Page 66 of The Way You Hurt Me

I giggle, as he lifts my ass up in the air and drives inside me, without so much as removing my panties, simply pushing them aside.

Fuck, yes.

"Was it worth it?" he demands, with hard, fast, punishing thrusts that make my toes curl, and my insides quiver.

"Yes!" I scream.

"I'm going to screw you into next week for this shit."

I can't help it. I'm laughing, and so is he, though that doesn't stop him from delivering thrust after thrust, until we're both panting for air, and dying for the next orgasm.

I fall first, my insides tightening around him, so much he explodes with harsh grunts and fall on top of me.

"Jesus," he growls, rolling over to avoid crushing me. "Were you trying to drive me insane?"

I smirk. "I owe you. You drove me insane literally foryears." He must have known he was, too.

Dimitri snorts, bringing me to his side, his heart racing as much as mine. "Never forget, petal. You're the one who started this. You kissed me. You claimed me. You were just too young and innocent to be shoved in the cage you're going to live in now."

He sounds…apologetic.Like he's sorry that being with him means that I can't have the freedom I had before, when I was nobody. Nobody's.

He told me what the deal was. He showed me the danger of his world. He doesn't get that I accepted it, as much as I accepted him.

I don't think he understands the fact that it's not a sacrifice for me. That all I've ever wanted was for someone to care enough to want me protected, cared for.

Loved.

When I first met him, I realized what kind of person he was. Who wouldn't have? He saved my sister from a kidnapping, not even bothering to hide the guns, the blood, the simple power around him.

I've wanted the man, yes. But what I truly craved was to be safe in his cage.

It occurs to me he doesn't know that.

I sit up, and look into his green eyes. "You know, Dima, I've craved you for years. But what I truly needed was your cage."

At long last, the nickname feels right. It feels like we’re finally something like equals, after everything that happened tonight.

He frowns up at me, confusion in his eyes.

"I wasn't protected, growing up. Morgan cared for me the best she could, but the simple truth is, either of us could have just died. So easily. Every moment was a fight for survival until she met Cam. And Cam caged her in. I've dreamed about someone caring for me half as much since he walked into our lives. And from that day, I just…" I wince, remembering everything I did to get his attention. "I thought it might be you."

His arms are around my shoulders, his face in the crook of my neck. "I'm sorry I ever made you feel like I didn't want to be. I always did. I just wanted to see you fly before I clipped your wings, petal."

I chuckle in his shoulders. "Clip away."

I realize this is not a modern, feminist stance. I should say I'm an independent woman capable of caring for myself. And I am.But with him, I don't want to be.

"I'm gonna need a job, though." Because I'll be bored to tears, otherwise.

"How do you feel about gaming apps? I have an empty corner office right next to mine."

EPILOGUE

DIMITRI

I'm fairly certain the wedding invitation came as a surprise to only one person: Morgan Hunt. And according to Camden, she took a whole seven seconds to process it, before shrugging, with a "yeah, that makes total sense."

She didn't even bother to give me the protective big sister speech, though we did spend a fair bit of time over the phone clarifying the timeline. No, I did not, in fact, fuck her sister when she was younger. And yes, I had been married just two weeks ago, but as that specific problem is permanently solved, it's not a problem.

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