Page 92 of Always Yours

I see tears welling up again in her eyes. “I still have nightmares,” she whispers. “I sometimes fear they’ll come for me.”

“I dare them to!” I roar, my voice so gravelly and dark, even I get a chill from it. “No one, not even a nightmare, will ever haunt you when I’m around. I’ll make sure of it.”

“Dimitri,” she whispers, her voice drifting off, leaving me aching for her.

I step away from her, only slightly, to finish washing her stomach then her hips. I glide my hands between her thighs, making sure to clean away any sign that she was a virgin. I’m breathless as I do so, especially when I look up, meeting her heated gaze. She cups my jaw, and my hand pauses right at her sweet, swollen lips. “I’m okay, Dimitri. I am.”

I exhale roughly. “I’m not.”

She smiles softly, taking me by my hips. She brings me to her, and my hands go around her waist, pulling her to me as the water beats down on us. I close my eyes, pressing my forehead to hers.

“No?”

I open my eyes, her gold gaze meeting mine.

“Why not?”

I can’t answer her. All I can do is stare at her in awe. I am so proud of her, so inspired by her strength and her fight for what she wants. For who she is. I move my hand up to her cheek, cupping it as I gaze down at her, emotion clogging my throat. My chest hurts, or maybe it’s my heart; I don’t know. But fuck, she’s got me in my feelings. “Because I’ll never be able to recover from you.”

Her lips curve at that, and that little rebellious tilt of her chin teases me. “Good.”

Her boldness has me hard everywhere. I kiss her chin and gaze into her eyes. She smiles widely before I lick and then kiss the spot I bit. Her eyes darken, her hand covers mine, and I can’t even think straight. With a hoarse voice, I say, “Yeah, it’s real good, Janie.”

I take her mouth with mine, drawing the kisses out of her as my hands tremble against her skin. While we both just agreed it’s good, I don’t know if that can be true. I want it to be true, but what scares me most is that I don’t care what could happen.

All I care about is this gorgeous girl in my arms.

With her defiant little chin.

And more strength than I could have ever imagined.

thirty

Austen

I’m gloriously sore.

Not entirely sure those words can even go together, but that’s how I feel.

I swear his kisses are burned into my skin, his nibbles the ones I wish were scarred on my body, and the way he licked me, savored me, I don’t think I’ve fully recuperated. Not that I thought I could. Because if I have to be honest, my sisters were not kidding or exaggerating about how wonderful it is to be thoroughly loved by a man. Especially when that man is Dimitri Titov.

I watch from his car as he comes out of the sub shop with food for us. When I’d gotten home, I had walked to the arena because I had been in the car for so long. Plus, I’d hoped it would end the way it did, and if it didn’t, I needed the time to walk by myself. Dimitri is wearing a pair of fitted shorts and a long black tank as he carries the bag, his sunglasses hiding those eyes, but his cross glitters in the sunlight. He reaches for the door, and I take the bag as he gets in. “I didn’t get drinks. I didn’t want soda. Did you want one?”

I shake my head. “No, I’m good.”

He leans in, kissing the side of my mouth. “We have to replenish our energy,” he says with a wink, and I roll my eyes, leaning back in the seat. “So we can go a few more rounds.”

Oh. Well, I like the sound of that.

But I want to know something else. “Did someone give you that cross?”

He pauses before putting his seat belt on. “How did you know it’s a gift?”

“Because you wear it all the time, even on the ice.”

He shoots me a grin as he puts the car in reverse. “Yeah, my grandma did. It was her grandfather’s, and she said it was too gaudy for her, but not for me.”

I stifle a snort. “She sounds like she knows exactly who you are.”

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