Chapter 86 Chapter 86 Marry Me!
I am completely infatuated with him. We’ve had sex six times today—and every single day since we got here. I’m trying, and failing, not to completely face-plant into whatever this is with him. It’s too much, too fast, too intense—and I don’t care.
We’re running along the beach now, the sand warm under my feet, the ocean stretching endlessly beside us. I’m on my fourth margarita, and everything feels loose, light, and a little out of control. Dimitri has us all gathered in a loose circle, trying to teach us pressure points.
“Self-defense,” he calls it.
“Are you paying attention, Elle?” he asks, way too serious for someone standing barefoot in the sand.
I stick my tongue out at him.
“You have the worst taste in men. You need this!”
“Oooooo!” Gemma teases, and Tiana joins in immediately. They all start mocking me, laughing and pointing.
I almost say something stupid—something about Dimitri being my last man—but I stop myself. It sounds ridiculous, even in my own head.
And yet…
Right now, I can almost see it.
Fucking him in every room at my villa, hiding away from the world there. Swimming in the pond, napping under the fruit trees, watching the stars every night. I close my eyes just listening to the waves hit the beach. I focus, I can hear the birds in the forest and smell the berries that grow all over the fence surrounding the property. I can see the red cherries and green apples on the trees, the grape vines that cover the back patio. I want to take him there and keep him there until we wither away.
His arms wrap around me, pulling me back.
“Where did you go?”
“To my secret place,” I murmur. “Shhh. I promise I’ll take you there this summer. You’ll love it.”
“A secret place?” he asks, amused.
"It's the villa my grandmother left me. It's a place only her and I used to go to. Someone is taking care of it but soon that will be me. It's up in the mountains and it's beautiful. I have enough to live comfortably there without actually working and....." I pause, I shouldn't say this out loud but I am drunk. "....if I marry someone European..."
Dimitri clamps his hand over my mouth.
“Don’t say stupid things.”
Before I can argue, he lifts me up and runs straight into the ocean, carrying me until we’re both submerged in the cold water.
The shock hits—but it doesn’t sober me.
Not even close.
If anything, it makes me louder.
I slap his chest as we come back out of the water. “Marry me!!!”
“You are drunk!” he laughs.
“I am serious!”
“Gemma!” he yells. “Get your girl—she just proposed to me!”
Gemma doesn’t hesitate. She scoops up a handful of sand and sprints toward me. I try to move, but my knee isn’t ready for that kind of speed.
She catches me easily.
And shoves sand straight into my mouth.
I gag instantly, spitting, coughing, feeling every grain scrape against my tongue and teeth. It’s disgusting. I crawl to the water, scooping it into my mouth, rinsing, spitting, over and over again until it finally clears.
I roll onto my back where the waves meet the sand, letting the water wash over half my body.
And then it hits me.
Tears.
I blink hard, trying to stop them, but they keep coming. I don’t even know why I want to cry this badly—it just builds up, thick and heavy in my chest.
I pull the strings of my bikini loose and toss it aside.
“No tan lines!” I yell.
My girls immediately pick it up, shouting, “No tan lines!” as they strip off their bikinis too.
“My eyes!!!” Dimitri shouts dramatically.
I push myself up and walk over to him. He’s stretched out on his towel now. I move between his legs and drop down on top of him, my body still damp from the ocean.
His arms come around me instantly, holding me close as the last of the water drips onto him.
I don’t even remember falling asleep.
But when I wake up, the sky is glowing—orange and pink melting together, streaks of white clouds stretching across the horizon.
I’m still lying on top of him.
“Did you have a nice nap?” he asks, smiling down at me.
I stretch, rubbing my eyes. He kisses my forehead, soft and warm.
Then his tone shifts.
“You know I want to be able to give you what you want… but I can’t.”
I go still.
“What are you saying?”
“My time with you is limited,” he says quietly. “It’s… coming to an end. And also—just like you—I have reproductive issues.” He lifts my chin, forcing me to meet his eyes. “One day, you’re going to make some asshole really happy. But it can’t be me. My future is already decided.”
I hear the words.
But I don’t fully understand them.
Or maybe I do—and I don’t want to.
Everything inside me scrambles, emotions tangling into something I can’t sort through. So I do the only thing that makes sense.
I move.
I straddle him, and he smiles, sliding his shorts down like he’s been expecting it.
“Where is everyone?” I ask.
“Inside, trying to cook,” he laughs, guiding himself into me.
“So… we’re going out to eat tonight,” I say, laughing as a moan slips out of me. “Unless you want to be poisoned by Gemma.”
His hands are already on me, pulling me down, making me move against him.
I grab his wrists and drag his hands up to my chest. He groans, bucking up into me, making me bounce. His hands slide down to my hips, holding me loosely.
“Bounce those tits for me.”
I grin, bending my legs, bouncing on him. The rhythm builds—skin against skin, the sound mixing with the steady crash of the waves behind us.
It’s unreal.
He moans under me, and I grind down between each movement, dragging it out, making it slower, deeper. Then I stop completely, tightening around him.
“Shit,” he breathes. “That’s tight.”
I focus, controlling the movement, milking him the way I’ve learned. My thoughts flicker for a second—then disappear as I focus back on him.
On this.
On us.
Everything else fades. The beach, the sky, the world—all of it blurs until it’s just him beneath me, his eyes locked on mine.
And for a second, I want this forever.
“What the hell are you doing?” he groans. “I’m going to blow—”
His grip tightens on my hips, sliding up to my chest again.
I let go just as he falls apart, cursing in multiple languages as he finishes. My head tilts back, eyes drifting up to the first stars appearing in the sky.
This is one hell of a Spring Break.
He’s still inside me, still twitching, and my thoughts start catching up again.
My time with you is limited.
What the hell does that even mean?
Illia said I could have him for as long as I needed.
And right now?
I need Dimitri.
Forever.