Dmitry's Royal Flush: Rise of the Queen by Latrivia S. Nelson Page A

round orb of her full breasts, and suddenly Dmitry could feel the heat rising inside of him.
    "I had a dream that Ivan killed you," she bit out. "He killed you, and he killed Anatoly in a lake. It was on fire." She tried to catch her breath. "He came out of the water, and he killed you both, and I had to watch. He… he was never dead, just waiting for the perfect time to strike."
    Dmitry sat up in the bed a little straighter. Royal was clever. She could have found a way to overhear his conversation with Anatoly earlier, but it was highly unlikely. And the look in her face warranted that of true concern and sincerity.
    He ran his hands through his golden locks and groaned. He didn't need this right now. He was hoping that she had come to make love to him, to ask him to make love to her—not to warn him of some strange portent.
    "Sweetheart, Ivan is dead," he pleaded, trying to reason with her. His voice was as soft and sympathetic as always.
    "I know that," Royal snapped. "But it felt real. It felt… "
    "No," Dmitry snapped back. His temper reared its ugly head. "Enough of this! Ostanovit . He's dead, and he's not coming back!"
    "I know," Royal said with tears in her eyes. "I just… "
    "I have had enough," Dmitry's voice raised. "I want you to stop this. I can't take it anymore."
    Royal shook her head. Tears ran down her cheeks. "If you would just listen for a damned minute!"
    Dmitry got up from the bed and snatched his jogging pants. Slipping them on, he turned on the lamp and walked around to face her.
    She looked at him concerned and wide-eyed, clueless to his sudden anger due to his excruciating sexual frustration.
    He gritted his teeth. "I have a meeting tomorrow. My helicopter will pick me up first thing in the morning. When I get back… "
    "Is it on a lake?" she interrupted.
    "Listen to me, zhenshchina ," he said sternly. "When I get back, you and I are going to go back to therapy. You aren't getting better. You're getting worse and I can't… "
    "I'm not getting worse," she protested. "I came in here to tell you that you must be in some sort of danger… "
    Dmitry talked over her. "You're getting worse and paranoid. I want this to stop. I'm calling the doctor and… "
    "You're not listening to me!" she protested again, trying to push past him.
    Dmitry blocked her. "Listen to me!" He grabbed her and shook her. "I want my wife back, damn it." He pushed her body against the bed. She fell over on the mattress.
    "I haven't gone anywhere," she said crying. "Take your fucking hands off of me, Dmitry!" She tried to wheedle away. "I… I hate you!" she cried. "I came in here to tell you that you're in danger. I came in here to warn you, but you won't listen to me!" She kicked her feet.
    "I have been listening to you! Every night for three years, I've been listening. And it's always about Ivan. It's like you mourn him. I can't stand it. I hate it almost as much as you hate me and Anya," he growled as he leaned in between her thighs.
    Royal gasped as he held her down. She stared him in his eyes. He was only a hair away from her face. She could feel his hot chest against her body. "I don't hate my baby?" she cried. "I love Anya. She's all I've got in the world."
    Dmitry was in shock. He let her go and backed away. She lay on the bed with her legs wide open, gown pulled up to her waist and visibly shaken. The sight made him instantly think of the rape. He was sure it had made her think of it as well, but her words were what destroyed him.
    "After all that I have given you, you think that all you have in this world is Anya?" he asked in sheer disbelief.
    She sat up in the bed. Wiping the tears from her face, she pulled her gown strap up and sniffled.
    "I know that you don't love me, Dmitry. I'm just a burden that you have to bare, because I have nowhere else to go." Her bottom lip quivered. "That's why you brought Victoria here. To replace me, at least on some levels."
    "Victoria? Fuck her. She's just a teacher. She's here to