Dark Desire, Lauren Smith [reading well TXT] 📗

was used to doing. He wanted to slay her dragons, kill the man who’d hurt her, but Vadym was already dead, and now she needed gentleness and support from him.

He tucked his cell phone into his board shorts before coming back downstairs. He saw Elena in the kitchen clearing away her dishes. As much as he wanted to pamper her, these normal tasks would help her settle back into a sense of normalcy. Dimitri had already opened the back door when he heard the soft patter of bare feet behind him.

“Um . . . are you going somewhere?” she asked shyly.

He glanced over his shoulder. “I’m going down to the beach. You are welcome to come. There is a path down the back steps, and there’s a towel rack down there.” He pointed to a shelf that held plush pale-blue beach towels. He left her alone again, hating every second of it, but she should only come to him when she wanted him. Forcing his presence on her was not going to establish trust between them. He was not here to force her to do anything. He simply wanted to help in whatever way she needed.

The sand of the beach was warm despite it being winter. He always marveled at how lovely the weather was here year-round. He’d visited LA a dozen times in the last five years, and each time he had enjoyed it. He gazed at the horizon. The sky above was a deep gold, but the light on dark water turned almost purple with golden flashes on the surface.

“That’s beautiful,” Elena said.

If Dimitri hadn’t been trained not to flinch at unexpected sounds, he would have just then. He’d been so lost staring at the sunset that he had not heard her come down.

“It is,” he agreed.

“People always say sunsets and sunrises are too cliché to enjoy, you know? But they really are the most beautiful things in the world.” Her voice was soft, wistful, and it tugged at his heart.

How many nights had she lain in captivity wondering when she would see another sunrise or sunset? In that moment, Dimitri wished Vadym was alive just so he could kill him all over again. His biggest regret was that he hadn’t been able to do the deed himself.

His friends had seen to it while he’d been watching over Elena. They had poisoned him while he ate at a restaurant, then they’d broken into his home and office. Leo had used Vadym’s computer to trace every woman he had ever taken, hurt, and killed. Interpol had received the information anonymously, and the families of those other young women had been notified. Elena had been the last woman Vadym had gotten his hands on. She was the only one who had survived.

His hands curled into fists as the last rays of light began to fade. It was the best way to tamp down the fury that rose whenever he thought of Vadym and others like him.

A hand touched his bare back. “Are you okay?” He tensed, then forced himself to relax, his hands unclenching.

“Yes. It’s been a trying day,” he murmured.

“Tell me about it. By the way, how did you beat me here after we got off the plane? I saw the line for non–US citizens. You should have been there for hours.”

She was observant as well as intelligent. He smiled a little, relaxing. “I have a special passport that allows me to go into most countries in an expedited manner. It is a perk of my business.” He retrieved his towel and rolled it out.

She joined him on the sand with her own towel. “And what business is that, exactly?” At first her body was balled up tight, her knees tucked up close to her chin, but as the silence settled between them she relaxed and stretched out.

“It varies. I have real estate interests, tech company interests, and other things.”

“So how does that get you a special passport?”

He couldn’t help but grin. She didn’t relent. This was the real Elena, the one not afraid to seek answers.

“I may have some contacts in various governments.” He glanced at her, and she was studying him intently.

One brow rose. “You’re still not answering my question.”

“Tell me what happened to you in Moscow, and I will answer your question.”

She rolled her eyes. “Touché.” She smiled a little, a sweet fire burning in her green eyes.

Dimitri took that as a small victory. He was digging the old Elena out of the dark abyss she had been tossed into.

“So . . . will you be going to work every day while you’re here or something?” She asked this casually, but he detected a dozen fears beneath that single simple query.

“Or something,” he replied, then chuckled at her responding frown.

“My parents may come to visit.”

He knew for a fact that they were coming out in a few days, but for some reason she didn’t want to scare him off. She also didn’t seem sure she wanted him near her. It was confusing to see someone want something and be afraid of it at the same time.

“I can stay somewhere else, if you wish, when they arrive,” he said, keeping his tone gentle.

“It’s not that, it’s just . . . there might be some questions that could be awkward.”

He lay back on the sand, propping himself up on his elbows. “Questions?”

“Yeah. They might get the wrong idea if they see you here. I mean . . . it’s not like we’re together.”

“We are two people staying at the house of a mutual friend at the same time.” He said it so normally that he could practically feel her relaxing again.

“Right. Of course.” She lay back on her towel, and he did the same. The night sky darkened, a few bright stars flickering above.

“Kiska,” he whispered.

She didn’t respond. He looked over and found her asleep again, curled up on her side, blonde hair spilling across the towel into the sand. He hated to wake her, but she needed to rest in her bed where it was safe.

He gently brushed her