Page 38 of Wicked Knight
That's what made him so desirable. Every girl for miles and miles wants Dmitri Valneko.
The desire to have the scorpion's kiss keeps them pining over him. I guess I’m no different.
But now's the time to do what's right and do the thing I set out to do.
Now is the time to talk. Be sensible. Be focused.
I need to try despite the angst roiling inside my soul.
I move away from the wall of people. It’s less distracting. I risk getting closer to him and stop far away enough so I can think straight without having his scent and his intense presence mess with my mind.
“My lord,” I begin, addressing him by the title I should because he’s a Knight.
“You don’t call me that.” His gaze beyond the skeletal hollows drifts down to my dress and roams over my body slowly and leisurely before climbing back up to meet my eyes.
I gulp against the thick layer of arousal covering my throat. “What should I call you?”
“What you always called me.” He flashes me an easy grin.
“Okay, Scorpion.” My voice sounds like I’m trying those words out for the first time, probably because it’s been so long since I called him that. I don’t even remember when it was.
“Spider.”
A little smile tugs at my lips. It feels like a lifetime ago that anyone calledmethat. Then I realize it was only him.
Forcing my mind to leave memory lane, I recenter my thoughts again. “We need to talk about that contract, Dmitri.” I call him by his name to show him I’m serious.
He gives me a clipped nod. “We do.”
“The last time I saw you was…” What do I say about the kiss? I have to mention that in some way. “It was great.”
“Was it now?”
“Yes.”
“Then why do you look like you’re going to say something I don’t want to hear?”
His comment surprises me. I never expected him to say something like that. “Maybe I am. I think the best thing we should do is not do this, whateverthisis.” There, I said it. It didn’t feel right. In fact, there’s an ache left in my heart. But I said it.
To my surprise, Dimitri smiles. It’s a maddening smile that makes his mask look scarier. He pushes off the wall and comes closer—too close again.
He looms over me. I'm wearing four-inch heels, but standing this close to him makes me feel like I’m next to a titan.
“You think we shouldn't do this?”
“Yes, I think you need to release me from the contract.” I dig deeper inside me for the courage to keep going. “I’ve been bound to that contract for six months. That was the minimum amount of time required, and I did it. Besides that, it makes sense for us tonotdo this, because it’s less risky.”
He seems to consider my points. I watch, suspense rising as I wonder what he’ll say. This is the kind of situation where everything is the wrong answer.
“No.” He says the words so simply, it's like he didn't say it. But he did, and now my head is spinning.
“No?” I check, searching his eyes.
“No,” he repeats. “I won't release you from the contract early. And I disagree.
I think we shoulddowhatever this is.”
My lips tremble, and I glare at him, wondering what the hell he must be thinking.