Page 52 of The Healing Touch

“No, shithead, I’m not talking about tying Sunshine up and fucking her. Becca has been so out of control for so long, it might do her good to let someone else have control for a little while. It worked with Lily.”

“I remember when Kade found your little extracurricular activities closet.” The memory of his brother’s shocked face still cracked Dimitri up. “I don’t think I’ve ever seen him so freaked out.”

Nikoli laughed. “His reaction was hilarious. I’m serious, though, D. This might help Becca more than anything else, that is if it’s something you’re into.”

“I am. You didn’t only get your manwhoring ways from me. I think you also got your need for dominance from me too. I don’t cause a woman pain, but I do like her all nice and tied up. Not sure how Becca would react to that, though.”

“Sneak it in.” Nikoli got excited. “Little things, things she’d normally let you do anyway, just make it more of a command than a request. It really might help her, Dimitri. From what you told me, she had a shit childhood where she had to be the adult to survive it. That’s a lot of stress for a kid to take on, to have to deal with. Just think about it.”

“I will,brat. I need to get this food upstairs before she wakes up. Thanks for talking to me.”

“I hope I helped.”

“You did. Night,brat.”

“Night.”

Dimitri shoved his phone in his pocket and got out of the Jeep, food bags in tow, and gave his keys to Mike, who stood patiently waiting for him to get out. Another person to remember to tip well when they checked out.

Time to check on his woman.

~*~

Becca woke up to darkness, the only light a soft glow from the partially open bathroom door. No Dimitri. She shouldn’t be surprised. He’d run earlier when he figured out how she felt about him. Why wouldn’t he run after she’d embarrassed not only herself, but him as well, in front of all those authors?

Sighing, she dragged herself up, found her purse, and downed her medication. Honestly, she couldn’t remember if she’d even taken it yesterday. That might have been why she panicked so hard and so fast when the guys came over to chat. It could also explain the headache and the nausea today. You didn’t simply skip a dose of medication. It could cause all sorts of nasty things.

Maybe a hot shower would help scrub some of the shame and embarrassment away along with all the dust and dirt she’d collected from sitting in the floor. It certainly couldn’t hurt. She gathered her pajamas and turned on the shower, waiting for it to get hot.

The hot water felt amazing. It might have been fifteen minutes or an hour that she stood underneath the spray and let it soak into her tense muscles. Hot showers always helped relax her enough to let her anxiety start to wash away.

It was a technique her doctor suggested, since stress was associated with anxiety, and a hot shower was one of the best remedies for stress when a bath was out of the question. She refused to take a bath in a hotel room. Could one ever really know how clean the tub was? Same with the toilet. She’d been lining the seat with toilet paper.

Getting out, she yawned. God knew how long she’d slept. It hadn’t occurred to her to check the clock before she came in the bathroom. She wrapped one of the big towels around her body and turned on the water in the sink, the need to brush her teeth strong. She hated fuzziness on her teeth. Grossed her out. Once that was done, she grabbed another towel and bent over to start drying her hair.

“Becca!”

She heard Dimitri bellowing her name barely seconds before he burst through the bathroom. She stood up so fast, it dislodged her towel. She stared down in horror as it slipped off her body and pooled around her feet. When her gaze met Dimitri’s, she watched his expression go from shock to lust in a matter of seconds. The shift was so fast, she took a hesitant step backward.

“Close the door!”

He ignored her and came closer, his expression hardening. Shit. She grabbed at the towel and barely managed to pull it up before his hands wrapped around her arms, pulling her close.

“Dimitri…”

“Becca…”

She swallowed around the very large lump in her throat, aware of where his fingers burned into her very naked skin.

“We aren’t doing this.” As hard as she tried, she couldn’t stop the slight tremor in her voice.

He closed his eyes and she watched, fascinated, as he fought with himself. So many emotions, some she couldn’t even define, flickered in his expression. When he opened those baby blues, it only made her flight or fight instinct screamflight.Flee, run now. He shifted his hands to grasp her around the waist, and he picked her up, only to set her on the countertop. She still had to look up to meet his eyes. Dimitri was that tall. The lust burned brightly, but there was a hard determination there as well.

“You’re right. I’m not going to fuck you tonight.”

She let out a little sigh of relief, but it was short-lived. His next words made her stiffen.

“But I am going to fuck you, Becca, so hard and so deep, you’ll never forget the feel of me.”

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