It was so…couplish, and something he’d never think he’d have with a woman.
It was beautiful.
“Okay, so, popcorn, sexy man, and soda. My night is complete.”
She kicked off her shoes and hopped onto the couch.
“Come to Detective Wayne. She won’t let the killer get you,” she teased.
He laughed.
Dimitri kicked off his shoes and joined her.
“What are those candies for, Miss Wayne?” he asked, as she tore open two boxes.
“There is ONLY one way to eat popcorn. Watch and learn, Mr. Gideon.”
She upended the two boxes into the popcorn.
He laughed.
“I hope you don’t mind,” she stated. “But this is how Detective Wayne rolls.”
No, he didn’t mind at all.
“It’s perfect.”
And it was.
“Lights down,” he said.
They dimmed at his command, and it made Poppy giggle uncontrollably.
“What?” he asked.
“And here, I’ve been walking to the freaking switches,” she teased.
Dimitri couldn’t help but smile at her silliness, and then he moved even closer until they were as close as they could be without actually being naked.
“Play.”
The movie began.
Dimitri noticed she was watching the movie, and that amused him. He had already seen this one. Sam had watched it a couple days ago, and he’d been working at the table. He knew what was coming. As the killer got ready to take his first victim, he got ready.
As he attacked, so did Dimitri. He shouted, and she jumped nearly two feet.
“You’re a dick,” she said, tossing popcorn at him by the fistful.
He laughed.
“I was just curious as to if the detective got scared. My bad,” he said.
“So, you’ve seen it,” she said. “That’s cheating. We aren’t on a level playing field.”
Oh, he was aware.
That was NOT how Dimitri worked in life, and he wasn’t likely to start that way either.
“I apologize. Sam likes scary movies.”
She took the popcorn bowl as she stood up. She placed it on the table.
Dimitri began panicking.
“I’m sorry, I didn’t…”
He thought she was leaving.
Instead, she sat in his lap.
“Since you’ve seen it, we should find something better to entertain ourselves with,” she stated.
Oh, his night really got better. He was going to thank Sam as soon as he got home.
“Well, Miss Wayne, it is our third date.”
She found his mouth with hers, and there was one hell of a kiss. She drove it, feeling his body react to hers. As he held her, his dick throbbed beneath her, and she loved every second of it.
There were kisses, his hands found her hair, and he wouldn’t set her free.
Dimitri didn’t relent with the kiss. Instead, he owned it.
Stole.
Drove.
Poppy went liquid in his arms, flowing with that heat that came from him. She wanted nothing more than this moment. She wanted this man.
She thought about those kisses on the mountain, and she thought about the man beneath her. Then her whole world turned, as she found herself beneath him.
As he kept kissing her, Poppy’s hands slid beneath his shirt to his body. That kiss of his taut flesh against her fingers made him shiver, and it wasn’t because her hands were cold.
They weren’t.
Dimitri kept driving the kiss as his body trapped her beneath him. Dimitri was lost in that ecstasy.
There was no pretense.
There was no fakeness.
It was a raw, honest reaction from her, and he couldn’t believe she was feeling it for him.
She had goose bumps across her flesh!
God!
That was a miracle in itself.
It was the genuine reaction to him, a man, and it made him beyond wild. As she touched him, her hands caressing his body, he pictured himself taking her right there.
He wanted them naked, bare, and connecting on that intimate level.
“Dimitri,” she whispered as he teased her neck and earlobe with his very eager mouth.
“So soft,” he replied. “I love touching you, Poppy.”
He drove her wild with his mouth, traveling lower to the vee of her sweater.
“You’re killing me,” she muttered.
In that second, her words changed everything.
Those words brought him back to the present, and out of the fantasy world.
Dimitri realized that before he partook in that sweetness, he had to be honest. He had to share the truth with her.
He wanted Poppy.
He wanted a relationship with her, and he couldn’t do that built on his secrets.
He pulled away and stood.
She stared up at him.
“Uh, in my world on the third date, you go a lot further than this,” she reassured.
Where to begin?
Oh, he knew.
“I killed Mace Bristol.”
The pleasure came to a screeching halt.
Poppy sat up.
“What?”
“I know you’re working on the case. I saw the files on the desk in your room. I’m confessing to you. I killed him. It was me, Poppy. It wasn’t Greyson. He had nothing to do with it. It was me.”
Her mouth opened and then closed.
“I can’t start something with you unless I can be honest. I’ve made that mistake before and I want to have no lies between us. I want you to know what I am and accept me for me.”
Poppy didn’t know what to say.
She was trying to switch from amazing pleasure to the cold, hard slap of reality. Her mind was lagging as her body screamed in displeasure that he’d come to such a quick stop.
Her world shook.
Dimitri sat, and he knew he had to continue. His hope was in this woman, and she was staring at him.
“That’s not all.”
She didn’t speak.
He knew it was all or nothing.
“I’ve also hired a lot of hookers in my past. I don’t make attachments to women. In fact, I make it a rule never to date. I buy a night of sex and I move on. That’s how I knew that madam. She was the madam I used.”
Poppy was horrified.
Her mouth opened and then closed again.
Dimitri saw the look.
In his heart, he knew this was over. Still, he gave her the benefit of the doubt.
He pushed on.
“With you, I want more than just a relationship built on lies. I want something special that I can be proud of.”
When she didn’t speak, he was nervous.
“Say something, Poppy.”
“You killed Mace? You hire hookers?”
“Yes.”
Dimitri went to touch her, and she stopped him. She stopped his hand from touching her body, and that said it all. It spoke of what she now thought of him.
He was a smart man. He knew what it meant.
Dimitri’s hope of ever having that feeling of acceptance was gone. It was done. Poppy didn’t want him. She saw the monster beneath the handsome face, and she was about to run.
He couldn't handle it.
So, he decided it was best for him to leave first. For the first time in his life, Dimitri would run.
He’d bail.
“You needed to know.”
There was a chill in his voice.
“You can arrest me in the morning. Do as you see fit, Detective.”
Dimitri stood, slipped on his shoes, and began walking away. He backed out, refusing to turn his back to her. Before that moment, he would have. He would have trusted her to have his back. That she didn’t stop him said it all.
It was done.
He’d made a huge error.
He fell in love.
&nbs
p; In the elevator, Dimitri fought the tears. He fought that pain of once more being rejected. He was going to go hide for a little while. He was going to find the one place he was safe.
Aquarius.
Truth be told, he needed a drink—a big one. He needed to forget. Dimitri needed to somehow find a way to put her out of his head.
Dimitri Gideon was done with women. In that moment, he knew the truth.
He was a horrible monster.
And he’d die one.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
Vegas
They were heading back from Delilah and Riley’s wedding when Emma’s phone rang. She knew from calling it the previous night that it was Poppy.
That was odd.
She and Dimitri should be fully entrenched in their date, and too busy to dial a phone.
Something was up.
“Yes, detective?” she asked when she answered her cell. Emma was expecting the worst. Vegas taught her that.
“Something bad happened.”
She put it on speakerphone.
“What?” she asked. “Is Dimitri hurt? Are you hurt?” she asked. “What ‘bad’ thing happened?”
Immediately, she had Greyson’s attention, and he pulled off the road so they could listen, assess, and handle the situation. If the detective was calling, the shit had hit the fan.
“I didn’t know who to call, Emma. I need someone’s help with this. Please help me.”
In Emma’s head, she was picturing all kinds of horrific things. Someone was dead, there was blood, and she and Greyson had lost Dimitri.
“What’s going on?” she asked, trying to keep calm.
She told them.
“He confessed to killing Mace.”
There was silence.
“He’s lying. It was me,” Emma stated, trying to help Dimitri out. Maybe if she planted doubt…
“I’m not worried about that,” she said. “He told me about the hookers, and then he left. I didn’t even get to process it. We were making out, we were heading toward sex, and he dropped those two bombs in a matter of twenty seconds. I didn’t even get a minute to figure out what the hell he was saying, and he left.”
Greyson relaxed.
No one was dead.
Yet.
“I’m afraid I’ve really upset him. I just wasn’t expecting it. I was going merrily toward second base, and I ran into some confessions I didn’t see coming. What do I do?” she asked, crying. “I don’t know what to do.”
Okay, they could handle this one.
This…
It wasn’t major.
It was simply clean up duty.
“Dimitri doesn’t do anything without reason,” Emma stated. “The Mace thing…”
“I told you I don’t care about that. I just needed to figure out what he was saying. I’m good now. Help me find him. I’m scared for him. I want to follow him, but we were nearly run down today. Someone tried to kill us. Please, Emma. Where would he go?”
Yeah, they were aware. They didn’t want Dimitri wandering around alone—especially if there was a killer trying to run him down.
Now he was distracted.
“I’ll come get you. Be dressed and ready,” Emma stated. “We’ll get this under control.”
“Okay, thank you. I know you don’t have to help me. I know I’m a stranger, and I’m sorry to bother you, but I’m worried about him.”
That was all she had to say.
“Poppy, you’re my friend. I’ll get you to him, and we’ll make this right. I promise.”
“Thank you, Emma. God! If he gets hurt…”
Yeah, she was aware.
“I’ll be there in five.”
She hung up.
“What the bloody hell is he thinking?” Greyson asked. “He just told a cop he killed Mace. He’s out of his mind.”
“He’s in love with her. He told Marissa Pierce the truth, and she ran. He wanted to see if she’d run, only he ran. He’s a jackass. He told her in the middle of making out. Of course she’s going to look at him like he’s insane!”
Greyson sighed.
“I know where he’ll be.”
“You get him home. Don’t tell him Poppy is there. I’ll get her to his place. They need to work this out. They need to figure out what’s going on.”
He agreed.
They pulled up to the hotel and he handed his wife the keys. “Be safe! I’ll meet you back at the penthouse.”
She gave him a kiss.
“You get him home if you have to knock him out and drag him there.”
“Oh, I know how to do it.”
And he did.
They were going to get them back in the same room and lock them in the fucking condo if need be.
It was time to help them out.
* * * G R E Y S O N C R O F T * * *
He was in his private room, drinking a very large glass of the amber liquid when Greyson just walked on in.
Dimitri looked up.
The look he gave him was a mix of surprise and misery. It said it all. The night…yeah, it had gone south.
“I wasn’t expecting you,” Dimitri said.
Greyson played it cool.
“Yeah, the wedding was over. I thought I’d have a drink and check in on the place while you were on your date,” he said, holding his own glass.
Dimitri was blank.
Greyson knew the man.
When he didn’t want to talk, he got that blank stare to hide everything. It was annoying as hell.
“How was the wedding?” Dimitri asked, changing the subject.
Greyson pulled a cigar from his pocket, and then a second one.
“It was good. When two people are meant to be together, you can tell. They were all smiles, giggles, and I think they were heading home to fornicate.”
He took the cigar and said nothing.
“I wish I had my cigar girl here to handle this,” Greyson stated.
Dimitri still said nothing.
“Hey, speaking of which, how was your date?” he asked, as they both lit up.
“Fine.”
“Yeah, that’s not what I hear. I hear it went to shit fast when you decided to confess to a cop in the middle of foreplay.”
He stared at him.
“Pardon?” Dimitri asked.
“Oh, I think you heard me, my insane Russian friend. What were you thinking?”
“How do you know what happened?”
He laughed.
“Well, why don’t you ask where my wife is?” he asked, knowing how to play this.
“Okay, I’ll bite. Where is she?” Dimitri asked.
“Poppy called Emma, and our women are out scouring the streets of Vegas for you. How could that go wrong?”
“WHAT?”
“You dropped the bomb and ran. Classy. I expect better from you, Dimitri. You know better than that. I’m disappointed in you.”
He didn’t flinch, but Greyson saw his eyes.
They were ice cold.
“You fell into a shit mess because of that piece of trash Marissa Pierce. You let her use you up, play with your heart, and your dick, and then toss you. You let her fuck with you. Some security guy you are.”
It was all it took.
Dimitri punched him. The anger was too much to handle, and Dimitri took it out on his best friend.
Greyson took the shot, and it hurt like a bitch, but he took it for a man he loved.
Then, Dimitri was up and staring down at him as he lay face up on the floor.
“You have no idea what I live! I have nothing in my life of value, and you sit there and judge me!”
Greyson got up and wiped the spilled bourbon from his suit and the blood from the corner of his mouth.
Yeah, someone was in trouble. Dimitri was out of control. Someone had to reel that in.
He stared at the man.
“I know for a fact that you’re out of control. You just punched your best friend over Marissa Pi
erce. You just risked our relationship for a woman who never deserved you.”
Dimitri didn’t speak.
“She tied you up in knots, and you haven’t figured out how to get free. She wasn’t the one. Stop letting her break you, Dimitri. Stop letting her destroy your heart.”
Dimitri’s shoulders slumped.
The fire was gone.
“She stared at me like I was defiled,” he said. “Poppy wouldn’t let me touch her after I told her. She pulled away.”
Gee.
Really?
Greyson rubbed his face. His jaw hurt like a bitch, but not more than his heart for his friend.
It was repair time.
“You told her, a cop, in the middle of foreplay, that you killed a cop, Dimitri. Then, as the part two in that one, two, punch, you told her you frequent hookers.”
“I couldn’t lie. I couldn’t risk it.”
“And that is how Marissa has you fucked up. You expected her to run, and you ran. You expected her to head out, and you ditched her. Now she’s out wandering the streets. Of course my wife is going to go with her.”
Okay, so he lied.
It was fair since Dimitri had punched him—hard. The man hadn’t pulled it either.
That was his strike back at him.
“She has a killer after her, and she’s out there looking for you! Someone was trying to kill you today, and you wandered down here alone.”
He was aware.
“You’re off your game. You need to let Marissa go. You need to stop wondering what’s wrong with you and realize that it was her. She was posing as a hooker, and then nearly killed you. On top of that, she beat your body to hell and back. She used you to forget, and you need to forget her.”
“I can’t.”
“Then you’ve already lost Poppy. I’ll go look for her. I’m going home to get my gear on. I’ll grab Heath, and I’ll head out to find her before this animal gets and rapes her. Next time you decide to come clean, try not dropping those bombs during foreplay. No woman, in her right mind, is going to smile and continue. You should know that!”
Greyson headed toward the door.
He didn’t look back.
In fact, he slammed the door for emphasis, even if he wasn’t mad.
He knew his friend.
He knew the man he called brother. It was only a matter of time.
Mob Justice Page 36