Page 42 of Cruel Honor

“Ok,” I finally say.

“Great. Let’s go.”

“Uh, can I change first?”

He looks around his room. “I don’t have any clothes for you to wear. Unless, of course, you want to go naked.”

I flush again. I think that’s going to be a common occurrence being around Dimitri. “Katya has clothes I can wear.”

“Ah. All right. But I have to go unlock her door, and she’s not going to be happy with me for locking her in her room.”

“Can you blame her?”

Dimitri only gives me a devilish smile as he leaves the room. I shake my head, but there’s a tiny smile on my lips, too.

He opens Katya’s door, and by the look on her face, she’s pissed. “Seriously, Dimitri?” She shoves him out of the way. “I can’t believe you locked me in my room all night!”

“Sorry,” is all he says.

Katya walks over to me. “You ok?”

“Yes. I’m fine.” There’s no way I’m going to tell her about Dimitri spanking the panic attack out of me. “Do you have clothes I can borrow?”

She lends me a simple summer dress that’s a little long on me, but I manage.

Dimitri and I leave to go on our date with Katya grumbling to him about not locking her up ever again.

“She’s a handful,” he says as we get into his car.

For a moment, I consider making another run for it, but my dress is too long, and I’d trip. I could never outrun Dimitri in a running contest.

“Katya’s not a handful,” I respond, needing to defend my best friend. “You just don’t trust her with her own agency.”

Dimitri lets out a low whistle. “Calling me out again. You’re good at that, aren’t you?”

“Has there really never been another woman to call you out on your crap?”

“Crap?” He scrunches up his face, and honestly, it’s kind of cute. “Would I call it crap?”

“I would.”

He laughs, easing back into his nonchalant posture. “It’s just the way things are in my world. I need to make sure Katya isn’t off running around with men. That’s the thing with Bratva men. They expect women to be virgins on their wedding night. Katya is worth more as a virgin.”

“That’s … vile.”

“Being a virgin?”

“No. That a woman’s only worth is as a virgin.”

He slants his eyes at me. “So, Evie. You’re not a Bratva girl. You’re twenty. I take it you’re not a virgin?” He tilts his head to the side. “Or are you? You do tend to get embarrassed whenever I say something naughty.”

I face the window to cover my burning cheeks. “I’m not discussing my sex life with you.” Or lack thereof.

He winces. “Bad sex, then? Been with guys who didn’t know how to please you?”

“I’m not discussing that with you,” I repeat. Because there’s nothing to discuss. I’m not ashamed about being a virgin. I just don’t want to give Dimitri anything to hang over my head. Frankly, I don’t want him to tease me about it.

After my dad died a few years ago, I closed myself off into books. I haven’t left them since … until now.

---