Dark Chase (The Gunrunner Series) by Miranda Kavi Page A

Petersburg even more.
    He said they’d have to leave soon, but for now, they were carefree lovers in a beautiful city.
    She finished her crepe and sipped her coffee. The barista had made a heart shape with the foam, and it held as she sipped it. How appropriate.
    “I want to know everything,” Dmitri said.
    “Like what?” she said.
    He put his coffee cup down. “I want to know what happened to you when I left you there, weak and injured.” His face was dark, his throat hoarse.
    She sighed. “You mean when I made the biggest mistake of my life?”
    He pushed his cup and saucer away. “I should have come back,” he whispered. “You had been through so much.”
    She put her cup down too, reaching for him across the table. “You couldn’t. It was what it was. I made the wrong choice, but we fixed it. I made a damn mess doing so, but we are together.” She pinned her eyes to him. “Please forgive me.”
    He squeezed her hand. “Tell me what happened to you.”
    She took a deep breath. “The paramedics got me. I went to the hospital. I had some damage to my liver and intestines and was bleeding internally.”
    His stroked her thumb with his. “Was…was your life ever in danger?”
    She looked down. “I don’t think so. My blood pressure dropped, but they were able to give me a transfusion and the surgery stopped the bleeding. I woke up six hours later in terrible pain. It took me a few days to remember.” She blew out a puff of air. “I still don’t remember everything.”
    “Did you love me then?” he asked.
    She squeezed his hand. “I did.”
    He scooted his chair close to hers so they were leg to leg. He put his arm around her. She folded into him, into the safety that only he could give her.
    “I thought of taking you even when you said no. I thought of picking you up and getting you to a doctor, then sneaking you out of the country. I wanted to take you, even if you did not want me,” he whispered. “I tell you now because I want you to know how I think. It is not always right.” He pushed her hair back. “I do not know how to love, Sophia. You will have to help me learn.”
    She pushed into him, shocked as she absorbed his words. That was probably the most she’d ever heard him speak about his feelings. She needed to take care of him, make him feel safe to share his innermost thoughts with her.
    She pulled back and kissed him. “We will learn together. We will love our own way.”
    “Sophia,” he murmured. “ Lyubov moya . Only you.”
    “Dmitri,” she said. He kissed her again, slipping his tongue in her mouth. The passion unfolded between them.
    “I need you,” he said. “Now.”
    He pulled her from her chair, hooked his hand firmly around her waist, and led her to the back of the restaurant. There was a small, worn, black door against the back wall. They stumbled through it, barely paying attention to their surroundings. Whether it was a broom closet, restroom or something else, Dmitri was taking her. Now.
    It was a narrow, stone alley, giving only a few feet to the next windowless brick building. An empty dumpster partially blocked the view from the pedestrian sidewalk. Anyone who stopped to take a second look would see them.
    He pushed her against the stone wall, kissing her, possessing her. Saying with kisses and caresses what he had a hard time putting into words.
    She kissed him back, tore her fingers through his hair, felt his hardness through his clothes. He was so virile, so tall. Powerful.
    DMITRI
    Sophia moaned against him. Her body responded to his, which made him harder. They were in a public alley, partially hidden from view.
    But he didn’t care. He needed to be inside her now.
    He was desperate for her. He wanted to tell her so many things. So many emotions of love, lust and admiration, but he didn’t have the words.
    How the days without her had been the darkest in his life. How he thought of sneaking back into the United States. How he was willing to give up his