Chapter 198: Marco Brought Breakfast

So he did.

He pounded into her with an intensity that bordered on violent. Changed positions without pulling out, rolled them so she was on top, then pushed her back against the headboard and drove up into her at an angle that made her scream his name.

He took her from behind, one hand wrapped around her throat, the other gripping her hip hard enough to leave marks.

He bent her in half, pushing her legs back toward her chest, going so deep she couldn’t do anything but take it.

Every position was a statement. Every thrust was an apology and a claim simultaneously.

Hours seemed to pass.

Sweat covered both of them. The bed was soaked. Eve had come at least four more times, each orgasm pulling a scream from somewhere deep in her chest.

And Dimitri still wasn’t satisfied.

When he finally came....spilling inside her with a roar that felt primal, it was with the knowledge that no amount of fucking was going to be enough.

That he would spend the rest of his life trying to make up for every lie, every moment of mistrust, every time he’d chosen control over honesty.

They collapsed together, both gasping, both completely destroyed.

Eve was crying again, but this time it felt different. Not from fear or anger, but from the overwhelming intensity of it all.

Dimitri pulled her against his chest and held her while her breathing gradually steadied.

"I love you," he said into her hair. "I love you so much it terrifies me. And I’m going to spend the rest of my life proving that I trust you. That I believe in you. That you’re my partner, not my possession."

Eve pulled back just enough to look at him.

"You need to tell me everything," she said quietly. "About The Covenant. About James. About what you’re planning. About all of it. No more lies. No more secrets. No more deciding what I can handle."

"I will," Dimitri said. "Starting now. Starting with everything you need to know to stay safe. To understand the danger. To be part of the solution instead of being protected from it."

"Good," Eve said. She settled back against his chest. "Because I’m not going anywhere. But I’m not going anywhere blind either. I need to know what I’m walking into."

Dimitri held her tighter, understanding that this....this willingness to stand beside him despite the danger, despite the lies, was the greatest gift she could give him.

Not surrender.

Partnership.

***

The first thing Eve became aware of was sunlight.

Golden, early-morning sunlight streaming through the curtains of the Peninsula Hotel room, painting everything in shades of amber and cream.

The second thing was that her entire body ached in the most satisfying way possible.

She lay still for a moment, taking inventory....her thighs were sore, her back had marks from his hands, her lips felt swollen from hours of kissing. Every ache was a reminder of the night before. Of finally taking control. Of him breaking.

Eve stretched slowly and became aware of something else.

Dimitri wasn’t in bed.

She opened her eyes fully and found him standing at the window, shirtless, looking out at the Brooklyn skyline. His back was to her....broad shoulders, the tattoos she’d traced with her fingers countless times, the slight indent of his spine.

He was wearing his jeans from last night but nothing else.

Eve watched him for a moment, taking in the quiet domesticity of the scene. This wasn’t the Devil in his penthouse boardroom. This was just a man, looking out at the city, probably thinking about everything that still needed to be handled.

She was about to say something when there was a knock at the door.

"That’s Marco," Dimitri said without turning around. "Breakfast."

Eve tried to sit up, suddenly aware that she needed to cover herself, but before she could move, Dimitri was already crossing to the door.

"Wait...." Eve started, but he was pulling open the door, completely unbothered about his state of undress.

Through the gap, she could see Marco holding several takeout boxes. His eyes flicked briefly to Dimitri’s bare chest, then to a point beyond him in the room where Eve was frantically pulling the sheet up to cover herself.

Something that might have been amusement flickered across Marco’s expression before it returned to professional neutrality.

Dimitri took the boxes without a word, but as he was closing the door, Marco handed him something else....a small designer overnight bag.

"Your suitcase," Marco said, his voice absolutely steady. "Thought you might need it."

He left before Dimitri could respond.

Eve watched as Dimitri closed the door and turned back to her, holding multiple takeout containers in his arms and that small black suitcase in one hand.

"Did he just....." Eve started.

"Looked at you like he knows that i fuck you overnight? Yes," Dimitri said. He set the boxes on the small table by the window and placed his bag on the bench at the foot of the bed.

Eve’s eyes went wide. "You could have waited for me to get dressed before opening the door, You could have..."

She stopped midsentence, suddenly becoming very aware of the fact that she was absolutely, gloriously naked beneath the sheet.

Her eyes went to her breasts, which had been bouncing slightly as she’d gestured in frustration, and then....following her own gaze.....she looked at Dimitri.

His eyes were trailing over her exposed skin with the kind of intensity that made her breath catch.

"What?" she said, pulling the sheet tighter.

"If you don’t cover yourself right now," Dimitri said quietly, moving toward her with that predatory grace she knew so well, "I’m going to eat you for breakfast instead of the food on that table."

Eve’s face flushed hot.

She pulled the sheet higher, covering her breasts completely. But when she looked at him, he was smiling....that rare, genuine smile that made him look younger. Less like a crime lord and more like just the man who’d held her all night.