Chapter 32 Athena
ATHENA
Ismile at his words, and I shiver form being shirtless.
Dimitri reaches for a blanket, draping it over my shoulders before turning his attention to my pants.
"Can you stand?" he asks.
I push myself up, swaying slightly. His hands steady me, one at my waist, the other on my arm. He carefully peels my pants down my legs. I step out of them, suddenly self-conscious despite everything we've shared.
The blanket slips, and I catch it before it falls completely. He helps me back down and then opens the medical kit, taking out antiseptic wipes, ointment, and bandages.
Starting with my feet, he cleans each abrasion. The antiseptic stings, but it's nothing compared to everything else that's happened.
"This might hurt," he warns before dabbing at a deeper cut along my ankle.
I bite my lip and nod for him to continue.
He works his way up, tending to each mark on my body with a reverence that makes my chest tight. A scrape on my knee. A cut on my thigh. He doesn't miss anything.
"You know, you don't have to do this."
His eyes snap to mine, dark and unflinching.
"I do," he says. "I'm the reason you were there. The reason you're hurt."
"That's not true," I say. "You're the reason I'm safe. I'm here."
"No. I'm sorry," he says. "I should have protected you better."
My throat tightens. No one has ever said that to me. Looked at me like that, like I'm something precious, something worth protecting at all costs. Not my father and certainly not my mother, who saw me as an extension of herself.
I try to swallow against the burning sensation behind my eyes. "Well, it wasn't your fault," I say but Dimitri doesn't respond. I'll never be able to convince him otherwise.
A tear escapes despite my best efforts, trailing down my cheek. Dimitri catches it with his thumb.
"No more tears," he says. "You're with me now."
He finishes with my face, cleaning a small cut near my temple. His eyes never leave mine as he works, and I see something in them I've never seen before.
"There," he says, "That should help."
He stands and looks me over.
"You're the strongest person I've ever met, Athena."
His eyes drop to my lips briefly before returning to mine. "Shower," he says, his voice rougher than before. "You'll feel better after."
He strips his shirt over his head in one fluid motion. The sight of all his own bruises and cuts surprises me.
"You're just as hurt," I say.
"I'm fine," he says, pushing his pants down and stepping out of them.
I can't help but look at him. His chiseled chest, defined abs, covered in tattoos and dried blood.
My eyes may have looked down at his toned butt as he turns and steps into the shower.
Water shoots out from the large waterfall head and the glass starts to fog up.
I drop the blanket and pull down my underwear as he comes back and takes my hand.
Our fingers interlace as he leads me into the shower, guiding me under the spray. Warm water cascades over my hair, down my back. My skin goes hot and cold all at once.
I rinse my face, wiping away the water and look at Dimitri.
I've seen beautiful men before. Hell, I've seen him naked before. But something about this moment feels different now. More significant.
We take turns letting the water wash away the dirt, grime, and blood.
His hands then find my waist and pull me to him.
He kisses me and his tongue in my mouth feels like heaven.
"Here," he says, reaching for a bottle of shower gel. "Let me wash you."
He pours some into his palm, working it into a lather before his hands find my shoulders.
Strong fingers begin to massage the soap into my skin, washing away the grime of captivity. He's gentle where I'm bruised, firm where tension has knotted my muscles.
His touch is focused, intent on taking care of me rather than arousing me, though my body responds anyway.
He turns me around, working his way down my back, my arms, my legs. It's the most thorough bathing I've ever received. When his hands come around and slide lightly over my breasts, it's with the same careful attention he's shown to the rest of me.
He rinses me and then washes my hair. He makes me feel like a queen and I'm absolutely in love with it.
When he's done with my hair, he tilts my head back gently into the spray, shielding my eyes with one hand as he rinses the suds away with the other.
"There," he says. "Better?"
"Yes, actually, I do feel better," I smile and grab the soap. "Now it's your turn."
My hands glide over the hard planes of his body and while there was no heat behind his touch, I can't help but start to feel it in mine.
I run my soapy hands over his muscular back, biceps, and without even realizing it, down his shaft.
"Alepoudítsa," he says, turning to me, "what are you trying to do?"
I bite my lip and playfully shrug my shoulders. "Thank the man who saved me."
Instantly, he leans into me, and kisses me.
My hands slide up his wet chest, his arms encircle me completely, one at my waist, the other tangling in my wet hair.
I open to him, letting him in. The taste of him.
His hands begin to explore me more deliberately now, gripping my curves, like I'm used to him doing. He pulls back from the kiss just enough to look at me, his eyes hazy with desire but so intensely focused.
"I want you so bad," he says. "It was so hard to not do anything. I just wanted to make sure you were okay."
I nod, feeling his cock starting to get hard against me. "I'm not as hurt as I look. Well, maybe I am, but i'm craving you inside me. I missed you so much, Dimitri," I say, pressing up against it.
He lifts me effortlessly, and instinctively I wrap my legs around his waist. He carries me to the edge of the shower which is lined with marble seating. Somewhere that's just outside of where the water comes down, and steps between my parted thighs.
His mouth returns to mine, kissing me deeply before licking down my neck and sucking on my nipples. I moan and arch into his touch.
He kisses my chest as he moves to my other breast and I shift my shoulders to help him get there faster.
"You're so beautiful," he says, trailing kisses across me. "Every inch of you."
He then licks further down, crossing my stomach as he drops to his knees before me, looking up with those intense blue eyes. "Every. Inch."
His hands slide up my thighs, spreading them wider. Then his mouth is on me, his tongue circling my clit.
My head falls back, a gasp escaping my lips as he works me, his tongue sliding inside me. I'm torn between the pain i'm feeling and the pleasure he's giving me.
One of his hands comes up to caress my breast, while the other joins his mouth. He slides one finger inside me, then another, curving them to hit exactly where I need him.
"Dimitri," I moan, my fingers gripping his wet hair. I control his head, moving it just how I need as I grind into his face.
He hums against me, the vibration sending shocks through my system. I feel an orgasm building, coiling tighter and tighter at my center. He must sense it too, as his movements become more focused, driving me relentlessly toward the edge.
I feel fire all over my body and I want to squeeze my legs together and spread them further apart at the same time.
My feet shake and then my hands tremble and in an instant, I moan his name as I come. Waves of pleasure take everything away and my body only feels bliss.
He continues to work me through it, gentling his movements only when I become too sensitive and giggle with joy.
"MY GOD! That felt amazing."
But he's not done. He rises, capturing my mouth again, letting me taste myself on his tongue.
I feel his throbbing cock at my entrance, he's fully erect now and I pull him forward with my legs.
I stare into his eyes as I gasp and he fills me, stretches me with the slight burning erotic sensation only he can give me.
He presses his forehead against mine as he thrusts back and forth gently, our eyes never leaving one another.
This moment. This connection right here feels different than anything I've ever felt in my life. It's not just sex. It's, it's whatever perfection is. It's feeling complete, whole, and one all at the same time.
Each thrust is slow, deep, and purposeful. I squeeze my legs around his waist, pulling him even closer, wanting to eliminate any space between us.
We don't speak. We just stare at one another. Dark erotic desires written across our faces.
My body starts to constrict again, my walls clamp around his shaft and he grunts at the feeling, his own orgasm building.
We don't look away from one another, watching the other come undone.
He picks up his pace slightly and the force shifts me back on the marble seat. I moan at the hard fullness filling me wider as his cock throbs inside me.
I bite my lip to mask my screams but I can't. This orgasm feels different. I close my eyes and bright white starts to explode. I feel as if I'm releasing everything I had around him.
He shakes and moans, coming deep inside me. His hot seed filling me, deep inside.
He thrusts long and slow, pumping everything into me and in that moment I'd have it no other way.
We stay connected and I feel tiny twitches from him still inside me. He pulls out gently, his cock glistening with our come.
We rinse off once more in the shower and then wrap ourselves in towels and fall onto the bed.
We lay in silence for a few moments, him rubbing my back.
I then turn to face him and smile, narrowing my eyes.
"Random question for you," I say because I'm not ready to tell him what I was really thinking about.
"Sure."
"Why do you call me Alepoudítsa?"
"Little fox," he says, thumb brushing my cheek. "You don't like it?"
"No," I shake my head. "I do. I didn't at first, but now I kind of want to jump your bones when you say it."
He laughs.
"I'll call you that every morning then."
I hit his arm playfully.
"Actually, it was because from the first time I saw you, I knew you were too clever for your own good. You seemed like someone who could slip past every trap. Even mine."
He pauses, and then locks eyes with me.
"I call you Alepoudítsa now because you're the only woman who ever made me want to catch her, and the only one I never want to let go."
I feel myself blush, redness creeping up my neck.
"You do know you're already sleeping with me, right? You don't need to be so sweet with your words."
"Hey, you asked."
"Uhh-huh."
I laugh and lay back, staring up at the blue canopy above us.
I'm happy, but it's still not stopping the thoughts that have flooded my head since we came out here.
I have to get it off my chest.
"I saw him," I say simply.
"Saw who?"
"Well, I didn't see him, but he spoke to me."
"Who?"
I look at him. "S."
Dimitri sits up. "What?"
"He's an asshole," I say, looking back at the canopy.
"Athena, are you sure it was him?"
"He told me. Talked about my mom, how you wouldn't find me and how he had plans for me. He even slipped his hands between my legs and up my thigh telling me he had plans for me. He's a fucking pig.”
"I am looking forward to killing that motherfucker. Goddammit," he says, punching the bed.
"Me too," I say and sit up. "So, let's go meet with your brothers. Show them. End this and take me on that vacation you promised."
Dimitri looks at me for a second and then nods. I can still see the anger in his eyes.
"Okay, let's go find out who S is."