“After I expose him. No one gets to believe he’s good. Do you really want some therapist to be able to tell others that I’m making this up? I don’t.”
Okay, I know she can’t share what I told her with others, I know that. But I want someone to believe me for once. And I get that Dimitri doesn’t want me to relive it, but I already do that every single night. I relive the worst possible experiences. My therapist says I need to take control. Jaxon’s method was wrong,but he exposed something worse. It’s time for me to take the reins. It’s time for me to own my past, to refuse to be quiet.
“I’m done being quiet about this. I won’t shout it from the rooftop or go to social media or newspeople. But I won’t let anyone tell me it wasn’t real. You can support that or you… I don’t know,” I finish.
Dimitri’s fingers brush my hand, then he takes my wrist, guiding me closer. He puts my hand over his chest and laces his fingers through mine. It’s oddly intimate, weirdly intense for him too. He studies my eyes and nods.
“I’m with you, sweetheart. You know that. I’m with you,” he says, his voice low and heavy.
“I-I want the footage and… and I want Jaxon to go with me.”
“Leaving me with Knox?” he snorts and lets me go.
I put my other hand on his chest. He’s solid. He feels good. I don’t want him to pull away. I want him wrapped around me right now. I want him to hold me together so I don’t have to admit exactly how fragile I feel.
This is a test of my will, of whether I can convince this woman that I’m honest. Dimitri doesn’t move. He just watches me. I don’t want to manipulate him. I don’t want to change his mind. I want him to understand.
“I know things aren’t great for you. I know that. I… I need this. Jaxon will go with it. He won’t second guess and he’ll handle it. He won’t charge in until he has to. Please, Dimitri? Figure out whatever’s going on with you too,” I whisper.
He considers it, then finally nods. “This will help you.”
“Yes. I promise.”
“In the long run. I doubt it will feel good today.” He strokes down my sides, then gently rubs my hips. “So, make it feel worse for her.”
For half a second, I want to kiss him. I want to wrap my arms around him, climb on top of his feet, and kiss him. It’ll be rough,intense, wonderful. I know it will. Dimitri’s been watching me with so much pent-up emotion. Letting it out here and now might result in more than I’m ready for.
Even though my whole body is begging for more of his touch, is begging for his mouth on mine, is begging for everything I know we could have, I don’t kiss him. Dimitri keeps studying me, eying my mouth as I lick my bottom lip.
If he feels the hunger sparking in the air between us, he doesn’t comment on it. He just kisses my forehead. “I’m serious. Make her feel terrible. Make her question her choices. Make her want to quit.”
JAXON
I glance at Hope in the car again. She looks pissed, furious, and she keeps gripping Dimitri’s laptop. We’re running late because she insisted on getting it, but I’m not about to tell her no when she looks like this.
I read everything in that damn document. I know her therapist is fucking trash. After reading it, I did research on her. And after a very long late-night deep Facebook dive, I found out that she worked alongside Hope’s dad “helping” teenagers. She wasn’t a school counselor, but she got a hell of a lot of business from Hope’s dad. Honestly, I wouldn’t be shocked if they’d fucked at some point.
Well… given what I know about Coach, maybe I’d be a little surprised.
“You’re quiet,” Hope hums.
“Waiting for you to explode on me again. I have to save up my energy to control myself when you get all… riled,” I tease.
She scowls. “This anger isn’t for you.”
My eyebrow raises a tad. “No?”
“Just wait in the lobby, okay? I might be loud this session.”
I laugh. “How loud?”
“Just don’t come in.Youspecifically aren’t allowed in after what you did last time. Can’t be trusted,” she grumbles.
I put my hand on my chest. “I’m very trustworthy. Very protective. I’m hurt you’d say otherwise. Perhaps we should both go in so I can prove it.”
“No, Jaxon,” she insists.
I sigh. “I’ll prove it yet.”
