Dimitri (32 page)

Dimitri caught the way Nikolai distanced
himself from the equation. Whether Nikolai's affection toward
Vivian was brotherly or, as Yuri believed, more romantic, Dimitri
couldn't say. It wasn't any of his business and he sure as hell
wasn't going to pry.

Still it was a curious situation. There were
times Dimitri could swear he'd caught the briefest flash of
unrequited love in Nikolai's normally cold gaze. It was only Vivian
who inspired that look.

Like Ivan, Dimitri had long since suspected
Nikolai wasn't capable of loving a woman in that way. To love as he
loved Benny, a man had to open himself up to such vulnerability—and
that was one thing Nikolai would never do. To show weakness? He'd
never allow it.

Sometimes he wished Nikolai would come clean
with Vivian about what really happened that night nearly ten years
ago. It would do all of them some good to have the truth out in the
open for once. When Benny had asked him about the pair's history,
he hadn't quite known what to say. He'd sensed she didn't believe
him but she hadn't pushed for more details.

Someday she would ask again and what would he
say? It wasn't his secret to tell but he didn't like lying to Benny
about anything. Protecting Nikolai's secret might be the only time
he'd make an exception to his truth-only rule with her. There was
no good that would come from opening that Pandora's Box.

Ivan's cell phone chirped and he fished it out
of his pocket. Dimitri watched his friend's expression morph to
confusion. Looking up, he asked, "What the hell is a parfait
cup?"

Yuri laughed. "Another one of Erin's
errands?"

Ivan tried to look annoyed but none of them
bought it. "It would help if she would send me pictures when she
sends me on these wild goose chases."

Grinning, Dimitri picked up the sling he'd
discarded and joined Ivan near the door. "I know what they are.
There's one of those kitchen and bath stores on the way to your
house."

Ivan looked relieved as he texted his
girlfriend back. After pocketing his phone, he glanced at the sling
Dimitri held. "You'd better put that back on before we reach the
house. I heard Benny lay down the law as we were
leaving."

Dimitri grunted with annoyance but
slipped back into the sling. He
had
promised to wear it and take it easy. As worried
as she'd been about him, he didn't want Benny fretting
unnecessarily.

"We'll see you soon?" Ivan's eyebrows arched as
he waited for Nikolai and Yuri to nod. With a flick of his fingers,
Ivan gestured for him to follow. They crossed the empty
lobby.

Yuri's two bodyguards nodded at them as Dimitri
and Ivan made their way to the elevator bank. The sight of them
spurred his thoughts on the new business venture. Tonight, at
dinner, he'd find a way to get Yuri alone to talk to him about it
in more detail.

Dimitri stretched his neck and pushed the
scratchy strap of his sling away from his skin. Ivan noticed the
movement and shot him a sympathetic smile. "Those things are such a
pain in the ass."

"It's truly unnecessary. I'm not a child. Hell,
even when we were children, we weren't coddled like
this."

Ivan chuckled and stepped into the elevator car
that had arrived. "She cares about you. Mothering you is her way of
showing how much she loves you." With a wicked gleam in his eye,
Ivan punched the ground floor button. "Indulge her need to play
nurse now. Later, when you're healed, she'll be only too happy to
indulge your needs…"

Chapter
Eighteen

I watched Dimitri for any signs of discomfort
as we stood side-by-side in my bathroom and brushed our teeth. It
had been a long day and I worried he'd overexerted himself. Dinner
with Erin and Ivan had been lovely but the night had gotten a bit
raucous as we sat on their back patio and listened to the men
sharing the wild tales of their childhood. It had been after
midnight when we finally left.

"What?" Dimitri asked, his lips twitching with
amusement as he patted his mouth with a hand towel. He reached over
and dabbed my chin. "You look like you want to scold
me."

"We stayed out so late tonight."

"We had a nice time." He touched my
cheek. "Seeing you laughing with the girls made me happy.
You
need to relax
more."

"
You
need to rest, Dimitri. Six nights ago, you were
stabbed and shot."

"And I'm fine now." He tucked strands of hair
behind my ear. "You're blowing it out of proportion. The wounds
were nothing compared to what I suffered years ago in
Grozny."

I blinked. "Isn't that in Chechnya?"

Dimitri's jaw tensed and he glanced away from
me. "Yes."

It was the first time he'd ever spoken of his
time in the military over there with any specifics. I sensed it was
a slip that he wouldn't make again. "We're not going to talk about
your military career, are we?"

Dimitri's haunted eyes made my heart ache. "No,
Benny. That is from a time I never want to remember." He cupped my
cheek and rubbed his thumb across my skin. "I don't want any of
that horror to ever touch you."

I lifted on tiptoes to kiss him. "I won't ever
ask again."

Relief relaxed his features. "Thank
you."

Certain he wanted to change the subject, I
asked, "What were you and Yuri whispering about before he left for
London?"

"Ah, that," he said with a sheepish expression.
"I was going to talk to you about that over breakfast but we can
discuss it now."

"Okay. What is it?"

"I'm going to expand the business. I've made a
good name for myself selecting and training professional bouncers
for the clubs here and providing personal security on a small scale
but I'm leaving a lot of money on the table. You know I chose and
trained Yuri's bodyguards?"

"I didn't."

"Well I did. He always receives questions about
the firm where he hired them. That's big money, Benny. There are
wealthy people who need trusted security. I think I could fill that
role."

"So you'd select and train them and then what?
Hire them out like contractors?"

"Basically," he agreed. "We're going to sit
down next week and come up with some concrete plans." Looking a bit
nervous, he asked, "What do you think?"

"I think it's a great opportunity. Yuri
wouldn't steer you wrong. He has great business sense. And you're
damned good at what you do. You should go for it."

He breathed a little easier. "I'm glad you
approve."

"Did you think I wouldn't support you?" I tried
not to be hurt by the idea that he didn't find me
supportive.

"Benny," he said my name in a rush. "I didn't
mean it like that. I only meant that you tend to be extremely
careful and conservative about taking chances. I hate thinking of
you being anxious about my business ventures."

"I trust you to make the right decisions. Lord
knows you've always been better at the business side of things than
me."

His face softened. "You're not a bad
businesswoman, Benny. You inherited a tangled mess. It has taken
time to sort it out but you're going to make a success of the new
location. Yuri's offered to mentor you. Lena's agreed to continue
working PR for the bakery. You can't go wrong with those two in
your corner."

"No," I agreed wholeheartedly. Rubbing his arm,
I said, "You need to go bed. It's late and I'm sure you're
exhausted. Tomorrow, you're going to spend as much time as possible
on the couch, relaxing and resting."

He playfully tugged on a handful of my hair.
"You know I love the way you're mothering me, Benny, but I'm not
that guy. I can't sit on the couch and watch mindless television
when there's work to be done."

I stepped closer and slid my arms around his
trim waist. The yellowing bruises and scabbed over scrapes and
healing sutured areas marred the wide swath of his sexy chest. I
placed a tender kiss to the spot right above his heart. "I don't
want you to have any setbacks in your healing."

Dimitri sifted his fingers through my hair.
"It's stitches and bruises. There won't be any setbacks. I
promise." He tapped his finger against my nose. "But you're right.
We need to go to bed. We have to be at the realtor's office
early."

Grasping my hand, he led me out of the
bathroom. I smacked the light switch on the way into my bedroom. It
felt so incredibly strange to have Dimitri in the bedroom where I'd
spent my entire childhood. I was suddenly very glad I'd taken the
time to redo the hot pink and lime green décor last summer. His
reaction to my frilly white duvet and shams hadn't gone unnoticed.
It was obvious we were going to have to find some middle ground
when it came to decorating our place.

"I thought after we put in the offer on the
building we might take a peek at some of the available lots in
Ivan's neighborhood."

My surprised gaze darted to his. I folded the
top of the duvet down toward the bottom of the bed. "Um…that's a
pretty pricey area, Dimitri."

He frowned. "I suppose."

I decided to state the obvious. "I have, like,
no money. When we agreed to get a place together, I thought we were
talking something smaller and more affordable. The fire insurance
payout and the sale of the lot to Yuri are giving the bakery a
clean slate but my personal finances are still a mess. Half of the
proceeds from selling this place will go to Johnny. The rest will
go toward repaying the loan you've given me for the new building
and paying salaries to my employees."

He sat down on the edge of the bed and pulled
me between his legs. Hands on my waist, he insisted, "It's not a
loan, Benny. You don't have to repay it."

We'd gone round and round on this one over the
last couple of days. Even though we were in love and a couple, I
still felt so weird taking money from him. "Dimitri, I never want
you to feel like I'm using you."

He scoffed. "You're not using me—and I don’t
feel that way. I'm giving this money to you. I'm helping you
because I like helping you. There are no expectations on this
money, Benny."

"But—"

He silenced me with a demanding kiss. "We're
not arguing about this. We're partners now. The money for the new
building is not a loan."

"If we're partners, you should be on the
paperwork. We should make it legal."

Dimitri stared at me for a long moment. "All
right. Let's make it legal." He brought my fingertips to his lips
and kissed each one of them. "Marry me, Benny."

My tummy wobbled wildly and my heart skipped a
few beats. I swallowed hard and tried not to faint from shock.
"Wh-what?"

Dimitri's lopsided, boyish smile made my heart
swell with love. "I know this isn't the ideal proposal. I don't
have a ring and we're in a bedroom and not some romantic
spot."

"I don't care about that."

"No, I didn't think you would." He cupped both
sides of my neck and gazed into my eyes. "We were meant for one
another. It's no coincidence that life brought me here, to Houston,
to that apartment, to you. That was fate. You were meant for me,
Benita. It was always supposed to be you." He claimed my mouth ever
so tenderly. "Marry me?"

"Yes." I didn't hesitate. I didn't think. I
listened to my heart. I trusted my instinct. He was right. We were
meant for one another. Our friendship had spanned five years and
only grown stronger. In the last ten days, we'd survived more than
most couples would in a lifetime together. There was no doubt in my
mind that Dimitri was the man for me.

"Yes?" Elated, he breathed out in excitement.
His enthusiastic grin filled me with such happiness. He gathered me
tightly in his brawny arms and nearly smothered me with passionate
kisses. "I'm going to spend the rest of my life doing everything I
can to make you happy, Benny."

Teary-eyed, I whispered, "You already
have."

With that sexy smile of his, Dimitri ran his
hands down my back. He cupped my bottom through the sheer fabric of
my night shirt. "How about we slide into bed and we'll see how
happy I can make you tonight?"

"We can't do that! You're still
healing."

He narrowed his eyes. Grabbing my hand, he
dragged it down to the hard bulge in the front of his pajama
bottoms. "Does that feel like it's in need of healing?"

"No."

"It's been six nights, Benny. I've been patient
and gone along with your demands for rest but not tonight. The
woman I love just agreed to be my wife. I'm not falling asleep
until you've screamed my name at least three times."

I gulped and curled my toes against the plush
carpet. "Three times, huh?"

His lips skimmed my throat and made me shudder.
"Well—maybe four—but only if you hop on this bed without another
argument."

He didn't have to make that offer twice. I
climbed onto the bed and peeled out of my night shirt. There were
no undies in the way tonight. He'd quickly made that one a rule
after returning from the hospital. He wanted me completely bare in
bed.