Chapter 30
Dmitri
I can finally take a breath when I get home, the exhaustion of a long day weighing down my shoulders.
I’ve pushed off as many conversations with my family and others as possible today, promising to explain myself once the dust settles.
It’s safe to say that my men are furious.
They don’t understand my reasoning. My blatant disregard for their wellbeing.
Gabe told me that the vor v zakone left a handwritten note for me at the office, voicing their disappointment in me as well.
I’m either an idiot or a selfish monster to everyone right now.
I doubt their opinion will change when I explain my side. Or part of it.
I don’t owe them an explanation, though.
And I really don’t give a shit what Artur, Annika, and the rest of the Suyunovs think.
All I care about right now is this night that I get to have with Cara. It’s the only escape that I’ll probably have for a while. And I intend to make it count, to use it to convince her to give me more nights together.
“Milaya?” I call out once I shut the door behind me.
The sound of light footsteps come closer until she emerges from the hallway leading to the master bedroom. A smile crosses my lips at the sight of her in my place wearing a tantalizing red dress and high heels, with her hair flowing down her back and around her shoulders.
“There you are,” I say before pulling off the leather duffle bag hanging from my shoulder. I motion for her to join me in the kitchen, where I see two takeout bags from my favorite Thai place on the counter.
Cara strides across the living room to meet me in the kitchen then nods at the duffle. “What’s in there?”
“What you asked for,” I reply before unzipping it and showing her the bands of cash.
Her eyes widen as she stares down at the $100,000 in cash. “Holy shit.”
Amusement flickers in me as I raise an eyebrow at her. “Did you think I couldn’t get it?”
“No. I’ve just never seen this much money before,” Cara admits as she brushes her fingertip along the edge of one of the bands.
“You’re worth it,” I assure her. “You’re worth so much more.”
She lifts her green eyes to meet my blue ones. “You seem so sure about that.”
Honestly, she deserves a bonus after all the help that she’s given me while working together these past few weeks. She’s assisted me in ways that I never expected, and she’s certainly occupied my mind more than I anticipated as well.
I hope she sticks with me for a while. If I lose her, especially in the midst of the hell that I’m in now, I’ll feel the loss more than I should.
“You’ve never given me a reason to doubt you,” I say as I step closer to her, my hand reaching out to rest on her hip.
Cara slides her hand up my arm. “I don’t like disappointing people.”
I hold her gaze for a moment, and I can’t help but think that her words come from a deep place. She’s the type to fight to impress and please.
In a way, I guess I do that for my family. Or I did.
“You’ve never disappointed me,” I assure her in a gentler voice.
Cara’s face softens. She parts her lips to speak but leans up on her toes and kisses me instead.
My curiosity about whatever she wanted to say quickly fades as I sink into the comfort of her lips. It’s surprising that she’s become that to me.
Comfort. Warmth. Relief.
I don’t want to lose that, especially after I’ve just made new enemies for her.
“I need you in my bed. Now,” I tell her before grabbing the backs of her thighs and lifting her up my body.
Cara gently gasps into my mouth as she winds her arms around my neck.
I carry her across my penthouse to my room and lay her down on my king-size bed, enjoying the view of her on my dark gray sheets. With my eyes on hers, I shrug off my suit jacket and unbutton my dress shirt.
“I like that dress,” I tell her. “I like you in everything.”
Cara smiles as she lays back on her elbows and crosses her legs. “What about in nothing?”
Need blazes through me as I paint that picture in my mind. Why imagine when I can see that with my own eyes?
“Take it off,” I say, my voice dropping lower as I undo the last button of my shirt.
Cara sits up and reaches back to unzip her dress, the material loosening around her chest. She slides the short sleeves down her arms, coaxing the dress down her body toward her waist.
I swallow hard as the red fabric falls from her chest, exposing her full, bare breasts and peaked nipples. I have to clench my jaw to stop myself from ripping her dress the rest of the way off.
Cara pushes the dress down, leaving herself in lacy black panties. “What about these? Do you want me to take them off too?”
Her sultry, breathy voice makes my head spin. Does she realize how irresistibly sexy she is to me? Does she know how insane she drives me?
She’s about to find out.
“No, I’ll remove those,” I tell her before dropping my shirt on the ground and walking over to the bed.
Cara reaches for me as I crawl over her, her lips crashing into mine.
I let my hand roam up her body, caressing her waist and breasts as our lips brush and move together. She’s warm and soft under my touch, and the way she writhes and moans makes my cock harden even more.
Cara parts her lips, her tongue brushing against mine teasingly.
I groan at the sensation, heat filling me. My hand slides down her figure, my fingers dipping under the thin fabric of her panties. The moment my fingertips glide over her center, both of us lose our breath.
Cara lifts her hips to chase my touch, moaning into our kiss as my fingertips graze her clit. “Dmitri…”
I drink in the sound of my name on her lips, my pulse throbbing hard and fast. I’m dying to be inside her. To feel all of her.
I’ve fantasized about it for far too long now.
“I’ve got you,” I whisper as my fingertips rub her in circles. I nudge her thighs farther apart as I dip my head, taking one of her hard nipples into my mouth.
Cara breathes in sharply, her head falling back. Her fingers dive into my hair, curling around the short strands as I suck harder. “God, yes…”
I move to the other nipple, my tongue teasingly circling the peak. I slide my fingers lower, slowly sinking one inside of her. “So wet for me already. I’ve barely even touched you.”
Cara tightens her grip on my hair, her thighs naturally falling open even more. “Feels good.”
Judging from how she can’t stay still or quiet, I don’t doubt that. She’s going to fall apart for me more than once tonight. And here, we can be as loud as we want. I want her screaming my name at the top of her lungs.
I push another finger inside of her as I lift my head, gazing down at her as her expression morphs in pleasure. “You feel good. I can’t wait to make you mine tonight.”
Cara nods eagerly, exhaling shakily as I rock my fingers in and out of her deep and slow. “I need you, Dmitri. Right now.”
“Right now?” I tease her as I keep thrusting my fingers into her, my heel grazing her clit with each motion.
Cara arches under me, her thighs already threatening to shake. “Yes! Dmitri, please.”
And she’s willing to beg? She’s in for a hell of a night.
I slip my hand out of her panties before tugging them down her legs. The moment they’re off, I shove off my boxer briefs and pants, freeing my aching cock.
Cara’s eyes drop to my length as I stroke myself, her cheeks flushing. “This is…insane,” she murmurs.
Her whisper makes me smile in amusement. “Why? Because I’m your boss?”
Cara gazes up at me as I hover over her with one hand planted next to her head. “That’s only part of it.”
I lean down and press a lingering kiss against her lips. “You’ve driven me crazy for too long now.”
Cara gasps as I slowly push inside her. She grips my biceps, holding on tight as I fill her. She takes me so damn well that it steals my breath away, leaving me with empty lungs and a dizzy head.
I can’t believe that I managed to resist her for so long. How the hell did I not completely lose my damn mind?
Then again, she’s part of the reason why I pulled the trigger last night. Maybe she has made me lose my mind.
I run my hand up the outside of her thigh as I start moving, thrusting in and out of her at a torturously slow pace.
Cara curls her arms around my neck, pulling me down for a heated kiss that deepens as my pace picks up. “Don’t stop…”
I cup the back of her neck, my lips brushing hers as I speak. “Not until you scream for me.”
Cara tightens her thighs around my waist as I keep rocking into her, going deeper and harder. More moans spill from her as she writhes beneath me, desperate for the pleasure. For what’s coming next.
I drive into her hard, pushing her down into the mattress. Pain lances through my back as she sinks her nails into my skin, but that only motivates me. “You’re close. I can feel you squeezing me, milaya.”
Cara’s nails rake down my back as I snap my hips against hers. “Dmitri!”
“That’s right. I’m the one making you scream. Only me,” I praise her, feeling her tense beneath me as the bliss builds. I feel like I’m burning up, teetering on the edge of a cliff and about to fall over, but I don’t topple yet. Not until she does.
Cara’s breathing quickens as her eyes squeeze shut. A cry of pleasure suddenly bursts from her as she shudders, her orgasm taking hold of her.
I don’t stop moving, drawing out the feeling of her clenching around me for as long as I can until I can’t hold back any longer. I start to pull out, but she tightens her grip on me, keeping me in place.
“I’m on the pill,” Cara breathes out as she gazes up at me. “Give me everything.”
I capture her lips in a deep kiss as I drive back into her, not stopping until I spill inside of her with a faint groan and gritted teeth. “Fuck!”
Cara trembles beneath me, catching her breath as she gently rubs my back. Her fingertips glance off the crescent-shaped indentations in my skin.
I rest my forehead against hers, my heart pounding as the intensity and heat lingers. “You’re dangerous.”
Cara frowns. “What do you mean?”
I lift my head to peer down at her. “You make me…irrational. I can hardly trust myself around you.”
Cara seems to shrink back, even though she can’t move. “I’m sorry?”
“Don’t be,” I tell her as I brush a stray strand of hair away from her face. “You can’t help how I feel.”
“I’m supposed to be here to make your life easier. Not harder,” Cara reminds me.
“You do,” I assure her, letting my fingertips stroke her flushed cheek. We’ve got food getting cold, and I should probably get up, but I don’t want to move right now. I feel…grounded.
“I’m just not used to trusting anyone like I trust you,” I admit. “I’ve been reminded time and time again why I shouldn’t trust people.”
Cara’s face softens. “You’ve been betrayed before?”
“You can call it betrayal. I see it as them confirming what I already suspected,” I murmur. “My father taught me everything. How to lead. How to do business. How to kill. Everything.”
Cara nods as she listens, not even flinching.
“But he didn’t protect me,” I tell her, feeling a heavy stone of pain and disappointment sink to the bottom of my stomach.
“I always had some body part broken or bleeding. He berated me like it was the end of the world when I messed up, and he encouraged my uncles, other members of the family to teach me lessons, to ‘toughen me up.’”
Cara places her hand over mine. “I’m sorry, Dmitri.”
“Not all of them are bad people,” I say.
“So many of them have dealt with what I have too. But no matter how badly they treated me, especially my father, I can’t help but want to make them proud.
My father wanted me to take over and lead.
So, I did. My family wanted me to strike a deal with the Suyunovs, and I was going to. But…”
“Everyone has a breaking point,” Cara tells me, her face hardening a little. “The ones you’re supposed to trust are the ones who push you there the fastest.”
She gets it. I don’t know exactly how, but she does. I can see it in her eyes.
“If my father were still alive and saw what I’ve just done, he would probably strangle me,” I admit.
“Good thing he isn’t,” Cara replies.
She’s right. He’s not here. And I’m better off.
I brush my thumb along her bottom lip then tell her, “I’m going to carry you to the shower, and then I’m going to bury my tongue inside of you to make you scream my name again.”
Cara smiles at me, and an unrelenting ache that I can’t identify fills my chest. It feels good and hurts at the same time. “What are you waiting for?”
Nothing at all. I’m done waiting and compromising and settling.
Now I’m taking whatever the fuck I want.