I really have to appologize to each one of my readers. I'm so sorry I haven't been able to update for such a long time as my life has become pretty hectic during the last weeks. But I've tried to make up for it with this chapter. Please enjoy!

CHAPTER 12 – Not Her Again!

It's been several days now since our arrival the the Belikov's house and I really started to feel at home to some point. This family and their bond was something I had always imagined as being a family meant and I was absolutely happy to be part of it. Since I had grown up in St. Vlad's I really had no idea of the importance of a family really was for me. I was yearning for this feeling and now that I could be a part of this I knew what I had missed over the past years.

Of course, Lissa's family had also been kind and friendly towards me, but still it is a difference if you are a Dhampir and live in a Royal Moroi family or in another Dhampir family. It's neither better nor worse; just different. And honestly – I liked living with a Dhampir family more. Certainly nothing I will be telling Lissa any time soon. Or - better make that never.

Not that I really minded on telling Lissa that but ever since her family had died in that car accident, she was a little touchy on the topic of family. I knew that she was yearning for this feeling just as much as I did. We both missed her family deeply but still I knew that what I was witnessing here was something entirely different and as I've said before – I was absolutely thankful that I was able to be a part of this.

The only problem of this whole ordeal was that Dimitri has been following through with his threat of being an older brother for me: he was looking out for me and really had the curtsey of ordering me around like he did with Vik! Like he did yesterday!

"Dimka, I'm huuuuungryyyyyyyyyyyy!" I wailed as I walked into the kitchen somewhere in-between an ordinary breakfast and lunch time. It was only Dimitri, Vik and I as Olena had to leave to get her other daughters from the train station and that would mean they wouldn't be here before late afternoon.

He turned around as he heard me entering and gave me a short smile. "We'll have lunch in about two hours."

Pouting, I crossed my arms in front of my chest and gave him my best puppy-dog-eyes. "Pleeeaaaassseeee!"

I saw him fighting hard not to smile at my ( honestly) very childish act but it was the more fun. I still was having problems being around him alone so this made it easier for the both of us. Well, at least for me that is. How Dimitri was doing however – I didn't know. Sometimes I caught him staring at me, his face grimly set but in his eyes I saw the same hunger and lust that were consuming me every time I caught a glimpse at him.

Well, I guess this sounds as we both weren't really doing any good at this. But, as there was really nothing I could do about it, I just had to play along, trying to protect my heart as best as I could. And being witty and sarcastic always had been the best way for me to cope with emotional pain. Not the best way to go – you don't have to tell me that – but in the past it had proven to be the best way for me.

"No, you'll just have to wait for another two hours I'm afraid." He said, his voice sounding very sensually teasing to me. Probably only to me but I enjoyed every second of our banter nonetheless.

"But I'm hungry now! And I'm a growing Dhampir who needs food whenever my stomach is requesting for it as he is doing now." Yeah, I can be so smart sometimes I'm even surprising myself.

Raising one eyebrow he looked at me over his glass of water. "Every other normal Dhampir can actually eat at appropriate times without dying because of not having enough nutrition. So I'm pretty sure that you will survive the next two hours until we'll have some lunch."

Well, I obviously couldn't outwit him with my intellect – I desperately needed another way to approach this problem. Oh, and the ideas that just ran through my head were various and each one better than the other but also very dangerous. But I would have to decide for one idea and nobody could say that Rose Hathaway didn't have ideas to reach her goals. Oh, and by the way – Rose Hathaway always reached her goal no matter the costs.

And now my goal was to get some nutrition into my grumbling stomach!

Slowly I walked towards him, knowing I was playing a dangerous game. But it would be the most effective way to grasp some food soon.

He was watching me warily, not really sure of what was to come. Oh, and he wouldn't know what was coming until the last moment, I though, smiling evilly to myself. Boy, you're in for a ride on the Rose Hathaway roller coaster!

When I reached him, I slowly gazed over his tall and perfectly build shape, letting him register that I was actually checking him out. Still watching my warily, I saw him clutching the glass tighter, his knuckles turning white.

Slowly I took out the glass from his death grip, afraid that he would actually break it. Then I slowly bent my head to one side, letting my hand slide down his well built chest, secretly enjoying this moment and the possibility to touch him as much as I wanted to.

I really had tried staying away from him during the last days but it had become more difficult each day. Every time he would enter a room, I tried to make a quick escape, always coming up with stupid excuses as to why I needed to leave. And every time this would happen, I saw Olean looking between us unhappily. I'm sure she had known from the beginning that we were lost with the decision I had made for the both of us in the train.

And when it did happen that he and I were in the same room alone the sexual tension would be rising very fast until one of us left as we both fought hard not to give in.

Now, as I was standing as close to him as I hadn't done after the debate in the train, I again recognised the small features that used to draw me towards him.

The small golden freckles in his deep brown eyes, his full lips that were screaming at me to just cover them with mine, his soft and slightly curled hair which I wanted to ran my hands through and let's not start on the body which was just voices sex towards me. All I wanted to do was take him to my bedroom (the couch or a kitchen counter would also do) and ravish him.

Looking into his eyes I saw the same stark raw hunger that must have been visible on my face and suddenly a thought raced through my head: my plan had actually backfired! I had planned on seducing him into cocking something for me but I realised that the sexual tension in the room had risen due to our constant avoiding each other that I just couldn't fight it anymore.

"Kiss me, Roza." His voice was soft, pleading with me but yet he had a small edge of a command in it. He asked me to give in, to act against my statement of staying away and my better judgement and just kiss him.

Our breathing was already uneven due to the tension rising between us. I felt my strength fading away, my heart beating in my chest. Feeling his quicker heart beat beneath my hand, I quickly made a decision. I might regret it later but I was tired of fighting something I had wanted with my heart and soul and this something was standing I front of me right now, pleading me to kiss him.

In the end, I didn't know who closed the space between us but all I knew was that rockets went off and – I swear – the world stopped turning for just a moment. Putting his arms around me, he drew me in closer into his tall frame, never wanting to let m go again. Not that I wanted as I was sure this was heaven. My personal favourite place in heaven and I knew that I could survive with only kissing Dimitri all day long.

When he started to run the tip of his tongue alongside my bottom lip, I allowed him entrance and I was shocked at how sensual he was kissing me. Wrapping my arms around his torso, I gave up every coherent thought that might have been crossing my mind and just gave into this sensation of being kissed by the man I knew my heart belonged to.

When we needed to come up for air, I gazed into his face. A smile was tugging at the corner of his mouth, his eyes sparkling with happiness. His hands were softly roaming my backside, one slowly making its way towards my hair pulling out the hair tie.

"I love it when you wear your hair open. It looks so beautiful and it's definitely one of the most enticing features." He murmured, his hand running softly though my dark locks, giving me a slow head massage.

"Oh, one of the best features?" I asked, returning his smile flirtatiously. "So, which one is the best?"

"Mhm," he said, letting his eyes roaming around my body. "Well there are your eyes which definitely make the top ten and your body – yeah, definitely in the first five." His hands softly followed what he was saying, slowly running up and down my upper body, Though he wasn't coming anywhere near my chest or anything, I felt the heat inside me risen at his words.

"And the best?" I asked again, playing along while giving him my best man-eater-smile.

He didn't say anything as he obviously was contemplating his "list" of my top ten best features. "Well, I guess that would be your lips as they just want to be kissed."

And he proved to me what he meant afterwards for a very long time.

So, that's where we were now. Not much progress I guess but I was happy that I had indeed given in though he still haven't made me anything to eat afterwards. But since only half an hour had been remaining after our encounter, I had gotten some food soon.

The lunch had been a little awkward affair as Vik hadn't know anything of our encounter in the kitchen and we still had to play along. Not that I would have minded kissing Dimitri whenever I would feel the need to but still we had agreed to start it slowly. And he had promised me to break up with his girlfriend right the next day (which would have been today.)

But as you can guess it didn't happen this way. Nothing ever does, or?

Our whole plan had been turned upside down when the doorbell had rang in the afternoon all of us running towards the door. Olena and her other children were due any minute now and so nobody of us thought anything about it.

Racing towards the door from my room where I had currently been and writing a letter to Lissa and trying to explain the complications of my love life, I've had the longest way toward the door and Dimitri beat me to it.

"Hi Mom, we've …" he said, trailing of.

As I wasn't able to see over his shoulder as he was just too tall, I took a questioning look at Vik wondering what was going on.

Shrugging her shoulders as she couldn't really see anything from her point of view, I waited patiently for Dimitri to let the person standing in the door in. But nothing happened and as I took a closer look at his frame, I saw the rigid shoulders. Something definitely wasn't going as planned which made me even more curious.

"Dimitri, why won't you let me in? I think we need to talk." I heard a voice saying which gave me goose bumps. I felt my face turning into a grim grimace as I saw Vik side glancing at me. I felt my hands turning into fists while I was trying hard to ease my breathing.

Slowly Dimitri turned around and looked at me. I gave him the best fake smile I could muster as I had to watch her taking a step over the threshold and walking into the house as if she belonged here.

Alexa was standing in front of us, looking at us warily. "Hi?"

Yeah, I know a cliffy can be so mean! So what do you think will happen? Will everything come out or will Dimitri play the game longer? And what will Rose do?

Please give me a small review and let me know what you think!

Thanks so much with sticking with this story.

Lilian85