Free Wives and Champions by Tina Martin

planned. I like being
spontaneous.”
    “ I like that about you,”
she said, feeling the weight of his body come down on top of her
again. She wrapped her arms around him, her fingers gliding across
his sweat-covered back.
    Dimitrius didn’t say a word in
response. He just stared down at the woman he made his
wife.
    “ What?” she asked, curious
about the smirk on his face.
    “ I can’t stare at my wife
if I want to?” he asked.
    She smiled. “I feel like you’re
playing mind games with me.”
    And then his smile faded…
    She was his woman – the woman he chose
to be his wife. He was bold enough to walk right up to her and tell
her that she was going to be his wife, even before they had a
chance to get to know each other.
    Their initial meeting had
been rocky. At the time, Melanie was interviewing for a position at
The Champion Corporation. While Dimitrius knew he wanted love, was
ready to settle down, even knew she was the woman he wanted to
settle down with, he wanted her to fit his timetable. He wasn’t ready for
her to work in such close proximity to him because he wasn’t ready
to commit. But all that changed when he realized he had avoided her
long enough. Besides, Melanie was a great catch. A great woman.
Smart, funny and beautiful. And even before they’d officially met,
they’d exchanged glances during a few seminars at the hotel in
which she used to work, or when he would so happen to catch a
glimpse of her at Dante’s house since she and Emily were friends.
Now she was his.
    “ What is it, Dimitrius?”
she asked, staring up at him.
    “ Nothing,” he told her, but
it was something. It bothered him that she didn’t seem to have a
problem conversing with her ex this morning. But then again,
Desmond had brought up a good point at the bar. What if he ran into
one of his exes? Would she have a problem with him if he was
cordial with them? What was the protocol when it came to dealing
with exes? Were you to cut them off completely?
    Whatever the case, he didn’t like the
way Scott was looking at Melanie. He hated to bring up the subject
because he didn’t know how she would react to it. And what if
Melanie had lingering feelings for the man? What would he do if he
found out his wife was not completely over her ex? If she wasn’t,
then what? Was their marriage doomed? Maybe he was thinking about
it too much.
    Melanie lifted her head from the bed,
placed her hands on both sides of his face and left a soft kiss on
his lips. “Dimitrius?”
    “ Yes,
sweetheart?”
    “ I love you.”
    A smile came to his lips.
    “ I love you, too,
Melanie.”
    “ Good. Now, get off of me
so I can take a shower?”
    “ No.”
    Melanie giggled.
“Dimitrius…”
    “ Okay, okay,” Dimitrius
said taking a quick kiss from her lips, “But only on one
condition.”
    Melanie smiled wide. “And what might
that be, Mr. Champion?”
    “ That…I…join you…in the
shower,” he said between kisses.
    “ Please do.”
    Dimitrius rolled off of her, stood to
his feet and standing next to the bed, he stretched his arms out,
assisting her to her feet.
    “ Thank you,” she said,
heading to the bathroom.
    “ You’re welcome,” he said,
following her, his eyes sweeping over her body.
    “ And stop staring at my
butt,” Melanie quipped.
    He grinned. “That’s my butt now. How many
times do I have to tell you that?”
    Melanie grinned. “Just like a
Champion…always think you own something that’s not
yours.”
    His eyes narrowed as he stood behind
her while she turned on the shower. “Not mine?” he asked, palming
her flesh with his large hands. “Let’s hear you say something
illogical like that when you’re pinned against those tiles.” He
spun her around, kissed her lips again while scooping her up into
his arms.

Chapter Eight
     
     
     
    Dante leaned back in his leather desk
chair, Monday morning, finding it difficult to concentrate on work.
Yesterday at home proved uneventful, partially due to the fact