A Hint of Jealousy

Dimitri paced his office like a caged animal, the unease he felt seemed to gnaw at his soul.

"What the hell is wrong with me? My goal was clear: to exact revenge on Laura completely, but I've become her involuntary protector. Perhaps she doesn't value what we shared in my former life, maybe her thoughts wandered to another while she lay in my arms. But for me, damn it, she was my universe."

He stopped, and helplessness led him to pour himself a glass of expensive liquor, seeking to drown out his conflicting emotions.

"If only that boy were my blood, I might have considered forgiveness. Perhaps... just perhaps if there were a spark of love in her heart towards me," he thought cynically as a twisted smile crossed his face.

Then, the persistent buzz of his cellphone became an impossible demand to ignore. With an irritated gesture, he glanced at the screen and answered; it was a direct call from Lombardo Corporation.

"I hope your call is worth it; I came here to be at peace," Dimitri growled, his voice a sharpened blade.

"Sir, I found something in the finances that can't wait. It's something you need to see with your own eyes," the voice on the other end of the line stammered.

The urgency in the tone was enough for Dimitri to understand the gravity of the situation.

"I'll be there at dawn," he promised, cutting the call.

With his mind still clouded by alcohol, Dimitri made his way to the bedroom where Laura was resting.

Laura shifted uncomfortably. "Dimitri, what's wrong?"

"Does something special need to happen for me to share a bed with you, my wife?" he hissed with a sweet venom, but his eyes dripped with hidden sorrow that alcohol couldn't disguise.

The stench of Dimitri's alcohol filled the air, and Laura felt nervous as she realized it; she feared Dimitri might harm her.

"It's not that, Dimitri. It's just that... my head still hurts. I just wanted some peace," she said in a whisper.

He cocked his head, his expression twisted by the bitterness that those words caused.

"Does my presence unsettle you so much, Laura?"

"Dimitri, I..."

He silenced her with a finger on her lips. "Don't speak."

Laura recognized the desire in his movements, the way his clothes seemed to fall to the ground of their own accord. And despite her plea for rest, Dimitri couldn't ignore the yearning of his body and soul.

"I can't ignore that I desire you, Laura, and there's nothing wrong with that; after all, we're spouses," he declared as his pants joined the pile of clothes, his body craving the close warmth of Laura, a warmth that was as familiar as it was forbidden.

Laura observed his perfect, defined abdomen, unconsciously biting her lower lip as she noticed her reaction to the sight, quickly averting her gaze elsewhere.

He collapsed onto the bed, and Laura found herself ensnared in his embrace, like a marble statue. Only when Dimitri's breathing steadied into a steady, tranquil rhythm did her body begin to relax; he had fallen into a deep sleep instantly.

As she watched him surrendered to the silence of sleep, Laura couldn't help but trace the contours of his face with her gaze, a face not as perfect as Luke's, but filled with a raw, masculine attractiveness. She felt guilty for feeling something for Dimitri; it was a betrayal of her own principles, a betrayal of Luke.

She felt exhausted, so she soon succumbed to the realm of Morpheus where Luke ruled with tenderness, and she lost herself in his embrace. In the morning, Dimitri woke up to the faint pressure of Laura embracing him; a moment of peace that evaporated upon remembering the armor he had to wear.

Without a glance, he dressed and ordered coldly, "Get ready to leave."

The sparkle of joy in Laura's eyes after the command was like a knife to Dimitri. "Does the idea of ​​being away from me bring you such happiness?" he said, each word tinged with resentment.

Laura avoided his gaze, choosing to remain silent, fearful of stoking his anger.

On the plane, while Laura secluded herself in silence and distance, Dimitri surrendered to the coldness of his work.

But even there, doubt gnawed at his pride. Was his presence so repulsive to her? A radiant flight attendant with golden hair and a sculpted body offered to serve him. Could she be a temporary balm for his wounded ego? Perhaps, but Dimitri knew that no other woman could fill the abyss that Laura had dug in his being.

"Is there anything else you desire, Mr. Dimitri?" The flight attendant's voice had a suggestive tone accompanied by a flirtatious smile.

Dimitri, without taking his eyes off Laura, responded with a boldness intended to grab her attention.

"There are many things you could offer me, miss."

The flight attendant smiled foolishly upon hearing him, winked at him before walking away.

Laura heard Dimitri's response to the flight attendant's attentions, feeling her body tensing in response, even against her own desires.

Dimitri refocused his attention on the screen, trying to concentrate, but it seemed impossible; the image on the screen was intertwined with the image of Laura and the echo of her words of contempt.

He closed the computer with a resigned gesture and allowed himself to look at her openly. The light filtering through the plane's windows bathed her face, playing with the contours of her silhouette, giving her an almost celestial halo that incited adoration and madness.

As Dimitri lost himself in contemplating Laura, he could almost feel the warmth of the light illuminating her figure, a warmth that reminded him of the sensation of her body in his arms.

Every detail of her face, every shadow, every line, was both a refuge and a condemnation, a reminder of what had been and what could be if the demons of his past didn't stalk him with such voracity.

"What are you thinking so deeply about, Dimitri?" Laura's voice broke the silence, and when he turned to her, he noticed that she was looking at him strangely.

Dimitri closed his eyes for a moment, trying to suppress the flood of emotions that Laura's simple words provoked in him.

"In nothing that concerns you," he snapped, unsuccessfully trying to regain the armor of indifference that usually protected him.

Laura recoiled, hurt by his harshness, but before she could retreat into her own bubble of safety, Dimitri intensified his gaze on her, and the girl felt her breath catch in her throat.

"Perhaps I should tell you what I'm thinking," he added in a low voice, his burning eyes locked on hers.

The tension between Dimitri and Laura was a spark on the verge of igniting, but just as he rose with the intention of approaching her, the flight attendant burst in again.

"Sorry for the interruption," the flight attendant said with a forced smile that failed to hide her annoyance. "But I was wondering if you need anything. Pillows, blankets... maybe a refreshment?" Her tone had that particular tint of someone more interested in marking her territory than in providing a service.

Dimitri observed her with a mixture of irritation and biting gratitude. Gratitude because the interruption had given him a necessary pause to calibrate his emotions, and anger stemming from being interrupted just as he was about to reach the climax of his approach to Laura.

"We don't need anything. I'll call if we do. Now, get lost," the flight attendant's eyes widened greatly; she thought Dimitri had taken an interest in her. On the verge of tears, she immediately walked away.

"You shouldn't have treated her like that," said Laura, although deep down she acknowledged that she was pleased that he put the stunning blonde in her place.

"Do you really care about that girl? She's a stranger."

"But she's a human being, and she's just doing her job."

"Then I'll call her back, I won't apologize, I never do that with my employees, but she's a beautiful girl, maybe if she returns, I'll come up with something."

"No!" Laura replied with a small jump in her seat.

"No what?" he asked, trying to contain his laughter; Laura's expression gave her away.

"If you don't need anything, leave the poor girl alone."

"Then that's what I'll do," he said smiling, his bad mood seeming to have dissipated upon realizing that Laura had become jealous, if only a little.

Laura felt a suffocating heat, trying to disguise it. Despite wanting to avoid it, and despite Dimitri being clearly the villain, she had to acknowledge that his proximity ignited a fiery passion within her. She was certain that she had to distance herself, or that fire would end up consuming her.