Page 75 of Defiled Innocence

When I bend down to pick it up, a pair of black shoes steps right in front of it.

I know these shoes. My mind spins and I stumble forward. Dmitri is on his haunches in a blink, grabbing my shoulders.

“Steady, Amelia.” He grabs my phone and pockets it as he helps me to my feet.

“Hey. That’s mine.” I try to get it back from him, but the shots haven’t blurred my vision enough to not see the flash of dominance in his eyes.

I pat his chest. “Okay, you can have it.”

Sarah laughs. “He already took it.”

“Did you call? I can’t feel the phone in my pocket,” I tell him, hoping to alleviate his irritation.

“No.” He winces when the new band starts playing.

“You don’t like the band?” I turn to face the stage, but my head spins again so I only make it halfway.

“No. I don’t.” He pulls me into his chest. “How much have you had?”

“It’s because you’re old. If you were young like me, you’d like them,” I say.

His eyebrow arches. “When you’re old like me, you’ll know better than to get drunk off… what were you drinking? Fireball?”

He makes another face.

“It tastes like Cinnabun, no, cinnamommm, no… cinnamoon?” Sarah laughs and stumbles a step.

Boris catches her with a deep-set frown.

“You should have stopped after the first one,” he tells her with the same tone Dmitri uses on me when he’s getting all lecture-y.

“It was good. So, we had another. And you don’t tell her what to do.” I point a finger at him.

Boris looks to Dmitri.

“Yeah! You don’t tell her what to do… I mean me. You don’t…” Sarah stops talking and sighs. “You know what I mean.”

Dmitri nods toward Sarah. “Take that one home and I’ll get my wife home.”

He cups my elbow.

“Maybe I don’t wanna go home.” I try to escape his grasp.

“Too bad.”

“But…” I’m suddenly too tired to argue. “Home would be good.”

He smiles a little then urges me forward. “That’s what I thought.”

The late spring air outside feels amazing against my face as we make our way to the car. Dmitri drove his own car to get me.

“Did Boris tell on me?” I ask as we’re pulling into the garage of the penthouse.

I must have fallen asleep when I got into the car.

“He did.” He pops open his door and comes around to get mine.

“He’s a tattletale.” I sigh heavily.

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