Sasha: The Wallflower (The Wallflower Series Book 1) by R.J. Fletcher Read Free Book Online

grocery bags. Teagan looked up and nearly screamed at the sight of a large man on the couch.
    “Dmitri? What are you doing here?” She looked down at his lap to see Sasha snuggled up against him like a child. She seemed so small and vulnerable as she sat against his broad chest. “What happened to Sasha? Is she okay?”
    Dmitri held Sasha closer to him as she stirred in her sleep. “I don’t know. She only stopped sobbing when she fell asleep.”
    He watched Teagan drop the bags and rush over to them. Her stance was protective as she said, “What did you do?”
    Dmitri ignored her question and looked down at the sleeping woman in his arms. Teagan was taken aback by the soft, adoring look in his eyes as he watched her. “She said that she was tired of people throwing her away,” he looked back up at Teagan. “What did she mean?”
    Teagan’s eyes narrowed at him. “Why should I tell you? Who are you to her?”
    “I decided to stop seeing you Teagan because I am interested in Sasha. I’m sorry.”
    She rolled her eyes. “You don’t have to apologize to me. I was upset but, trust me, I’m over it.” Dmitri didn’t believe her but he refused to say anymore on the subject. “So, from your question I take it she had an emotional breakdown?”
    Dmitri shrugged. “Something like that.”
    Teagan carefully sat down next to him so as not to wake her friend. “Yeah, every once in a while it happens. Because she tends to bottle all her emotions up, it bursts out all at once. To the point where she can be completely inconsolable. It’s usually triggered by some form of personal rejection; Sasha has serious abandonment issues.”
    “How so?” Dmitri listened attentively, his interest perked.
    “When she was seven her mother abandoned her. Apparently, her mother was a drug addict and couldn’t bother to take care of her anymore. It’s hard for her to let go of people.” Teagan looked at Sasha affectionately. “She is scared of being alone again like she was for most of her life.”

Chapter Six
    “You’re telling me that you made her have an emotional breakdown?” Slade looked at his friend with clear judgment in his eyes.
    Dmitri frowned at him. They sat in front of his large flat screen television watching a rugby game and drinking beer. “No, I-well…yes. But that’s not the point, Slade. I’m trying to tell you that this girl…is seriously getting to me.”
    “How so?” Slade took a sip of his beer and listened intently as his friend tried to explain.
    Dmitri rubbed his large hands across his face in frustration. Talking about feelings was something he was very unused to, no matter the company. He had met Slade at the PR firm they both worked at and even after several years of friendship, they had never sat down and had any sort of heart to heart. Even if Slade had been the type to ask, Dmitri was sure he would have never been very responsive. As a child growing up with his father, it had been ingrained in him to leave emotions at the door and rely on logic. He could clearly hear his father yelling, “Emotions are for girls! Are you a fucking sissy?”
    Repressing those horrible memories, he turned to his best friend and revealed, “I’ve become fucking obsessed with a woman that isn’t even my type! Does that make any goddamn sense? By my normal standards, she would be easily overlooked and forgotten but I’ve never wanted a woman so bad before. Even while I dated her friend, I constantly found a way to bring her up into conversation. There I was with this gorgeous redhead and I couldn’t even focus on her.
    “And so, when the opportunity presented itself, I decided to rid her from my thoughts by just getting the deed done. I tried to sleep with her and she actually said no.”
    Slade noticed his friend looked genuinely flummoxed by the turn of events. Well aware of Dmitri’s arrogance, Slade was sure he had probably never come across a woman who was strong enough to say no to him and mean