Page 5 of Between Desire and Denial
Dimitri’s green stare hardened as he looked down at me. “Olive, he’s most likely been doing this to women since he became a professor a million years ago.”
“Well, thanks for making me feel better,” I said sarcastically as I glared at him.
He tapped his expensive loafer on the pavement of the alley like he didn’t have time for this. “What I’m saying is he’s a damn expert at being a dick. The playing field was uneven.”
“But—”
“A man that’s supposed to love you made you cry. That alone gives you enough reason to walk away from him. Even worse, he did it in the alley of your friend’s wedding reception.”
“She’s mybestfriend.” I nodded, starting to believe what he was saying.
“Well”—he tilted his head and his eyes sparkled—“technically, I think I’m her best friend.”
My jaw dropped before a giggle slipped out. “You’re kicking me when I’m down?”
“I’m being honest.”
“It doesn’t suit you.” I threw back as I crossed my arms.
He hummed like it was a challenge then suddenly stepped close to me. The night air shifted as the cool wind whipped between us. “Is that so, Ms. Monroe?”
It was definitely not so.
Our height difference, him being close to six six and me being only five four, along with the tension between us was suddenly amplified. And his arrogant ass knew that everything suited him while he stood there so close to me in the moonlight. Most women—including myself, even though I avoided the pull—were irresistibly drawn to him. His dark wavy hair framed a face that was somehow rugged and refined, every strand falling perfectly into place without effort. Even though he stood there in an expensive tailored suit, he didn’t have to try to own the space. He just did with his broad shoulders, his confidence, and a smile that held familiarity but also mystery.
My heart and libido lurched at the same time. For a second, I forgot my heartbreak and that I should be dwelling on that. Closing my eyes, I took a step back to break our connection. “It is. I’m just as much Kee’s friend as you are. And probably more so now since I’ll be working with her forever after Rufford gets through with me.”
“Yes, well, it is probably just best to let it go and do your thesis over,” Dimitri said as if it didn’t matter much either way to him. “Should we go back to the reception?”
Yet his words rattled me. “Let it go?” I murmured and then, I said it again, “Let it go?” And that’s when the ball of fear turned to fury, warped from pain and heartbreak to wrath. I’d let it go with my father, let the rage over him not being the man he should have with my mother go. And I’d regretted it ever since.
I took a deep breath and balled up my fists. “No. You know what? I’mnotgoing to just let it go.”
I stomped past Dimitri back toward the reception doors and whipped them open without looking back to see if he was following. I didn’t have time to wallow. I needed a new plan, and I felt it deep in my bones. I could cry later, but tonight I was making sure I had a place in the master’s program that I’d put so much effort into. And I was going to put Rufford in his place at the same time.
I just needed to get some liquid courage to do the deed.
“I’m not letting it go with anyone ever again,” I grumbled as I made my way through people dancing and went immediately to the bar. I plopped down on one of the velvet upholsteredbarstools and leaned over the dark mahogany bar with intricate carvings. “Sir, I need a drink.”
I said it loudly enough that the bartender glanced over but then his eyes flicked behind me to Dimitri waving him away. “Hold on a second. Slow down, Olive. Jesus, what do you mean you’re not letting it go?”
I glanced at the bartender who had immediately listened to him, and I narrowed my eyes back at Dimitri. “Are you telling him I can’t have a drink?”
“I just waved him off for a second.” He looked at me with concern. “Let’s take a minute—”
“Just because you own this place doesn’t mean you get to regulate what I’m doing,” I spit out, irritated he was trying to control me.
He smirked. “I regulate everything I own, Olive. If you’re standing foot in my investment, I control what you do.”
I glanced around the resort. Everything about the HEAT property reeked of opulence and elegance. Suited men moved around the reception, flowing with the crowd, all very aware of the man I stood with. The bartender listened to him without hesitation, no matter that I was a wedding guest who wanted a drink. Dimitri controlled it all. And it made me want to wreck it.
Rufford had controlled me. He’d manipulated and molded me just the way he wanted me. I’d sent that man hundreds of pictures in the lingerie he’d bought, risked my education to be with him, and now he had the audacity to leave me like I hadn’t done a thing for him. “You all think you have control of everything, don’t you?” I ground out before I waved at the bartender again and leaned over the bar. He came this time, and I purred, “Give me a shot of Fireball, please.”
The man didn’t make eye contact with Dimitri and poured the shot fast before he slid it my way. I downed it as I stared at him.
Then, I pulled my phone from my purse and scrolled through my texts to make a point. I clicked the one I wanted to show Dimitri and turned my screen. “Can you believe I sent him this last night because he begged for it?”
It was a picture I’d taken of myself bent at the waist in my torn nylons, looking over my shoulder.
