Chapter 29
Chapter
Twenty-Nine
Katya
After swapping cars three times and backtracking twice, I turn on the road the cabin is supposed to be on. I can’t wait to get out of this thong, preferably by Dimitri removing it with his teeth. That actually sounds pretty nice. There’s a little tingle in my core and it makes me wiggle in the driver’s seat.
He called me three days ago to confirm I knew where I was going. Before that, I called him. To tell him I missed him.
I was deep in an Amanda Chase binge and work sucked again. The task force has constant oversight and self-sabotage. It’s like they don’t want to stop Majesty as much as they want to continue to secure funding for the task force. After being undermined for the fifth time, and having to listen to Marshall mansplaining the St. Petersburg crime family relationship, I wanted to take a brick to his head, and maybe my own.
I pull my car up to the cabin two miles off the main road. It’s small but well-kept. I’m not sure when he got here, but the lights are on. I grab my overnight bag and my gun from the passenger seat.
Before I reach the front step, my giant Russian man swoops me up in his arms and walks through the door. He kicks the door closed as he takes me to the couch and lays me down. I pull him toward me and kiss him.
“Hello.”
“Hi, my little river otter.” He presses his weight against me and flops, crushing me in the process. I try squirming out of the way, but he remains a motionless lump. “Looks like you're stuck here.”
“Oh no, what ever will I do?”
We kiss for a little while, enjoying the sensation and connection with gentle nips and strokes. This time we don’t have a time crunch. No one is trying to kill us, and we’re not running away. We have two days in the cabin. We can savor the little things.
The oven beeps and he sighs. It’s only when he lifts himself off my body I can smell the chocolate chip cookies. “You baked?”
“Yep,” he calls over his shoulder as he heads to the kitchen. “I figured since we have the whole weekend, I would cook dinner for you and make sure you are loaded up on snacks.”
I flip over and lift myself onto the arm so I can watch him. He moves through the kitchen comfortably. I don’t think Russian Mafia Dimitri would be like that, but now, it seems natural.
“I like that plan. What else is on the docket?”
He blinks at me and I’m not sure if he doesn't understand the phrase or if he doesn’t have a plan.
“Well, since no one is trying to kill us, and every situation we’ve been in has been intense and high stakes, I want to do nothing.”
My heart explodes. “Tell me more.”
As he puts cookies on the plate, he motions with the spatula. “Well, we could watch that show The Knights of the Night since Amanda Chase keeps ranting and raving about the books. Maybe wrap ourselves up in those blankets and snuggle. My plan was basically eat, snuggle, and fuck all weekend.”
“Marry me,” I blurt out.
He freezes halfway between putting a cookie onto the sheet. If he moved faster, the cookie would’ve stayed on the spatula, but instead it falls on the counter with a splat. He swallows, his eyes unfocused on anything.
I broke him.
Fuck.
I’m about to backtrack when he says, “Not this weekend. I’d like to see my wife more than a few hours every couple of months.”
Wait. What?
“And I want to make sure you and Ian get along, because that’s a whole issue in itself.”
Right, it’s not only Dimitri. Being with him means being with Ian. A kid who already lost his mother. Would he even want another one? My chest clenches. I never wanted kids. Or at least I was never with anyone who I wanted to spawn another generation with. But with Dimitri, that’s what I would get. A family.
I have a dangerous job, and I’d have a kid waiting for me at home. Everything I know would have to change. Could I be Katie still? Or would I be Katya?
He clears his throat and grabs the cookies to walk back to me. As he puts the plate on the table, he grabs a cookie and pops it in my mouth as he kisses my forehead. “Let’s get through the weekend and make sure we still even like each other before we talk about big things.”
Oh, the buttery cinnamon explosion happens in my mouth, and I moan. He pulls a blanket around my shoulders as he joins me.
The rest of the night, he stays true to his plan. We watch three episodes of The Knights of the Night and I understand why Amanda’s last album was delayed. The show is absolutely amazing. I like the lore and the cinematography, Dimitri likes the fighting and armor.
After dinner, he finally takes my thong off with his teeth and I’m in a blissful haze as he demands I sit on his face, using the headboard to hold me up as he tongue fucks me.
When I’m with him, I feel cherished and sexual, beautiful and adored. Could this be how I feel every day? Surely the lust will fade. And what will we be left with?
We spend the next morning naked. He loves watching me ride him, his cock impaling me and sending me over the edge. After collapsing on top of him, he runs his fingers on my back. He’s quiet. Not that he’s normally chatty, but this time feels different.
“You ok?” I ask.
His chest rises and falls a few times before he answers. “It’s never been like this before.”
“Sex? Because we did the same thing last night. We might have to change it up, or I need to work on my cardio, because it’s a lot of work riding that massive cock of yours.” I don’t mean it to sound funny, but he laughs and stops looking down at his hands.
“I have nothing to offer you. No power, no money. I come with baggage and a child. I don’t understand why you’re here.”
He’s still inside of me, and I don’t want to move because it all feels so perfect, but something’s happening in his head and I need to stop it before it spirals. “I don’t want your money or your power.”
He cuts me off. “That’s what everyone else wanted from me.”
“But I don’t. Never did. Not even when we were in Russia.”
Dimitri is quiet. “I know.” He whispers, “that’s why it broke my heart when you left.”
Now my hips are starting to hurt, so I adjust myself and roll off him. “It was the hardest choice I’ve ever made.”
“I know.” He gives a half-hearted shrug. “Still hurts.”
The scar on his arm is starting to fade. “I would do it again if it means you’re safe and I can keep Majesty from flooding our streets.”
He huffs. “How’s that going?”
Now I’m quiet. “Not as good as I would like. I’m switching positions and I’m on loan to the FBI and DEA. Rumor has it Marshall is up for a promotion, so I won’t have to deal with his condescending ass.”
If Marshall gets moved to a different position in the task force, it does leave some room for me to breathe and I can start looking at The Deviant's new underlings. Someone is pulling the strings for the movement from Canada.
And there’s something new happening with The Deviant. Between the attacks on his sex dens, he’s getting more desperate. There’s someone new in town, and so many stupid animal names. There’s The Octopus, who keeps attacking The Deviant’s sex dens, and The Spider, who is pulling the strings for Majesty. As far as I can tell they’re working on different sides of Deviant Mountain. The Octopus keeps triggering landslides to bury The Spider. But The Spider keeps slipping away. And I feel like I’m in the middle. I’m kinda not sure who to root for. If I knew where these women were going, I’d feel better.
Dimitri and I go back to watching The Knights of the Night . He’s excited to make me watch the finale for the second time, and even more excited about the new Dragon.
He’s playing piano covers of Amanda Chase’s songs from his phone while he works in the kitchen making dinner, when the music stops for a call.
He grumbles as he answers it. “Is Ian ok?”
I don’t recognize the other voice. “Yes.”
“Is the apartment on fire?”
“No.”
“Did anyone die?”
“No.
Dimitri pinches the bridge of his nose and exhales his frustration. “Why the fuck are you calling me?”
“There’s another shipment,” the voice on the phone says, and everything about my boyfriend changes.
His body stiffens and he turns his back to me. He takes a few steps away to the back door. “I can’t. Call anyone else.”
“But….” the voice starts. “Oh shit, what weekend is it?” Dimitri is silent and the voice stammers, “Sorry, I forgot you were off the schedule. I’ll fill you in on Monday.”
My boyfriend hangs up the phone and slides it into his back pocket. He returns to cooking but with his back to me.
“Who was that?”
“A friend,” he grumbles, “who can’t read a damn calendar.”
Vague answer. No eye contact. Stiff back. He’s not lying, but he’s hiding something.
“Should I be worried?”
“It’s nothing I haven’t done before, but this time, the motivation is different.” He pauses and turns to me, the lines around his eyes softening. “And the result is positive.”
My stomach sinks. “I didn’t leave you in Europe just to have you restart your empire here.”
He laughs. Not mean or condescending, but in a good-natured way. “I’m not forging an empire, just doing some odd jobs for the Four Families—people who have taken me in, helped to give me a life and future.” He cocks an eyebrow. “And from what I heard, you’ve been helping them too.”
“All I did was call Alana.”
He smiles at me. “And you saved Thiago’s life. As criminals go, they’re good people.”
The room feels colder as I rub my arms. I know in my gut he’s not wrong. “Are you being safe?”
“As safe as I can be.”
Ugh. New pet peeve unlocked when he uses my own words against me.
He leans against the counter. “No matter what’s going on, I choose you over it. Right?”
I nod and the guilt hits me. Because I can’t say the same.