“Fixing breakfast.”
“I’d go with eggs.” His suggestion made sense, but I didn’t exactly want to admit to never fixing eggs before. It made me sound like a rotten, spoiled princess. And that wasn’t me… at least I hoped it wasn’t.
Without revealing my internal struggle, I pulled out eggs and went in search of a pan. I mean, I’ve seen plenty of people cook them. It looked fairly simple.
“Look in the cabinet to the left,” Vlad’s voice mocked but I chose to ignore it.
I pulled the pan out and stood over the stove for a few seconds trying to decide if I needed anything else.
“Spray some butter in the pan so the eggs don’t burn.” Yeah, I wasn’t fooling him at all. He knew I had no business being in the kitchen.
On exhale, I turned around and met his eyes. “Anything else? I don’t really cook much.”
Make that, I don’t cook at all.
“Going for scrambled eggs?” he asked and at least the mocking in his voice was gone.
“Sure.” Scrambled should be easier to fix… I think. You just dump it all into a bowl and mix it up. Piece of cake, right?
He came around and started pulling out milk, salt, pepper, and a bowl.Maybe I should have gone for just simple sunny side up eggs.
“Ok, first crack the eggs and put them in the bowl,” he ordered. I didn’t like being bossed around by him at all. But I also didn’t know how to fix it on my own, so I pressed my lips tight and followed his directions. It was weird how cooking with Dimitry felt like he was guiding me rather than ordering me around. “Pour some milk in.” I did as he said. “Now, start whipping it.”
This guy's bedside manners were horrible. I wanted to tell him I’d whip his head but it really wasn’t worth it. Whoever he was, I hope he wasn’t staying long. I whipped the eggs in silence, aware of his eyes on me. His eyes stayed on me the entire time. My skin crawled as his eyes lingered on my face before slowly roaming down the rest of my body.
Just when it was on the tip of my tongue to tell him it was rude to stare at people, he continued talking.
“Put some butter in the pan, start the fire. While you wait for butter to melt, put a pinch of pepper and salt in the scrambled eggs. Once the butter is melted, pour eggs into the pan.”
I quickly did as he instructed, hoping he’d be done with me and leave but as soon as I poured eggs into the pan, he came over to me and peeked over my shoulder. I stiffened, not sure what it was about him that made me react this way.
I stood stiff, unable to move, trying to calm my pounding heart. It beat so hard, it hurt my chest. I could almost feel his breath against my neck, and I took a step to the left, trying to get distance. He followed.
I hated when people invaded my private space, but this was beyond space invasion. His hand came to my elbow and a shiver of disgust shook me to my core. His clammy hand ran up my arm and I was ready to elbow him hard.
“How much do you charge for a night?” An undignified exhale left my lips while his slightly heavy breath steamed in my ear. This man was disgusting and I opened my mouth to tell him off.
“Vlad, what are you doing here?” Dimitry’s voice was the saving grace.
I turned around, and Dimitry’s eyes were on me as if measuring if I was alright. Vlad nonchalantly moved away from me, as if he didn’t just completely invade my personal space.
“I’m teaching your woman to cook.”
Dimitry came up to me and slowly took the spatula out of my hand. I didn’t even realize I was gripping it as if my life depended on it.
“You okay?” His voice was soft, meant only for me to hear it.
Nodding, I replied back, trying to keep my tone low and leveled. “Want eggs?”
He smiled but it didn’t reach his eyes. This Dimitry was the man that people feared; dangerous, deadly, beautiful. His back was to Vlad, as if he was trying to block his view of me. “Yes, let’s finish cooking together.”
“Why are you here, Vlad?” Dimitry’s voice was sharp and cold.
“I brought you some more men.”
“Appreciated,” he nudged me to get in front of him, his arms wrapped around me as we both stirred the eggs together. “Next time, don’t invade my woman’s personal space. And if you touch her again, I’ll slice your hands off.”
My stirring movements slightly tripped but I quickly resumed not saying a thing. This ruthless Dimitry was how the world knew him. But to me he was the man who saved me and continued to keep me safe. Maybe he had to claim his territory to ensure Vlad kept his distance, and I was fine with it. I didn’t want him getting close to me again.