Dulce

30

Idive before it’s even a conscious thought. I grip his hand as he goes over the edge and scream in agony as my shoulder pops out of place.

I feel myself sliding as his weight yanks me down, but I refuse to let go. Tears stream down my cheeks as he looks up at me. A sad sort of peace washes over his face before he wiggles his fingers.

“No,” I snap at him.

“You have to let me go. I’m too heavy.”

“No. Just hold on for me, please.”

“It’s okay.” He tries to reassure me, but I can feel him slipping. None of this is fucking okay.

I scream as I fight with everything I have to hold him, but he slides some more, dragging me with him.

We’re not going to make it. I’m not strong enough to pull him over, but I refuse to let him go. If he falls, I fall.

I close my eyes and cry as he tries to break my grip to save me from my fate when a larger hand grabs hold of Cain’s wrist.

“Pull her back.” I recognize Dmitri’s voice but can barely make him out through my tears as he takes Cain’s weight from me.

Hands on my hips and legs yank and tug me back, but I refuse to let go of Cain, even though the pain in my arm is threatening to make me throw up.

“I’ve got him, Ev. I promise I won’t let him go,” Dmitri vows.

The last time I put blind faith in this man, he broke my heart, but I can’t hold on to Cain forever.

If he drops him. I’ll carve his heart out with a spoon and feed it to him. I let go and say a prayer as I’m tugged back over the edge of the cliff. Cain follows behind me as Dmitri drags him over.

As soon as he is on flat ground, Dmitri snatches me up and wraps his arm around me.

I scream as he jars my shoulder.

“Fuck, I’m sorry. I’m sorry. I’m so fucking sorry.” He moves to avoid my arm, pulling back so he can touch my face.

“I know what you’ve heard. But it’s not me, it’s—”

“Your uncle,” I finish in a whisper as all the missing pieces of the puzzle slip into place. He swallows hard before nodding.

Pulling me back into his chest, this time careful to avoid my injured arm, he holds me tightly as I shake, my adrenaline-fueled body trying to figure out if it should be fucking or fighting.

I breathe him in and use it to center me, his masculine scent calming me almost as much as it’s able to arouse me.

He squeezes me tightly, making it hard to breathe. When I open my mouth to tell him, I realize not all the shaking is coming from me.

“I’m okay,” I whisper.

“Fuck,” he chokes out, and I feel it. How it rips from his body, causing him to buckle from its ferocity.

“I’m okay,” I repeat softly, burrowing further into him.

“I nearly lost you.”

“Never,” I argue. I was never going to let that happen.

He lifts his head, his eyes connecting with mine. And for once, he’s completely unguarded, letting all of his walls drop so I can see everything I missed before.

I gasp, feeling like I’m falling into an abyss I have no hope of surviving. And yet…. His mouth slams down on mine, and I surrender, happy to throw myself into the darkness and be dragged under.

Drown with me, Dmitri, take my air, take my heart, take everything you need.

One of his hands slides into my hair, gripping it tightly. Despite the bite of pain, I don’t pull away. I press closer, fall deeper into the man who pulled me down, held me at bay, and used me as bait.

He is not the man I thought he was. He’s both better and worse, and now that this is over, I can admit he’s something else too. He’s mine.

“Dulce!” My name is snarled, snapping me out of my Dmitri haze.

Shit. I forgot I added their names to the SOS. I pull my lips from his and whip my head around. I see Cain sitting on the ground with a bundled-up shirt pressed against his shoulder, looking pale but otherwise okay. That’s all I take in before I find myself ripped from Dmitri’s arms and wrapped in someone else’s. No, make that two someones.

I watch Dmitri’s face over Griffen’s shoulder, feeling Hunter press close to my back, realizing belatedly that they were the ones who dragged me back over the edge. Dmitri’s eyes move over my face, searching for something. I implore him with my look to stay. After a moment, he nods.

I relax. I didn’t realize how worried I’d been at the thought of him walking away. He takes a step closer, moving in behind Griffen, who loosens his grip on me so he can look at me.

“What the fuck, Dulce?” I wince when he shakes me, jarring my arm.

Dmitri cocks his head, something working behind his eyes.

“Griff,” Hunter warns, and I know it’s because, like me, he’s watching Dmitri.

“Put her down,” Dmitri says softly, making Griffen turn as if he’s just realized I wasn’t alone.

“Fuck you, Aslanov. You had your turn. I need to know she’s okay, too. You don’t have the monopoly on her heart.”

More questions stir in his eyes as he watches me with them. My relationship with Griff and Hunter is very different from the interaction he’s seen between me and the twins. It’s also different from how things are between him and me.

“It’s Dulce now, huh?” he questions as he squeezes a spot on the back of Griffen’s neck that has his eyes rolling into the back of his head.

He snatches me as Griff drops to the ground, out cold.