28. Briar
28
brIAR
I wake up alone.
Well, I’m not completely alone. There’s a cute little puppy leaving kisses all over my face.
“Good morning, Whiskey.” I giggle.
The second I open my eyes, I search the room for Dimitri. My eyes see what my heart already knows. He left.
To be fair, he said that he’d only stay until sunrise.
But I can’t help the way my heart aches in his absence. Stupid Stockholm syndrome.
My stomach twists like it’s trying to hurl up everything I had for dinner last night. I press a hand against my belly. The nausea is unexpected.
I hear a noise coming from downstairs. Without thinking, I throw the blankets off me and race down the stairs.
Dimitri stands behind the kitchen island. He’s holding a small cup of espresso. His eyes darken when he sees me.
“You’re still here,” I say.
“You’re not wearing pants,” he growls.
I glance down to see that I’m just wearing panties and a tank top. I should go back upstairs and put more clothes on before greeting my captor.
But he’s gripping the table with white knuckles, like he’s trying his best not to put those hands on me.
A thrill runs through me. Knowing I have this formidable man wrapped around my finger is such a rush.
“It’s nothing you haven’t already seen,” I say.
I walk closer toward him, reveling in the way his eyes are glued to my hips. To the way my panties are molded to my pussy. To the sliver of skin below my tank top.
“You’re playing a very dangerous game here, princess,” he says.
“I don’t know what you’re talking about,” I say. “I’m just here for coffee.”
I see the big breakfast spread on the table. Chocolate chip pancakes, stuffed pastries, assorted cheese, fruit, and yogurt parfait.
“Are you inviting all of your men here for breakfast?” I ask.
“And let them see you in your messy hair and lacy panties? Fuck no,” he says.
A bolt of desire hits me low in the belly.
“Eat,” he says, handing me a plate of pancakes. There’s enough maple syrup and butter on top to make my mother faint.
My stomach twists once more. The nausea I felt earlier this morning resurfaces.
“I think I’m still full from the burgers last night.” I lean my hip against the island.
He studies me for a moment. And then he hands me a glass of water.
As I take the water from him, I notice that the skin under his eyes looks sunken.
“Did you sleep at all last night?” I ask him.
"No," he says.
"Why not?" I ask.
“Your bedroom eyes haunted me every time I closed my eyes,” he says. “I couldn’t stop thinking about the way you sucked my cock.”
A warm flush passes through my entire body.
I hide my face in the glass of water. “I don’t understand why you need to make everything so sexual.”
He abandons his coffee and walks toward me, pinning me with those hunter eyes. He comes to a stop in front of me and then pushes his hips against mine, letting me feel his hard length.
“If you don’t want me to see you as a walking wet dream, you should perhaps try wearing more clothes,” he says. “But you know exactly what you’re doing, don’t you? You enjoy being a little cocktease.”
Gripping the countertop on either side of my hips, he thrusts his hips against me. My knees fall open for him. He growls when he sees that I’m wet for him.
“This is what you wanted, isn’t it?” he grunts. “You wanted to make me lose my mind for you. You wanted me to pin you against the counter and grind against your wet little cunt.”
His arms are shaking now. I can’t tell if it’s from desire or restraint.
“I want you so fucking bad, solnishko ,” he says.
He’s massaging my thighs now, willing them to open even farther. I need him against me. I need him.
Not just his body, but his love too.
A surge of affection wells in my chest. I don’t know where it comes from, but I want to give it to him.
“Dimitri?” I say.
“Yeah, baby?”
“Can you...can you kiss me?” I ask, licking my lips.
He’s so close that I can see the black striations in his dark brown eyes. They have me mesmerized, just like everything else about this man.
He watches me for a beat.
“You want me to kiss you while I grind my cock against your wet pussy?” he asks.
I suck in a breath. All I know is that there’s a restlessness crawling inside me, and this man feels like the answer to everything.
“I want to hear you say it again, baby girl,” he says, nuzzling my neck. “Tell me what you need me to do.”
“I need you to...” I trail off. “I need you.”
His dark eyes lock on mine. He doesn’t say a word, but I hear everything he says. It’s so much deeper than lust, and it makes me feel like my heart is imploding.
Before I can form another thought, his lips are on mine.
The gentle brush of our lips makes me gasp.
I pull him closer using the lapels of his shirt and moan against him. He tastes like whiskey and unsaid words. My heart bangs against my rib cage as he lifts me, carrying me somewhere.
I don’t care where he takes me. I just need him to kiss me forever.
Because for once, it feels like the world isn’t so bad a place.
For once, everything feels right.