I pulled the blanket back up the moment the shower stopped. I registered every sound he made as he moved around the bedroom. And before I knew it, the mattress dipped beside me. I held my breath instinctively.
Dmitri moved closer, his body pressing against my back. I hadn’t finished processing the fact that he was there when his arm slid under me. He pulled me in until I was tucked against his chest like it was the most natural thing in the world.
His warmth moved through my back, and I forced myself to breathe normally. This man, this specific, and unreasonable man who fucked me and made me think it was a mistake, was now holding me intimately. I couldn’t decide if I was grateful or in trouble, but fuck, I loved this.
The silence settled between us, his breath in a steady rhythm against the back of my neck. I stayed there, burning quietly, letting the moment stretch longer and telling myself I would fall asleep soon. That would not happen.
His mouth found my ear. Every nerve responded. A shiver ran down my shoulder, visible enough that there was no pretending it didn’t happen. He kissed the curve of my ear slowly, and I surrendered. My body was clearly not going to cooperate with any plan that involved remaining still and unaffected.
He moved his lips down to my neck, and his hand slid under the hem of my pajama top. His fingers traced around my navel with no rush. He kissed me in places that made my body softer.
I paid attention to the movement of his hand sliding lower inside the waistband of my shorts and moved between my legs. My hips rolled back against him, and my ass hit his bulge. He made a low sound against my neck that I felt more than heard. His fingers began circling me, the feeling dissolving my thoughts one by one until I could think of nothing but his hand. I gripped his wrist and pressed, telling him without words what I needed, and he gave it to me. He didn’t slide a finger inside. He just rubbed my clit, the pace building until my whole body tightened. I shook and let out a quiet, broken moan.
He slowed his fingers, drawing circles through the last until I stopped trembling. When he pulled his hand free, he shifted behind me, pulling me closer into him. The position was so comfortable that my bones felt heavy.
He pressed his lips to my forehead, and he didn’t say a single word about this morning. We stayed like that, suspended in a silence that didn’t feel empty, until sleep found me anyway. It was the quietest and most satisfying sleep I had in a long time.
When I woke up, he was gone. That man operated on a schedule that began before the sun had any reasonable business being up. I stopped expecting to wake up beside him in themorning.
Since my meeting with Caitlin was later in the day, I was going to spend the day with Grandma. She was the only one to tell me about Dmitri and his brothers. I was getting to know them more, especially now that I knew Roman was Dmitri’s brother. This world was so small.
I pushed the covers off and moved toward the bathroom for my morning routine. The moment I stepped inside, I stopped.
Three candles were lit around the bathtub, throwing soft light across the tiles. The room carried a deep cedarwood scent. The tub was already full, the surface covered in thick foam that caught the candlelight and scattered it in shifting reflections across the walls.
I moved closer and dipped my fingers in. Warm.
I straightened and looked at it for a moment. A faint smile pulled at my mouth. Did Dmitri prepare this before he left? He couldn’t have. That wasn’t the kind of thing he did. If Anita did it, it would only be because someone told her to.
Whatever the answer was, I didn’t care enough to solve it. It looked too good to question. I undressed and stepped in, lowering myself into the water until the heat wrapped around me. I sank back against the tub, eyes closing as the warmth loosened everything that had been tight since yesterday. This was what I needed. Or exactly what someone knew I needed.
Chapter Thirty-six
Inna Grace
I frowned and checked thephone screen to make sure I had called the right person. Caitlin’s name was right there, so what the hell was that noise in the background?
As I stepped onto the last stair, I called her again just as I spotted Akim walking toward me. He carried some papers and that particular expression he reserved exclusively for me.
Caitlin answered, and I spoke quickly before Akim reached me. “Hi, Cate, I’m about to leave—” The words cut off when another noise came through the phone.
Something shattered in the background, and a male voice sliced through the noise. “Clean that mess, and I will forgive you. Don’t pretend you’re bleeding to death.”
A quiet sob followed, and the call ended. I stopped moving entirely, staring at my phone as the words replayed in my head. What the fuck was that?
“Good evening.” Akim’s voice pulled me out of it, and I looked up. “We need your signature on these.”
He extended the papers, and I took them, my mind still tryingto make sense of what I had just heard. Caitlin was crying, and whoever that man was just said she was bleeding.
I looked down at the documents and forced myself to focus. My name sat across the front page while phrases like transfer of ownership drifted past my eyes without fully settling into comprehension.
I looked back up at Akim. “I’m sorry, what are these?”
“Hotel ownership,” he said plainly. “It is written there. I will leave you with your copies.”
My gaze dropped back to the pages. My name kept reappearing. Transfer of ownership of a property that now somehow belonged to me.
“What hotel?” I asked. “I’m sorry, but I don’t understand what’s happening here.”