Dimitri (15 page)

Dimitri stood at the side of Johnny's bed and
nudged the arm hanging over the side with his boot. "Hey! Johnny!
Wake up!"

The kid's eyes snapped open. A split-second
later, he bolted upright and swung a pistol toward Dimitri. Acting
on instinct, Dimitri slapped away the hand and gripped Johnny's
wrist hard enough to make him cry out. He stripped the gun from
Johnny's hands and elbowed him in the chest, throwing him back on
the bed.

Johnny groaned and rubbed his chest. "What the
fuck are you doing, man?"

Dimitri glared at him and rendered the weapon
safe, popping out the magazine and clearing the round sitting in
the chamber. "What the fuck am I doing? What are you doing? You
could have shot me!"

"You're trespassing! It would have been my
right!"

"And what if I'd been your sister? Huh? What if
she'd been in here trying to wake you up and you'd shot her? What
then, Johnny?"

The dumb kid didn't have an answer for that
one. Dimitri tucked the pistol into the back of his jeans and
pocketed the single round and magazine. "I've been shouting
downstairs for you."

Johnny sat up and threw his legs over the side
of the bed. He rubbed his bloodshot eyes. "What the hell are you
doing here, Dimitri? You can't just come inside my
house."

"I can do whatever the hell I want, Johnny. Get
dressed! You've got work to do."

"You think that just because you're fucking
Benny you can come into my crib and tell me what to do? She's the
one sucking your dick. Order her around, not me."

Dimitri took a menacing step toward him and
pointed his finger in his face. "If I hear you disrespect your
sister like that one more time, I'm going to knock your teeth down
your throat. You should want to protect her reputation, not cut her
down in front of other people!"

Johnny dropped his head with shame. He was
smart enough not to push it. Dimitri wasn't joking. One more ugly
remark about Benny and Johnny was going to need a
dentist.

"What do you want, Dimitri?"

"I want you to get dressed and mow the yard.
Weed those flower beds."

Johnny stared up at him as if he were the
stupidest man in the world. "Why?"

Dimitri sputtered with frustration. "Because
this is your home and you should take some pride in it. You want to
sell this house and get your money? Then get out there and make it
look nice. Help your sister!"

"Oh fuck off with that shit!" Johnny waved his
hand in the air. "I'm so sick of everyone telling me how Benny
needs help and how much she's sacrificed for our
family."

"Did you ever stop to think about why so many
people remind you of those facts, Johnny? Huh?"

Johnny didn’t answer.

Dimitri sucked in a long, steadying breath.
Shaking his head with disgust, he warned, "One of these days you're
going to finally open your eyes and you'll realize how much Benny
means to you. She's your sister, Johnny, and she's all you have
left of your entire family. You better hope that it's not too late
and that she hasn't finally given up on you when you need her the
most."

Unable to stomach another moment in
Johnny's presence, he spun on his heel and headed for the door. He
doubted he'd gotten through to Johnny. He didn't know if anyone
could. In the doorway, he paused and fixed Johnny with a cold
stare. "I heard some
vato
down at the car wash talking about some trouble
kicking off with the Hermanos tonight. Be smart and keep your ass
inside!"

Johnny narrowed his eyes. "Man, what you do
care what I do?"

"Benny means everything to me. I won't stand by
and let you drag her down into the shit you've stirred up,
Johnny."

With nothing else to say, Dimitri left the room
and descended downstairs. Up on the landing, Johnny shouted, "Hey,
you bastard! Give me back my gun."

Dimitri stopped at the front door and smirked
at Johnny. He opened his arms wide. "Come take it from
me."

Johnny leaned forward but thought better of it.
Acting tough, he said, "Man, fuck you. I'll just get another
one."

"Do you plan to steal another three hundred
dollars from your sister to buy it?"

Johnny looked taken aback. "Whatever, Dimitri.
Just get out of my house."

"Gladly," he grumbled and slammed
the door behind him. He slid into the front seat of Benny's car and
dropped the pistol into the glove box. After he returned Benny's
car, he'd grab his truck and take
that
to Kostya. If anyone could make
a dirty piece disappear it was him.

His jaw clenched and his stomach knotted.
Dimitri couldn't shake the feeling that his problems with Johnny
were just beginning.

Chapter
Eight

Exhausted but feeling incredibly accomplished,
I slid out of the front seat of the bakery truck and hopped onto
the pavement. The bakery had closed almost an hour earlier and the
street was mostly quiet. Marco and Adam climbed out of the front
seat more slowly. Together, we rolled the empty trays into the back
room to be cleaned and tossed the bagged garbage into the
dumpster.

I stayed behind to do a walk-through of the
bakery and found everything perfectly put away and shut down.
Satisfied, I headed out the side entrance. While I searched for my
keys in my purse, I heard a vehicle rolling into a parking spot
behind me.

A quick glance over my shoulder verified it was
Dimitri's truck I'd heard. The memory of what he'd done to me in my
office made my tummy swoop. I doubted I'd ever be able to walk into
that room again without thinking of Dimitri on his knees with his
face buried between my thighs.

I didn't think it was possible for him to look
even sexier than usual but he did. Leaning against the door of his
truck, he watched me intently. I shivered under his intense stare
and turned my attention back to looking for my keys. I was just
about ready to dump my purse on the sidewalk when Dimitri whistled
softly. When I looked over at him, he shook my keys, the soft
jingling seeming so loud in the stillness of early
evening.

Shit.

He walked toward me slowly and stepped onto the
sidewalk. Even standing on the top step there at the employee
entrance, I was still shorter than him. He stared down at me, his
displeasure evident in the tightness around his mouth. "We've
talked about this before, Benny."

"I know." I cringed and waited for him to ream
my backside for being so careless.

To my utter surprise, he tipped my chin and
kissed me tenderly. His thumb traced my lower lip. "Please be more
careful, Benny. No more rushing in the morning, okay?"

Relieved, I nodded. "Okay."

With a playful grin, he dangled the keys just
out of my reach. "I should make you earn these back."

I laughed and lifted on my very tippy-toes to
press my lips to his. "There's no one in the bakery to hear us this
time. If you wanted to take me back to my office and show me a
lesson, I mean."

He groaned dramatically and gathered me in his
arms. "You little temptress! If I didn't have to go in to the
office to sort out some scheduling problems, I'd have you face down
over that desk in the blink of an eye."

My pussy throbbed as he described what he'd do
to me. I licked my lips. "Rain check?"

He chuckled softly and nodded.
"Definitely."

When he handed me the keys, I took them and
made quick work of locking up for the night. Dimitri's hands moved
over my shoulders and down my back. He gave my bottom a little
swat. "How did it go?"

"Better than I'd expected," I said and turned
to face him again. "Lena and I had a quick chat about the very real
possibility of me selling the building and moving locations. I
thought for sure she'd flip out because she wanted to sell the
underdog angle but she took it all in stride. In fifteen minutes,
she had new talking points for me and changed the background story
for the reporter. She found a way to spin it to our advantage.
People really loved the food. Our likes on Facebook skyrocketed and
so did the mailing list signups. I'm cautiously
optimistic."

He ran his finger down my cheek. "I'm glad it
went well. I wanted to stop by and see you but I got sidetracked
with some other business."

"It's fine. You would have been a huge
distraction anyway. God only knows I can't think straight when
you're around me."

He chuckled. "I know the feeling."

Down on the sidewalk, I glanced at my car and
did a double-take. The inch thick layer of dust and grime had
vanished. The tires gleamed. I peeked in the window and found the
seats and floorboards completely devoid of the usual flotsam and
jetsam. I whirled on Dimitri. "Did you wash my car?"

"Not personally," he clarified. "I took it to
Alexei's and had it washed and detailed."

I thought about the empty gas tank and reached
for my wallet. "What do I owe you for gas and the car
wash?"

Dimitri's big hand closed over mine. He pushed
my wallet back into my purse. "It was my treat."

I decided not to fight him on this one. He
obviously took a great deal of pleasure in doing things like this.
"Thank you, Dimitri. I really appreciate this."

His sexy grin warmed me through and through. "I
have an idea or two how you can show that appreciation later
tonight."

I giggled a bit nervously. "I'm sure you
do."

He slid his hand along the back of my neck and
lowered his mouth to mine. Our kiss left me tingling and aching for
more. "I'll pick you up around seven. Ivan and Erin want us to join
them for dinner at the Samovar. Have you ever been
there?"

I shook my head. Feeling a bit sheepish, I
admitted, "I'm not really a huge fan of Russian food."

Amusement glinted in his beautiful blue eyes.
"Have you ever had Russian food?"

"Once, at this cultural expo thing at
college."

He made an annoyed sound. "Well no wonder you
didn't like it! That's like me going to one of the fast food
chains, eating a taco and declaring that all Mexican food is bland
and gross." He gave my hair a tug. "We both know that's not
true."

"Fair enough."

"The food at Samovar is amazing. You let me
order for you. I'll choose things you'll enjoy."

I don’t know why I found the idea of Dimitri
ordering for me so hot but I did. "Okay."

He brushed that sinful mouth of his against
mine. "You should go home and take a nap."

"Why?"

His hand drifted down my side to grip my
bottom. Pulled against him, there was no mistaking the hard outline
of his cock against my belly. "You're going to want to be well
rested for the night I have in mind."

Quivering with excitement, I could only nod. He
captured my lips in another deliciously sexy kiss before walking me
to the driver's side. Rooted to the spot, he watched me back out of
my parking space and onto the street.

I glanced in the rear view mirror to see him
climbing into his truck. A pang of sadness reverberated in my
chest. I didn't like being separated from him, even if only for a
few hours. My sudden attachment to Dimitri worried me a
little.

But maybe it wasn't so sudden? We'd known each
other for five years and had been close friends for most of that
time. What was happening between us now seemed to be happening so
fast but unlike a lot of couples we weren't starting from scratch.
We had five years of history behind us and a solid foundation of
friendship.

Pondering that line of thought, I turned into
my neighborhood and made the short drive to the house. For the
second time today, I was stunned by what I saw. First a clean car
and now a perfectly manicured front lawn!

After parking in the driveway, I took a moment
to walk around the front yard and inspect the work. The flower beds
had been weeded and the sidewalk edged so nicely. Now all I needed
to do was buy new mulch and some pretty annuals to brighten up the
front yard.

"Johnny?" I called out for him as I shut the
door behind me. "I'm home."

As I dropped my keys in the bowl on the
entryway table and my purse next to it, I heard him come out of his
room. He appeared at the top of the stairs looking much better than
when I'd seen him this morning. "Are you going out?"

"Yeah? Why?" He gave me attitude. "You want me
to do the laundry and scrub the toilets and mop the floors
now?"

I didn't understand why he was being so snippy
with me. Was he baiting me for a fight? I decided to compliment him
on a job well done. "Did you do the yard? It looks amazing! Thank
you."

"Like I had a choice! Freaking Dimitri
threatened to beat the crap out of me if I didn't do
it!"

"What?" It took me a minute process
what he'd said. "What do you mean? Dimitri
threatened
you?"