31. Dimitri
31
DIMITRI
1 WEEK LATER
I get a call in the early hours of the morning.
"Boss, we found some information about the head detective in the arson case," Pavel says.
I sent a team to America to track down the head detective’s sister, the one who was put in a witness protection program. It was too risky to approach her directly, but they’ve been searching her home for clues.
"What did you find?" I ask, sitting up in bed, wide awake already.
“A key,” he says. “To a safety deposit box.”
“Were you able to access it?” I ask.
“Of course I was,” he says, sounding offended. “It was filled with letters and postcards. He’d been sending them to a PO Box. He instructed her to dispose of them after she read them, but his sister was too sentimental. She held on to each one of them. And thanks to her, we might have his location."
"Are you serious?" I ask.
"He initially traveled all over the world, but he’s been in the same city for a while now.”
“You have his exact address?” I ask.
“Yes,” he says. “I’ll send you everything we found.”
I knew that if anyone could have accomplished this, it’d be Pavel.
“You did well, Pavel,” I say. “Come back to the island now.”
We hang up.
There’s a warm glow in my chest. We’re getting closer. I can taste it now.
Pavel sends me an email with all the attachments. I do a double take when I see the address. It’s only a little over one thousand kilometers from here. On the private jet, that will take less than an hour.
But since I let Pavel take the jet to America, I’ll have to use the helicopter.
I could send my men in my place, but I want to deal with this myself.
I’ve been having dreams about Malorie Thorne lately. In these dreams, I can feel her watching me, tracking my movements, plotting to take my girl away from me.
She’s the biggest threat to Briar right now, and because of that, she’s my biggest enemy.
Two decades ago, she terrorized an intelligent, hard-working detective. She made him abandon his life and his country. She made him disappear off the face of the earth.
There's a reason behind this madness, and I want to get to the bottom of it.
The sky is in hues of pastel as I make my way to the guesthouse.
I let myself in and climb the stairs. Briar is asleep on the bed, clutching the white blanket to her chest as she sleeps.
She's on her side, wearing a sheer babydoll lingerie set that wipes every thought from my head.
Every thought except for one.
I'm a criminal mastermind, but I'm a man first. And the sight of her round ass split by a teeny thong makes all the blood in my body flow south.
I was going to wake her up, but instead, I join her in bed. She’s still sleeping as I wrap my arms around her.
She feels so right in my arms. Our bodies fit against each other's like two pieces of a jigsaw puzzle. I cup one of her tits in my palm, squeezing her soft flesh. Her back arches in her sleep. She rubs her ass against my erection.
I let my fingers trail down the soft skin of her belly, over the indent of her belly button, and into her silk panties.
She moans. Her eyes slowly blink open as I cup her sweet pussy.
"Go back to sleep, princess," I growl against her neck.
She sucks in a breath. "What are you doing?"
"Your bedroom door was open. I let myself in," I say, effortlessly slipping into the role we like to play. "Half of your blanket was on the floor, so I came to fix that."
"You're not fixing the blanket, though," she says.
"You're right," I say. "I realized there are other ways to keep you warm.”
Her pussy turns soaking wet with every forbidden word that leaves my mouth.
"How?" she asks.
"You like cuddling, don't you?"
"I love cuddling."
“We’re going to do some special cuddling now," I say, pulling my cock out and resting it between her ass cheeks. I pump my hips against her soft flesh. "You're going to like it so much."
"What if I don't like it?"
I plunge my fingers into her wet little pussy. "Then you're going to have to get used to it. Because your little girl hole feels way too good for me to stay away from. Do you feel the hot rod poking your ass?"
She nods, muffling a cry as I fuck her pussy hard and fast with my fingers.
"That's my cock, princess," I say. "And soon enough, you'll be taking my cock inside your tight princess hole. You'll let me put it there because you're the reason it hurts so much.”
"What did I do?" She pouts.
I slap one of her tits. "It's these tits, princess. They piss me off.”
“Why?” She moans as I massage her breasts.
“Because I like them a little too much,” I say. “I see them bouncing around when I close my eyes. I have no business putting my dirty hands on your body, but I just can't help myself when it comes to you."
She's on the edge now. I can feel it in the way her pussy clenches around my fingers.
"Be a good girl now and come all over my fingers," I say. "It will make me feel better about all the filthy things I'm doing to you."
When she hears my command, she comes for me like a fucking dream.
"Pretty baby," I say, pumping my hips against her soft ass. I push her panties to the side and rub my cock up and down her puffy slit. "You feel so good that I forget why this is even wrong. Christ, you're so wet for it, too."
" Dimitri .” She says my name like it’s a prayer.
My balls tighten before I spill inside her wasted panties. My come mixes with her arousal, and I rub it against her skin, letting my scent permeate her pores. I want her to smell like me.
When she passes by another male, I want him to know that she opens her thighs only for me. I'm her man now.The only man in her life.
I'm the one who takes care of her every need.
She turns around in my hold and wraps her arms around my neck.
"I love it when you come to visit me," she says, nuzzling against my chest hair.
“Fuck, it’s like every little thing about you is designed to keep me perpetually hard," I say. "One of these days, I'm going to go all the way, princess."
"What's stopping you?" she asks, looking up at me.
"I'm waiting for you to be ready," I say.
I'm waiting for you to look at me the way you used to.
When she thinks I'm not looking, I feel her watching me. All she remembers is the way I drugged and abducted her, so she still views me with suspicion. I know she’s attracted to me, and she’s grown fond of me, but I need her to completely trust me before I make her mine.
I clear my throat.
“I came here to tell you something," I say. "Before I got distracted by your body."
“Sorry for being a distraction,” she says.
“You’re not sorry,” I say.
“I’m not.” She smiles playfully. “So what’s up?”
“I’m leaving the island today,” I say. “I need to deal with something on the mainland.”
“Oh.” Her smile fades. “When will you be back?”
The light in her eyes is dimmer now. She doesn’t know that I can’t stand the thought of being apart from her either.
“I don’t know how long it will take,” I tell her. “But I want you to come with me.”
Her eyes light up. "Really?"
"Yes," I say. "We're taking the helicopter in an hour."
“You better not be joking,” she says. I’ve never seen her this excited about anything before.
There’s a dull pang in my chest.
I’ve been selfish with her. Keeping her locked in this guesthouse is something I’ve been doing for my peace of mind. Briar was born to be wild, but the people in her life keep treating her like an exotic bird in a gilded cage.
I ignore the conflicting emotions warring in my heart.
“Don’t you want to know why we’re leaving the island?” I ask.
“I figured you’d tell me.” She sits up in bed and gathers her hair into a ponytail. My eyes trail to the stickiness trailing down her inner thighs. Pride swells inside me. I left my mark on her. She’s mine .
Before I can act on my instincts, I tear my eyes away from her.
“We found the lead detective,” I say. “We have his current address.”
Briar freezes for a moment.
“Oh,” she says. “Are we going to meet him?”
“Yeah, we are,” I say.
She blinks, still looking stunned.
“This is good news, Briar,” I say. “We finally have a lead to follow.”
“I know,” she whispers. “I know it’s good news.”
“But?” I probe.
Her eyes meet mine for a second before she looks away.
“This strange gloom settles over me every time I think about my past,” she confesses. “And ever since you showed me that photograph, I feel like I’ve been haunted by it. It just reminds me of everything wrong in my life.”
“You’re not the first person to think that,” I tell her.
“What?”
“The photograph,” I say. “My men and I find it a little creepy, too.”
“You do?” Her eyes are round as she looks at me.
“Yes, baby,” I say. “But we can’t run from everything that scares us. Sometimes we have to stand our ground and face it.”
She blinks. “I just…I really don’t like thinking about my past. About the life I once knew. About the life that awaits me should my mother ever take me away.”
I wrap my arms around her and hold her against my chest.
“I’ll promise you one thing right now,” I say. “Your mother will never be a part of your life again.”
“You don’t know her,” Briar says, wiping the stray tears that escape her eyes. “You don’t know how much power she has over me.”
I’ve been trying to keep my instincts in check all day, but I set them free now.
I lay my girl down on the bed and roll on top of her, trapping her beneath my weight.
“I’ve told you this before, and I’ll tell you again—I’m going to take care of you,” I say. “Every little problem in your life has become mine now. And I'll destroy everything and everyone who wishes to cause you harm, even if it’s the last thing I do.”
Her eyes turn wide and glassy. And then she wiggles out from underneath me and runs to the bathroom, where she proceeds to puke her guts out.
Morning sickness.
She hasn't connected the dots yet, but she will.
And when she does, we'll be right back where we started. All the trust I established with her will evaporate like a smoke show.
My limbs feel heavy as I walk toward her.
"Go away," she says, trying to close the door. "I don't want you to see me like this.”
I'm quiet as I hold her hair back. I catch a glimpse of myself in the illuminated bathroom mirror.
In my reflection, I see the lies. The deceit. The heartbreak that awaits us.
"Must be something I ate," she says, flushing the toilet before she stands and moves toward the bathroom mirror. She rinses her mouth a couple of times before picking up her toothbrush.
"How do you feel now?" The words taste bitter in my mouth.
“Fine,” she says. “You’re still taking me with you, right?”
“Wouldn’t dream of going alone.”
She smiles at me. Every time our eyes meet, it tugs at something inside me. This girl always felt like a calling I should answer to.
"I'll set up breakfast downstairs." I press a kiss on top of her head and leave her to get ready for the day.
All of my demons follow me as I walk to the kitchen.
I want to come clean with Briar.
But if I do that, I’ll have to tell her everything . As my web of lies unravels, I'll have to watch our fragile bond crumble.
It's still relatively early in the morning, so Olga, the housekeeper, isn't here yet. I gather some ingredients from the fridge—cheese, eggs, mushrooms. I place some bread in the toaster and get to work on the omelet.
When the food is nearly done, Whiskey finds me and paws at my leg.
“Good morning, buddy.” I lean down to pet him.
He’s so happy to see me. Being in his presence takes away some of the heaviness in my limbs.
A few minutes later, Briar joins us in the kitchen. She sits on one of the stools, smelling like fairy dust and flowers. She beams at me. The early morning sunlight falls on her just right, making her look like an angel that’s too good for this world.
Right then, I decide to come clean with her about everything.
It will change things between us, but I'll fight for her love again. I’ve done it before, and I’ll do it again. I’ll do whatever it takes.
I don’t have the guts to do it now, so I’ll tell her once we return from our trip.
“Dimitri, you look smitten by me.” She smiles.
“I am smitten,” I say, placing her breakfast before her.
“You made this for me?”
“Why are you surprised?” I ask. “It’s not the first time I brought you food.”
“It just…feels special every time,” she says. “The only people who ever made me food were the chefs who were paid to do it. Nobody ever did it because they cared about me.”
“Get used to it, princess.”
Whiskey paws at Briar's leg now, demanding scraps. I pull him aside and give him some puppy food, along with some of his usual cooked chicken and veggie mix. He scarfs it down like he hasn’t been fed in days.
"It's delicious, Dimitri,” Briar says, digging into her food.
“Do you want anything else?”
“I’ve really been craving coffee lately,” she says.
"I think we ran out of coffee," I say.
“Nope, we have some in there.” She points at the pantry where we keep the coffee beans.
Instead of getting her the coffee she asked for, I bring out a jar of Nutella. She likes coffee, but she loves chocolate. I spread it on buttered toast and hand it to her.
She moans when she takes that first bite. I wipe some of the chocolate spread from the corner of her lips and bring it to my mouth. Everything tastes sweeter after it's been on her lips.
I make myself a protein smoothie before we head out.
My men are huddled together by the helipad. Oleg approaches me as I walk toward them.
“Boss, there's something I need to talk to you about," he says.
"What is it?"
Oleg purses his lips. His eyes flick to Briar for a second. I understand the meaning of it right away.
"Just give me a minute, princess," I say to Briar, squeezing her arm before walking a few feet away with Oleg beside me.
“ Pakhan , it’s the weather forecast,” he says. “There are chances of an incoming storm. I think it’s better if we wait it out before flying.”
"I didn't see anything about a storm when I checked the news," I say.
“It changed course,” he says. “I heard about it on the radio ten minutes ago. It’s a Category 3 storm, so it’s better for us to be cautious.”
“What are the chances of it hitting us?” I ask.
Instead of answering my question, he shows me a video on his iPad, tracking the storm's movement.
"It's picking up in speed and may cross your path," he says. "I just think?—"
"What's the probability, Oleg?" I ask.
He sighs. “Ten percent. But I still think we should wait it out.”
I glance back at Briar.
“The lead we found about the detective is time-sensitive,” I tell him. “You saw what happened with the twin sister. If Malorie finds out about this somehow, she’ll try to beat us to it. The sooner we get there, the better our chances of finding something useful.”
“If we wait a few hours, we can arrange a private jet,” he says. “You won’t have to take the helicopter.”
“I’ll try to stay out of the storm’s course,” I say. “But thank you for warning me.”
Oleg looks defeated as I head back toward Briar.
"He looks worried," Briar says, glancing back at my numbers man. "What did he say?"
"There's a ten percent chance that we might encounter a storm," I tell her.
“Oh, are we still going?” she asks.
“Only if you still want to come,” I say. “Under different circumstances, I would wait out the storm, but this is a high priority. The sooner we get to the detective, the better.”
“I want to come.” She takes my hand.
She's glowing under the morning sun. I tuck a loose section of hair behind her ear.
“Are you certain?”
"Yes," she says. "I don't know if I ever told you this, but I've lived a very boring life. I'm not going to miss out on a helicopter ride over the ocean to find a detective who went missing twenty years ago. Plus, I trust you."
Those last three words are all I need to hear.