9

ELENA DUVAL

I woke up at the sound of the beeping alarm, pulling up from the bed, I glanced around the room, it didn't seem like Dimitri had returned last night. Last night he had left with his guests. I didn't know where he was last night or who he had been with but it didn't matter anyway. All I needed was for him to take me to the gala.

I had wanted to wait all night for him, but unfortunately, I fell asleep at some point.

Without wasting much time, I dragged my feet from the bed and changed into my black sports bra and workout pants. I had to look my best for the gala in a few days. Even though I wasn't yet sure if I was attending. I didn't know what I'd do if Dimitri refused.

I walked out of the bedroom, taking the stairs to the gym downstairs. I entered the doorway to find Dimitri on the treadmill, running at a high speed.

For once, he wasn't wearing a suit and a tie. Instead, he was wearing a black sweat pants that hung just low around his waist, and the upper part of his body was completely bare to the eye.

I inhaled a shaky breath, unable to will my eyes to look away from him. I couldn't lie even if I wanted to. Dimitri was, in a word, perfection. I tilted my head so little, as I couldn't help but notice the way his muscles flexed at each movement. His back was covered with more black-inked tattoos than I could count. But what fascinated me the most was the large inked dragon that took a large proportion of his back, looking as though it was staring right through me.

A dragon.

Frankly, it suited him just fine. Glorious in his power, terrifying in his anger, and magnificent even in repose.

I breathed out the air I didn't know I had been keeping in my lungs, the hairs on my skin finally standing in attention. And without warning my eyes met with his through the mirror that covered a large proportion of the walls in the gym.

I breathed in again, this time it was slow and deep as the cold from Dimitri's gaze flicked down my body. His gaze touched every inch of my hair which was tied up in a ponytail down to the flip-flops I was wearing.

His gaze didn't leave mine from the mirror as he continued speaking over the phone. His Russian accent was deep and thick, almost perfect. Maybe perfect. I couldn't think straight at the moment, not with his stare on me, or the way my body seemed to be reacting to it.

I released another breath and mustered the courage to move. I decided to use the treadmill today instead. So I walked to the only spare one conveniently next to his.

This was a good thing, and another chance to talk to him about the gala.

I stepped onto the machine, attaching safety clips to my sports bra, and ignoring the way my body still noticed his stare or the way he was running at a high speed yet his breathing remained calm and even, even on a call.

I pressed the button, placing the starting pace moderate just as Dimitri disconnected with whoever he was talking to.

I started moving on the treadmill, not sparing a glance at him. “You didn't come back home last night?” Was the first thing I could think of to fill the uncomfortable silence.

“You keeping tabs on me now, Elena?” The heavy emotion in his voice sent my eyes to the mirror and they met him again.

His words sent an instant thud in my chest, sending an unexplainable heat through my bones, and settled somewhere between my thighs, causing me to miss my steps at once.

“Fuck!” I yelled at the sudden mistake, trying to keep up and regain my balance but that was impossible. I was a fucking second from falling flat against the treadmill and probably, spraining an ankle or two in the process. Everything happened so fast, one second I was being dragged back by the conveyor, and the second, I felt strong arms around my waist, lifting me like I weighed nothing, and in the next second I was pinned against Dimitri's body.

Instinctively, I wrapped my arms around his neck, my legs dangling in the air as he kept running on the treadmill.

I couldn't breathe. It was like every air whooshed out of my lungs and my eyes were locked. We were so close that his nose grazed mine, and I could feel his breath on my lips. His large arms around my waist shifted a bit, pulling my body against his taut naked one.

I couldn't stop the gasp that left my lips as I felt my bare skin against his. I could feel the sparks that ignited everywhere his body touched mine. It is a wild, igniting feeling, sending licks of fire throughout my body, settling at my core. It sent my heart racing fast against an unknown opponent.

I still couldn't look away from his stare and every attempt I made to breathe found me drowning in the pool of this insanity or whatever this was which was not affecting him.

Slowly his other hand moved and pressed the buttons on the machine, the conveyor slowly sliding into a stop. But his arm was still around my waist and my hands were still strangely locked around his neck. My breathing became more erratic. He smelled like sweat and man, a bad dangerous combination that almost made me lean more into him, so close that I could feel the warmth of his lips against mine.

Suddenly, my mind began to fill with elicit thoughts. It was his arms on my waist, the heat of his body next to mine, and his breath on me. They were the ones doing these crazy things to me, corrupting every sane thought of mine, and for a careless second, I wondered just how it'd feel if he kissed me. How I'd feel if he worked those hands on certain parts of my body instead. How I'd feel if he had me pinned against the bed with the weight of his body on mine. I could already feel the wetness licking from my core. Fuck, I was already in too deep.

A rough gasp suddenly left my lips as I felt the tip of his fingers graze my sweat-licked skin, igniting a tingling sensation through my bones. Another gasp left my lips as I felt them move on my bare skin, leaving a trail of fire in its wake as they walked up my face. 

My heart had tripled its beating and my breathing was more erratic, coming out in short pants. As soon as his hand reached my face, he grabbed my nape and threaded his fingers into my hair, tugging at my ponytail, and at once they fell, stopping at my mid-back. Then he buried his face in my neck and he made a masculine noise of satisfaction that I could feel deep in my stomach before it settled into a weight between my legs.

I rocked back, not fighting him, but shaken by the lightning bolt exploding in my chest and fizzing through my veins. 

My breasts pressed against his hard, warm abs, and another shiver rolled through me. He ran his face up and down my neck as though he was savoring my smell.

My hands locked around his neck didn't break, not even when he backed away a little, bringing his eyes back to mine.

They were cold. Dark. Unreadable. But there was something deep in his gaze. Something I couldn't figure out.

I felt a sizzle within me. A force took over my body and without thinking, I was about to stand on the tip of my flops, aiming for his lips when the instant sound of the ringing of his phone sliced through the thick absurdity in the air, freeing me from the bubble of my insanity and giving me back the reins if my body.

I jerked back in shock, removing my hands from his neck climbing down from the machine, and grabbing the bottle I had come with. Without looking back, I hurried out of the gym with the sound of Dimitri's voice on the call, speaking Italian this time.

But I could still feel the heat of his stare on my back, and the feel of his touch on my skin burned hotter, making my body feel more alive than ever.

This was bad. Even worse, dangerous.

*****

I couldn't sleep.

It was a cool night but for some reason, I felt incredibly hot.

I'd collapsed on the bed three hours ago after I had showered for the second time in one night. My body was exhausted from the rigorous exercise I'd been having at the gym for a few days. The exercise had been really helpful though, amongst other things, it always managed to keep my thoughts clear, and my sanity in check, especially after what happened two days ago morning between Dimitri and me at the gym. I had simply termed that as a flick of confusion on my part. That was the only explanation I could think of. 

I tried counting sheep, and listening to the monotonous ticking of the alarm clock while I stared blankly at the ceiling but nothing worked.

An hour later I was still lying awake. Every time I close my eyes, images of Dimitri and me from the gym play on a broken loop.

Dimitri's arm around my waist.

The graze of his fingers along my spine. And the obsessively unholy manner in his nose skinned down my nape breathing me in. 

Tingles erupted over every inch of my body. 

I groaned, and turned on my side, hoping the change in position would shake off the persistent memory of Dimitri's touch on my skin, his breath on my lips, or the feel of his body against my palm.

But again, it didn't work. Dimitri was driving me crazier just within the last seventy-two hours than anyone ever could.

We hadn't exchanged more than a dozen words since our ‘brief’ moment at the gym. Frankly, I've been actively ignoring him, which I shouldn't have if I wanted even a chance for him to take me to the gala. But I couldn't help it. It was fucking obvious now that Dimitri Castello was more dangerous than I thought it was.

Strangely, he had this unbelievable power over me and everything seemed to mean nothing and simply just faded away with the rest of the world whenever he was near me.

The mansion was massive, but yet my efforts to avoid him were useless. Somehow we always ran into each other multiple times a day— him entering the mansion and I stepping out for a stroll, me catching a breath of fresh air on the bedroom balcony and him near the beach shores, taking a call, me sneaking into the screening room for a late night movie and him going into his office.

Regardless, I always fled the opposite direction whenever I saw him and I couldn't turn the corner without my heart jumping with the anticipation of colliding with him.

I groaned again as my clock ticked at 2:am. Tonight was the gala, and I wasn't even sure if I was going since I hadn't spoken to Dimitri about it. And let's be honest, he would have probably turned me down anyway. I just had to come up with another way of meeting Tyler.

I sighed when I heard the low grumble of my stomach. It was finally rebelling after I'd been living mostly on fruits and vegetables these past few days. I had lost a reasonable amount of fat and was pretty fit from my exercise.

It was technically late to eat, but what the hell, I couldn't even sleep anyway.

I pulled up from the bed, and left the bedroom quietly, moving down the hall and stairs as silently as I could.

I hadn't had a midnight snack in years, Mum hated it whenever my sisters and I sneaked out in the kitchen at night to have pickles and some chocolate pudding. And I was suddenly craving some old favorite food combo.

I tiptoed until I got into the kitchen, and when I turned on the kitchen lights, I froze immediately.