Page 38 of Between Desire and Denial
I couldn’t contemplate this idea. It’d mess everything up. “Couples swing and cheat all the time.”
He jerked back to stare into my eyes. “We’renotbeing a couple that does that.”
“We’renotarealcouple. Our relationship is a fake one,” I reminded him. “Plus, like I said, if Jameson were interested, he would be discreet, I can guarantee it. Just like when you are traveling and want to be discreet, that would be great too.”
I hated saying that. It felt like a knife to the gut thinking about him sleeping with someone else, but honestly, it made things much easier. We were establishing realistic expectations.
“You think I’m going to go fuck someone else, Honeybee? When I still think about the taste of your pussy?”
“Jesus, Dimitri.” I shook my head at him.
“You’re mine, Olive. As long as we’re here. Don’t forget.”
Right. As long as we’re here. And that meant he was concerned about his investment, not me. I reminded myself that as I squeezed his arm and slid under it to step aside before my body reacted to him being this close. “Well, Jameson is harmless to our efforts, and me having lunch with him will ultimately help your cause.”
“I don’t really give a—” He took a deep breath and pinched the bridge of his nose. “I don’t think it’s necessary.”
“I think it doesn’t matter one way or the other. He’s a friend I need to catch up with. I should talk to him about my brother too.” Jameson always knew what was happening in Paradise Grove. He’d know if my brother was talking to people he shouldn’t be.
He hummed as if assessing something. “You want to talk with Jameson about your brother but not me? That’s interesting.”
“I just…” I chewed on my cheek and stared at Dimitri. I was going to have to put some trust in him if I wanted this to work. “You’re close with your siblings, Dimitri. In a way, I wish I was close with mine.”
He nodded but waited for me to continue, and somehow his silent acceptance made me feel like I could share what I was ashamed of.
“You’ll think less of me when you hear that I left Knox when I went to college and stopped visiting after having a falling out with my father and stepmom. I was selfish in protecting my own sanity rather than—”
“Selfish? I’ve seen you taking care of Kee, not traveling the world, Olive.” He frowned at me. “You put her first a lot.”
“Right, well, of course. She’s a good friend, but I could have been caring for my brother, too, and I should have weighed the priorities more.”
He scoffed at that. “Olive, did you put yourself first much as a kid?”
“Imean my mom was sick…” My mouth snapped shut and I frowned before I chose my words carefully. “I am happy for every day I got with her, but you don’t put yourself first when someone is sick. I tried my best to care for her when my father wasn’t around which was most of the time.”
“Right. So, I think you’re selling yourself short. You then came and took care of Kee right?”
“Hardly taking care of her. I did her hair and was a friend to her.”
“Kee needed you always, Olive. You know that. She dealt with a lot being in the public eye and you were there for her.”
“Maybe,” I begrudgingly agreed.
“And now you’re back, figuring out things with your brother. I’ll say it again, don’t sell yourself short.”
Dimitri Hardy was making me feel better while we stood there in the living room, and I was completely falling for it. Him giving me grace now had me appreciating having him with me while I navigated being back home. It made me wonder if I’d been sellinghimshort. “I appreciate you saying that even if you don’t technically know everything I’ve been doing in the last few years.”
He chuckled. “Well, we need to work on changing that, considering the circumstances.” He stepped up to me, closing the distance between us so that our chests were touching, and I took a sharp breath. My resolve at denying myself his touch was waning now and any touch from him felt like lightning through my veins. It reminded me of the times I was with him. My body hadn’t forgotten even though I desperately wanted it to.
“How do we go about that?” I shouldn’t have asked.
“You share with me certain things, and I share with you certain things. We learn.” I licked my lips and his eyes snappedto them immediately. “Don’t you want to share so I know how to make it look like you're my girlfriend?”
“I…” I squeezed my eyes shut, trying to figure what he meant by that. I stepped back and turned to grab a slice of pizza. I took a bite and mumbled, “I’m going to unpack and rinse off quick.”
He went to grab my suitcase. “I’ll take your luggage to the primary suite. You can unpack and use the dresser and closet. There’s a ton of space.”
I hurried to finish my slice as I shook my head. “No. I can do it. Or we can just put it upstairs for when we order another bed and I stay up there.”
