She readjusted her grip on the paints and followed him back to the register.One look at his face had her quelling any mention of paying him back for the purchase, so she stood there silently while her supplies were carefully bagged up.
Keira didn’t take a full breath until they were back on the street.She looked down at the bags in Dmitri’s hands, and the feeling in her chest exploded.She threw herself against him and kissed him soundly.“Thank you, Dima.Just… thank you.”
Dmitri picked a little restaurant whose owners knew him and were discreet.The inside was narrow and deep, so there were no windows nearby as the hostess led them to the very back of the room.Low lighting was supplementedby a candle on every table, which served the purpose of creating an intimate setting and discouraging anyone from paying too much attention to the tables around them.
He pulled a chair out for Keira, positioning her back against the wall, and then took the seat next to her.From where they sat, they could see the rest of the room, but the low light and artful shadows meant the other patrons’ attention would coast right over them.Keira’s eyes were a little too wide and she hadn’t seemed to pay attention to the rest of their walk there, so he wanted her off the street and somewhere quiet while she had time to process.
Outwardly, it seemed such a small thing—walking into an art store and picking out a few supplies—but it was a huge step for her.What would she paint first?He’d never seen her work, but he knew she’d secured a full scholarship to one of the more prestigious art schools on the East Coast.She must be highly skilled, but art was such a strange thing.It was purely individual and offered a window into the artist’s soul.
Keira’s soul was stubborn and broken and unbearably beautiful, and he wanted to see it painted across those large canvases she’d picked out.After years of downward spiraling, it couldn’t be comfortable, and he didn’t want to push her any more tonight while she adjusted to her newfound sense of being among the living.
He couldn’t stand the silence, though.Letting her thoughts twist and turn and tangle with each other, every single one so easy to read on her face, made his chest ache in sympathy.He took her hand, noting its slight tremble, and pressed her knuckles to his lips.“I’m proud of you,moya koroleva.”
“It’s not like I just scaled a mountain.”Instead of sounding sarcastic, her tone was shaky.
“Didn’t you?”He kissed each knuckle and then let their hands drop to his lap as their waiter approached.Dmitri ordered them both iced tea and the special entree, and the man disappeared almost comically fast.
She sighed.“That’s a horrible habit.”
Even though he knew what she meant, she sounded steadier, so he poked at her a bit.“It’s classically romantic.”
“Romantic.”She looked at him like he’d grown a second head.“Dmitri, if that’s your idea of romantic, you’re using a playbook that’s about a hundred years out of date.”Keira shook her head and muttered, “Romantic.”
“Call me old fashioned.”
“Start with that stunt again, and the only thing I’ll be calling you is plain oldold.”Her lips twitched in a little smile, but it died almost immediately.“But it’s a moot point.Your terms were pretty damn clear from the start, so don’t worry about me getting any ideas.”
Several beats passed while he tried to figure out what she meant.Dmitri walked back through their interchange, and his chest clenched when he realized the source of her comment.He’d told her time and again not to expect romance from him—or love, for that matter.The way she very pointedly picked up her menu and read slowly actually stung.She was giving him a chance to back off without any awkward moments.To retreat.It was the smart thing to do.He didn’t know if he was capable of the kind of loving Keira deserved.He… felt things for her.Strong things.But they hadn’t been together long enough to know whether his feelings were anything other than lust—or infatuation.
Surely it couldn’t be love.
And yet… he wasn’t willing to shut the door on thatconversation the same way he had in the past.Not completely.“Perhaps I was too hasty to take romance off the table.”
Keira went so still, it was as if she’d melded with one of the shadows.“What do you mean by that?”
He wasn’t a man who normally fumbled for words, but he didn’t want to say something to damage the fragile moment they had growing between them.“When I first decided to marry you, I didn’t quite fathom what it would be like tobewith you.There are quite a few things I never planned on or anticipated when it comes to you, Keira.I enjoy spending time with you.I find it fascinating the way your mind works—it’s as twisty as mine is.”He leaned closer and lowered his voice.“And I will spend the rest of my life counting down the time until I can have you coming on my cock next.”
“Okay.”
He wasn’t deterred by the panic blossoming in her hazel eyes.He’d just changed the game on her without warning—panic was a natural reaction.“I think we’d both enjoy adding a bit of romance to the mix.”
She opened her mouth, seemed to reconsider what she’d been about to say, and closed it.Keira frowned.“Seducing me is just another game.”
If he said yes, she would dismiss it out of hand—and rightfully so.What they had wasn’t a goddamn game, even if neither of them had been willing to admit as much up to this point.Asking her to be the one to take that first step with no guarantee of his returning her feelings was cruel, especially after the hits she’d rolled with time and again.Dmitri squeezed her hand where it was laced withhis on his thigh.“Nyet, moya koroleva.What I have with you isn’t a game.It’s as real as anything.”
The hope written across her face kindled an identical feeling in him.Her smile was a little shaky, but it was genuine.“You want to date me.”
“I want to romance you.”
Her smile widened.“And how, exactly, does a gentleman-murderer romance his wife?”
If he could love any woman, it would be this one.Nothing seemed able to break her, and she came back swinging every time something—or someone—knocked her down.Today hadn’t been easy on her, and if he hadn’t had her clinging to his hand less than an hour ago in that art shop, he wouldn’t know that she’d been on the verge of cracking as she stood down her demons.And still she managed to flirt with him.
Dmitri reached down and hooked the bottom of her chair with his hand and dragged it closer to him.“It begins with an intimate dinner in a small restaurant.”
“Does it, now?”She made a show of looking around.“Seems like you have that box firmly checked.”
“What’s the point of a good plan of attack if it’s not realized?”
