37. Chapter 37

37

Dimitri

" Y ou!"

Wren lunges forward, her hand outstretched, and shoves Svetlana, who is standing barely a foot in front of her. Her face is flushed, wild curls sticking to her sweaty forehead. She stomps toward me, nearly tripping over her own feet.

"What the hell do you want from me?" she hisses, closing the distance between us.

Yebat' , she's a fucking hot mess. I stand my ground, hands shoved deep in my pockets.

Every time we meet, she looks more and more krasivaya .

My lips twitch at the corners. Seeing her sets off a storm in my gut, hot and possessive. I swallow hard; all the shit I'd buried comes bursting up like a ruptured sewer line, flooding my gut with toxic sludge.

"Calm down, kotyonok ," I growl, my eyes locked on hers. "Just making sure you're safe."

Wren scoffs, her tits heaving with each angry breath. "Fuck off, I don't need your protection, D. I've managed just fine without you."

I give a quick nod, and Svetlana and Boris get the message. They blend back into the shadows, leaving me to deal with the hurricane that's about to level the city.

I stay, reaching out to her. But before I can make contact, she's on me like a wildcat.

In a blur of movement, Wren's got me pinned against the wall, her forearm pressed against my throat.

Impressive.

Her body is flush against mine, and blyat , the contact sends blood straight to my cock.

"Don't fucking touch me," she snarls, her face inches from mine. Her eyes are blazing, a mix of fury and something else… hunger. It's a look that mirrors the fire burning in my own gut.

I could break her hold easily, but I don't. The feel of her body against mine, the raw power radiating off her… Suka , I want her so bad it hurts.

"Still got those killer instincts, kotyonok ," I growl. My cock's hard as fuck. Blyat , I want to throw her against the wall, rip those clothes off. But I'm not stupid. She'd gut me like a fish if I tried.

I don't move a muscle. Let her think she's got the upper hand. She's a fucking powder keg, ready to blow. Suka , her body pressed against mine is driving me insane.

Wren bares her teeth. "You don't know shit, D. I'm not your fucking puppet." Her eyes are wild, pissed as hell. "What? You've been stalking me? Think you can waltz in and yank my chain?"

Yob tvoyu mat' , she's sharper than I gave her credit for. But her anger just makes my dick throb harder.

I lean in, my lips brushing her ear. "You sure about that, lapochka ? Your cunt's probably soaking wet right now."

She shivers. For a second, I think she's gonna kiss me. Suka, I'm going insane. But then she shoves me hard.

"Fuck you, D," she snarls. "You don't own me. You don't get to spy on me. And you sure as shit don't know what I want."

My jaw clenches. Blyat , she's got a point, but admitting it feels like swallowing broken glass.

"Yeah? And how many close calls have you had, kotyonok ? How many nights have you spent looking over your shoulder?"

"Are you fucking kidding me?" Wren's laugh is more like a snarl. "Whose fault is it that I'm in this mess? I'm in danger because of your fucking business, D. Your enemies, your shit—and I've got nothing to do with it anymore. I've got a good thing going now at the Skyline Lounge. A job that doesn't involve blood or bullets. I'm not about to let you fuck that up for me."

My jaw clenches. Yob tvoyu mat' , seeing her all fired up about that job… it's exactly what I'd hoped for when I pulled those strings. But Wren can never know that. She'll never know how Rosie from The Rusty Nail helped get her foot in the door at that fancy place.

"I'm not here to fuck up your cushy new gig, kotyonok ," I growl.

Wren gets in my face, jabbing her finger into my chest. "Then why are you here, D? To clean up the mess you made? To drag me back into your world of shit?" She kicks a small stone, sending it clattering against the alley wall.

Wren's in my face, all fire and curves. Her tits are heaving, pressing against my chest. Blyat , she's fucking gorgeous when she's pissed. Those brown eyes are burning holes in me, and her lips… Yob tvoyu mat' , I want to bite them.

" Suka , you want to know why I'm here?" I growl, grabbing her waist. "This is why."

I slam my mouth on hers. She bites my lip, hard. I taste blood. Suka , it turns me on even more. My hands are all over her, squeezing that perfect ass, tangling in her hair. She moans into my mouth, her nails raking down my back.

I pin her against the wall, grinding my hard cock against her. She wraps a leg around me, pulling me closer. Blyat , I want to fuck her right here in this filthy alley.

But then a noise—a fucking bottle shattering in the distance—snaps us back. She shoves me off, breathing hard.

"I need to leave," she snaps, turning away. Her chest is rising and falling rapidly, and she's biting her lip so hard I can see a drop of blood.

I want to pull her into me again, to taste her sweet lips, to fill the fucking void that's been gnawing at me for two weeks. I want to bury myself in her, to fuck her until we both forget our names. But…

Instead, I rake a hand through my hair, frustration boiling in my veins.

"Let me walk you home, Wren ," I say, her name feeling strange on my tongue. "It's late, and this neighborhood's full of mudaks who'd love to get their hands on a pretty thing like you."

She glares at me, but I can see the fight draining out of her. She's exhausted, shadows under her eyes telling a story of sleepless nights. Blyat , has she been as torn up about this as I have?

"Fine," she mutters, wrapping her arms around herself. "But this doesn't mean anything, D. I'm still pissed at you."

I nod, falling into step beside her. The silence between us is heavy, loaded with all the things we're not saying. My hand brushes hers as we walk, and I feel that same electric jolt.

Yob tvoyu mat', look at me, following her like some lovesick puppy.

What the fuck happened to you, D? You used to be a fucking badass, now you're tripping over your own dick for this suka.

But as we round the corner, I catch movement out of the corner of my eye. Instinct takes over, and I shove Wren behind me, my hand already reaching for the gun tucked in my waistband.

"What the—?" Wren starts, but I cut her off with a look.

"Stay behind me," I growl, scanning the shadows. Something's not right, and I'll be damned if I let anything happen to her on my watch.

But of course, Wren is fucking Wren. Next thing I know, she's beside me, barefoot, her pocket knife glinting in her hand.

"Order me again, I swear to God, D…" she hisses, her eyes not leaving the dark alley ahead.