XVIII · DIMITRI

Dimitri Delacroix's point of view

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DON'T ASK ME!

I don't have the slightest idea of what's gotten into me at that moment. I just… couldn't hold it anymore. The tension between us has been building up since the second she entered the ballroom, I guess, and then everything happened, she danced with Augustin, then with that random dork, and all of my self control disappeared the second she compared me with them and said that.

She knew what she was doing and I warned her before about playing with fire. But of course, she didn't give a damn and did it anyway. And it all came to this second.

Maybe it even began when we met six days ago. I'm sure this overbearing attraction we've been feeling for each other will disappear after this. We just need to have a taste of each other, it'll probably be enough!

The impulse of kissing those full lips of hers was too much for me, I couldn't handle, so I took her to where I was sure no one was going to come near, and I did it. I kissed her. And although she was startled at first, she immediately kissed me back.

Pressing my body closer to hers, I tightened my grip on her waist, as I let my other hand wonder around the strip of her dress, stopping on her thigh. Her hands went for my hair and she brought me closer, clearly not sure of what to do, but following my lead. Then we stopped, both breathless and when her eyes met mine, her pupils were extremely dilated with desire.

"Isabelle…" I whispered.

She pushed me without saying anything, and jumped to the ground. But when I thought she was going to slap my face and get away from me, she pushed me towards the table, came closer putting her hands on my shoulders and, understanding what she had in mind I took her by her thighs and held her in my arms, then she crossed her legs around my waist and I sat back on the table to stabilize us.

"I'll… I'll kill you later," she whispered, breathing with difficulty and kissed me again. Holding her tight with one hand in her hip and the other in her waist, I put an end on the distance between us.

Feeling her breasts pressed to my chest turned me on again, and sensing that, her hands went to my back to tighten her grip on me, which made me smirk on her lips, "I knew you wanted me!" I muttered, and brought my hands to hold her face and deepen the kiss.

"Don't… jinx it…" she whispered on my lips, pressing hers even more against mine, intensifying it.

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I don't know how long we stayed like this, with her in my arms, kissing like savages, but we stopped the when we heard a terrifying growl from Jade. Which startled us and we jumped away from each other on the same instant. Both blushing, too shocked with what we had done to say anything for what seemed like a century.

"What… what have you done?" She muttered without looking at me and I shot her a glare. "If… if someone…" she gasped, still trying to recover her breath. "If someone had come inside and seen us… do you have any idea what they would have put us through?"

"…" I couldn't say anything, knowing very damn well that she was, for once, right.

"If… if one my siblings, my dad, or your mom had come inside…" She looked up and found me already staring at her. "They would makes us marry each other, against our will! Do you understand the gravity of what you started?"

I scoffed bitterly, "It's not like you didn't kiss me back," I exclaimed and she glared at me with her eyes wide open and her face still redder than ever. Her lips, swollen.

"Why do you have to be such a jerk even at a moment like this? I'm not ignoring my actions. Indeed, I kissed you back, but was it me who started it?" I said nothing, still glaring at her, unable to look away. "That's what I'm trying to say," she exclaimed exasperated. "We already knew we were both physically attracted to each other, even though we despise one another, but the problem in question was doing something about it, Dimitri!"

I've never seen her so serious.

"If you hadn't done that, I wouldn't have done it either. And although I get that almost no one would dare to come her because of Jade, the people who aren't scared of her, are exactly the ones who would make us marry each other if they saw us like that!" She passed her delicate fingers through her hair that was now messy thanks to me, anxiously, and I found myself clenching my jaw not to kiss her again.

This can't be happening! Why am I still turned on after I kissed her? For Gods' sake, what the fuck is happening to me?

I gulped, but she didn't seem to notice it. "You don't understand how screwed we would be if that were to happen!" She sounded as if she had just seen a ghost.

When I too a step forward, she took two steps back. "That's didn't happen, why are you freaking out now?"

"Don't come near me, it's dangerous," the wary tone in her voice made me giggle bitterly.

"Are you afraid we'll kiss again?" I teased not being able to hold myself.

She glared at me annoyed, "I know I won't kiss you again, but I don't know about you. If you try to kiss me again, I'll really kill you, don't forget that I have daggers with me. Getting closer to me is dangerous for you, not for me!" There she goes spitting bullshit again.

Chuckling softly, I put my hands in the pockets of my trousers and took her three daggers from then, showing it to her, "You mean, these?"

In a flash, she tried to get them back from me, but I held them higher and she cursed. "Childish fucker!"

"Look who's talking!" I looked down at her, now that she was barefoot, after I threw her heels on the ground when we were still kissing.

"How dare you take them from me? Do you have a death wish?" She's really insane, isn't she?

Smirking, I pushed her to the table again and pressed one of her daggers against her throat, "You were stupid to let your enemy kiss you. Of course, I would take advantage of that and take any weapons you had in you away so you wouldn't be able to try anything against me. You shouldn't be threatening me when your life is in my hands, Isabelle!"

She growled, "Fuck, I hate you! You are the worse kind of man in the world," is that all she has? Is she only confident when she has a weapon with her?

"You are so pitiful," I mocked and she dared to glare at me again. "Where's your savage, aggressive, confident self now? Is that confidence of yours build around your possession of a weapon?" I scoffed bitterly, "How disappointing! You only bark, but don't have the guts to actually do something when you are at disadvantage. Do you only run your mouth when you have a dagger with you?"

Her eyes were full of hatred like never before. And that filled me with amusement, so I tightened the blade on her throat a little bit, and she trying to back away, but I didn't let her.

"You were all worried about marriage a second ago, but you shouldn't have! I would never marry an unladylike aggressive women like you. If someone happened to see me with you, I could just order this person to be killed, and if I couldn't, then I could very damn well have a flash marriage to escape from a terrible union with someone like you," she clenched her jaw, angry. "Besides, it was just a simple kiss, it's not like we slept together," I chuckled bitterly. "And if everyone knew this side of you, I'm sure no one would marry you even if just for money!"

"You are just like your father!" She growled, and I felt the hit personally, making me see red.

I pressed her body more against the table, enough to make her feel pain in her back, "Don't you dare to say a word about my father! You know nothing about him!"

A vicious grin appeared in her lips, "I know that he had one shameless night with your mother, disappeared, married another women a month ago, and later she discovered that she was pregnant with you! And for what? Just for her to raise you and you become a physically similar to her, but with a personality identical to his… I bet she would be disappointed!"

I felt the urge to strangle her but I held it in, she was doing it purposely, "Are you comparing yourself to my mother? Even if you were to be reborn, you would never be like her. But what should anyone expect of you? How would you possess the grace of a Lady like my mother, when you grew up without a mother? Of course, you would be a tomboy when you only had men around you!" I exclaimed impulsively with fury in my eyes.

"Don't cross the line, Dimitri Delacroix," she muttered hurt and I arched my eyebrows in disbelief.

"You are the one who keeps crossing the line, Isabelle Baudelaire," I pressed the dagger just a little bit more on her neck, but not enough to cut her soft skin. "You have no sense or whatsoever. And you know it's the truth! You are a pitiful women with a terrible temper, a horrible habit of threatening others and being extremely aggressive like a savage who never lived in society. The most unladylike woman in the world, probably. It doesn't matter if you try to hide, you are rotten inside. Your only purpose is to spread chaos wherever you goes, that's why no one but your family tolerates you! Ha… you think you will find a husband? I assure you, you will not. No men would ever be able to spend the rest of his life with a savage like you, I doubt someone would even last months by your side. How would make a marriage last when the only good thing about you is your looks?"

"Dimitri Carpentier Delacroix, are you insane?" Two voices I know way too well screamed from the entry of the inner garden, startling the shit out of me, so much that I deepened a little too much the dagger on her skin, making a slight cut.

When I turned to see who it was, I found both of my parents standing there, and I panicked. Taking the dagger away from her neck, I took lots of steps back, putting a big distance between us. But Isabelle was dead silent.

And the moment my eyes went to her, I felt like dying. She was frozen on her place, her face red with fury, a thin line of blood on her neck, but what scared me the most was the look on her face. She was looking down, and when she blinked, tears fell down. She was crying.

Isabelle. Delannoy. Baudelaire. Was. Crying.

"What the fuck do you think you are doing?" My dad yelled, coming to me and taking the daggers of my hand.

On the defensive, I snapped, "She tried to kill me, I just took them from her, and subdued her!"

"She isn't an animal, Dimitri!" He yelled again, in disbelief.

"Yes, she is! You don't know her. Not like I do!"

I heard a bitter chuckled and when I stared at her, she began giggling like an insane person, after pushing my mother away. "Yes. You know me way too well," she mocked, and turned her eyes to me. "I wish I had never met you, Delacroix! You are the most loathing person I've ever met in my entire life. But after all you said, I'm sure you think the same of me!"

"I…"

"Don't bother!" She growled and wiped away the tears of her beautiful eyes, making me feel a strange pain in my heart. "I got it. Your existence is precious. Mine is a chaotic disaster for the world," Isabelle scoffed. "Maybe that's true," she said more to herself. "It's not like it matters. I won't stop acting the way I do and change my personality just because it doesn't pleases you, Your Grace. I held a blade against your throat last time, now you did the same to me. We are even," the she turned to my mother. "Don't let me ruin your night. Pretend like this never happened and please, feel free to interact with my family, but never," she made a slight pause, "never speak with me again." Then she side-looked my father! "Not even you!"

With that, she left by the outside door, going to the outdoor garden, and Jade followed her.

I feel terrible, but it's better like this. This level of hatred won't allow us to give in to desire again. That's the best for the both of us.

Otherwise, I'm afraid I wouldn't be able to let go of her so easily with such an addicting kiss. At least now my guilty will hold me back!