CHAPTER 51

Dimitri

The injury on my back and ribs ached and hurt to the touch. I cringed as I turned around in bed. I woke up with a slight headache, curtesy of being punched in the head.

It was 9:45am, and I hadn't expected to sleep this late, but it was the best sleep I had in ages. I expected to see and feel Lillie still next to me, but her side of the bed was empty. I felt the loss.

Being with Lillie last night was everything I hoped it to be and more. I've been with plenty of women before prison, but nothing matched up to this. I smiled contently. After years of not having sex and months of wanting Lillie, we finally did it, and it was everything I wanted it to be. But it wasn't just sex for me. We made love last night... over and over again.

It was fucking perfect.

My hopeful smile dropped slowly. I was falling for this woman, harder than what I expected, and it scared the fucking shit out of me. I couldn't shake the nagging feeling this would be short-lived. With Big Ben in the picture, I didn't know what the future held anymore. I grimaced at the thought. No, I wouldn't think about it now. I wanted to savour this time with Lillie as much as possible.

After getting out of bed, I scanned my surroundings. I frowned at Lillie's bedding. Had I just had sex on quilted frilly coverings? I shook my head with a smirk. I got up, slipped on my boxers that were tossed on the carpet and made my way out of the bedroom. I stopped midway down the staircase. I heard muffled voices near the front door. Lillie was speaking to someone with a deep voice... a man's voice.

I moved closer, trying to hear what was being said. I recognized the man's voice as Arthur's. What the fuck was Arthur doing here? I huffed in annoyance. I strained my ears to hear their conversation.

"You're leaving the quartet... why?" Lillie asked.

"It's time to move on... and there's nothing holding me back here... Is there?" Arthur replied.

There was silence for a moment.

"Where would you go?" Lillie asked.

"New York probably, I might join an orchestra." he said solemnly.

"Oh, I'm sorry you had to come all this way here Arthur, I should've replied to your texts," Lillie said apologetically.

"It's okay Lillie... I probably know the reason why," Arthur said. "Are you with him?"

I strained my ears further, focusing on what Lillie had to say. But there was muffled silence.

"Good luck with everything Lillie, maybe we'll see each other again," Arthur said.

"Thanks Arthur... for everything," Lillie replied.

I didn't know what that was all about, and it didn't sit well with me. Arthur's presence near Lillie made me uneasy. He was everything I was not. I didn't like it one bit.

Jealousy bit into me.

Both of them walked out the door as I turned to check from the stairwell. Lillie came back in the house a few minutes later. I walked to the kitchen slowly, where she was looking out the window, seemingly deep in thought.

Lillie noticed me walk in and beamed.

"Dimitri, you up?" She said bashfully.

I felt relief at her cheery reception after Arthur's unexpected visit. I smiled. She seemed shy to see me, probably because I rocked her world last night, I thought sheepishly. She offered me a mug of hot coffee.

"Who was that?" I asked, pretending not to know.

Lillie turned to me. "Oh, that was... Arthur," she said cautiously.

"What did he want?" I asked as I sipped my coffee.

"He just wanted to say goodbye. He's leaving for New York soon." she said, avoiding my gaze and distracting herself by cleaning the counter top.

"And he felt the need to come all the way here to tell you this?" I asked.

She blinked at me and stopped. I placed the coffee down and walked up to her, grabbing her in my arms. "Is there something between you two?" I asked, staring into her pretty eyes I adored. "I need to know now, before I fall in deeper."

Lillie looked at me. "No... not anymore," she said softly.

She frowned and hesitated. "did you have a thing with Roxanne? Did you sleep with her after prison?"

I looked at her. "No, there's nothing between me and Roxanne, and I didn't sleep with her." I answered. Technically, I didn't lie.

She nodded and smiled weakly. Hopefully, I placed her mind at ease regarding Roxanne, that was clearly bothering her for a while.

I took her soft, warm body in my arms and hugged her tight, not wanting to let her go. She held on tight to me, too.

"I'm scared I'll lose you..." I whispered on top of her head.

She looked up at me. "You won't lose me Dimitri, there's nothing to be jealous about. Arthur knows where I stand with him now, and he accepts it." She said, nuzzling her head against my chest.

I breathed in her sweet, delicate scent and sighed into her hair.

Even though Arthur might be the better man for Lillie, it wasn't the only reason I was scared of losing her. A creeping thought sent a icy shiver down my spine.