Can't you fucking see I don't deserve you?
Don't you know that a part of me still despises you, and maybe I always will?
The sick, bitter, twisted side of Dmitry had wanted to snarl out those very words, make it fucking clear to Tahey that what they had was nothing but a train wreck waiting to happen.
And yet...
Somehow...
Despite all the years he had lived in the darkness of his rage—-
He had somehow found a way to control himself.
Seeing Tahey tremble before him and hearing her voice shake as she told him how happy he made her, his own heart had shuddered, her painful honesty forcing him to be just as honest—-
Dmitry had swept her up in his arms after that, carrying her to his bedroom and making love to her like she was his most precious thing. And he did so because she was that.
His most precious thing.
Even if a part of him still blamed her for his sister's death.
Chapter Thirteen
"Um, wow." It was the morning after Tahey's first, er, sleepover at Dmitry's apartment, and while having breakfast, her boss-turned-lover very casually asked her to move in with him. "Did you really just say—-"
"If you make me repeat myself," Dmitry said seriously, "then consider the offer rescind—-"
Tahey quickly cut him off, saying happily, "I would totally love to move in. Just say when—-"
"Tonight then."
Her eyes widened. "Did you—-"
Dmitry simply looked at her.
"What I mean is," Tahey hurriedly corrected herself, "tonight can't come any sooner."
"I'll get a moving company to take care of it right away," the billionaire told her, "so there's nothing for you to worry about."
"Um..." Tahey couldn't believe how hard it was not to ask Dmitry to repeat himself. Or if he was serious.
Dmitry frowned as he watched Tahey squirm in her seat in an effort to contain her silence. "Stop that."
"Stop what?"
He dealt her an impatient look. "Squirming." He supposed her incredulity was to be expected. He had gone from hating the sight of her to asking Tahey to move in with him in a figurative nanosecond. But if she were expecting him to take things slow, well...it was obvious she still had much to understand about him.
His first taste of Tahey had only made him hunger for more, and now that Dmitry had made up his mind to keep her as his lover, the billionaire saw no point in denying themselves of what they both wanted.
Which was...
Tahey, busy at that moment in trying her best not to squirm, could only let out a gasp when the billionaire suddenly scooped her off the seat...and place her on his lap.
"Um..."
Riiiiip.
Were those her—-
Cool air tickled her pussy.
Yup.
Those were her panties, and they were now—-
Ziiiiiip.
That sound.
She knew that sound now.
Her head jerked up, and golden eyes captured hers...just as she felt him lift her up—-
Aaaaaah.
His cock thrust up inside of her as he stood up, and Tahey could only whimper as she struggled to find some balance, her arms circling his neck and her legs locking around his waist while he started to walk.
"Dmitry..."
Fuck. He had been planning to take Tahey to his bedroom so he could make love to her properly, but with the sweet whimper of her voice catching him off guard, Dmitry could only go as far as the living room...wall.
Tahey clung to Dmitry's massive shoulders as her back slid up against the wall at the force of his thrusts. God. She had thought, rather foolishly she knew now, that after making love a few times, sex would feel a little bit more familiar and a little less magical.
But she was wrong.
Dmitry still only had to look at her, and she would be on fire.
And when he touched her?
Fucked her?
"P-Please..."
She could only beg for more.
"Please."
And more.
"Oh God, please..."
And more.
"Don't stop."
THE WEEKS THAT FOLLOWED saw Tahey falling harder for Dmitry. Having been used to daily doses of Dmitry's indifference and contempt, it was pretty much mind-blowing for Tahey once Dmitry made the switch from boss to lover, and he turned out to be very tactile in staking his claim in her life.
There was not a day at work that they didn't, well...fuck. His favorite place was in his leather chair, and she would be riding his cock while he had his business call. Other times, he'd have her bent over his desk, breasts flattened against the cold, glossy surface, and he was pumping into her from behind...all the while participating in a live M&A negotiation via video conference.
Outside the office, she had thought he would be distant like he was before, but in this she was happily proven wrong as well. From business luncheons to dinner balls, she was always there by the billionaire's side, his arm wrapped around her waist as he introduced Tahey to everyone as his girlfriend.
As for the other guys of Strakh Inc., Tahey had thought that Dmitry's friends wouldn't hesitate to seize the opportunity to rib him about her. But to her surprise, they had all taken their relationship in stride and simply welcomed her as their new "little" sister.
Everything was a little too good to be true, to be honest, and that was what scared her the most. She had thought her life with Thomas was perfect...until everything turned out to be a lie. And now...she just couldn't help but think it was the past all over again, and everything that she was now enjoying with Dmitry...
Everything would turn out to be another lie, and if that happened—-
Tahey was scared that this time, she would never be able to piece herself back together again.
UNBEKNOWNST TO TAHEY, Dmitry himself had his own private misgivings about the two of them. While he had no qualms claiming her as his girlfriend in public, his own thoughts and feelings were another matter. That she was important to him, he had only just learned to accept. But to acknowledge once and for all that they had an actual relationship?
A part of him violently rebelled against the idea, and it was
