Page 6 of Deadly Protector
CHAPTERTHREE
Dimitri felt like what he imagined a nervous teenager would feel like when picking up a date. He’d never dated as a teenager. He’d been too busy stealing things, carving out a way to survive and then thrive.
Tonight…he was nervous. Zamira made him feel different in a way he couldn’t quite define. She scared him, which probably meant he shouldn’t be here.
But he liked her more than he’d ever liked anyone. The single mom was incredible and intimidating. And he’d been a Marine, had fought in Afghanistan—no one had ever scared him. But Zamira? Yeah, that was a different kind of fear. She was the kind of woman you held on to and he knew she was out of his league.
The door swung open and he nearly swallowed his tongue at the sight of her. Her deep green dress hugged her body in a way that had him imagining peeling it slowly from her, kissing every bronzed inch of her toned body. “You look beautiful,” he murmured, holding out the small plant with a cluster of lilac buds he’d bought earlier in the day.
“Thank you. Ah, what is this?”
He cleared his throat, wondering if this had been a stupid idea. Juan—who was fifteen years younger than Dimitri—had told him it was a great idea, so maybe…he shouldn’t have listened. Then again, Juan had convinced Angel to marry him so clearly he got some things right.
“You said you’d been thinking of adding a couple more plants to your backyard and I thought this would be better than flowers.” Because he remembered that she’d told him she was always sad when flowers died so she tended to buy plants for her house instead. He also remembered that she’d said she liked purple, which was why he’d bought the lilac plant. But he didn’t want to come off as a complete weirdo so he left that out.
“This is so sweet! Come on in. I’ll set this on the back patio and then we can leave.”
“I’ll carry it,” he said when she went to take it. “I don’t want you to get anything on your dress.” It wasn’t huge, just a sixteen-inch pot, but he didn’t want to chance any soil getting on her.
Her cheeks flushed as she led him down a hallway and into the kitchen. “Thanks.”
It was hard not to stare at her as she walked—she moved with a liquid grace that was mesmerizing. And her toned calves were incredible. And the fact that he was hot for her calves told him that he was more gone for her than he wanted to admit. But it was hard not to imagine them thrown over his shoulders as he tasted between her legs, gave her all the pleasure she deserved.
He’d have asked her out months ago at Juan’s wedding, but he hadn’t been certain of her interest. She was a difficult woman to read, which was probably part of the appeal. She was so confident and sure of herself. Then he’d hurt his knee and had been ordered to physical therapy—so he’d requested his doctor send him to her place for PT. Working with her had been heaven and hell because he hadn’t been able to ask her out. But he had gotten to know her—and he liked everything he knew about her.
“Your house is very nice.” An understatement. High ceilings, big open kitchen and living room that looked out onto a huge backyard and pool. He glanced around her backyard as they stepped out onto the patio and saw there was a volleyball area set up next to the small pool.
“Thanks. It’s a lot quieter than it normally is with the kids gone.”
“I bet. Have you heard from them?” It was clear that kids lived here, that there was energy and love in this big place.
“Elisa has sent me a couple Snapchat videos.”
He blinked. “What’s Snapchat?”
“A social media thing where you send videos that the viewer can see for a short time before they disappear. And I’m literally only on there for my kids and nieces and nephews, who are all on there. I like knowing what they’re up to and I like that they want me to be part of their lives.”
He simply nodded and set the plant near the edge of the lanai. “The woman I bought it from said it would need to be watered tomorrow evening and that it needs plenty of sun.”
“Thanks. I’ll take care of it and I appreciate the gift. It’s really sweet.”
His eyes fell to her mouth for a long, heated moment as he wondered if she would taste sweet, but he forced himself to not act like a caveman. “If you’d like, I can also plant it for you. I realize that giving you a gift that also requires you to work might not have been the smartest thing.”
She let out a short, surprised laugh. “I didn’t even think of it that way, and no, you don’t need to plant it. I love to garden and I actually have the perfect spot for it.”
“Okay, well, the offer stands if you change your mind. So who plays volleyball?” he asked as they headed back inside. Again, he had to force himself not to stare at her ass and legs. She was toned everywhere and it was impossible not to notice. She was one of the most active people he knew and it showed.
“Technically we all do, but Elisa plays for school and loves it. She’s a lot better than I was at that age. She’s also great at soccer, but her love for now is volleyball. And I hope she sticks with it once she gets to high school.”
“That’s gotta be soon, right?”
“Way too soon,” she said as she grabbed a sweater by the front door, along with a small clutch.
The protective part of him was glad to see that she set her alarm when they left. And it was a good system too. He could break it, but most typical thieves wouldn’t bother with this kind of system. He also noticed a few small cameras, but the lights didn’t come on so he wasn’t sure if they were active. He wanted to ask, to make sure she had them on, but knew he’d sound like a weirdo so he kept that to himself.
“It’s really nice that you’re letting them stay with your in-laws for a couple weeks.”
“They’re good people and love the kids. We were supposed to go up there in July but I’ve got too much on my plate with work, and the kids are both going to different sports camps over the summer. There’s simply not enough time and…am I talking about my kids too much?”
