Ariana POV
Maarah left them a little while later, and Ariana slipped into the bathroom to get ready for bed. She left Dimitri sitting on the bed, staring at nothing.
He held it together with Maarah, but now, alone with her, he seemed to retreat into himself. The idea of facing Luc, maybe even having to kill him, had cast a pall over him.
She had to do something to help him. To give him strength.
Fluffing her short dark hair, she made sure her skin shone and she smelled sweet. Leaving the bathroom, she noticed with a pang that Dimitri sat sphinxlike on the bed.
"Baby?" she asked. She'd never really called him that before.
He stirred at the endearment and looked up at her with a faraway look. "Yes?"
She hastily joined him on the bed. Slow seduction was one route, but she felt too impatient to play the tease. Besides, he probably wasn't in the mood.
