Page 59 of Deadly Protector
Dimitri lifted a shoulder. “I don’t know.” But she clearly hadn’t been a fan of Irene’s, so that counted for something. And he’d wanted to piss off Irene just a little more. She deserved it for all the trouble she’d caused him.
Viktor grinned, shook his head, then turned back around.
“You can just take me home,” Dimitri said from the back as he pulled his cell phone out.
“Zamira is still at my place with Mila though.” Lyosha’s frown was visible in the rearview mirror.
“I know. I’ll call her once I’m home. I’m going to give her some space. She was thrown into a volatile situation and had to depend on me to help her. I think she needs space. She’s been through a lot.” Far too much. He wanted to be with her more than anything, but this was necessary for her. And he needed to make sure she wanted him for him, not just the security he’d offered. And she needed to be able to choose with a clear head. Not have him pressuring her, even unintentionally.
Lyosha grunted his disapproval.
Well, too bad. He didn’t understand.
“Space is a mistake,” Viktor said.
“Respectfully, I know what I’m doing.” And he wasn’t asking for permission.
Viktor snorted softly. “I think you believe that you do.”
Ignoring him, Dimitri texted Zamira. All is good. You’ll be able to go home soon. He wanted her to know that she was finally safe, that she didn’t have to worry about that bastard Ryba anymore. Because Dimitri had no doubt Irene would be taking care of Ryba herself.
“Are you…done with me?”Holding her phone up to her ear, Zamira spoke to Dimitri as she sat on the edge of the guest bed, unable to believe that he hadn’t come back this morning. She’d thought he’d texted her because he didn’t want to talk in front of Lyosha, but then Lyosha had come back to his and Mila’s place.
Alone.
“No, no! I…knew if I came back to Lyosha and Mila’s I’d be selfish, that I’d take you back to my place and we wouldn’t leave my bed for the next week.”
“Is that supposed to be a bad thing?” A week in bed with him sounded like heaven.
“I don’t want you to feel beholden to me or pressured to be with me. You had no choice before—”
“Uh, I had a choice whether I wanted to sleep with you or not. And I very much did.” Soooo much. She wanted him here right now so she could do it some more. “Is this…because I have kids?” God, she should have known. Maybe the reality of her being a single mom was settling in and now he was simply done.
“What? No! I mean, I know nothing about kids, but no. I just want to make sure that you’re sure you want to be with me, with no pressure and with space from me.”
She took a deep breath. Space? Bullshit. “Do you want to be with me?” She needed a straight answer.
“More than anything.” There was such longing in his voice, it sliced right through her.
She bit back a groan at the mixed signals. She thought about pushing him, but wasn’t sure that was the right move, wasn’t sure of anything. When Lyosha had returned without Dimitri an hour ago… She was still reeling from the sense of loss and confusion. “So, you just want me to, what, think about us?”
“Yes.”
She gritted her teeth, but reined in her frustration. “I don’t need time to think, Dimitri.”
He paused, then said, “I think you do.”
“Okay,” she finally said. “When I call you later, are you going to answer?” She was so far out of this dating game that she wasn’t sure if this was his polite way of trying to ghost her. Was this how people broke up with each other now? With hollow promises? She didn’t think so, but she’d heard a lot of horror stories from her friends.
“Of course.”
“Okay, then. I’ll talk to you soon.”
Once they disconnected, she tossed her phone down and headed to find her sister—who was still drinking coffee in her pajamas in the kitchen.
Mila looked up from her tablet and smiled. “Hey…oh, what’s up?”
Stupid tears pricked her eyes but she batted them away. “I don’t know! I think Dimitri just broke up with me.” Or maybe he hadn’t. Everything was a mess.
