Moving Objects

Chapter 25

My eyes fluttered as he kissed my cheeks and nose before he brushed his lips against mine again. "I wanted to take those words back the moment they left my mouth. I didn't mean them, Roza. I was just...I don't know how to deal with everything that has happened. I don't know how to deal with what I'm feeling, and I lashed out at you."

I knitted my brows together and looked at him, chewing on the inside of my cheek. "Then where did your stuff go?" I asked, but it came out in a croak like whisper. Dimitri toyed with the ends of my hair as his other hand rested on my waist, jerking his head to the side.

"I put my stuff away in the dresser. I found you out here when I woke up, so I put you in bed and brought my book out here to read. I didn't want to disturb you."

I peeked over his shoulder and saw his book lying face-down on the coffee table. I must have walked right past him when I came out. I looked up at him again with weary eyes, not sure how to respond to him. There was still a dull ache in my chest, and I wasn't sure what to do. I had spent too much time walking on eggshells around him.

He seemed to understand my internal dilemma when he wrapped me in his arms, resting his face against my shoulder, kissing the skin there.

"I'm sorry. You've been trying to help and I've been such an ass to you. I've said horrible things to you," he said, his voice muffled against my skin. I wrapped my arms around him and squeezed him tightly, turning my face towards his head. I stretched up so he didn't need to bend down so far and pulled him to lean against me as I leaned against the counter.

I nodded my head against him but he shook his head and pulled my face up to look at him. I could see in his eyes that he felt horrible, telling me everything that he wanted to say but couldn't: that he understood my pain, that he knew what this whole ordeal had done to me, telling me how sorry he was for the pain that I'd endured in the last few months - pain that he inflicted on me. He pressed his lips to mine again, almost tentative, but I responded immediately, moving them against his softly. It felt good to be close, like this, to him and I didn't want it to end. And it seemed Dimitri felt the same.

"You deserve better than this," he said.

"I do," I said, and watched his face drop a bit before I continued, "But no relationship is easy, right? You went through something horrible and it's left a mark on your soul. What kind of person would I be if I walked away when you needed me the most?"

Dimitri's eyes showed something I couldn't figure out but he pulled me to his chest, hugging me as tight as he would after enduring one of his nightmares. I sighed and pressed my nose against his shirt, breathing deeply to steady my heart, when another smell floated through my nose.

"Is something burning?"

Dimitri tensed and pulled away quickly, swearing under his breath in his native tongue, as he turned to the stove. He pulled the oven door open and used a towel to pull the pan out, dropping it on the stove top. I pressed my lips into a firm line to keep from snickering at the master baker.

I looked at the pan to see what he was cooking, finding what looked like charred bread. Dimitri sighed and set the towel on the counter, looking at me. "I was trying to make you that chocolate banana bread you like so much," he said disappointedly. A quiet giggle bubbled past my lips at the pout on his. My giggle seemed to knock him out of his haze and he gave me a crooked smile.

I pulled myself up to sit on the counter, opening the cupboard beside my head and pulling out a quick mix of banana bread. Absolutely fool-proof. Even I couldn't mess it up! I tossed it onto the counter and smiled again.

"How about I make the next batch?" I joked. Dimitri laughed quietly and came closer to me. I moved my legs so he could stand closer to me. I tilted my head up to look at him as he rested his hands on the counter beside me.