Chapter 8

Dmitri

Despite giving Daelyn plenty of time to heed my warning, every night I’ve come to her house, the sliding glass door has not been reinforced. This is the fifth night in a row that I’ve checked. However, this is the first time I’ve entered her home since my original break in. Every other time, I only tested the door, disappointed to find it unsecured, and left to take my aggression out on my punching bag in the Monarch's dungeon instead.

I thought I could work her out of my system that way.

I can’t.

Something about this woman calls to my demons and I’m certain it’s going to end badly for me. That’s fine. I’m used to it.

Lifting her flimsy sliding glass door off the tracks, I slide it over and make a space big enough for me to squeeze through. Her house smells so fucking good. It reminds me of a florist shop, but I don’t see flowers anywhere. She’s had her windows open lately, too. There’s a freshness in the air that wasn’t here the first time I came into her space.

Creeping through her home, I love all the comforts she’s got scattered all over the place, like pillows and blankets and candles. This rundown house needs a lot of upgrades, but it feels good in here. Homey. Sweet. The stairs creak as I climb them. I cautiously peek in the first bedroom and find it empty, just like last time. Whoever her roommate is, they must not stay here often.

Good.

Making my way down the hall, I pass the bathroom and crack open Daelyn’s bedroom door. She’s sleeping in a tank top and her right leg rests on top of the covers.

She looks so little in her bed.

Innocent.

She’s anything but , I remind myself.

I’d taken pictures of her driver’s license the other night when I broke in here and had Vault run a background check on her. She was a foster kid and graduated from a local high school. Two years ago, she got her associate degree from a community college and works as a medical coder. My girl is tough and smart. What a turn on, right?

Standing at the foot of her bed, I’m captivated by how precious she looks.

Like a viper sleeping in its nest.

How did you get roped into Silas’s cage fights, little firefly?

I asked him where he found her, but he refused say. Not that I thought he would. Silas never tells me where he gets the women I fuck after a fight. Only that they’re clean, willing, and ready for me. He wouldn’t lie to me about that. I trust him implicitly. Besides, the less I know about my prize, the better, because it’s not like we’re dating or anything. I’ve had several repeats over the years, especially when I first started fighting for money in the cage, but over time, I’ve gone less and less. If I want to fuck, there are plenty of Monarch Club members willing to join me.

Maybe that’s why I’m so fascinated with Daelyn. It’s not that she’s someone special, it’s that she’s the first step back into the world I’ve secretly missed with the most toxic fiber of my being. She’s that first spring breeze that blows into an abandoned house. The rekindled flame after the fire nearly dies out and it radiates a wave of much-needed warmth to your frozen fingers. She’s the very first bite of a favorite home-cooked meal you haven’t been able to eat in years.

“Don’t.” Daelyn says, stirring in her sleep. “Please. Don’t.” Her face scrunches up. “Wait.” Her back arches, head pressing harder against the pillow. Then she flops flat on her back again. “I’m sorry. I’ll be good.” She flinches and curls up on her side. “Stop.” Her breathing changes. “Stop!”

My protective instincts kick into high gear.

Who terrorizes her in nightmares?

What has she been through that’s brought her into my world?

What’s going on in her mind?

“No!” She kicks her feet as if fighting off a monster. “Stop it!”

“Daelyn,” I say loudly to wake her. I will not touch her. I know firsthand how that can be a big mistake because I accidentally gave Ryker a concussion once when he tried to wake me up from a nightmare. I don’t like being touched unless I consent first and am prepared for it. “Daelyn, wake up.”

She whimpers.

“Daelyn. Wake. Up.” Fuck it, I’m going in. If she knocks my teeth out, so be it. “Hey,” I say loudly, sitting on the edge of the bed, shaking her. “Wake up, Firefly.”

“Help.” She cries in her sleep and actual tears slide down her cheeks. “Oh my god. Help.”

I will once I know what’s wrong.

“Babyg—” Shit, she didn’t like being called that last night. “Daelyn, come on, sweetness.” I tug her arms and lift her up. Then I slide her into my lap. “Shh, I got you.” I rock her gently, running my hand through her damp hair. “Wake up for me, Daelyn. Come on. Open your eyes.”

She doesn’t.

How the hell can she sleep through someone yelling her name and manhandling her like this?

My gaze lands on a bottle of sleeping pills sitting on the side table. Fuck. How many did she take?

“Dmitri,” she mumbles against my chest.

My heart skids to a stop.

She hooks her arms around my back and clutches my t-shirt. I stiffen immediately. Daelyn inhales a long, deep breath against my chest and her body relaxes instantly.

Holy shit . I’m not sure what to do. No way did my scent just comfort her. She doesn’t know me like that. And she hasn’t been around enough for any part of me to be familiar to her.

“Daelyn.” I don’t like that I can’t wake her up. I don’t like that I can’t shake the feeling that something bad is going on and I can’t see it happening. I don’t like that I’m suddenly insanely protective of a woman I do not know.

It doesn’t stop me from taking care of her, though.

Repositioning her back into bed, I crawl in with her and become the big spoon. Hooking my arm around her side, I pull her in close, like I’m protecting her from an army of sleep paralysis demons.

This settles it. I’m certifiably out of my fucking mind.

I’ve never held a woman like this before. Even the Butterflies I’ve been a Dom for at the club didn’t get this much from me. I hold them until they fell asleep, then bolt back to my dungeon for a little space.

I’m not bolting from Daelyn.

Holding her against me, I count her breaths, memorize her bedroom. I inhale the floral scent of her hair and rub little circles on her belly with my fingers. I whisper things in her ear, hoping they’ll penetrate her dreams and keep the nightmares at bay.

Something I do must work because she doesn’t flinch or cry out for the rest of the night. She stays motionless in my arms until it’s after ten in the morning. Birds chirp loudly from her open bedroom window. Cars are annoyingly loud on the street, reminding me why I love my silent dungeon so much.

She didn’t let go of my shirt all night. Tucked into my chest, she breathes deeply, slowly, and her hair tickles my nose, making me sneeze. Shit ! I sneeze again. Double shit! Trying to keep the noise down, I end up making my ears pop with the third sneeze.

Daelyn stops breathing. Her body stiffens.

“Sorry,” I say, before sneezing a fourth time. Fucking hell .

She cautiously pulls back and lets go of my shirt. O f me . Her sleepy eyes grow wide as she stares at me with confusion and horror warring on her sweet face. “What are you doing here?”

“You didn’t reinforce the glass door.”

She scoots away from me, not realizing how close she is to the edge of the bed, and almost tips off it. I snag her arm and pull her close to me again before she falls on the floor. “You should have blocked my way in if you didn’t want me here, Daelyn.”

Flustered, she presses her palms on my chest and pushes back a little. I could be a gentleman and give her space. If she shoves me any harder, she’ll slide herself off the bed and onto the floor, because I’m not catching her a second time.

At least that’s what I tell myself.

“When did you get here?”

I casually glance at the clock on her bedside table. “About ten hours ago.”

Shock blasts across her face. Then she winces and rolls over to stretch her fingers out. “Ow.”

“You had a tight grip on me most of the night. Your muscles and joints are probably cramped.” I reach out to her. “May I?”

She twists to look at me again. “May you what?”

“Give me your hands.”

Begrudgingly, she obeys. I massage her palms and fingers, wiggling each one individually. After a few minutes, I let her go. “Better?”

“Mmm hmm.” She rolls out of bed, her dark hair a tangled mess with the hairband buried in a knot at the base of her neck. Daelyn rubs her eyes and stands up, giving me a spectacular view of her ass in the little booty shorts she’s wearing. “Why didn’t you wake me?”

“I tried.”

She glances at the bottle of pills on the side table, her shoulders slouching when it dawns on her why she didn’t wake up. “Shit.”

“You take them often?”

“No.” She grabs the container before I do. “Not that it’s any of your business.”

With that, Daelyn marches out of her bedroom and slams the bathroom door shut.

Sitting up, I stretch my limbs and pin my morning wood against the waist of my jeans. I’m not touching myself for a while, so it’ll have to deflate on its own. I hear the toilet flush and faucet run. Eventually, Daelyn comes back into her bedroom and looks annoyed to find me still here.

It pisses me off.

Instead of saying something nice, I go for the jugular. “You have nightmares often?”

I don’t like it when someone asks about mine, because it’s a personal issue I don’t like sharing, but I’ve just spent the evening keeping her close and safe, and for her to act like me sticking around while she takes her morning piss is obnoxious, I’ll make sure she feels some kind of way too.

“No,” she says cautiously.

The pills are no longer in her hand, so I assume she put them somewhere in her bathroom.

“Do you take sleeping pills often?”

“Why are you so fucking nosy?”

“I’m just trying to figure you out.” I climb out of the bed and slowly prowl closer to her. “You called out for me in your sleep.”

She snorts. “Yeah right.”

“You did.” I get close enough to smell her minty breath. “I wouldn’t make that up, Daelyn. The question is… Why?”

Her cheeks turn crimson. “You’re delusional.”

“I know what I heard. You whimpered and cried and said my name. You held onto me all night, Firefly.”

Her brow furrows as she looks down at her hands. “Well, I don’t know why I would have done that,” she says defensively. “And I don’t know why you stayed here, either.”

“Like I said, you were having nightmares.”

“So?” She crosses her arms and won’t look at me. “That doesn’t mean you need to stick around.”

True. “Are you hungry?”

“No.” Her stomach growls, betraying her with perfect timing.

I tip her chin, forcing her to look up at me. Arching my brow, I hold her gaze for several heartbeats before saying, “Don’t ever lie to me, Daelyn.”

She swallows hard.

“This won’t work if you fucking lie to me.”

Her eyebrows knit together. “What won’t work?”

“Whatever this is.”

Daelyn’s stomach rumbles again and she clutches her belly and huffs about it.

“Come on.” I nod towards the door. “Let’s get you something to eat.”

“I—” Her stomach rumbles and she smacks it. “Oh my god, shut up!”

She’s adorable.

“You a pancake or waffle girl?”

“I’m not going out to breakfast with you.”

“Fine. Brunch it is.” I glance at the clock. “Unless you want to waste more time being a difficult little brat, in which case, I’m down for lunch and dinner, too. Whatever you want.”

Her shoulders droop. “Why are you doing this?”

“Be more specific.” I arch my brow. “This, as in coming to see you again, like I said I would. This, as in holding you all night so you could feel safe while you slept. Or this, as in wanting to take you on a date so I can get to know you better?”

Her jaw slackens. I think I’ve stunned her.

“Or I can just cook you a meal here.” I shrug like it’s no big thing. “We don’t have to go anywhere if you don’t want to.”

Suddenly, her eyes widen, and she glances at her clock. “No, no. Out is fine. Out is good.”

Interesting .

I step closer to the door, giving her space again. “Then get dressed so we can get out of here.”