Page 35 of Savage Little Secret

And speaking of families, Dmitri and I need to discuss contraceptives today. It’s been days since I’ve taken my birth control. I’ll need to fix that soon.

But first, I hope we can clear the air and remove the elephant in the room between us.

“Thank you for believing me,” I tell him. “I know you had no reason to after everything that I’ve done, but…thank you.”

Dmitri’s expression softens a little. “You were right. Things are far more complicated than I realized.”

I want to talk to him about what’ll come next, but I want to do something else even more first. My lips brush his as I lower my head, pausing our conversation for the moment.

I don’t think he’ll mind.

Dmitri slips his fingers into my hair and holds me close, his lips slotting with mine in a deepening kiss.

I hum against his mouth as I let my hand roam up his strong chest, my body starting to move over his.

Dmitri helps me straddle him, his hands squeezing my thighs under the sheets. He kisses me harder, almost desperately, like he doesn’t want me to pull away.

I want more too. I want everything. The pharmacy probably isn’t even open yet anyway.

I teasingly drag my teeth along his bottom lip, making a faint groan rumble in his chest as his hands travel along the sides of my thighs. I push my fingers into his hair, wanting to touch him everywhere I can reach.

I can’t get enough of him.

Dmitri slides his hands upward, teasing the skin just underneath my shirt as the fabric bunches up around my waist. Even that makes warmth generate between my thighs.

I reach for the bottom of his shirt to take it off, but he grabs my hand to stop me.

I lift my eyes to his in confusion.

Dmitri’s expression hardens before he says, “You’re leaving this morning.”

The words hit me like a blow. “What?”

He takes a deep breath and sits up, forcing me to roll off him. “I told my guard to take off last night, so you won’t be seen.”

My thoughts ricochet all over the place as I still struggle to understand what’s going on. We were kissing a minute ago, and now he wants to kick me out of his penthouse?

“Dmitri, I don’t understand. I thought…I thought we were past all this,” I tell him as I watch him throw off the sheets and get out of the bed, my heart sinking. This is the last thing I imagined happening after last night.

“I’m going to take a shower in my room. By the time I get out, I want you to be gone, and I never want to see you again,” Dmitri tells me in a firm voice.

He might as well rip my heart out while he’s at it.

Pain radiates through me as I watch him head toward the door to leave. I rush after him and grab his arm, not letting him step out of the room yet. “Wait! I don’t understand. Everyone wants you to kill me! Letting me go is only going to make things worse.”

“I know. That’s why you should go back to your father. Go anywhere else. Just get far away from me,” Dmitri says as he pulls his arm away. He gives me a warning look before leaving the room.

There’s still so much that I want to tell him. Things we need to talk about.

But his instructions were clear.

He’s cutting me loose.

The bathroom door closes with a finality that I feel in my soul.

For a moment, I stand there stunned.

But I can’t stay and keep begging him to choose me when he’s made his decision.