Chapter 19
Rei Kurosaki
Monday came too fast.
I had not even wanted to leave the house, but here I was, sitting in the passenger seat of Dimitri’s car as he drove me to Bloodburn Academy. One of his hands stayed on the wheel while the other occasionally rested on my thigh.
Every time his fingers flexed against my leg, I felt a confusing mix of irritation and arousal. Which was fucking embarrassing.
I expected him to drop me off at the gates and disappear. That would have been easier. Instead, he parked right in the student lot and got out with me.
He stayed glued to my side.
The moment we stepped into the hallway, everyone looked at us.
After Dimitri’s public announcement that he was the one in the video with me, no one was really surprised to see us together anymore.
But then he disappeared for a whole week because of his father, and the whispers started again.
People thought he had gotten bored of me, or that whatever this was between us had already run its course.
So when we walked through the hallways together again, it felt like the spotlights had suddenly turned back on, brighter than before.
“Don’t you have classes?”
“I switched every single subject to match yours.”
I stopped walking and turned to stare at him. “You can’t be serious.”
“Deadly serious, little fairy.” He leaned down. “You think I’d let you wander around this place unprotected after what happened this weekend? Not a fucking chance.”
I swallowed hard, trying to ignore the way my pulse reacted to his closeness. “Can’t you at least watch me from afar? You’re making everything worse by sticking to me like this.”
Dimitri’s arm snaked around my waist and he yanked me flush against his side. I yelped, stumbling into his hard chest as dozens of eyes locked onto us.
“No,” he said calmly.
I was going to fucking die.
He was currently manhandling me in the middle of the hallway for everyone to see.
His hand stayed on my waist.
I wanted to cut that hand off.
Okay, that was a lie.
Before I could find the words to argue, I spotted Marco a few feet ahead.
He was standing near his locker, staring at Dimitri’s hand wrapped around my waist. He was wearing one of his soft sweaters again. Marco had always been shy, the kind of person who shrank when attention turned his way.
But right now, the concern on his face was clear even from a distance.
Oh, my poor sunshine.
“Rei…” Marco’s voice was cautious as we got closer. He glanced nervously at Dimitri, then back at me. “Are you okay?”
I quickly pulled away from Dimitri’s hold, ignoring the warning growl that rumbled from his chest. I did not want to drag Marco into whatever this was.
He had always been fearful of trouble, especially trouble involving people like Dimitri.
I had told him bits and pieces over the past week.
About how intense things had gotten. Marco knew enough to be worried, and I could see it all over his face now.
“Yes, of course I’m okay,” I said, forcing a small smile even though my heart was racing. “Come on, let’s go to class.”
Marco did not move right away. He shifted his weight from one foot to the other, his fingers twisting the strap of his bag. He was clearly intimidated by Dimitri’s presence.
“Is… he coming with us?” Marco glanced at Dimitri again, then quickly looked away.
Dimitri’s eyes narrowed at Marco, but he did not say anything. Instead, he gave a short nod toward the hallway ahead. “You both can go first.”
Marco was clearly nervous, but he nodded and started walking ahead of us. I moved to follow him, grateful for the small buffer, but Dimitri’s hand suddenly grabbed the back of my neck. He pulled me back against his chest.
“Don’t pull away from me again,” he murmured against my ear. “You won’t like the consequences.”
“Fine,” I whispered.
Dimitri released my neck, but his fingers trailed down my spine in a caress before he let go completely.
“Good. Go ahead.”
I hurried after Marco. Dimitri followed a few steps behind us. I was kind of grateful he gave Marco space.
Marco kept glancing over his shoulder as we walked, his steps a little quicker than usual. When we turned a corner and had a bit more privacy, he finally spoke again.
“Rei… what the hell is going on?” He kept his voice low. “You disappeared all weekend. You didn’t answer any of my texts after the party.”
I sighed, rubbing the back of my neck where Dimitri’s hand had been. “It’s complicated, Marco. But I’m okay. Really.”
Marco twisted the ribbon in his hair nervously with one hand.
“Are you? You didn’t text me back since Friday,” he said, glancing past me to make sure Dimitri was still a few steps behind.
I felt guilty.
I had told Marco bits and pieces over text last week, enough for him to know that things with Dimitri had escalated beyond just texting.
I had downplayed a lot of it because I did not want him to panic, but clearly he had been thinking about it.
He also knew the guy in the video from the woods was Dimitri.
At first, he thought I had been forced. And while maybe I was, I did not exactly hate it.
I would do it again.
I immediately shoved that thought away, refusing to let it settle in my head.
I told Marco not to think about the video and that I did not want to talk about it. Still, I ended up telling him about our texts and a few other small details. He was worried.
“I’m sorry I didn’t text back,” I said. “Things got messy at the party. But I’m handling it.”
Marco bit his lip, still looking unconvinced. “I just… I don’t want you to get hurt. You’ve been through enough with your family and everything. And guys like him…” He spoke quietly. “They don’t play fair. I know you said he’s not all bad, but aren’t you scared?”
I opened my mouth to deny it, but I was not sure.
Was I scared?
Sometimes.
But he made the grief over my dad feel more bearable, and his texts had become something I looked forward to.
It was messed up, and I knew it.
“I’m not scared of him,” I said eventually, though it was not entirely true. “Not in the way you think. He’s… complicated. But he’s not going to hurt me.”
“Just… be careful, okay? If you ever need to get away from him, or if things get too much, you can always come to me. I might not be able to do much, but I’ll listen. And I’ll worry less if you actually answer my texts.”
I reached over and gave his shoulder a gentle squeeze. “I will. I promise. And thank you. For worrying. It means a lot.”
I could still feel Dimitri behind us, close enough to hear if he wanted to, but giving us just enough space for this conversation. When I glanced back, his eyes met mine. There was something satisfied in them, like he knew exactly what we were talking about.
Marco spoke again. “He’s not going to leave you alone, is he?”
I shook my head. “Probably not.”
Marco sighed, his curls bouncing as he shook his head.
We reached the classroom door. I gave Marco one last reassuring look before we stepped inside. Dimitri followed right behind us, taking the seat directly next to mine without asking. His arm draped over the back of my chair.
Marco sat on my other side, still glancing at Dimitri every few seconds with that same worried expression. I could tell he wanted to say more, but he stayed quiet for now.
As the professor started talking, I felt Dimitri’s fingers brush lightly against the back of my neck again. He was trying to remind me of something.
I was his.
The rest of the day began to pass.
Dimitri stayed away whenever Marco was around. It was strange. I did not understand why he cared enough to do that. Marco was shy and small and easily intimidated, and Dimitri could have crushed that fear without even trying.
But he did not.
He gave us space during lunch and between classes, standing far enough back that Marco could breathe, but close enough that I could still feel his eyes on me.
The second Marco left for his own classes, though, Dimitri was right back at my side like he had never left.
***
For two weeks, this became our routine.
Every morning he drove me to school. He sat next to me in every single class, his long legs stretched out, one arm draped over the back of my chair. During lunch he watched me eat, making sure I was actually taking care of myself. And at night…
At night we ate dinner together. He cooked surprisingly good meals. Other times he ordered food and we ate on the couch. Then we slept in the same bed.
Every single night.
He never pushed too far.
Should I have been thankful for that? Probably. But the fucked up part of me wanted… nope. I was not going there. I did not want anything.
At least that is what I told myself.
But I knew he did, because he looked at me constantly like he wanted to devour me whole. Those arctic blue eyes followed every movement I made. When I showered, I could feel him waiting outside the door.
When I changed clothes, his gaze dragged over my skin.
There were moments, too many moments, where he would grab me by the waist and pin me against the wall just to kiss my cheek or the corner of my mouth.
Other times he would pull me onto his lap while we watched a movie and bury his face in my neck, but he always stopped himself before it went further.
I kept waiting for him to snap.
I kept waiting for the patience to run out.
Until tonight.
He had left me alone in the mansion for a few hours, the first time in two weeks he had done that. I had spent the time checking my phone, trying not to think about how empty the huge house felt.
The door slammed open. I flinched.
Dimitri stepped inside, rolling up the sleeves of his black button-up shirt. He looked angry.
Okay, more than angry.
Psychotic.
He walked straight to the large leather armchair in the living room and dropped into it like a king returning to his throne after war. His legs spread wide, one arm resting on the armrest while the other flexed and unflexed.
Then his gaze finally lifted and locked onto me.
“Come here.”
His voice was rough, which was odd because there was always softness in his tone when he spoke to me.
Normally I would not have hesitated this much, but something about him right now felt different.
More volatile.
I stayed where I was near the doorway.
“Don’t make me come get you, Rei,” he warned. “You won’t like it if I do.”
My heart raced so hard I could hear it in my ears. I walked toward him cautiously, stopping just in front of the chair. My hands were shaking slightly at my sides.
Dimitri grabbed my wrist and yanked me forward. I gasped as my knees landed on either side of his thighs, straddling him.
Both of his hands gripped my waist, holding me in place on his lap. I could feel how hard he was beneath me.
“Dimitri—”
He cut me off by grabbing my jaw with one hand, fingers digging into my cheeks until my lips parted. His other hand stayed locked on my waist, thumb pressing into the bone.
“I’ve been so fucking patient with you,” he growled.
His grip on my jaw tightened. It actually hurt. My eyes watered from the pressure.
“Let go…” I whispered, clenching my hands into fists against his chest. I tried to pull back, but he did not budge. If anything, he pulled me closer.
He yanked my face even closer by the jaw, forcing me to look directly into his eyes. Our noses almost touched. I could see every fleck of darkness in his irises.
“When are you going to stop pulling away from me?” His voice was vicious. “When are you going to stop pretending you don’t want this? That you don’t feel it every single time I touch you? Every time I look at you? Every time I fucking breathe near you?”
His fingers dug harder into my face. I whimpered. Tears pricked at the corners of my eyes from the pressure on my jaw.
“Dimitri… please…”
“You think I don’t see the way you look at me when you think I’m not paying attention?” he continued. “You think I don’t notice how your body reacts when I pin you against walls? How your breathing changes? How you get hard even when you’re scared?”
He leaned in until his lips brushed against mine without actually kissing me. The barely-there contact was somehow worse than if he had just taken what he wanted.
“I’ve been holding back for two fucking weeks,” he hissed.
His hand on my waist slid down to grip my ass, squeezing hard enough to make me gasp.
“You’re hurting me,” I whispered, voice cracking.