Page 78 of Phantom Flower

“Um… just that I’m content.”

Dimitri stared at me for a second, then let out a knowing laugh.

“Content?” he repeated, stepping even closer. “Or is red what you wear when you’re horny, little fairy?”

My face went up in flames.

“No!” I blurted out way too fast.

Okay, well… lust was part of it. But it was not the main thing. I just was not about to admit that out loud.

Dimitri smirked like he could see straight through me. Which, unfortunately, he probably could.

“Anyway,” I said quickly, desperate to change the subject, “why are you asking me about flower colors?”

Dimitri glanced back at the flower pot. There were only a few blooms left, soft pinks and whites. Nothing red.

“I wanted to pick one for you myself,” he said. “But there aren’t any red ones here.”

Something warm and unexpected fluttered in my chest.

“It’s okay,” I said with a small smile. “This forest has lots of wildflowers. I can just go find one later.”

His brow furrowed, like the idea genuinely bothered him.

“But I wanted to give you one.”

I could not help but chuckle softly at how serious he looked.

“Then you can find it for me.”

His eyes lit up in a way that was almost boyish. It was so at odds with the dangerous, intense man I knew that I felt my stomach flip.

“You’re right,” he said, suddenly grabbing my hand. “Let’s go.”

“Wait— right now?!” I yelped as he started pulling me toward the edge of the terrace and the forest beyond. I was still only wearing his oversized shirt and sleep shorts. “Dimitri, I’m barely dressed!”

“Good,” he said without slowing down. “I like you like this. Easy access.”

“Dimitri!”

Chapter 22

Rei Kurosaki

Dimitri Morozov was many things. Ruthless. Dangerous. Terrifyingly possessive. But I never expected him to be this picky about a flower.

We had been walking through the forest for nearly two hours. Dimitri held my hand the entire time. Every now and then, he would tug me closer when I tried to wander off.

He had already rejected at least fifteen flowers.

“This one doesn’t have enough petals,” he muttered, discarding a beautiful crimson bloom with a frown. He tossed it aside. “It looks incomplete.”

I blinked at him, trying and failing not to smile. “It’s a flower, Dimitri. They don’t have to be perfect.”

He shot me a look over his shoulder, one eyebrow raised. “You’re not wearing something incomplete in your hair. Next.”

I bit the inside of my cheek to keep from laughing as he moved deeper into a patch of wildflowers, crouching down to inspect another one. His large frame looked almost comical hunched over the delicate blooms, like a predator trying to be delicate.