgiven you, you’ve got someseriousmaking up to do.”

Chapter Forty-Two

Autumn DeValos

“Oh, god. Dimitri. Fuck.Yes.Yes.”

Dimitri moaned, his tongue lavishing at my clit in slow, soft circles.

This man and his fucking tongue.

It’d been three days since he cornered me at the airport, and it’d been the best, goddamn three days of my life. We’d retreated back to one of the many townhouses I owned under an alias and done nothing but eat, sleep andfuck. Literally. We actually hadn’t left since we got there. When I told him he had some serious making up to do, he’d taken that as some sort of challenge, giving me orgasm after orgasm after orgasm. But it wasn’t only about the sex.

Over the last three days, he showed me exactly what it was like to be loved by him. Cherished. He was the same Dimitri I knew, but also vastly different. Affectionate. Loving.

Don’t get me wrong, he was still a giant pain in my ass. We found ourselves arguing almost every day about something or other, but it was the fun kind of arguing that served as foreplay for us.

Speaking of which…

My legs tightened around his head as my climax rushed to the surface, exploding all throughout my body, right down to my fingertips and toes. The pleasure soaring through my veins was complete and utter ecstasy. I couldn’t think of anything fucking better.

Dimitri sunk his teeth into the skin at the apex of my thighs, marking me with a harsh bite. I hissed, the pain morphing into exquisite pleasure.

One thing I’d come to quickly realise about Dimitri was that the man had a serious marking kink. Not that I was complaining. In fact, I fucking loved it. I sported all of those handprints, bruises, hickeys and bite marks like badges of honor.

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