Page 14 of Dark Truths

I had turned toward the door, intent on rushing out of the room with my tail between my legs…so to speak when his question makes me twist back around. When I do, I’m surprised to find Dimitri looking at me through his lashes and shaggy hair that has fallen around his face. His blue eyes burn like twinflames in the shadows of his gaze and I can feel them lick my skin in a sinful manner.

“What do you mean?”

“If not me, who will teach you instead? Perhaps the man who harassed you the last night you were here?”

I narrow my eyes at him, angry for him to even suggest it. “Of course not.”

“Someone else then?”

It’s clear he’s taunting me out of anger or offense or whatever the hell he’s feeling right now. But whatever it is, he’s being an ass now, and I don’t care for it. “Like I said. Just forget I asked.”

“I can’t.” His words make me pause again.

“What?”

Dimitri stands to his full height, and the room’s energy shifts, as if there’s suddenly electricity in the air. “I told you never to return here, Gabriella. Do you remember that?”

“Yes, but—”

“And now you’re here, asking to learn about thePlayground. Asking for me to teach you.”

“Yes, but—”

“Do you know what you ask of me?” He approaches slowly, like a predator stalking his prey in the night. I stand my ground, refusing to back down, even when he stands before me. “Do you?”

I drop my eyes and answer, “No.” Before he can say a word in response, I continue, “But I want to. With you.”

“Again…why me?”

I don’t know what he expects to hear or even why he wants to know. I could lie. I could make up some reason that would inflate his male ego, but when I look up at him, I recognize a need to know the truth swirling in the icy depths. A need as desperate as mine, which drives the truth from me.

“Because…I trust you.”

Whatever truth he expected to hear was not that, given the way he flinches. “You trust me? Why?”

“Honestly, I don’t know why, but you’ve never given me a reason not to.”

“I’m the head captain of the Russian Bratva.”

As if I need reminding. “And I’m an Italian mafia princess. What’s your point?”

“You don’t know me.”

“And you don’t know me, either,” I snap back. “It seems kind of perfect, right? Who better to teach and learn than strangers with no prior history?”

He studies me for a few breaths before he takes a step back. “Spoken like a future doctor.”

“Nurse Practitioner.”

“There’s a difference?”

I chuckle. “Yes. A whole degree and many more years of school and residency difference.”

Dimitri hums under his breath and turns away, walking toward the couch. “Alright then, doctor.” I roll my eyes at his back, finding the fact that the icy Russian has a sense of humor entertaining. “Lesson one. The only rule in thePlaygroundis that there are no rules. Anything goes so long as participation is consensual.”

“Okay.” I already know that one. It’s plastered in several places all over the club.

He sits and leans back against the cushions. “Lesson two. Discipline.”

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