Her eyes narrowed. “I can be. It’s my timeline, isn’t it? My choice of how and when I’ll get back into this.” She nodded at their bodies, which were still pressed against each other.
“You are right, it is your choice, but I do not want you to feel you have to push this. I didn’t come here for that. I came to watch over you. To help you heal. After what happened to Maxim’s sister, I cannot let you go. Not alone. Not yet.” He cupped her face, his thumb stroking her cheek.
Elena leaned into the touch and let out a sigh. “Is it true that you participate in BDSM? Kenzie said you did.”
His eyes searched hers a long moment. “I do enjoy the bondage and dominance, but I have no interest in sadism or masochism. But none of that will come into this if you want me.”
“No . . . No, I want . . . I wanted that before Moscow. I liked it, liked what little I had experimented with. I don’t want to be afraid of all that because he stole it from me. I think I’d want that, to experience dominance and submission again. Would you do that with me?”
Dimitri’s lips firmed into a hard line. He stepped away from her, dropping his hands.
“Kiska, you offer me too much.”
Elena’s eyes filled with tears. She turned away, wiping at them. Of course. It was too much. No man would want to be saddled with her. She was broken, bruised, scarred, and scared. There was no way she could ever seem sexy or arousing when he would have to worry about every little thing setting her off.
“I’m sorry, let’s just forget this, okay?” She turned and fled, racing back up to her room.
“Stop.” He ordered in that commanding tone and she halted, her body already responding to his with submission. She stiffened her spine. If he didn’t want to be her dominant, then she didn’t have to listen to him. She started to move again.
But before she reached her doorway, she was suddenly grabbed, spun, and pinned against the wall by Dimitri’s hard, imposing body. He caged her in his arms, eyes scorching as they held her own. Fear only captured her for a split second before she realized he wasn’t going to hurt her.
“You offer me something I do not deserve, Elena. I want you desperately, I have since the moment I laid eyes on you. But that doesn’t mean my desires are more important than yours. If you were a submissive, you would know that it is you who has the true power over your master. I feel no pleasure unless you do. That is why you asked too much. I would want you in many wicked ways, ways I fear you would be afraid of, and I cannot hurt you like that.” He pressed his forehead to hers, his eyes closing as he drew in several breaths, as though to regain control.
Elena trembled, but not from fear. There were other emotions, other sensations, ones she’d believed she would never feel again. Yet they were here, coming slowly to life like a small match lit and cast upon a dry field as the winds fed the flame. She slid her hands up his chest, raking her nails into the fabric of his shirt and into his skin. He tensed, and his grip on her tightened.
She tilted her head up, her mouth a breath away from his.
“I’m not afraid.” She kissed him a second time. But unlike downstairs, this was raw, hard, and it was how she wanted him. Just like it had been on the beach.
This man was the only one she could trust. Her heart and mind agreed with her body. He would be the one to pull her away from the dangerous edge of the cliff she had felt like throwing herself off of.
He buried his hands in her hair and held her captive. His mouth ravaged hers, and she moaned, going utterly boneless in his arms. He destroyed her damaged soul with his lips and built a new one for her, one stronger than the last. One that would not shatter, not this time. His kiss was more than hope. It was a vow.
6
This was a terrible fucking idea. The moment he told Royce, the man would be on the first flight to LA to beat him up, and he would deserve every blow.
Dimitri stepped back from Elena, his blood roaring in his ears and desire burning inside him like he held the heat of a star within his chest.
“We need to do this,” Elena said. Her lips were swollen from his rough kisses, and her hair was tousled from his hands. Her face was flushed with color.
It was the most alive he had ever seen her, at least since first spotting her at the embassy in Mongolia. This must be how the old Elena had looked, the one unafraid to live out in the world.
“I need to,” she corrected. She held out a hand to him, palm turned up. “Please . . .”
Her plea left him undone. He couldn’t deny her this. He couldn’t deny her anything. As he looked at her, he saw what he’d always dreamed of in a woman—she was perfection, inside and out. The room suddenly seemed hot. He curled his hands into fists to keep from reaching for her. If he didn’t control himself, he’d try to touch her, and he wouldn’t do that until they’d established rules and boundaries. He was a Dom, but the last thing he wanted to do was scare her.
“If we do this, I have rules,” he warned.
She nodded and waited patiently for him to continue.
“You do anything I ask. Most commands will be for your safety and not for the purpose of intimacy. You will use the green, yellow, and red system with me, and it will be respected by me. We will start slow. I will not let
