"You wanted me? That night?"
"Yes," Dimitri whispered, his head resting in his hands. "I wanted you more than I have ever wanted anything."
"Because of the charm," Rose said bitterly.
"No, Roza," Dimitri said, using the name he'd not let himself utter in five years. "Because of you. It killed me to tell you it was all the charm because it wasn't. Victor's charm might have removed my inhibitions, but the desire to be with you was all my own."
"But after… You said you didn't feel that way about me?"
"I lied." Dimitri reached across and took her hands within his own, preparing to confess everything.
"I never came out and said it, but you knew how I felt. I thought you felt the same way, too. Why would you lie like that?" Rose hissed, pulling her hands away and standing up in agitation. "Do you have any idea how much you hurt me?! I felt so much, yet you tossed me aside without a second thought!"
"I did it because I cared too much to get in the way of everything you'd worked so hard for!" Dimitri snapped also standing. "If we'd made love that night, I would never have been able to let you go! So I told you I didn't feel the same way, and let you move on."
"Yeah – and look how well that worked out," Rose growled.
"What do you mean?"
"I haven't moved on, have I?!"
Dimitri's eyes locked with Rose's. "What are you saying, Roza?" he asked, his voice a tortured whisper.
"I'm saying it's been five years and nothing's changed. No one else has measured up. Not even close. Five years on and I'm still stuck here wanting something I can't have," Rose shouted pushing Dimitri hard on his chest. "And the worst bit is, even now you don't consider me an equal!"
"I do! Of course, I do!" Dimitri defended, trying to put his hands out to placate Rose.
"No, you don't!" she bellowed, picking up and smashing a particularly ugly lamp she'd always hated. "If you genuinely thought of me as an equal, some time over the last five years, we'd have discussed how we felt. You know? Like two equally invested adults. But instead, you lied to me! Since that night, I've believed that I was alone in this."
"I'm sorry, Rose! I made what I thought was the best decision under the circumstances! I was your mentor – if things had progressed, and we'd been discovered, I would have been jailed and you expelled. We'd both have suffered lifelong consequences."
"That might be true for then, but what about now? I've been eighteen and graduated for almost four years. We live and work together. We're meant to trust each implicitly; you've had plenty of opportunities to tell me how you felt. Do you know how mortified I was after that night?! I offered my heart to you, only to be treated like a silly little girl with her first crush. And then, to add insult to injury, I have to see you every day. How am I meant to move on when you're always around me, reminding me of what I can't have?"
Rose could feel the rage rising inside her. Her own righteous indignation, abetted by Lissa's darkness, it was almost all-consuming.
"So well done, Guardian Belikov!" she shouted, pushing him in the chest, again and again, forcing him backward until he collided with her study desk. Only used to store her books on animal psychology and physiology, these clattered to the floor when Dimitri lurched against the table. "For five years I've felt unworthy of love, thanks to you!"
"No…" Dimitri hissed, genuinely stricken. "Roza! I never meant for you to feel that way. I thought I was doing the best thing!"
"Ha," Rose retorted bitterly. "The road to hell is paved with good intentions, Comrade; haven't you heard?" Rose turned to spin away, but Dimitri was faster reaching out and grabbing her, holding her tight against him as she started to cry.
"No! No – you don't get to do this now!" Rose bellowed, fighting tooth and nail to get away from him. It was bad enough Dimitri knew she still cared for him – she didn't want him to have the gift of her tears, too. Her desk chair overturned during their struggle, she felt a moment's remorse when she heard her small mirror shatter. Guess that meant seven years bad luck? Oh well – she was five years in… only two to go!
However, try as she might, her resistance was futile. With her arms pinned against her sides and her back pressed to Dimitri's chest, Rose's options were limited. Finally, in a last-ditch bid for freedom, she lowered her head before throwing it back smashing it into Dimitri's chin. He uttered an expletive she recognized from her Russian/English dictionary before he lifted her up and carried her to the bed. Throwing both of them down onto the mattress, Dimitri wrapped himself around Rose like a vine. This would go one of two ways, and either would change his life forever.
Leading with his heart, this time, not his head he brought his lips to Rose's, holding her in place as he kissed her, hard. Her only response was a surprised gasp. Taking advantage of her parted lips, Dimitri deepened the kiss, introducing his tongue as he showed her years' worth of repressed desire. No, Roza – you were never in this alone, he thought.
Loosening his hold, Dimitri backed off a little, giving Rose the chance to stop him if she wanted to. If she fought him, now, he'd stop immediately. However, with her arms released, Rose wasted no time wrapping them around Dimitri – one around his neck, the other around his hard, muscled back pulling him hard against her again. Half rolling, half pulling him, they ended up with Rose almost on her back, Dimitri half on top of her, his leg wedged between her own. Their kisses took on a life of their own, peaking and ebbing as they took turns controlling their connection.
Suddenly Dimitri was sitting up, wresting his hoody from his body. Looking at Rose with lust-filled eyes, he was delighted to see her take the opportunity to unfasten her robe leaving her deliciously exposed to his gaze.
Fuck! She was so beautiful! Even better than he remembered from five years ago, time had given Rose a more womanly form. He'd barely been able to hold back last time. Dimitri knew there'd be no turning back now.
Sitting up, Rose pulled her arms from her robe, letting it fall uselessly back onto the bed behind her. Her eyes holding Dimitri's she reached forward, unfastening the tie at the waistband of his sweats, easing the soft cotton material down his legs. She moaned when his thick cock sprang free already standing to attention. Shoving the cotton sweatpants down past Dimitri's knees before fearlessly gasping his dick in her hand, she started gently pumping.
"Am I doing it right?" Rose asked, peeking up at Dimitri from beneath her lashes.
"Perfectly," Dimitri groaned, pulling her hand away from his cock before she completely unmanned him. He pushed her back into the same position they were in before, but this time they were nude.
Raising himself on his elbow, Dimitri kissed her as he let one hand fondle her breasts, kneading each warm globe. Then nipping her collarbone hard enough to mark, he kissed his way down to her décolletage, nuzzling there before snagging one of her nipples in his mouth.
"Fuck!" Rose hissed, her hands finding his hair and ripping the hair tie from his soft, silky locks as he mouthed her breasts. Alternating between biting, nipping and sucking, it felt so exquisite, Rose was incapable of forming a more coherent affirmation.
While he focused his mouth on Rose's chest, Dimitri's fingers found their way to her core, gently parting her womanly folds and stroking her lips, clitoris, and opening. Rose keened loudly, loving the sensation of his fingers on her most sensitive parts. Bringing his lips back to hers, Dimitri kissed her while easing a finger into her pussy. He'd expected her to be wet, and she was. What he hadn't expected was for to start grinding herself against his hand. She needed more! Adding a second finger, Dimitri groaned as mewls of excitement and pleasure escaped Rose's swollen lips.
His thumb finding her clitoris, Dimitri circled the small bundle of nerves, coaxing sighs and moans from Rose. Pushing her onto her back, Dimitri lay on his side, his fingers between one set of lips, his tongue between her others. Speeding up the thrusts he was making with his fingers, Dimitri felt Rose's tight snatch get even tighter. Warm and very wet, she was ready for him.
"If I don't stop now, I won't be able to," Dimitri panted against Rose's neck, rocking his thick, hard cock against her hip.
"I want this with you," Rose moaned, grasping him tightly as though she were concerned he might try to pull away.
"You're certain?"
"Yes! I've had five years to think about it," Rose growled, getting impatient. "Please, Comrade!"
It was her nickname for him that did it. She'd used it a few times before the dance. After that night, they'd reverted to 'Rose' and 'Guardian Belikov.' But she'd moaned it repeatedly during their almost night together – and on the frequent occasions when he let his mind wander, dreaming about what had nearly been, he eagerly recalled the way the epithet had spilled from her lips.
Hissing out a breath he didn't realize he was holding, Dimitri pulled his fingers from between her legs, carefully rolling in between her thighs. A moment later, he was pushing his cock into her, slowly but firmly breaching her pussy and sliding into her wet, slippery channel.
"Oh!" Rose hissed in wonder, staring up at Dimitri as if he'd just shared the wonders of the world with her. It stunned her that something so unfamiliar nonetheless felt so natural and right.
Gazing down at Rose beneath him, her glorious hair spilled across the pillow like rivers of dark ink, Dimitri knew that this outcome had always been inevitable. That it shouldn't be happening, he was all too aware. Yet he'd forever be grateful that it was! Pulling out, slightly, and thrusting in again, Dimitri continued rocking in and out until Rose had accommodated his all.
Bringing his hand to her chin, Dimitri held Rose's face in place, plundering her mouth with his tongue, thrilled when she gave every bit as well as she got. Coordinating the thrusts of his tongue with those of his pelvis, the two of them were lost in a sea of sensual passion. The sounds of their combined cries and the squealing of the bed frame; Rose's scent on her sheets mixed with his own, primal manly odor – it all combined to accentuate the enormity of what they were doing.
Their lovemaking was raw. Passionate and insatiable. They'd both waited so long, and Dimitri was determined Rose's first sexual experience would be one she'd remember for the rest of her life! Whispering words of passion in Russian to Rose, she fleetingly recognized words like beautiful, my darling, forever and love.
Fingers speared through Dimitri's dark hair, Rose hitched one leg around his hip, then the other, locking her ankles behind his butt. The change of position gave him deeper access, and with each push forward he hit a spot inside her that sent Rose wild. Whimpering with pleasure, Rose met Dimitri's every thrust with her own. Their motion synchronized, together they were running head on to their final apogee.
"I'm so close," Dimitri warned. He didn't want to climax before her, but Rose's pussy so was fricking tight, wet and warm he was fighting himself every moment to hold on! Changing the angle so he could slip his hand between them to rub Rose's clit, it only took three or four strokes before the bucking of her hips became frenetic and Rose detonated around Dimitri, squeezing his fat cock as he stilled within her cleft.
"Comrade!" Rose gasped, closing her eyes as she gave herself over to the bliss she was feeling.
"Roza," Dimitri groaned, meeting her orgasm with his own. Pumping his seed deep within Rose, he knew this was an experience he would never want to forget.
They lay there for a long time. Dimitri didn't want to pull out, knowing this one time may well be their only. So he rested his head on Rose's chest, taking his weight on his forearms, never wanting their moment together to end. Rose fingered his hair gently, not saying anything as they both caught their breath and floated back down to reality after the bliss they'd shared.
"How do you feel?" Dimitri asked, his voice tentative when he eventually rolled off her.
"Blissful," Rose replied with a sweet giggle. "Will you stay with me until I fall asleep? I've never fallen asleep in someone's arms before," she confessed. She didn't need to spell it out; as a virgin, she'd never lain with a lover before.
"I'll stay with you," Dimitri promised, holding Rose against him, close in his arms and love. He had no idea how they'd be able to go back to normal after this. He'd finally told her how he felt. How he'd always felt. Now he knew she felt the same, it tortured him.
4:30 pm. Lissa was worried about Rose. Eddie's comments about Rose having basically no social life distressed Lissa. Not that Lissa socialized on campus often, but at least she got to see and talk with people during classes. She'd even made friends with a few human girls she'd sometimes eat lunch or study with. Lissa understood the practicalities of Dimitri and Rose guarding overnight, still, there must be some way to get Rose out there a bit more so she had a chance to have some fun? Now she'd recognized how isolated her best friend had become, Lissa was determined to do something about it. Telling Meredith she didn't feel well, Lissa ditched study club in favor of going home to speak with Rose privately.
"Meredith? Can you guard down here? I'm just going to rest upstairs," Lissa lied.
Rose usually woke at 5:00 pm, and it was almost that now. Slipping upstairs, Lissa carefully opened the door to Rose's room, intending to be there when she woke. However, nothing could prepare Lissa for what she saw. Rose's room was completely trashed. Rose's recreational reading books were on the floor, as was her chair. A mirror lay smashed on the hardwood, along with a very pretty lamp she'd bought for Rose at the campus jumble sale.
And there, lying together in the middle of Rose's double bed, her two guardians were cuddled together fast asleep. Dimitri was lying on his back, his arms clasped tightly around Rose who lay on her side, her head resting on his shoulder, a small smile on her face. And if that wasn't surprising enough, they were naked!
Soundlessly closing the door, Lissa stepped back into the hallway, going back downstairs.
"Are you ok?" Meredith asked, taking in Lissa's paler than usual appearance. "I thought you were resting."
"I think I need a cup of tea, first," Lissa replied absently, her mind going a million miles an hour. What the hell had happened up there? There'd obviously been some sort of struggle, that much was clear. No matter which way she considered things, she was concerned.
"You don't look so great. Let me get it," Meredith volunteered.
Lissa had only just taken a sip when she heard movement upstairs. She could identify the sound of Rose's alarm clock, then a few minutes later a door opening, and closing, followed by another.
"Rose?" Meredith called up the stairs. "Lissa and I are home."
Less sensitive ears might not have heard Rose curse, but knowing what she did, Lissa was listening out.
"Hey guys," Rose said ten minutes later bouncing down the stairs. Lissa was staring at her best friend who was already dressed in her running skins, however, Rose was giving nothing away. "I thought you had study group?"
"I did, but I wasn't feeling well," Lissa replied just as Dimitri arrived downstairs. Surveying her male guardian carefully there was the shadow of a bruise just coming up on his chin, but beyond that, he appeared his normal self.
"Where is Christian?" he asked Meredith, oblivious to Lissa's inspection of him.
"He's at the library with Eddie, but he should be home any minute," she replied.
"Rose? I'll go to the library to escort them home. Do you mind delaying your run for a few minutes until I return?"
"Sure thing," Rose said casually, wandering into the kitchen to make a piece of toast and have a glass of juice before her run. She was tired, and a bit sore, but she needed a run to process everything that happened last night.
Ten minutes later, Dimitri returned with Eddie and Christian, the latter two flopping onto the sofa beside Meredith.
"Where's Lissa?" Christian asked.
"She's upstairs. She said she's got a headache and asked not to be disturbed," Meredith replied.
"I'll just go shower," Dimitri said, wanting a few minutes alone to think about all he and Rose had said and done last night. Letting himself into his room, his plans were thwarted by a five-foot-ten-inch tall Royal Moroi Princess sitting in an armchair beneath the window.
"Princess?" Dimitri asked, raising his eyebrow questioningly. In four years of living together, this was the first time the Princess Dragomir had ever stepped foot in his room.
"Take a seat, Guardian Belikov," Lissa said her tone frigid. Dimitri obliged, sitting on the edge of his bed and facing his charge.
"I will only ask this once, and I want an honest answer. What the hell happened between you and Rose last night?!"