Page 138 of Tortured Soul
“That mouth of yours, I swear.” A low chuckle escaped his throat as he pulled me closer to him. “I can’t get sidetracked now, but the second everything is settled? Binding promise or not, you’re stuck in my bed for a few nights. Maybedaystoo.”
His eyes were nothing but ravenous hunger as they swiped over me, stopping at my maybe visible breast through the shirt, then my lips for a few extra beats.
“I understand that Dimitri has always been your rock and that you need to spend this night with him,” he continued, inching his face close enough for our noses to brush. “And I agree that it’s the best idea so I won’t be tempted to fuck the distrust out of you when I have so many things to think about tonight. But I hope that, in time, when I have proven myself to you, you’ll choose me too.”
By the time I entered Dimitri’s room with a plate filled with leftover food, my heart was racing inside my chest and my panties were soaked from the idea of Arc railing me into any flat surface available. My brain couldn’t even process the idea of a time we’d all get along and more things like what happened earlier with him and Carter would happen again, this time, maybe including Dimitri—or evenrealsex—too.
I was surprised to see that this bedroom looked actually clean and comfy—some part of me was convinced that Arc had stashed him in a broom closet out of spite. It was simpler than his own or Carter’s, but the bed was wide and covered with soft-looking cream sheets and, like Carter’s, there was a sitting area in the corner. Hearing the water behind the door at the far wall, I left the plate on the coffee table near the couches and made my way into the bathroom.
The steam made it difficult to see anything, but I kept my eyes on the shiny gray tiles and the clothes scattered around, following the trail to the shower.
Finally spotting the damn pants, I crouched on the floor, inspecting it.
“Are you playing hard to get?” Dimitri asked from behind the stone wall. “Or were you not planning to join me at all?”
His tone was playful, but I could hear the exhaustion.
“I—You should rest before you have to go back tomorrow. Shower sex doesn’t seem like a good idea, to be—”
“Get your mind out of the gutter,zhizn moya,” he chuckled. “I’m more than just a pretty face or a sex toy, you know? I enjoy your hands and lips on me, even if it’s not on my cock.”
I rolled my eyes, sliding my finger faster on the waistband of the pants, searching for a little bump or a place where the seam was thicker.
And I did.
I muffled a groan.
“I’ll be right there, just a sec.”
I grew one of my nails into a claw and severed the stitches, opening just enough to remove and check for what was inside.
A small metallic device and small shards of thick glass, but it looked crushed, non functioning.
Did Dimitri break it when he fought outside? Did they give him this one because they knew it was broken?
“What are you doing out there?” he asked. “I didn’t take you for an underwear sniffer. I was out forthreedays,agápi mou. You really shouldn’t put your nose in there.”
“Gross.” I stood up, taking off my clothes and letting them turn to particles on the floor before vanishing entirely. Two seconds later, my underwear was on the floor with his clothes and my front was plastered against Dimitri’s back under the hot water.
“I missed you.”
My heart felt strange in my chest as I forced a smile. “We’ve been separated longer than that before,” I said, downplaying my own feelings. “Three days are nothing compared to the decades—”
“Lola.”
My heart missed a few beats. “Hm?”
“Staying away for a near century was Hell, but having you back for twenty-four hours just to lose you again for three days—”
“You didn’tloseme.”
“It felt like it.”
He turned to face me, sliding his arms around my waist to pull me closer in his arms. His chest rose with a deep inhale, nose nuzzling in my hair.
“It felt like I was being punished for running away. Like fate was mad at me for what happened the last time we saw each other, when I helped you flee London. When I abandoned you in that hotel room and then was too ashamed to approach you again until four days ago.
“Destiny has always played dirty tricks on us, don’t you agree? Bringing us together only a year before it would’ve been too late, and throwing all these obstacles in our way.
