“I can’t leave as your Vedman?”
I shivered as he pressed his palm against my panties, creating the tiniest bit of friction, and I despised the fact that even while Dimitri stood before me being a bastard, I still wanted him.
“You can’t leave.” He whispered his words, low and guttural, the heel of his palm digging into the bundle of nerves that sat at the apex of my thighs. “You are my Empress, and I don’t know what’s going on in that witchy mind of yours, but your place is next to me - in my bed, serving dinners, doing your witchy shit to my guns. I don’t give a fuck, but you don’t get to leave.”
“You can’t just keep me here.” I moaned, even as I parted my thighs, giving him more access.
“Can’t I?” He goaded. “You announced to the world that you’re mine - the night that Arlo died, you walked out of that warehouse with me holding my hand. And by the end of today, the entire French Quarter will know who you are - that we dined together with your parents. You sleep in my bed, eat my food, live in my house, and fuck yourself on my cock. Make no mistake, Little Vedman, you are mine.”
His hand dipped beneath the lace of my panties, and before I could respond. He plunged two fingers inside of me, filling me, stretching me, consuming me. I threw my head back, unable to stifle the moan that bubbled out of me. Henla was here somewhere, but I couldn’t find it in me to care that she might hear us - might see us.
“Don’t underestimate this.” Dimitri emphasized his words with another thrust of his fingers, and even though I knew that what he had just said should make me want to run in terror, I only wanted him to lay me across his sheets and consume me in the way that only he could.
He pulled his fingers from my core, leaving me quivering before him. The remains of my pleasure shuddered through me in waves, until it finally abated entirely. Dimitri held my gaze, and I watched in erotic fascination as he slid his fingers into his mouth, licking his fingers clean.
I stood there, gaping as I watched him.
“Close your mouth, Bambi, your parents will be here soon.”
My mind was at war with itself - how could he wreak such exquisite pleasure on my body, but at the same time be such a glorified asshole?
He walked away from me without a backwards glance, and only once I felt steadier on my legs did I push away from the door.
I had only just straightened my dress when the bell rang out, indicating that my parents had indeed arrived.
Dimitri marched back into the room, and it was as if I were watching a transformation take place right before my eyes. He opened the front door and plastered a smile on his face as he ushered my parents into his home.
“We’re so glad to have you stay with us. Welcome to our home.”
My mother’s gaze shot straight to mine, and I saw the moment the wheels began turning for her. No doubt, my father had filled her in on Dimitri’s financial status, for the Emily Rand that stood before us was a very different version to the one I was greeted with this morning.
My parents stepped into the house, and I watched my mother smile coyly.
“Have you moved in, Corinne?”
This time, her question was not accusatory, rather it was filled with intrigue.
Dimitri edged his body closer towards mine and flung his arm around my shoulder. It may have looked casual - easy, even, but it felt entirely awkward because Dimitri didn’t do casual - he didn’t do easy. Still, I leant into him, allowing his warmth to engulf me.
“We’re still discussing it.” I shot Dimitri a small smile as I spoke - it would make it more believable.
“Well, I am just thrilled.” My mother gushed, and I could see her scurrying back to New York to inform all her friends that her daughter had finally snagged a man, and not just any man - Dimitri.
Dimitri led the way through the house, while I accompanied my mother, chiming in at the appropriate time as she commented on the decor of the place.
The sun lit up the back garden, showing her off in all her magnificence, and I couldn’t help the way my stomach dipped when I walked over the small mound only slightly visible where I had buried my crystal grid deep within the soil.
Dimitri’s conversation wafted back over us, and I marvelled at the fact that he and my father were discussing the difficulty of growing roses. It all seemed so normal, and I was surprised to learn that Dimitri actually knew about growing those thorny plants. No doubt, it was probably because he thought they were a wonderful bush to plant over places where they buried the bodies of those who had died by their hand - probably surmised that it would make the body more difficult for the authorities to locate, because who wanted to dig up a rose bush?
The fact that I knew Dimitri’s thought pattern should terrify me, instead, I was left reeling at the fact that he had pretty much told my mother that I had moved in. Had I moved in? I wasn’t certain, because I didn’t know what that meant - didn’t know what his expectations were.
I knew my mother - knew that she found the very notion of staying in a pool house distasteful, but she didn’t say anything. Once she stopped through the front door of the pool house, I knew that her fears had been allayed, because it was essentially a fully equipped guest cottage. I couldn’t stop my gaze from scanning the cream carpets and noting that all the blood that had been spilled from Olek had long since been cleaned.
We left my parents to settle in, with the promise of meeting for dinner later that evening.
Dimitri and I walked in silence back towards the house, but my footsteps slowed near the pool and I longed to dive in and submerge myself in the water. A small ripple on the surface told me that she’d welcome me too, but I didn’t want to have to face my mother whilst in a swimsuit virtually right outside her front door.
Instead, I pushed myself towards the house.