Chapter 15
CHAPTER FIFTEEN
Savina
I’M LOUNGING BY the pool outside of my parents’ home, soaking up some much-needed sun, when a dark cloud floats above me, blocking out the rays of vitamin D I’ve been desperately craving.
“Welcome home, Savina,” a deep, familiar voice says.
My eyes snap open, and I realize the dark cloud is actually Dimitri Sokolov. Figures.
He’s standing there wearing black dress pants, polished shoes, and a black button-up shirt sans tie.
The top two buttons of his shirt are undone, allowing a few tattoos to peek out from underneath the material.
Dark stubble coats his chiseled jaw, which he clenches as he stares down at me with those frosty blue eyes that have been haunting me most of my life.
The years apart have only done him justice, and I hate that.
He looks like an older, hotter version of his teenage self.
All this time I was hoping that he would have aged like a glass of old milk sitting out on the counter. But the universe clearly hates me.
For a second I can’t breathe. I can still feel the overwhelming emotions I went through the last time I saw him. Everything in my life changed because of him. I went through hell because of what he did. And I doubt if Dimitri even so much as batted an eye after I left town.
I haven’t even told Darby the extent of the abuse I endured while attending the all girls’ school in Montana.
I was ridiculed and bullied mercilessly because of my stutter.
I spent every waking moment trying to be better, trying to make myself better.
I put a lot of work into speech therapy, so that I only stammer on certain words whenever I get nervous.
I changed on the inside and outside, feeling the need to conform but also transform everything about me.
The only saving grace out of all the torment and suffering is that it made me a stronger person.
And I’m definitely going to need that quality if I’m going to have to deal with Dimitri Sokolov.
I steel my nerves, trying to show on the outside that he doesn’t get to me even though my heart is beating fast inside my chest, and my stomach is churning with anxiety. I grip the arms of the lounge chair to try to steady myself.
Of course I would choose today of all days to wear the new bikini I bought with Darby the other day during our shopping trip.
“This will look so hot on you!” she had said.
God, I’m instantly regretting my decision to get it. I might as well be naked, the way Dimitri’s cold, blue eyes are raking up and down my form. “Your hair is longer,” he observes. Not exactly the compliment I was expecting, but I’ll take it.
Speaking of looking different, my prediction was completely right about him. He looks way more muscular, and I see lots of ink peeking out from the rolled-up sleeves of his black button-up shirt. And his attitude? Oh yeah, definitely more attitude too. Check, check, and check.
“You look exactly the same,” I comment, lying through my teeth.
He smirks. “I can see the all girls’ school did little to change your attitude.”
My attitude? He has the audacity to talk about mine? “Well, it’s your fault I was there in the first place,” I lob right back at him.
“Oh, yeah, that’s right,” he says with a dark chuckle.
He sits down on the adjacent lounge chair and leans over until his face is inches away from mine. I don’t dare turn to look at him because our lips would be touching if I did. Instead, I keep my eyes glued on a random cloud above that sort of resembles a pig. Appropriate.
He still smells the same. Mint, tobacco, expensive cologne with hints of teakwood and mahogany. And I hate that I love that smell and the way it affects me like some kind of Pavlovian response.
“Need me to rub some sunscreen on your back?” he asks, and I know he’s just trying to get under my skin.
“No thanks. The pool guy already did it earlier. And he was very thorough.” I bite my tongue right after the lie slips out of my mouth. I can’t believe I just said that. Am I trying to make him jealous and piss him off? Okay, maybe I am. Just a little.
Dimitri doesn’t appear to be phased by my words, however. “Doesn’t surprise me. You always did love attention,” he admonishes with a shake of his head.
What?! Not thinking and ready to tell him off, I turn my head quickly, and sure enough, our lips are so close, they’re almost touching. I can feel his warm, minty breath on my mouth, and it causes me to shudder in response.
Damn it.
Dimitri catches my reaction to him, and his smirk deepens, the corner of his mouth lifting in an almost smile. “Ai grij?, privighetoare mic?,” he whispers, and I have no idea what he just said to me in his native language.
“I never wanted attention,” I correct him. “I think it was you who wanted it since you screwed your way through half of our high school.”
“Oh, is that what you think?” he questions with a cocked brow.
“That’s what I know,” I say dryly. It wasn’t any secret what Dimitri was doing back then, and it’s not like he tried to keep it under wraps or anything.
Dimitri stands slowly, and I think he’s walking away. I want to pump my fists in victory. I finally made him speechless!
“You know,” Dimitri starts, and I roll my eyes. I clearly celebrated way too soon. “You look a little…hot. Maybe you should cool off.”
My brows furrow at his words, trying to figure out what he’s talking about.
And then, suddenly, he’s lifting the back of the chair I’m lounging in, upsetting it and me into the pool.
The water is warm, but it still catches me off-guard, and I sputter and gasp, spitting out some of the chlorine-flavored water while I glare up at him. He pushed me into a pool…again.
“See you around, Savina,” he says, his dark voice holding both promise and threat.
Dimitri is still a bully.
And I’m going to be forced to marry him in a few months.
Fuck my life.