Out of all of us, Zoey was the one who had an affinity for plants. It meant that on any sort of outing we took, she was the one to stop and run her hands over the bark of a random tree along the way, whispering soothing words to it of thanks and praise. It was endearing, but could also be mildly disturbing if you weren’t used to it.
“Is that what she's doing?” I decided to act ignorant, even if I knew that our garden would look completely different by the time Zoey was done with it - in fact, it would probably look better.
“Mario isn’t going to be impressed.” Dimitri sighed, as if he truly cared about Mario’s sensibilities, and I turned my face, skating my fingers across the frothy bubbles simply to hide my smile.
“I have no doubt that Zoey knows far more about plant-life than Mario.”
Dimitri grunted once before changing the topic entirely.
“Stepen will be joining us this evening.”
“Okay.” I sang the word back to him as I slid deeper beneath the bubbles. Dimitri narrowed his gaze on me, and I was thankful for the white foam that hid the way I shifted beneath the surface - the way I pressed my thighs together.
“Are any other members of your Club arriving earlier than expected?”
This time I couldn’t contain my laughter, and the joy reflected back in Dimitri’s gaze was enough for me to clutch my chest. I wasn’t used to this Dimitri - the one that teased - the one that cared - the one that seemed to allow happiness to seep into his very soul. I didn’t know what to do with this Dimitri because if something happened to this Dimitri, I knew inherently that I wouldn’t survive it. It had been the very reason I had cursed Lauren in the first place.
“You can expect a houseful of Witches by tomorrow.”
“And Charl?” Dimitri’s tone was even - neutral. I had told him a little bit about Charl, his madness and his actions that didn’t seem to make sense within the Club activity.
“He’ll be here for the wedding.”
“But not before?”
“Not before.” I nodded once as he grunted.
“Well then, I need to wake Ravi the fuck up because I refuse to be the only male in a house full of Witches.”
Dimitri was a master of conversation when he wanted to be. I found that the problem was that he didn’t often want to be. But this pivot in conversation added a lighter tone to our conversation, redirecting the melancholy that was creeping in, settling in the tub next to me.
This time, my smile was one of gratitude. “You feeling intimidated there, Pakhan?”
His hand rubbed lazy loops on the surface of the water, and before I could protest, he raised his hand and flicked his fingers in my direction, spraying my face with the water dancing at his fingertips.
“Brat.” He barked playfully as I squealed, and just as easily as he walked in, he left - no doubt to rouse Ravi so he wouldn’t face my Club alone.
The infamous Dimitri Petkov wasn’t unflappable.
By the time I emerged from the tub, my skin was scrunched and wrinkled, but I felt soothed in a way that I hadn't for a while. I whispered words of thanks to the water as I watched her slink down the drain, rejoining a body of hers elsewhere.
I dressed for comfort with cotton pajama bottoms and a band shirt. As my fingers brushed the hem of my shirt, I vaguely wondered if Dimitri would take me to a concert - the rough, camping in the dirt kind of music festival that I had only watched documentaries on. Brushing the thought aside, I left the comfort of my room, wary of what awaited me downstairs.
As my feet hit the bottom step, I was greeted with a string of laughter that made me feel far happier than I currently deserved. I had cursed a pregnant woman to death - I didn’t deserve this joy - but even those depressive thoughts were unable to hold as I finally stepped in the kitchen.
Dimitri stood against the wall, a half smile on his face as he watched the antics play out before him. Even in this relaxed home setting, he held a protective stance, and I found my feet dragging themselves towards him as I pressed my back to his chest, relaxing into him as we watched the scene before us.
Marie had her back towards us as she worked the blender, dishing margaritas into a series of tall glasses. But it was Ravi who I was paying attention to.
He hadn’t noticed me yet, and I had to bite my lip to stifle the laughter that threatened to spill out of me as I watched him pull out all the moves on Brenna. Dimitri seemed to be enjoying this just as much as I was because just as Ravi said something wholly idiotic, and Brenna shot him a blank stare, Dimitri pressed his mouth to my neck as he chuckled softly against my ear.
“So, you’re The Sun?” Ravi tried again, attempting to come back from his previous pick-up line.
“Yeah.” Brenna deadpanned, refusing to give Ravi an inch. If she was even marginally impressed by his position within the Bratva, she didn’t show it, but knowing Brenna, that kind of thing wouldn’t impress her.
“Tell me.” Ravi grinned at her, and I knew that whatever was about to come out of his mouth would probably land him a slap across the face. Ravi seemed to have picked up that nothing was going to happen between him and Brenna, which meant that whatever came out of his mouth next would be spoken with the sole purpose of pressing her buttons. “If I swallow any part of you, will I be enlightened?”
In my feeble attempt to not laugh, I snorted and watched as Ravi looked up across the counter to wink at me. He had seen me walk in and was playing Brenna the whole time. Good to know he hadn’t lost his touch.