Page 70 of Phantom Flower

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.