NOVEL NEXT Chapter 17: Nostalgia Beneath the Rain
Irina stood by her window overlooking the rain-soaked street, watching the city's shadows dissolve into the mist. Months had passed since her last encounter with Dmitri, yet she couldn't forget him. There was something about the way he left, the way his words seeped into her heart like poison, that left her unable to move on.
Irina (thinking): "Why does it feel like he's here? As if he's watching me from afar... as if he never really left."
She shut the curtains tightly, trying to escape the haunting thoughts that had become her curse. But she didn't know that in the dark corner of the street, Dmitri stood hidden under the shadows of his black coat, silently gazing at her window.
Dmitri (whispering to himself): "Irina... It was always you. I can't escape you even if I tried."
The next night, as Irina prepared for bed, a soft knock echoed at her apartment door. She froze for a moment, her heart pounding. She wasn't expecting anyone.
Opening the door cautiously, she found him standing there. Completely drenched from the rain, his face bore the same calm, enigmatic charm that had always disarmed her defenses.
Irina (shocked and wary): "Dmitri? What are you doing here?"
Dmitri (in a deep voice): "I couldn't stay away. I tried, Irina. I swear I did. But every day without you was pure torment."
She stared at him, a storm of conflicting emotions raging within her—anger, love, longing, and fear all colliding at once.
Irina (sharply): "You can't just show up out of nowhere after all this time as if nothing happened. I've tried to forget you, Dmitri. But you make it impossible."
He entered without waiting for an invitation, closing the door behind him. Her eyes followed him cautiously, yet she couldn't deny his magnetism. Something about him completely stripped her of her willpower.
Dmitri (confidently): "I'm not asking you to forgive me. I'm only asking you to let me stay tonight. Let me be with you, even if it's for the last time."
He approached her slowly, his eyes meeting hers—filled with something akin to regret, yet also desire.
Irina (hesitant): "This isn't fair, Dmitri. You make me weak when I need to be strong."
Dmitri (whispering): "Because you make me weak too, Irina. But tonight, I don't want strength. I want you."
He came closer, raising a hand to wipe away a single tear that escaped her eye. She wasn't sure if it was a tear of pain or longing. Everything blended together in his presence.
Dmitr: "I love you, I love you, I love you... I love you, I love you, I love you... I love you, I love you, I love you."
His voice resonated in the room like a song meant only for her. She felt the heat of his words sinking into her soul. She knew she would lose control if she kept looking at him, but she couldn't stop.
Slowly, she moved toward him, drawn to a magnetic force she couldn't resist. He held her face gently, leaning in until their lips met in a kiss that was long and tender.
The kiss began as a whisper but soon turned into something more urgent, more desperate. Both were trying to erase every moment of pain and fear they had endured.
Irina (breathless): "Dmitri... this... I can't..."
Dmitri (whispering): "Don't say anything, Irina. Let me love you tonight, the way you always deserved."
She raised her hand to touch his face as if to confirm he was real. Then, she surrendered completely to the moment, unbothered by what might come next.
His hands moved gently, exploring her as if discovering her for the first time. Every touch carried a charge, reviving something inside her that had long been dormant.
Hours later, they lay side by side in the darkness. This time, the darkness wasn't frightening; it was comforting.
Irina (softly): "What happens now, Dmitri?"
Dmitri (deeply): "Now, I won't leave you again. I'll fight for you, Irina. I'll become the man you deserve."
Irina (hesitant): "And me? How do I start over after everything?"
Dmitri (with a faint smile): "You start with me. We're not perfect, but we're real. And that's enough."
As dawn broke, neither of them knew what the future held, but they were ready to face it together. Love wasn't always easy, but it was always worth the fight.
"Irina..." Dmitri whispered in a husky voice dripping with desire, pulling her roughly yet firmly against him, his hands sliding over her body without hesitation, his fingers pressing into her skin with an enticing intensity. "Tonight... I'll make you scream like a madwoman. I won't leave a single inch of you untouched, and I'll make every part of you beg for more. You'll know you're mine and only mine... I'll destroy every damn thought in your head that isn't about me."
He leaned in closer, his breath igniting her skin, his hand gripping her jaw firmly as his voice grew even more daring: "I want you to beg for me, to scream my name, to feel every second like you're in a delicious kind of hell with me... Tonight, I'll make you my filthy queen."
THE END