(Emily's POV)Dimitri check in a hotel, he decided to stay here until we will reached to our plan to tame Steve.As soon as we entered the room. His lips pressed against mine, and his hands roamed my body before settling down on my lower back. My arms snaked around his neck, holding firmly before moving my lips to meet his rhythm. We were in sync.Following his lead, securing my legs around his toned waist. His arms hold on to me, keeping me locked into him while supporting my weight. He turned, pivoting us in the direction of the bedroom. A squeal slipped through my lips at the sudden movement, breaking the kiss. In turn, my grip on him firmed up even more, my fear of falling leading me to do so."Relax, wife," he laughed before kicking close the door. I turned my head to assess the room. It was massive, with a king-size bed sitting in the middle. It had floor-to-ceiling windows but they were covered with a curtain. The furniture was modern and clean, everything about it screamed lux
(Emily's POV)We return to Steve's house in the early hours of the morning. I press my forehead against him, then I kiss him, assuring myself that he's breathing still and that he smells and tastes the same as ever.He wraps his arms around me, his heart beating against my chest. He nuzzles his face against my ear.When suddenly Dimitri fell to the ground."Oh my god!" I cry, holding his face in my hands. "Are you alright?""Yes," he says. "I'm alright.""Emily!" My brother's sharp yell interrupts us.I let go of DimitriSteve is standing in front of us, staring at us with a horrified expression."Get in the house," he hisses.He entered the house but we were left standing still here in the yard. Dimitri held my hand, gesturing me to obey Steve. I entered the living room, where Lea and Steve stand side by side, arms crossed over their chests, and forbidding expressions on their face.Dimitri follows me in."This is over," my brother says, sternly, pointing between Dimitri and myself.
(Dimitri's POV)It's nine in the evening and I'm driving to fetch Emily to the hospital. She never shares her schedule with me but I have ways to find it.I don't expect Steve ever like me. He might not even stop hating me. They have to accept me, however, because I'm not letting go of Emily.Truthfully, my patience is running thin. I thought I could take my time, but I overestimated my own resolve. I want her back. I want her fully. I want her as my wife.I'm fully aware that Steve is in enforcement. And he was just being overprotective of his sister. But I assure him that I will protect Emily more than my life.When I arrived at the hospital, I first spotted Lea, Emily's best friend, and Steve's girlfriend. She's sitting on a bench with her fellow nurse opposite side. I feel her looking at me, she excused herself from her colleagues. "Emily, is still in her locker, changing." she started.I nodded awkwardly. It's my third time meeting her. I remember her at the wedding in Canada. H
(Emily's POV)It's Christmas Eve.Lea loves Christmas. Usually, she throws a huge party. Or, if it's just her family with Steve and myself, we do all the little Iush traditions like making a ring of holly for the door and putting a candle in the window. Then we cook our own fudge and pop popcorn in the fireplace, and we open one present each, which is always pajamas.Tonight, I'm doing something different.I'm going to the north end of the city, to Dimitri's penthouse. I'll be back in the morning at Lea's house to make pancakes and open presents with my brother and Lea's family. But tonight it's Dimitri and me, all alone, for the first time in a long time. I was amazed my brother agreed to it. I think he realized after the accident at the hospital that this is real, and it's not going away.After all, Dimitri saved my life, again. He spotted the man before anybody else. He blocked the bullet-headed right for my face. Then he shielded me with his own body. That's what gave my father t
(Emily's POV)I grab his face, and our tongues tangled in a lovely dance, his hands roaming all over my body. My hands were all over his chest. He kissed down my cheek until he reached my neck. The tender brush of his lips, and his hot breath drove me insane. Burning as they make contact with my neck. His hand ran through my hair, as the kisses become harder and more urgent."Ahhh..." a moan escapes from my mouth.His other hand slides around my waist and pulls me close to his addictive-scented body. He feathered kisses on my shoulders and in my hair. It was slow and soft, comforting in ways that words would never be.Our breaths mingled and I ran my fingers down his spine, pulling him closer until there was no space left between us and I could feel the fast and rapid beating of his heart against my chest. My insides jumped happily at the fact that I could make him feel that way. I pull apart and take shaky, shallow breaths. The way he gazed at me set my insides on fire.Unable to con
(Dimitri's POV)I hand Emily the morning-after pill."I'm so taking it," she mutters, quickly swallowing it down with some water. "I'd like to actually live a little before having a baby." she stops and glance at me with worried eyes. "Would you mind?"I smiled and nodded.As much as I wanted another Celine in my life but it's up to her if she's not ready yet. I take hold of her hand, weaving our fingers together."Do you want to come with me to Lea's place?" she suddenly asked."At her place?" Worry creases my brow. "Do you think they'll be okay with me? I'm not familiar with them." "Of course, they'll be okay," she assures me. "They understand."My features tighten with nerves, and my tongue darts out to wet my lips. "I'm nervous.""I can see that," she chuckles. "You trust me, right?"I inhale deeply, then nods. "Yes.""I won't let anything happen to you." "I know.""Then why are you nervous?" she asked."I'm about to go to my fiancee's best friend slash future sister in laws par
(Dimitri's POV)I meet Rio Galo outside of The Brass Pole to hand the keys over. His payment hit my bank account this morning, he'll be the new owner of both of my clubs in Turin.Galo pulls up in his Bentley. He's a short, stocky man, completely bald, with hands as puffy as cartoon gloves. He looks pleased and suspicious about our deal."Now that it's settled," he says, tucking the keys in his pocket, "Why don't you tell me the real reason you wanted to sell? What is it? Have men lost their taste for titties?"He gives a wheezy laugh."No," I say, stiffly. "I'm just moving in a different direction.""By God," he shakes his head in amazement. "They said you'd gone crazy over some girl, but I--"He breaks off, seeing my expression. He swallows hard, his Adam's apple bobbing up and down."Aren't you going to finish that sentence?" I ask him, coldly."No," he mutters, staring down at my shoes. "My apologies, King.""You can thank 'that girl' for putting me in such a good mood," I tell hi
(Emily's POV)Dressed in a pair of tight shorts and a tank top, I'm standing in an open space, that has been converted into a gym for training here at Dimitri's penthouse. For the past few days, I've been doing weights and cardio to build some muscle. But facing off with Dimitri as an opponent, I feel weaker than a bug. No amount of training will help me take down a man like him. Why am I even doing this training?"Why am I even doing this?"I'm so damm lazy when it comes to exercise but here I am, sweating and panting furiously in this ain't conditioned room. Apparently, I'm staying at Dimitri's place while having this so-called training which wasn't supposedly in my plan for my leave from work. It's stressful at the hospital but they want me to be active in building muscle."Learn to protect yourself, wife. Not anytime I'm at your side." he patiently said while placing the bottled water on the floor.I rolled my eyes. "I bet you are conspiring with Steve's idea."I smiled when I s
(Emily's POV)Eight hours later. I glanced out the window of the private jet. I'm finally seeing again the tall Eiffel Tower. I glance at Dimitri and had been his attitude the entire flight: indifferent. He and those stupid 'Delicious!' sounds coming from his phone were driving me crazy. Lucio wasn't any better company. He was flipping through a Cosmo in the row of seats at the front of the plane. And Mali was sleeping in the corner while snoring.After we got married two days ago, even though I'm pregnant, I'd been burning up, waiting for him to touch me, kiss me, and drag me to the convenient bed in the back. But he hadn't done any of that. When I got tired of waiting. I'd straddled his lap, ran my lips down his neck, and cupped his erection as it grew harder beneath my hand.I thought I was finally going to get what I wanted, but then he shoved me off him to the couch and said, "I'm saving myself for our honeymoon, wife"I glared at him.He thought it was funny.Frustrated, I got u
(Emily's POV)The next day, something smelled like pancakes. It made my stomach churn.I loved pancakes.I rolled out of bed, brushed my teeth, and combed my hair, then padded out to the kitchen to find Dimitri at the stove, shirtless, his hair wet. I loved him like this, the casual side of him not many got to see. Like this, he was mine.But when I wrapped my arms around his waist, he tensed. Uncertainty flickered through me. He'd been quiet since last night after our wedding yesterday. I woke him up when he was having a nightmare, and an insecure part of me was obsessing over what could be his dream."Are you hungry?" he asked when I stepped away from him. I looked at the plate of pancakes on the counter and wrinkled my nose."Not right now." Grabbing the orange juice from the fridge, I poured a glass. "Is there something wrong?" I asked."Nothing.""Stop hiding anything, Dimitri. I want to know what's on your mind. I want to know more about you."I was sitting on my couch, not su
One month later(Emily's POV)Sunlight shone through the high windows of the church's bridal suite, lighting dust particles in the air like tiny flickers of gold. Nausea swirled in my belly, and I pressed a hand to my stomach and tried to breathe through it.It's our second wedding but I'm fucking nervous.I swayed as Lea tugged at my laces. "You've got to suck in, Emily. I've barely begun tightening it up."It felt like she was squeezing the life out of me. "For goodness sake, Lea, she can't suck in her boobs," Carol commented from her seat in the corner. She had a Vanity Fair magazine in one hand and a cup of coffee in the other."It's her backside I'm having trouble with. The laces are gonna be gaping at the seams if I can't cinch them in any tighter."And they wonder how I could ever be depressed...With another jerk on my laces, I breathed, "Oh, God," and covered my mouth as nausea traveled up my throat."Quick, Carol! The waste bin!" Lea exclaimed.My best friend hopped from he
(Emily's POV)Dimitri and I turn onto the main road right as the fire truck comes roaring up the lane, headed for the Castle's beach house, or what's left of it, anyway.I can see the firemen's faces as our car passes their truck, they're looking down at us, eyebrows raised, but unable to stop us from fleeing the scene."What a fucking trip!" I shout, my heart still galloping like a racehorse. "I did not know he was that crazy! I thought he was just normal crazy, like 'I don't want my food to touch,' or 'talking to yourself in the shower' crazy, not like full-out Shining."Dimitri is driving way too fast, hands locked on the steering wheel. Improbably, he's grinning almost as much as I am. Could my uptight husband be starting to enjoy our adventures?"I can't believe I found you," he says."Yeah, Did you find my shoe?" "Yes, I found it! And I remembered."He looks over at me, his blue eyes brilliant against his smoky skin. I don't know how I ever thought his eyes were cold. They're f
(Dimitri's POV)I roll down the window to try to get a better look at some of the cabins that are set back from the road, half-hidden in trees.Some of the driveways are so faint I can barely see them. In fact, I almost pass one by, failing to see the faint tracks through the grass. Until I smell a hint of smoke. It's so mild that I hardly know what scent I caught. Then I feel the automatic reaction, the hair on the back of my neck standing up, and my heart starting to race. It's a primal, terrifying smell. A warning of danger.I slam on the brakes, whipping the wheel to the left. I follow the long, winding path toward a double stand of trees. Between those trees sits a small blue beach house that I've seen once before in a battered photograph.I stop my car, hoping Oliver hasn't already heard the engine or seen me driving up the road. I slip out of the driver's side and crouch down behind the car, trying to peer around at the house.I send a quick text to Emily's brother. I'm an ho
(Emily's POV)"I need to pee," I tell him again as he forgot."You can do it with the door open," he says.I glare at him, in a stand-off between his stubbornness and my throbbing bladder.I can only last a few seconds. I drop my pants and sit down on the toilet, letting go. The pee comes thundering out, with more pain than relief.Oliver stands in the doorway, watching me. There's a tiny smile at the corner of his mouth. His eyes look hooded and pleased.I wish he would turn the fuck around and give me some privacy. Or at the very least, I wish I wasn't peeing for so long. It seems to go on forever, and it's fucking humiliating.He's right, though, if he'd left me alone in the bathroom, I would have climbed out the window in five seconds.When I'm finished at last, I pull up my pants and wash my hands, wiping them dry again on my clothes, since there aren't any towels.Oliver watches this too, with a scowling expression. I think he's looking at the cast again. Then I realize he's act
(Emily's POV)I wouldn't have gotten in the fucking trunk if I knew how far Oliver was going to drive. I feel like I've been in here forever. Also, I drank a lot of water with lunch, and I really have to pee. Also, I'm worried about what Oliver might have done with my purse. He wasn't stupid enough to put it in here with me, unfortunately. I'm anxious that he just chucked it out of the window or something, which means that my precious little package is already missing again.For a long time, I can feel that we're on the freeway smooth, steady progress in the same direction. Eventually, we turn off and start driving slowly and erratically down roads that are obviously narrower and less well-maintained. A couple of times the car jolts hard enough that I do hit my head on the top of the trunk.I've been hunting around in the dark, looking for anything useful. If there was a tire iron back here, I'd use it to brain Oliver the second he opened the trunk.At last, the car slows down. I thi
(Emily's POV)I'm sitting across the table from my new friend, Drake Lee. He passes me the little box I've been waiting and hoping for all week long, and I open the lid to peek inside."Oh my god, I can't believe it," I breathe. "I know," he laughs. "This was the hardest one I've ever done. Took me three whole days." "You're a miracle worker. Honestly."He grins, almost as gleeful as I am."You mind if I put the whole thing up on my YouTube channel?" he says. "I was wearing my GoPro the whole time, got some great footage.""Of course!" I say.I close the box, still hardly believing what I'm holding in my hand, and I stow it back in my purse. I give Drake a slim envelope of cash in return, the amount we agreed upon, plus a bonus for saving my fucking ass. "Well, call me if you ever need me again," he says, giving me a little salute."I hope I won't need you," I laugh. "No offense.""None was taken," he chuckles. He raises his hand to signal for the waitress."I already paid for the
(Dimitri's POV)I'm sitting at the table, surrounded by my men, basking in the glow of victory. We just got back in California. Our days in Bali will remain a memory. I'm also thankful that it's not our honeymoon or Zajac's head would float all over Bali's ocean.I find myself tuning out of the conversation because I want to look at Emily instead.I can't believe she stayed at Zajac's warehouse, looking for me.She could have been killed, or at the very least, recaptured and held hostage until my men returned the money they stole.She could have just run the moment she escaped the office. But she didn't. Because she knew I was somewhere in the building, probably being tortured, possibly being killed.I was frightened to see her hurt again because of me and I don't want to lose her.I've come to respect Emily and love her, too. I like the effect she has on me. She makes me more reckless, but also more focused. Before I met her, I was going through the motions. Doing what I was supposed