Chapter 23 Athena
ATHENA
The silence after he leaves feels worse than any threat he's ever made. My hands are still trembling.
I stand there, breathing hard, working through my emotions.
I don't know how long I stay frozen in the middle of the room, staring at the door like it might open again. Like maybe he'll come back and say something that makes any of this make sense.
But he doesn't.
So I sink onto the edge of the bed and drop my face into my hands, fighting the urge to scream.
My blood swooshes in my ears, loud and fast.
I'm not sure how many minutes pass before I hear it, the heavy steps in the hall.
I lift my head just as the door bursts open.
He's there, standing in the doorway, his shoulders rising and falling with every breath. His muscles tense. Biceps flexing. Jaw muscles twitching.
His eyes find mine, and in them I see something unhinged. Dark.
He doesn't say a word.
He just steps inside, slamming the door behind him, and locking it.
I don't have time to take another breath before he moves.
In three strides, he's in front of me, so close I can't see anything but the dark fury in his eyes. His hand tangles in my hair, yanking my head back as he slams my body against the wall. The impact knocks the breath from my lungs, but the shock is instantly overtaken by a rush of heat.
In one fluid motion, he draws a knife and brings it to my throat. The cold steel grazes my skin.
"You think I can't handle you?" he asks, his voice dark.
I go to hit him, but he pins my wrists above my head with one big hand. His knee pushes between mine, forcing them apart.
His body leans against mine, every hard plane of his chest and hips pressing against me. "You think I don't see right through you?"
His hand tightens on my wrists. The knife trails lower, skimming between my breasts, softly going over my nipples, tracing along my ribcage. My whole body goes tight, trembling.
"I'm not afraid of you," I say, the blade continuing to move over my body.
"Maybe you should be." His eyes hold mine.
"You won't hurt me," I say defiantly.
He stops and presses the tip of the knife into my stomach. I gasp.
"You think you're the first woman to ever call me out? Try to break me."
I swallow hard. "And am I?"
He leans back just enough to meet my gaze. The look in his eyes is pure wildfire. "You're the first to get close."
With a flick of his wrist, he slices through my shirt. The fabric parts in the center.
He drags the knife from left to right, moving the flaps of the torn shirt away to fully reveal my breasts.
He circles my nipples, causing them to get hard. I feel my body heat rising, the blade feeling cooler.
"Is this another opportunity for you?" he asks, his eyes never leaving my chest.
I bite my lip.
"No, but maybe one for you," I say and wrap my right leg around him.
"Fuck," he says, voice ragged. "Stop teasing me, Athena."
His lips find mine in a searing kiss. He releases my arms just long enough to tear the ruined shirt off my shoulders. His hands are rough on me as he caresses my breast, his thumb brushing my nipple until I arch and moan.
He lifts the knife again, the blunt side sliding down my chest, then lower, teasing along the waistband of my leggings.
He holds my gaze. "Last chance to stop me."
I meet his stare, my chin lifting. "I'm not stopping you."
He shoves my underwear and leggings down and I step out of them. He then drags the tip of the knife up my inner thigh, stopping just shy of where I'm wet and wanting. My hips jerk.
"Fuck," he growls. His breath is ragged, eyes molten. "You're dripping for me."
My cheeks burn. But I don't look away.
"Spread your legs," he commands.
I do it, slowly, while holding his gaze.
He brings the knife higher, teasing my sensitive area. He pulls it away and licks the flat side of the blade, tasting me on it.
I bite my lip.
"Turn around. Hands on the wall," he orders, voice rough.
I hesitate, just long enough for him to bring the blade up under my chin, applying a light pressure.
"Turn. Around."
I do, and I feel him behind me, the heat of his body, the hard press of his cock through his jeans.
"Don't move," he growls, pulling the blade away.
I feel a coolness that makes me slightly shake as he slides the knife up and down my back in a slow, deliberate stroke. I shiver as it traces along my neck, then down again, lingering at the curve of my ass. He steps closer, grinding against me, making me feel how hard he is.
"You want to know why I don't trust you yet?" he says. "Because you still think you can hide from me. That you don't belong to me."
"I don't think that."
"No?" he asks as the knife drags across my skin.
"Then prove it."
I widen my stance while sliding down the wall and arching my back. "Like this?"
"Fuck, look at you," Dimitri says, voice dark. "So wet you're dripping down your thighs."
His hand withdraws, leaving me aching. I hear the scrape of his zipper, the rough sound of denim as I see his jeans hit the floor.
"You want me to fuck you like this?" he growls, the blunt head of his cock pressing against my entrance. "With my knife on you?"
The blade slides up and down my back, its sharpness leaving a trail of fire.
"Yes," I say. "I want you to take me. Show me what it's like to be fucked and terrified at the same time."
"You don't get to forget who you belong to anymore," he says, and then pushes inside me in one deep, relentless stroke.
My head lifts up as my eyes roll back. I scream his name. He's thick and hard, filling me until I can't think, can't breathe. My fingers curl against the wall, searching for something to anchor me.
"Fuck," he says, one hand tightening on my hip. "You feel, goddamn, you feel perfect, Athena."
The blade bites into my skin, the cold contrasting the molten heat building inside me. He holds it in place as he starts to move, slow at first, pulling almost all the way out before thrusting back in. My body jerks and a moan escapes my lips with each thrust.
"I love this," he says, voice dark. "My knife on you. My cock inside you."
I want to tell him I love it too, but I can't find the words. All I can do is feel.
He leans over me, chest to my back, and whispers in my ear. "You're a good girl, Alepoudítsa. You just need me fucking you to remind you of that."
He pulls back and slams into me harder. My vision goes white at the edges. He pulls the blade down lower, tracing the curve of my ass. I jerk at the contact.
"Fuck," he rasps in between thrusts. "You're taking me so deep, baby," he says as he grinds into me, my feet almost lifting off the ground.
The rhythm picks up, harder, deeper, every thrust punching a helpless moan out of me. I'm dizzy, lost in the movement of his cock, the threat of the knife, the brutal certainty that no one has ever touched me like this.
His free hand fists in my hair, yanking my head back, reminding me who has all the power.
"Mine," he says, voice breaking. "Say you're mine."
"I'm, fuck, I'm yours," I choke out.
"Again."
"I'm yours!"
"Good fucking girl."
His hand leaves my hair to rub fast circles over my clit. The sudden pleasure crashes into me like a wave. The blade on me, him inside me, my clit, it's the perfect recipe for an erotic explosion.
Fire rips across my skin. Electricity pulses through me. His steady in and out motion makes my thighs shake, makes my body tighten around his shaft.
"Come," he commands, slapping my ass before returning to rubbing my clit. "Come for me."
The tingles start and I feel the pressure rising. I squeeze my thighs together and I hear grunts from Dimitri. If I'm coming, he's coming with me.
I feel him start to move faster and faster. Our breathing becomes erratic.
I close my eyes and, like an eruption, my orgasm tears through me so hard I almost collapse. My vision blanks, pleasure fracturing me apart.
He doesn't stop, keeps thrusting through it, fucking me with raw, relentless force until he shudders and a final thrust jolts through me. His hot seed spills inside me with a broken groan.
As I ride out my ecstasy, I feel his cock twitching and throbbing inside me.
We stay like that for a long moment, both of us panting, slick with sweat.
He tosses the knife onto a nearby table and pulls out of me.
I sag against the wall, my legs too shaky to stand. He catches me before I slide to the floor, turning me in his arms.
Our eyes meet. He looks wrecked. Ravaged. Like maybe he hates that he needs me this much.
I lift my hand to cup his jaw. "I think maybe you like when I fight back."
He smiles. "No," he says softly, "I like it when you surrender, but only after making me earn it."
And for the first time, neither of us pretends we're not completely undone by the feelings growing between us.
I smile. "I meant what I said by the way. About wanting to help. No secrets."
His hand comes up, curling around the back of my neck.
"I know. It's hard for me to trust. I always think people are lying."
"Maybe they are. But I'm not. Not with you and not about any of this." I stop and sigh. "I fucking care about you, Dimitri. That's the truth. I don't know how you really feel, but that's how I feel. I don't fuck strangers, Dimitri. And I sure as hell don't shoot at people for them."
Dimitri smiles. "I may have a thing for you, too."
I smile, unable to contain my excitement.
"So then, we stop fucking around," he says and squeezes my neck. "You and me. Honest. We finish this. No secrets."
"No secrets," I say.
And for the first time since all this began, it doesn't feel like we're on opposite sides.
It feels like we're finally in this together.
"Let's follow that paper trail to find out who 'S' is and kill that asshole," I say sternly.
"That's my girl," he says and kisses me. "Keep talking like that, and we'll be repeating what we just did."