AllFreeNovel
Share Us
That gets a smile out of her and she meekly resumes eating. I can’t help but watch her chew, taken by the way those plump lips dance and shift. It’s weird, the things that are turning me on.
The fact that I can see the swell of her belly underneath my t-shirt.
How her body shivers every time she pops another pelmen into her mouth.
The tiny sigh after each swallow, like she’s sad the flavor is gone.
All those weeks of worry wilt away—until she looks up and realizes that I’m staring at her. That unleashes a storm of blushing. Clearing her throat, she licks some gravy off her lips. “I’m making a lot of noise, aren’t I?”
“High praise. I’m flattered.”
She flushes an even deeper shade of scarlet and reaches for her glass of water. “Aren’t you eating?”
Since I can’t spend the entire time staring at her, I heap some food onto my plate, though I have no appetite for any of it.
“I noticed the room next to mine is fully furnished,” she remarks as I idly chew.
“I’ll be sleeping in there for the time being. Consider me your security.” I leave out the part about how I’ve been sleeping there the whole time she was taken prisoner.
“You really don’t have to do that.”
“I have to protect my son.” Her face falls and so I hurry to add, “I have to protect you, too.”
That stops her frown in its tracks. “Overcompensating much?” she jokes. She gnaws on her bottom lip like she wants to say something else but she’s not sure if she should. In the end, she eats another bite of food and the moment passes.
“How’s your leg?”
She looks puzzled. “Hm?”
“You cut yourself,” I remind her dryly.
“Oh. Right. It looks good. I removed the bandage a little while ago to let it breathe. It’s healing, I think.”
I find myself on my feet and rounding the island to get to her. “Let me see.”
“Uh, that’s really not necessary. It’s—” She gasps as I take her leg and hoist it up on the stool without bothering to ask for permission. She freezes as I tuck it on my lap and push up the hem of the shorts she’s wearing.
She’s right: the cut is looking better. But I pretend as though it needs closer inspection. I let my fingers trail over the bruised skin around the wound. Every little touch makes her shiver.
“You’ll live.” I keep my hands on her thigh as I look up, catching her eyes with my own. Her lips are parted softly. It would be so damn easy to lean in and kiss her. But there are still so many unspoken conversations left between us. Little potholes in the road from my mouth to hers, each as dangerous and bottomless as the last.
Too dangerous to cross right now, I think.
My cock doesn’t agree. But then, he rarely agrees with the rational part of my brain when it comes to Wren.
“Dmitri…”
“Yes?”
“I know things between us were pretty messed up before I was… you know…” She bites the inside of her cheek and glances away, looking a little lost. “I guess I just wanted to say that I don’t want that to continue.”
I’m surprised. It’s not absolution, but it’s far closer to it than I ever would have expected. This wasn’t spilled milk or some little faux pas. I literally killed her sister and brother in law. Intentionally. Premeditated and everything.
No one is that forgiving.
She swallows and drags her eyes to mine. “But, um, the thing is… we have to think about this baby.” Her hand flutters up and down her belly. “If we’re gonna do this together, we’re gonna need to coparent. And that means at the very least, we need to try to be friends.”
Friends. I fucking loathe that word. It’s gravel on my tongue, coarse and sharp and filthy.
