As much as Dimitri wanted to believe he was a jerk, he had his sweet moments. Like right now. I couldn’t remember when a man pampered me and put me first. It seemed like I always had the worst luck in the dating department before Dimitri.
“I love you,” I whispered with a shy smile. “I know I keep telling you that, and it must be annoying that I keep saying—”
Dimitri dropped my hands and cupped my cheeks. His lips crashed against mine, his teeth catching my bottom lip, nipping it before his tongue plunged into my mouth. A whimper slipped from me that he greedily swallowed like he needed to consume every little sound I made. I wound my arms around his shoulders, digging my fingers into the back of his suit jacket. My head spun with the rampant desire that rushed through my veins like a fire. He tasted like oak and a hint of cherry, and if I were to guess, he’d drunk some whiskey while he waited for me to come back inside.
As usual when it came to Dimitri, he didn’t half-ass anything. He kissed me until I became breathless and depended on him to breathe for me, filling my lungs with his shared breath.
The sudden kiss ended as he drew away and looked me dead in the eye. “You don’t annoy me when you tell me you love me, baby.” He tightened his hold on my cheeks, gently shaking my head as if to knock some sense into me. “Confess your feelings, even if it’s hatred for me. I don’t mind, because at the end of the day, you’re in my bed screaming my name and telling me how good I make you feel.”
A corny grin spread across my face, and I couldn’t help but melt further into his touch. “You’re so sweet and naughty.”
The corner of his lip twitched, and he kissed my forehead before he pulled back and grabbed my hand. He led me into the kitchen and pulled out one of the stools at the table.
“Sit,” he ordered.
“You’re so bossy, sir.” I caught the tick in his jaw and his eyebrows lowering. He absolutely loved it when I called him that, and I sometimes did it just to watch him lose it.
Dimitri turned away and went back to cooking. I watched him as he chopped some onions and, at times, I spaced out. My body trembled with more shivers as it continued to warm up after being outside for over ten minutes. It was worth it, though. My teeth chattered, and Dimitri shot me a look that said,See? I’m right.All I could do was beam him a smile. He turned back to what he was doing.
“Do you...?” I rolled my lips as I thought about what I was about to ask.
Dimitri peeked at me. “Do I...what?”
“Do you think the world is going to end?”
He set the knife down and scooped the onions into the frying pan to caramelize in hot grease. “No. Why do you ask?”
Oh, because I read some stuff online about global warming and how the planet is dying. Some say we have less than ten years left before we all die.
Dimitri faced me, crossing his arms over his chest, and raised an eyebrow. “Why do you ask, sunshine?”
“Oh.” I didn’t say it out loud? “I read some stuff online about global warming. People say we have less than ten years to live before the world ends.”
He stared at me with a blank expression. “And you believe that?”
A blush worked its way up my neck to my cheeks. I averted my gaze and shrugged a shoulder. “There’s scientific proof,” I mumbled.
“Humans have been saying the world is ending for centuries. It’s always either the second coming, which never happens, an asteroid headed for earth, or even misinformation about the Mayan calendar restarting and wiping out the planet.” Dimitri narrowed his eyes and canted his head to the right. “Is that what upset you the other day?”
I gave him an awkward smile. “A little.”
“There’s nothing to worry about. Should the world end, we’ll be long gone. Either in the afterlife, or I’ll take you to Hell, where we can live comfortably.”
I reared my head and blinked. “Hell?”
“I’m a demon. We come from Hell, no matter how we are created.” He tapped his temple. “My inner demon comes from Hell. Do you think he would allow us to be killed off by some planet?”
With the limited interactions I’d had with Demon, I knew for a fact he wouldn’t allow me to leave him. Even if it meant death.
I shook my head. “No. I guess you’re right.”
Dimitri dipped his chin in a slight nod and turned back to the stove.
My cell phone rang in the other room. I hopped off the seat and rushed into the living room. Picking up my phone from the coffee table, I answered on the fifth ring without looking at the caller I.D.
“Hello?”
“Em,” Mom blurted. “I’m so sorry for calling you this late.”
