Page 81 of Dark Truths

He looks away and furrows his brow as if he's thinking hard. And then all at once, he blinks several times and his mouth parts like he just remembered something. "Oh, no. I never blocked you. After I left the hospital, I was so angry, not at you, but at the world and I crashed my bike—" I gasp but he waves my concern away and continues, "I wasn't hurt, but I remember my phone broke into pieces. When I got a new one turned on, I never saw a missed call."

"Oh." Shame and embarrassment falls over me as I realize I never gave him the benefit of doubt. I never bothered to think there could have been a reason for it other than being blocked. "I guess I should have left a voicemail."

He huffs under his breath and gives me one of those sweet smiles I like to think he reserves just for me. "Yes, that would have been a good idea." He twirls his finger in a circle, directing me to turn back around.

I do what he says and a second later, he continues washing my back. There's no use crying over spilled tea or wondering what could have happened if I had left a voicemail. All we have now is the present and the two little futures nestled inside my womb. “You said you fell in love with me."

"I do love you."

"And because you love me, you decided to tell me now?"

“Yes.”

“So what was your plan then, after you told me?”

He moves his hand to running the washcloth over my shoulders. I can reach there but I don't bother telling him. “I hadn’t gotten that far to be honest.”

I turn my head. “Really?”

“Yeah, it's not the best of plans, I admit.”

“Not at all.”

His lips twitch. “To be honest, I panicked when you overheard us at the Playground and then after the car accident…I just couldn’t lose you. Not until you heard the truth and could decide after you knew everything.”

I spin in the tub to face him. His hand drops and his eyes immediately go to my chest, covered in bubbles.

“My eyes are up here,” I tell him, gesturing to my face. “It’s a pretty big risk to take, Dimitri, telling me. I could go to my father.”?

As he raises his gaze to me, his eyes mirror the mysterious depths of the deep blue ocean. “Will you?”

Will I? I should.I really should.

“Before you answer, let me say one thing. I never expected to meet you, Gabriella. I definitely never expected to fall in love either. But I’m glad I did because regardless of the outcome, I’m just happy I got to know you, a true angel living in the dark, and that’s all that matters to me.”

As he speaks, his words carry a weight of vulnerability and such raw and genuine emotion that makes it impossible for me to resist the urge to rise on my knees, firmly take hold of his face and share a deep kiss.

“I won’t tell him,” I whisper against his lips. “Because we're going to tell him together.”

30

Dimitri

Gabriella is peacefully sleeping next to me in bed, her breaths gentle and steady in the quiet darkness of the room.As I had hoped, the bath worked its magic, lulling my angel into such a state of relaxation that she almost dozed off in the warm water. By the time she finished drying off and put on my clothes, her eyes were heavy with sleep. When I returned with a glass of water, she was already fast asleep.Tonight has been overwhelming for both of us. Between her accident, my confession, and our impromptu night walk through the woods, we’re beyond tired—exhaustion doesn’t even begin to cover it. Plus, her body is busy nurturing our babies. I’m pretty sure there’s a term for this kind of pregnancy. Rainbow, I think.

I reach out and place my hand carefully over her middle. Gabriella has a killer body, with curves in all the right areas, ample breasts enough to suffocate a man happily, and a round ass, tight enough to bounce a quarter off. Imagining her flatstomach grow swollen with our babies fills me with a predatory need to protect her, protect them at all costs.

“Dimitri?”

I raise my eyes to find her awake and blinking at me through sleep hazy eyes.

“You should be asleep, angel.”

She gives me a lazy, small smile. One of my favorites because it’s similar to the one she wears after an orgasm. “So should you.”

I lean forward and press a kiss to her forehead. “How can I when you’re lying here next to me?”

Gabriella takes a deep inhale and stretches out her limbs, entangling them in mine, before she curls into my chest like a cat, and practically purrs.

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