Chapter Ten
BRIDGETTE:
"Do you see the size of him?" Bellamy shouted back at me and Alberta, frustrated that she was losing a combat match to Dimitri.
"Hit him!" I yelled to her. "You are never going to be able to get your stake near his heart if you can't land a punch."
"I'm trying. He's too fast."
"If you don't hit him soon and hard, he's going to throw you to the ground." Alberta rounded Bellamy's right side.
I watched Bellamy and Dimitri fighting, concentrating on every movement each one made.
"It's easy for you to tell me what I'm doing wrong. You're aren't the ones facing off with Russian Thor over here."
Bellamy blocked a hard strike from Dimitri's shoulder and forearm. Her defenses were great, It was her offensive skills that needed Guardian help.
"It is possible to get Guardian Belikov on his back in combat." I told Bellamy, receiving an insinuating look and a wink from Dimitri.
"Watch him." Alberta instructed. "Determine how he moves. Watch his technique."
"Concentrate on what he does, and where he is. Then strike back."
I watched as Bellamy concentrated on her lesson, on Dimitri, and on how exactly to get through his body mass and strength in order to get him to the ground. I knew she could work it out with time. This however was not the time. She struck, and Dimitri had hold of her instead, positioning her back onto the ground.
"Ouch." My feisty niece groaned in pain, helped up by Alberta and Dimitri.
It was considered a loss, and Bellamy hated to lose anything.
"It will take time for you to work out all of the dynamics of this particular exercise Bells." I explained to her. I honestly did not expect that she would get it right away. She would need practice, just like any other properly trained Guardian.
"He's twice my size. Why am I fighting him first?"
She made a valid point, but I wasn't about to let her get out of battling Dimitri on the argument and technicality of height and weight.
"Do you think battling a Strigoi will be easier? They are stronger, bigger, and likely taller than you. Will that stop you?"
"Of course it won't." She replied.
"Then combat with Dimitri should not be any more difficult.
She nodded. "You said it's possible to get him on his back in combat. Have you defeated him?" She questioned me, and it made me smile.
"Yes." I answered her. "Granted, he has learned a few more counter moves since we last challenged each other, but you will eventually defeat him too."
"Show me." Bellamy insisted.
I gave her a wary look. I had no fear of facing Dimitri, but I feared what fighting might do to our self-control in public. Bellamy however did not wait for me to agree or refuse.
""Hey, Dimitri!" She shouted, ignoring any protest I might make visually or otherwise.
I watched as he turned, listening with interest to her suggestion that he and I face one another again. He smiled sweetly at me, those eyes; those wonderful eyes taunting me to agree.
"I'm not afraid." He said, ready to give a shot at another hand-to-hand skirmish. "What do you say Bridge?"
"Prepare to be shamed again Belikov."
I could not back down from Dimitri, no matter what our physical or emotional friendship. I would not deny him the opportunity to be beaten by a girl…again. I took off my jacket, tossing it to Bellamy, who with Alberta, took position to watch. I sized up the overconfident looking man. Being near him in a battle was certainly different from being near him in any other situation. I noticed his hands now; those strong powerful hands; those hands that could hold me close and touch every part of me with gentleness, evoking pleasure, or they could break someone's neck without any effort. I had to shake my head, focusing on the task in front of me. I noticed his build next. God I loved his shoulders and chest. Those muscles hiding underneath the black shirt he wore were like chiseled stone. His back muscles were much the same. Normally, I'd regress to thinking about touching him again, but the strength of his muscles actually gave me the information I needed to be able to use strength or speed, or both against him. Finally, Dimitri still had speed working for him. He was well trained years before this, to anticipate, use his speed, and to strategically overtake his enemy.
I had not had a hand-to-hand battle in such a long time. There was a time when I knew his moves so well that I could anticipate them without breaking a sweat. After we'd both spent time assessing the others strengths and weaknesses, he charged at me without hesitation, causing me to take a step back, catching my balance. The good thing about Dimitri was that he never held back when he and I were together in any situation. As we fought, I saw Galina's training in him. After all these years, he continued to listen to his Instructor. He did however forget one thing. While he was fast, I was faster. I recognized his plan of attack, and his directional strategy, so as I struck out against him, he missed my arm, giving me the position and leverage to duck, and sweep his legs out from under him. He couldn't keep himself upright, falling backwards, and now had an innocent looking Guardian now straddling his lap. I knew exactly where my stake was, at my back, so I wasn't going to pull it out until I had a clear shot at his heart. His elbow came around the side, slamming into my ribcage. It hurt, and caught me off-guard, giving him the chance to roll me over.
Once on my back, I was in trouble. Or so I let him think. Arching my back enough to be able to reach my stake when needed, I wrapped my legs around his waist, gaining a look of interest and surprise from Dimitri. I kept my legs locked around him as I fought him back just enough. I was able to push him back from me just enough to get one hand behind me, and rock forward with enough thrust to propel him back so that I straddled him once again, this time with my stake near his heart.
I heard Bellamy and Alberta both cheering loudly. Funnily enough, I hadn't paid attention to anything during the fight. I had zoned out, concentrating strictly on me and Dimitri.
"And that is how you defeat Dimitri Belikov." I stated to Bellamy.
She smiled, her sudden warning coming too late as I got pulled back down to the ground again, Dimitri's body above mine this time, his palms wrapped around my wrists.
"You still know my weaknesses." He smiled down at me. "
"You have a tell Dimitri. You will never be able to hide it from me."
Now he looked more curious. "A tell? What is it?"
I sure as hell was not going to clue him in on how I could read him.
"And lose my advantage?" I questioned him playfully. "Maybe one day I will tell you, but not today."
He gave me that flirtatious grin that I could never resist. Why the hell did he have to do that in public? But then he did something that surprised not only me, but Bellamy and Alberta as well. As he held me in place, his thumbs running over my wrists, he leaned down, his eyes upon me the entire time, kissing me the way he did any time we were alone. He let my wrists go long enough for me to wrap my arms around him. He then proceeded to stand, picking me up in the process, all while keeping his mouth to mine.
"Impressive move." I said, letting him go.
"I knew you two were hooking up." Bellamy said, causing the big strong man I'd just defeated to turn red.
"Training over." I informed my niece, subtly telling her to drop the subject and go to her dorm. "It's late and you need sleep."
"Goodnight Aunt Bridge. Goodnight Dimitri. See you Alberta." Bellamy said walking out the door.
As the other two Guardians and I gathered equipment, talking mostly about Bellamy, trying to ignore the blatant look of sweetness Alberta was giving us, I thought about Dimitri's memories the day before. Actually, I'd been thinking about them for many hours. When I had mentioned St. Petersburg to him, he had almost shut down. Had he really forgotten about that night? No. It was not possible. He had somewhat agreed that it had been us at our best. Had he blocked it out? That was a much likelier answer. And that was all my fault. There had been just as much bad with the good that night.
After dealing with a considerable Strigoi problem in Prague, I was on my way to Moscow, with a stop over in St Petersburg until morning. I purposely took the train that would put me here for hours, knowing one significant secret. He was here. Tonight he was in the city too. Dimitri and Ivan were in this city at this time every year to celebrate. Fate or coincidence (whichever was currently most in my favor), had made sure we could be together again.
The two men always stayed at the 'Paradox Hotel', a hotel hidden in the heart of this monumental city. While every other building and hotel looked like an Imperial Palace on the outside, the Paradox was all bland and unassuming. Its outer walls were steel and concrete, making it look like nothing special-until you stepped inside. Walk through the doors of this hotel, and you felt like royalty. Two huge dropped crystal chandeliers lit the entire lobby, bouncing light off of the domed glass ceiling, the marble columns and floors. The colors on the walls ranged from rich golds, deep reds, and unbelievable blends and shades of blue. The massive grand staircase was indeed grand, its golden designs leading up to a second lobby floor with a bar and elevators. It was something you had to see to believe.
After checking in to an available room, I was led up the ornately designed and carved staircase, my fingers trailing up the banister that reached the very top.. Once to my room, I was not about to settle in. I wasn't sure where to look for Dimitri, and I assumed it would be Ivan's name on the registry, so that was my first step. Get a message to Ivan. I had the attendant who brought me up to my room take a message to the front desk, instructing them to inform Ivan that he'd received a message at the front desk.
In the short note, Ivan was told to keep the details of this message to himself. He needed to find a way of getting his protective Guardian into the bar on his own at eight. He was to have no knowledge that I would be meeting him, and Ivan was not invited to this party.
Dimitri was not expecting to see me, so when he entered the dimly lit hotel bar, he wasn't looking for the woman in the short red dress…yet. After sitting impatiently on a stool at the bar for the last ten minutes, I watched him enter at eight on the dot. Always punctual my Dimitri. I watched him do exactly what I knew he would. His eyes scanned the room thoroughly before going directly to the table in the darkest corner of this small establishment. It was the one place that he could stay hidden while watching every single person in the room, as well as the entrances.
Well, watch this Belikov. Let's see who has the upper-hand. I called the bar keeper over, quietly ordering two drinks: the first, a cranberry red-bull for myself, and the second, a club soda and vodka (Russian vodka), for Dimitri. I know he would never drink on duty, so he would not accept a drink from anyone. He would politely refuse. I then slipped a note to the bartender to give to the hiding Guardian.
As the man strode over to Dimitri, I watched his guard go up for a few seconds. As expected, he refused the drink with a smile and a polite word. He then took the piece of paper from the other man. After the bartender walked off, Dimitri subtly read through the note. His eyes scanned the room again as he set the paper to the table. In that brief span of time, I knew that his eyes were honed in on me. My own movements were not subtle. I lifted the clip holding my hair, so that I was sure he saw the molnija marks, before allowing my still long hair to fall across my bare shoulders, the way I knew it drove him crazy. I was prepared to turn around, to look at him, and to see those deep dark eyes of his again.
What I was not prepared for, was the Guardian at the table in the corner to stand, a look of recognition in his eyes. He was still so quick. I was swept into a pair of powerful arms in three seconds flat. I didn't struggle. I was not going to get away. I didn't want to get away.
"You are the best gift I received today." He used that low seductive growling in my ear, making my knees weaken.
I gave a contented hum as his hands wrapped my waist. "That is quite the compliment. Happy Birthday, Dimitri." I said, spinning around to face him.
He stared at me as though I were a dream.
"What do you think of my dress?" I asked, hoping to snap him back to reality.
Is fingers touched the skirt, twisting the light fabric around. I saw that smile I enjoyed so much begin to appear. Again, he leaned in to whisper.
"I think that if we don't leave now, it will end up on the floor here."
I knowingly smiled back at him. "Enough said."
Dimitri took my hand, leading us both out of the bar, across the second floor lobby, and to the bank of elevators. We were barely inside the next arriving elevator, lucky that it was empty. His mouth was on my skin, pulling at my dress strap before the doors closed completely. We were two floors up, on our way to my room on the tenth floor when his fingers reached out, pushing the 'STOP' button. The elevator came to an abrupt halt, jolting us a bit. The alarm of course then started to go off, but that neither slowed nor stopped our amorous behavior. Kissing him still (My God how I loved the feel of his lips.), I breathlessly leaned back an inch, teasing his mouth as I kept mine from his.
"Someone is going to hear that alarm. You haven't exactly given us much time. They are going to catch us and kick us out of this hotel."
Dimitri had his hands at the zipper on my dress, slowly pulling it down. "Then we had better get your clothes off quick."
Dimitri and I had our share of uncontrollable moments, but this was not only unrestrained behavior, but dangerous too. I seriously think it was a turn on for the usually so inhibited man with me. I had not yet experienced this side of him. Something about the thought of him letting go of those repressed inhibitions was an even bigger turn on to me. He knew exactly how to touch me in this short span of given time. We were in a race against time, but he was no less skilled, and I was no less satisfied by the end of this encounter. We were redressed and had the elevator moving upward again before hotel management could determine any problem. I led the man with me down the hall and into my room, trying to unlock my door quickly once his dangerous mouth was on mine and hovering over my body again. Once inside, the door closed and relocked, the first question came from him.
"What are you doing here Bridgette?" He questioned, his hands still exploring my body.
I knew this part would come soon enough. I wasn't ready to face it, hoping it would stay itself until much later, but Dimitri liked to face things that others wouldn't.
"I'm only here for a stop over. One night. I leave first thing in the morning." My response was not exactly an answer to his question, but it did put the thought of limited time in his head.
He didn't say anything more, getting the point he needed. He kissed me deeply, a pleasured moan escaping him. I kept my attention on him, rather than the horrible subject that would eventually come up between us. I kept his attention and mine on the here and now. We eventually made it to the bed, making sure to reacquaint ourselves with my body and his. I had so missed the way he could watch me, gaining more enjoyment from the pleasure he gave me. I fell into a light sleep once my desire for him was sated, curling up against him in this comfortable bed, his fingertips trailing gently over my shoulder, down my arm, his fingers playing with mine.
"You couldn't have shown up at a better time Bridgette, but why now?" He asked me. "Why did you appear now?"
My eyes fluttered open. "It's your birthday Dimitri. I wanted to see you."
I felt him try to shift, so I moved along with him.
"There is something more. There's more to it than that. You could've seen me last year, or the year before that, or…"
And now it was time to have the horrible conversation I'd been avoiding with him.
"Would you believe me if I said I wanted to spend time with you on your birthday?"
He kissed my shoulder, his hand continuing to move across me. "I might've if you hadn't asked like that."
I breathed heavily, letting go of him so that we could talk. "I've been in Prague for the past week. I was helping to clean up a mess left at a hotel there."
"What sort of mess?"
Normally if someone asked me a question like this, I would not permit myself to discuss details. The Council was adamant about keeping these matters confidential, unless otherwise specified. But this situation was different. Dimitri had to know this.
"Strigoi." I answered his question. "They attacked a council member who was meeting another Guardian." My face must've told him that there was far more to this story.
He urged me to go on, and I had to literally brace myself for the storm that would arrive any moment.
"It was Galina." I revealed to him. "Galina had been meeting with Katarina, a longtime council seat holder. I don't know what their meeting was about, but…"
"Were there survivors?" He questioned me further. "You said you were cleaning up a mess. What does that mean?"
"Katarina was killed."
"And Galina?" He stood, wrapping a blanket around his waist, keeping his face hidden from me.
I didn't want to say the words. I didn't know how to say the words to him, but I had to. He had to know. "We did not locate a body. She is gone. She is one of the best Dhampir Guardians at St. Basil's, so it is likely that she has been turned."
The silence in the room was deafening. Finally he took a breath.
"Dimitri, I…"
"Why? Why was Galina meeting with the Council?
I could hear the pain and sorrow in his voice, struggling to stay hidden.
"I honestly don't know. I would tell you this if I knew." I stood, pulling on Dimitri's shirt to cover up with.
My hands touched to his back, jolting him. He spun, taking me into his arms, hugging tight. Guardians grieve. We don't grieve as long as humans or Moroi, because death is often a fact of life for us, but in this moment, at least Dimitri and I didn't have to grieve alone.
As he pulled away, I saw a change wash over him. Despite all of the passion and devotion felt between us, there was an undeniable look in his eyes. It was a look I knew well enough from him. He still detested the fact that I had chosen to take a position with the Guardian Council when it was offered. It was popular opinion among Dhampirs and Guardians that the Guardian Council, much like the Moroi Court Council, took too long in making sensible safe decisions. It was also of popular opinion that our decisions were wrong, difficult on others, selfish, and unpopular. Becoming a member of the Council had been a difficult choice at first. It did not mean that I lost my Guardian title, but that I would no longer be involved in field battles. Dimitri hated my decision, but he knew my reasons-most of them anyway.
"Please don't look at me like that Dimka." I pleaded, wanting to turn away from him, unable to do so.
The hold that those beautifully courageous eyes had over me was too strong. It always had been. And, no matter how much time he and I were apart, his grasp on me was always able to overpower me.
"Bridge,…"
"I know that you do not agree with my being on the Council, but you know why I made that choice my darling."
He grimaced, disappointed by the same argument we had when I had given him the news that I would be joining the Council.
"Dimitri, I barely escaped that fight with my life." I reminded him.
"One fight is no reason to stop being a Guardian. It is in your blood. It is what we do." He argued.
He was not the only one with this opinion, and I hated that he could voice it so easily. He was the person I hated seeing and hearing it from most.
"I have not stopped being a Guardian. I changed paths. I made a small sacrifice in the larger scale of things. Galina always taught us that the little sacrifices we make can count more than the larger ones if they are done for greater purpose."
"Leave Galina out of this. She is dead." He stated with a healthy amount of antagonism.
"Yes, she is, and you are not the only one in this room grieving for her. You cannot hold a corner on misery. It really does love company."
He was only growing angrier the longer this discussion went on.
"That is the point Bridgette!" He raised his voice. "There is grieving, and then there is running away. You are still running."
Tears sprang to my eyes. It took so much control to hold them back. I would not let him see me cry. He had no idea what it was like. He didn't know what it felt like to experience such a heightened level of loss and guilt.
"You wait." I pushed my finger to the center of his chest. "You wait until you lose someone who trusts you implicitly, who is willing to put their life in your hands without reservation."
He cursed aloud in Russian. Yes, I had just threatened his ideals. I was challenging those long-standing, principled, moralistic, and often times sanctimonious Guardian rules that dictated our lives. And with Ivan so close on another floor, I had pushed a button too far. Dimitri threw on his pants and shoes, kissed my forehead, and stormed out of the room without another word. I'd gone too far. I sat down on the floor, my back to the wall, replaying our conversation. I was not wrong. He had no clue. His Moroi was alive. I know he didn't like my choice. He didn't agree, but he didn't have to. He did not know all of the facts, and I couldn't tell him yet. He wouldn't understand. If I thought he might understand, I would've told him by now. Right? I cared for him enough that I would've told him every detail. Wrapping my arms around myself, I internalized all of this as best as I could. A small soft knock on the door made me pull myself together again. I didn't want to fight with him about this any longer. I wanted to go back thirty minutes before this, and freeze time in those wonderful moments. I stood, taking the two steps it took to reach the door.
I opened the door only a few inches at first, staring back at him. Dimitri looked as contrite as I felt. His fingers pushed through the doorway, pulling and playing with the hem of his shirt still covering me.
"I'm sorry." I apologized, opening the door fully. "We took the wrong path in that fork in the road. Can we rewind and go down the other one?"
His eyes were then cast downward. "Would it be any different? We would only continue to postpone this debate longer."
I lifted my hand, running my fingers all the way through his hair. His eyes closed and his head tilted back. "I want to forget that we've been fighting."
"You frustrate me Bridgette." He smiled at me, opening his eyes again. "You make me want to run out and find about ten Strigoi to battle, just to relieve my frustration. But, then I realize that I can't walk away. I cannot let you go Bridgette." His body moved back inside of my room, backing me inside, his hands sliding up my sides. "What does that mean?"
He stopped walking, his eyes shifting. His demeanor did another one-eighty. That seductive intensity returned.
"I'm going to take a shower." Dimitri informed me.
I nodded, turning to go back to bed, picked up into his arms again.
"Come and keep me company." He demanded, temptation dripping from his every word.
I laughed as he carried me all the way into the shower, pressing my body into the wall with his, as his hand reached out behind him, turning on the water. I stripped off his soaked clothes, while he equally as affectionately tore the shirt I'd borrowed from him over my head. His palm ran over my chest, down my side, pressing to the back of my thigh to lift me up, keeping my back to the wall. My hands gripped into his muscles again, his pleasure vocalized, water pulsing and running down both of our bodies.
"Another memory?" That sweet honeyed voice whispered into my ear, bringing me from St Petersburg to Montana. His arms were wrapped around my waist, his chin resting on my shoulder.
I twisted my head to look back at him. "I was remembering St. Petersburg. I was thinking about that fight we had."
"Bridgette." His voice stayed low, and his hands were soft as they took mine.
"No, it's okay Dimitri." I said. "Looking back, I think that we needed to have that fight. We both needed to understand why I made my decision. We wouldn't be where we are today." My hand reached back to touch the back of his neck. "I wouldn't have been able to tell you about Bellamy. I also wouldn't be able to tell you that I am…I still…" The words were so hard to say out loud. I felt them. I had felt them for years, so why was it so hard for me to tell him?