Page 177 of The Pucking Arrangement

I growl, smacking his chest. “I hate you.”

He chuckles against my skin, completely unaffected. “Liar.”

My hips move harder, faster, my body making the choice my mind refuses to.

He groans, deep and knowing, his grip tightening as he tilts his head up, lips brushing mine, a smug grin curling against my mouth.

“That’s my girl.”

* * *

“We can’t stay in bed forever,” I sigh, even as my body betrays me, arching into his touch.

“Why not?” His stubble rasps against my shoulder as he presses a slow, open-mouthed kiss there.

“Because eventually, we’ll need food. Showers. You need to see your daughter. And I need to pack.” The last word tastes bitter in my mouth.

Dmitri stiffens almost imperceptibly. Something flickers in his eyes. But before I can make sense of it, it’s gone.

“Maybe we should go out for a bit,” he declares suddenly. “Get some air.”

I blink, thrown by the abrupt change in subject. “Now you want us to go...outside?”

It’s a deflection. And yet, the question that’s been clawing at me for weeks bubbles up before I can stop it.

“Dmitri…” I hesitate, heat crawling up my neck, my pulse thundering in my ears. “Were there other women? After Elena?”

The words are out. Hanging between us like a live wire. My stomach plummets.

“Jesus,” I whisper, dragging my hands down my face. “I’m sorry. That was so intrusive. Forget I asked. Sophie just said something, and I?—”

His entire body stills. Like I’ve struck him.

“Why do you ask this?” His voice is quiet, but there’s something lethal beneath it. Something that makes my breath catch. “Does it matter to you?”

My cheeks burn. “No. Yes. I don’t know.” I flop onto my back, covering my face with my hands, desperate to escape the humiliation curling in my gut. “I just—I’m trying to understand where I fit in your life.”

Silence.

Then his fingers wrap around my wrist. Gentle. Firm.

“Look at me,solnyshko.”

I swallow hard and let him pull my hands away.

“There has been no one,” he says simply. “Not since Elena. Not until you.”

My heart stops.

I stare at him, my pulse hammering in my throat. “Three years,” he continues, and there’s a hint of a smirk in the corner of his mouth. But his eyes, they’re bare. Unshielded. “Does that scare you? That I waited so long, then chose you?”

My chest tightens. My fingers curl into the sheets. “More than scares me. It terrifies me.”

He shifts, rolling over me, his weight pressing me into the mattress, his forearms braced on either side of my head.

“You are sunshine after the storm,” he murmurs, his lips ghosting over mine. “You make me laugh when I forget how.” His thumb traces my lower lip. “I love you, Erin.” His voice is steady. Unshakable. “I knew the second I saw you at the Philharmonic.”

A choked sound escapes me. I press my hands to his face, dragging his mouth back to mine. “I love you too, Dmitri.”

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