Chapter 242: Tell Me What You Need

"I’m sorry," she said.

"So am I," Dimitri said. "But he saved millions of lives. That facility was going to deploy that virus. It would have killed entire cities. James knew that. He walked in there knowing it would probably kill him, and he did it anyway."

Eve’s arms came around his neck, holding him close.

"You saved him," she said. "You brought him home. That matters."

"It wasn’t enough," Dimitri said, and his voice cracked slightly. "He’s still dead."

"I know," Eve said. "But he’s not forgotten. And because of what you both did, no one else has to die that way."

They stayed like that for a long time....wrapped around each other in the cooling bathwater, the weight of what he’d done settling between them like a physical presence.

Eventually, the water began to feel cold. Dimitri helped Eve out of the tub and wrapped her in a towel, then pulled another around his own shoulders.

In the bedroom, they dressed silently. Eve put on soft loungewear....silk pants and a matching camisole. Dimitri pulled on casual clothes: dark pants and a simple sweater.

When they emerged from the bedroom, the smell of food hit them immediately.

Nonna was in the kitchen, and she’d clearly decided that Dimitri needed to be fed immediately upon his return. The island was covered with plates: fresh pasta carbonara, roasted vegetables, fresh bread, fruit, cheese.

She looked up when they entered, her ancient eyes assessing Dimitri with the precision of someone who’d spent seventy years learning how to read people.

"You look like you haven’t eaten in days," she said simply.

"I haven’t," Dimitri replied.

"Sit," Nonna commanded, already preparing plates.

They sat at the kitchen island....Dimitri, Eve, and Nonna....and Dimitri ate while his Nonna watched him like a hawk. She didn’t ask about The Covenant. Didn’t ask about what had happened. She just made sure he ate, made sure his water glass was full.

This was Nonna’s way of expressing love. Through food. Through presence. Through the quiet understanding that some things didn’t need to be discussed.

After they’d eaten, Nonna excused herself to handle business in the penthouse office, leaving Dimitri and Eve alone in the kitchen.

Eve was curled up on one of the bar stools, a cup of tea warming her hands, her bare feet dangling slightly above the ground. She looked peaceful.

Dimitri came around the island and pulled her into his arms, lifting her off the stool and positioning her so that her legs wrapped around his waist.

She gasped, her tea forgotten on the counter.

"Dimitri...."

"Not yet," he said roughly, carrying her toward the hallway. "I need you again. Right now. I need to feel you."

"We just...." Eve started, but her protest died as he was already moving, already heading toward their bedroom.

The bedroom door shut behind them.

Dimitri set her down on the edge of the bed but didn’t let her go....his hands stayed on her waist, his forehead dropping to rest against hers.

"What’s wrong?" Eve whispered, her hands coming up to frame his face. "Dimitri, what...."

"Nothing’s wrong." His voice was raw, broken. "You’re here. You’re alive. You’re safe. And I just...." He breathed, shaky and desperate. "I need you again, Eve. Need to feel you again. Need to know you’re real. I need to know that you are safe now"

Eve’s eyes filled with tears.

"I’m real," she said softly. "I’m right here. I’m not going anywhere."

"Promise me." His silver eyes were fierce, almost fevered. "Promise me you’ll never leave. Promise me that no matter what happens, you’ll stay safe."

"I promise," Eve said without hesitation. "I promise you, Dimitri. Always."

He kissed her then....desperately, possessively, like she was air and he was drowning.

His hands moved to pull her shirt over her head. Eve helped him, understanding now that this wasn’t about seduction or careful pleasure. This was about need. Raw, primal, desperate need.

She was naked quickly. He followed, his clothes scattered across the floor with no regard for care.

Then he was pulling her against him...chest to chest, heart to heart....and she could feel him shaking.

"Talk to me," Eve whispered against his shoulder. "Tell me what you need."

"You," he said simply. "Just you. All of you. Every part. Every second."

He laid her back on the bed and positioned himself between her thighs, but instead of entering her immediately, he just looked at her, his eyes tracking over her face, her body, like he was memorizing every detail.

"So beautiful," he murmured, his hand coming up to trace her collarbone. " And all mine."

"Yours," Eve confirmed, reaching for him. "Always yours."

He pushed inside slowly....and despite having been inside her multiple times that morning, the sensation still made them both gasp.

Dimitri’s eyes closed. His head fell back. His entire body shook with the effort of going slow when everything in him screamed to claim her hard and fast.

"Look at me," Eve said, her voice commanding in a way she rarely was.

His eyes snapped open, locked on hers.

"I’m here," she said firmly. "I’m alive. I’m not going anywhere. And you’re safe with me. Do you understand?"

Dimitri nodded, but his expression was still haunted.

"Let go," Eve whispered. "Stop holding back. I can take all of you, Dimitri. Stop protecting me from yourself."

Something in that statement broke through whatever walls he’d been maintaining.

He started moving....not gently, but not brutally either. Just... intensely. Every thrust deliberate and deep, like he was trying to merge their bodies into one person.

Eve met him thrust for thrust, her nails raking down his back, her legs locked around his waist, her eyes never leaving his.

"That’s it," she breathed. "Feel me. Feel that I’m here. Feel that I’m real."

"I feel you," Dimitri groaned against her neck. "God, Eve, I feel everything. Every part of you."

He shifted slightly, changing the angle, and Eve’s breath caught as he hit that perfect spot inside her.

"There," she gasped. "Right there...."

He found that rhythm...not fast, but devastatingly deep. Each thrust drove the air from her lungs, made her stars dance behind her eyelids, made her body clench around him.

"Come," he commanded, his voice low and dangerous. "Come for me so I can feel it. So I can know you’re alive and feeling everything I’m feeling."