"Get your filthy hands off me." I growled out from between my teeth. My voice sounded foreign even to my own ears, I sounded fierce and deadly despite being held at knife point.

Lissa had stopped screaming now, but she was stood with her back against a wall with her shaking hands covering her mouth.

"Now why on earth would I do that?" The man said, finally answering my question. I didn't recognise his voice; it was rough and was practically dripping with sarcasm.

"Lissa, run!" I yelled, trying to shake her from whatever fear induced trance she was in. I just had to get her out of here and then I could unleash flame fuelled hell on this bastard that had tried to mess with the wrong girl.

Lissa's eyes flickered up to me as my words reached her. She looked like she might have started moving, if the man hadn't stopped her. "If you move, Blondie, I'll slit this one's throat wide open." And there went any hope of Lissa making it out of this on her own. She was terrified, but I knew that she wouldn't leave without me, though I wished she would.

"Now, why don't you tell me what Lady Dragomir and Princess Hathaway are doing walking around these parts of town, alone, in the dark." The man said as he pulled my hair over my shoulder, revealing more of my neck before his blade. The steel was cold when it first touched my skin, but now it was warm, heated from the blood burning beneath the surface.

The way he said the word Princess made me think he knew exactly what I was.

It had started to rain now, it was thundering down all around us, I wasn't sure I had ever seen rain this heavy before and it made me wonder if Dimitri had finally realised I was missing.

"Oh, just out for a night-time stroll, but we really should be getting back, we wouldn't want people wondering where we are." I said, trying to make him think that people would be out looking for us if we didn't return soon. But the truth was, no one knew where we were.

His hand gripped my throat tight enough to leave a noose of bruises, efficiently cutting off my airways, and the knife dug deeper into my skin, was that blood I felt trickling down my neck?

"No way. I've stumbled upon such a prize, there's no way I'm letting you go now." He said as he pressed his nose against the side of my neck and inhaled deeply. "And what a prize you are." His hand finally released my neck and I inhaled the air deeply into my starved lungs.

His hand trailed down my neck until it reached my chest where he tore the top buttons right off, leaving my cleavage exposed. My blood was on fire, the inferno inside was practically raging to get out, but I had to keep it controlled.

"Why don't you let Lady Dragomir go and I'll show you how much of a prize I can really be." I said while wiggling my hips against his seductively. The thought of it made bile rise up in my throat, but I had to do anything to get Lissa away safely.

He ignored my words and groped my chest savagely.

Enough was enough.

I brought my hands up to his exposed arm and channelled every ember of fire into my hands.

I smelt his skin burning a fraction of a second before I heard him scream.

He released me instantly, the sharp knife dragging along my neck as he did so. I felt the blood drip down my chest but I couldn't feel a thing.

I turned around and faced the man where he gripped his arm in shock. His face showed pure horror and I wondered what I must have looked like to him. Surely I didn't just look like a girl to him, could he see the monster that lurked inside me?

I brought my hands up and gripped his neck, once again channelling all the heat I could muster into my palms. I held onto his neck until there was barely anything left to hold onto.

"Rose." I heard from somewhere far behind me.

"Rose!" Lissa was closer now, and shaking my shoulder frantically. I glanced up at her to see tears streaming down her face. Oh God, what have I done?

I stood up from the corpse and gripped Lissa's arm, staining the sleeve of her shirt with the blood that was dripping from my hands, and we ran.

Ambrose was waiting outside the carriage when we rounded the corner and sprinted towards him. His eyes widened in shock and I was surprised he didn't faint at the sight of us.

"Quickly, take us back to the castle." I demanded as I threw open the door and shoved Lissa inside before stumbling in after her. I was sure that no one had seen what I had done, but we couldn't be seen in the area when the man's body was found.

"Rose, what was that?" Lissa demanded from where she sat across from me. The tears were gone though her makeup was smeared down her face from where they had been. Her hands were still shaking but her eyes were clear. Her hair was plastered to her face in tangles from the rain.

"Lissa, you can't tell anyone. No one can know what I did or how I did it, please. Something very bad will happen to me if people find out." I told her, looking straight into her green eyes so she knew I was being serious.

"What was that, what ability do you have?" She asked as she glanced down at my blood soaked hands.

"Fire." I stated.

Realisation dawned on her face, as if she had just solved a very intricate puzzle, but I had no idea what it meant.

"Please, Liss. I hate having to put you in this situation, but you have to promise me you won't say a word about my power, not even to Christian." I was gripping her hands now; all traces of my fire were gone.

"I promise." She said, and I believed her.

The horses were pulling us through the streets a lot faster than they had before, and I distantly noticed that Lissa was crying again.

"I'm sorry, Lissa." My voice was hollow. I was thinking of so many other things in that moment, that I hadn't even considered what it must have been like for her. Had she ever even seen a dead body before? Something that is so mundane to me is something completely unheard of for her.

"Don't you dare apologise." She said with surprising force. "I should be apologising, that man... he threatened and touched you and I just stood there Rose! You saved me and I didn't do anything!" She gasped between breaths.

I felt warmth on my neck and chest and finally looked down to see the damage the knife had caused. My light coloured shirt was now stained dark red. I lightly touched a finger to my neck and it came away wet, not just from the rain but from the blood.

Lissa watched me examine the wound with a panic-stricken face, but I gave her a reassuring smile.

The wound was deep, but not enough to do any fatal damage, I didn't think I'd need stitches but I kept my hand pressed to my neck to prevent losing any more blood.

I felt the carriage pull to a sudden stop and glanced out the window, we were back at the castle. Ambrose opened the door and I stepped out first before helping Lissa out.

"W-what happened?" Ambrose asked.

"It's nothing. Everything's fine, it happened after we saw your Aunt, she's ok." I told him, my voice sounding hoarse, had that man damaged my vocal chords?

"Are you ok?" He asked tentatively.

"Don't worry about it, you can go, we'll be fine from here." I said, trying to add a lightness to my voice, I didn't want to sound harsh, he had done nothing wrong, but I also wanted him gone.

My arm was around Lissa, holding her safely against my side, when the front door of the castle slammed open and a furious looking Captain Belikov stormed down the stairs.

Thunder howled somewhere in the distance and lightning lit up the sky. I pushed Lissa away from me as he descended the stairs; the rain was only falling on me now.

I vaguely saw Christian follow behind, but my eyes were firmly planted on Dimitri, he was an absolute inferno of fury.

Everything stopped when he reached the bottom of the stairs and finally saw the blood and the bruises and the ripped shirt.

The thunder stopped, the lightning stopped, the rain stopped, the wind stopped, I think maybe even my heart stopped as Dimitri's eyes ran over my body and there was nothing but pain across his usually guarded features. "Roza." He whispered as he came closer.

He didn't touch me, he looked almost afraid to. Christian was here now and Lissa practically collapsed in his arms.

"She's ok, Christian, shaken up. Will you take her inside to get looked at?" I asked the dark haired Lord, though I kept my eyes on Dimitri.

Christian didn't reply he just turned and carried Lissa up the stairs.

Lissa peaked over Christians shoulder at me. "Rose... I'm so sorry." She whispered, I glanced at her softly and shook my head; there was nothing she could have done.

Dimitri was so close to me now, his hands cupped my cheeks and tilted my face up to look at him. He was so tall.

His hand trailed down to my throat, he was so gentle. "What happened?" He asked, his voice barely a whisper, it held so much pain.

My head was spinning. "Oh you know me, trouble follows me everywhere." I said, mimicking his words from before.

My legs finally gave out beneath me, but Dimitri caught me before I could hit the ground.

He held me close to his chest as we climbed the stairs and walked through the deserted halls of the castle. How late was it?

"Where are we going?" I asked, I could barely hear my own voice over the ringing in my ears.

"The infirmary, you need to see a healer, Rose."

"No!" I yelled, pushing away from his chest, trying desperately to have my feet on the ground again. "I can't."

I held his gaze when he wouldn't let go, imploring him to understand why I couldn't go to a Doctor, that would mean explaining what happened, and that was something that I couldn't do without blowing my cover.

"Fine, but I'm getting you cleaned up." He said.

His chest was so soft and yet hard, I rested my head above where his heart was only to find it beating erratically.

He didn't even seem to be struggling to carry my weight. My bones felt brittle, but I managed to lift my hand and place it on Dimitri's cheek, the stubble there tickled my fingers and he glanced down at me with a pained expression on his face. "Your skin is so cold Roza, it's usually so warm." He said as he tilted his head and placed a kiss to my wrist, he had managed to find a clean patch of skin to press his lips against, but his jaw was now coated in blood from where my hand had been. I wasn't even sure whose blood it was.

"Yeah well, that tends to happen when an angry giant makes it rain on you." I replied, trying to make my voice sound light.

When he laughed I heard it rumble through his chest and I pressed myself closer to him.

We finally reached our quarters and he carried me straight through to the bathing chambers where he placed me so I was sitting on the edge of the bathtub.

I watched as he searched drawers and cupboards for the things he needed until he came back to me with a bowl of water and several cloths and bandages.

He pulled up a stool so he was sitting in front of me between my legs.

"Your shirt is ripped." He said it as more of a statement that a question. The words brought back the feeling of the man groping me and I shivered in disgust. There was so much pain and anger in his eyes I had no idea how he was keeping himself under control, though the fury wasn't directed at me, not anymore, it was at the man who did this to me.

"I think I need to take it off, Rose, to get to the wound." He said, his voice was quiet and wary, he sounded embarrassed.

I smiled at the realisation that a man like Dimitri Belikov could be embarrassed by seeing me in my undergarments, but he had seen me in less before.

I lifted my shaking hands and undid the surviving buttons of the shirt and slipped it off my shoulders.

My skin had started to warm up again, and the way Dimitri was looking at me now only made the process happen that much quicker.

He slowly brushed my hair over my shoulders so the full extent of the wound and the mess was revealed to him.

He dipped one of the cloths in the warm water and started to clean my neck and shoulders and chest and hands. He was so very gentle, and despite the circumstances, his touch warmed something deep within me that had been cold for as long as I could remember.

"The wound is deep but you won't need stitches, if you wear a bandage for the next few days and keep it clean it should be fine." He told me as he continued to wash blood from my skin.

"Great, that will be easy to explain when I wear those ridiculous dresses." I wasn't sure why I was worrying about that now, but I would have to find a way to cover them.

"We can find you dresses with high necks, it will have to cover the bruising as well if you don't want to explain anything." I nodded, though regretted it instantly when pain in my throat flared up.

Dimitri looked at me with such sorrow and guilt, I had no idea how he wasn't disgusted with me.

"Please stop looking at me like that. I'm a monster, Dimitri." The words tumbled out of my mouth though my head was clear now.

"You're not a monster, Roza." The way he said my name like that, the way the R rolled off his tongue made me want to collapse in his arms and never leave their safety.

Dimitri was bandaging my neck now, and I waited until he was finished to say the next words so I didn't have to see his face.

I stood up and faced away from him. "I killed a man with my bare hands; I melted his neck until there was nothing left."

I stormed out into the living area, I needed to breathe.

I heard Dimitri following me a moment later, before he lightly held my hand and turned me to face him.

I gasped when I saw him on his knees in front of me.

"Never. Never say that you are a monster again." He gripped my hand and brought it to his cheek again and held it there.

I could have sworn that I saw tears glistening in the corners of his eyes. "You have no idea how terrified I was, Rose. You had been gone for so long and no one knew where you were." I couldn't help myself; I ran my fingers through his hair and found it to be silky soft, his eyes closed in contentment as fingers slid through the strands.

His head was the height of my chest and he was gazing up at me. I had only ever seen Dimitri Belikov kneel in front of the King before, I knew how strongly he felt about loyalty, and yet here he was, completely at my mercy.

"And then I saw you, covered in blood and soaking wet and I knew then that I would have done anything for you. I would have ripped the world apart to find you, Roza." His words were soft and yet strong, and I knew then that I would have done the same for him.

I fell to my knees in front of him, one hand still pressed to his cheek and the other tangled in his hair.

He brought his other hand up and caressed my cheek ever so softly before it tangled itself within my long hair.

I had always been on my own; I had never wanted to be so close to another person as I did now. I wanted to know him and I wanted him to know me. I wanted him to know every inch of me, which meant the scars and the darkness within me too.

My top half was still exposed, with only my undergarments covering my modesty, and yet I didn't feel embarrassed or ashamed of what I was, I felt beautiful.

We were so close now, our chests were almost touching and our faces were barely inches apart. I could see every speck of brown within his deep bottomless eyes; I could happily lose myself in those eyes and never come back to the real world again.

I shuffled closer to him so our chests were pressed firmly together, I heard a growl emit from deep within his chest when I wound my hand around his neck and pulled him down so we shared the same breath.

"Roza..." He sounded as breathless as I felt. I knew what he was doing, he was warning me. He was giving me the opportunity to stop this before it went too far, but why on earth would I want to?

Dimitri Belikov made me feel alive again. I had never had a home before, not in the physical sense anyway. But when I looked at him, and when I touched him, I felt like I was home.

I knew then what I wanted, what I needed. And it was him.

I leant up and closed the breath of distance between us until my lips pressed against his.

His lips were soft and yet firm, they warmed me straight to my core.

The embrace was so sweet and soft, he was so very gentle.

But then he wrapped his arm tightly around my waist and pulled my body flush against his. His fingers tangled themselves in my hair and his tongue ran across my bottom lip, begging for entrance that I was only too willing to give.

I parted my lips with a gasp and he took the opportunity for our tongues to meet in a daring dance.

It was unlike anything I had ever felt before, to be wrapped so tightly in this man's arms and feel nothing but want and need and safety.

I couldn't get close enough to him. His hand that before was wrapped around my waist was now exploring the bare plains of my waist and back, my bloodied shirt long since forgotten in the bathing chambers.

I needed to feel more of him. As his lips danced with mine I trailed my hands down his chest, exploring the toned muscles of his stomach until I reached where his shirt was tucked into the waistband of his pants. I untucked the shirt and slipped my hands beneath so they were resting against the warm and smooth skin there.

The way the moan rumbled from deep within him and the partnering nip of my bottom lip sent heat pooling into a dangerous place.

I gasped at the new feeling of pleasure and pain that it caused and he took the opportunity to tear his lips away from mine and instead trailed them down my neck.

I could distantly hear the wind howling outside.

He was sitting on his knees now, and I was straddling his lap, I wasn't sure how I got there but I didn't mind one bit.

He trailed his lips down from just under my chin until he reached my collarbone and shoulder, but he didn't stop there.

He was careful about the wound on my neck, but he continued his delightful torture down my chest until he reached the undergarments covering my modesty, where my breath caught in my throat.

"Dimitri." I breathed.

I don't know what my voice must have sparked within him, but suddenly his lips were on mine again, and I was gently but powerfully being laid on the plush rug in front of the unlit fire and he was above me.

My legs opened naturally to accommodate his hips, and the moan that ripped itself from my lungs was unlike any sound I had ever made when I felt his hardness press against my centre.

If he got this kind of reaction out of me when we were both almost fully clothed, the thought of what it would be like when we were both bare set my skin on fire.

The inferno inside me was roaring, clawing at my skin trying to escape, trying to find its desperate release.

The pile of logs inside the hearth beside us was engulfed in burning flames as was every candle in the room.

Dimitri finally pulled away and I finally saw what had happened.

Sweat had formed on his forehead and it now trailed down face, which was red and flushed from being so close to the raging fire in the hearth and me. I must have been boiling hot.

I shoved him off me, hissing at the pain it caused the wound on my neck before crossing the room so I was as far away from him as possible. All the candles in the room extinguished and the fire was now crackling gently rather than the roaring tornado of heat it had been a moment ago.

I was breathing heavily, as was Dimitri. I watched as he got to his feet and looked at me with such an intense look.

"I'm so sorry. I'm so sorry." I repeated. How could I have let myself lose control like that?

I can't even imagine the heat Dimitri must have been faced with. I scanned his body looking for burn marks but didn't see any.

"Roza, don't you dare apologise." He said gently as he raised his hands in a calming gesture and took a step towards me.

"Don't." I said, stopping him in his tracks.

He continued his slow approach to me anyway. He cupped my face gently in his large hands and tilted my face up so I was looking into his eyes, his features were no longer guarded, and his expression was clear as day for me to see. "Listen." Was all he said. I did as he instructed, and listened. I could still hear the wind howling outside, and I was sure I could hear thunder growling in the distance earlier.

"You are not the only one who struggles to keep their abilities under control. When I am with you, my self control goes out the window." He said with a small smile.

His words could have made me feel better, but I had already fallen too deeply down the pit of despair. "But your abilities don't risk my life. I hurt you, Dimitri."

He pulled me into his chest and wrapped his arms protectively around me, almost like he would protect me from myself if he could. "You could never hurt me." He whispered into my hair before placing a kiss there.

I inhaled deeply, taking in his crisp scent, before taking a step back. His face fell when he saw my expression; it was like he knew I had already made my decision. "Please don't shut me out, Roza, not now." He pleaded.

"I'm sorry, I'm so sorry. I just need some space, I need to regain control." I hated having to distance myself from him, but I didn't want to hurt him, even though I was now, by saying these words.

I started to walk away, towards my bedroom, but he took my hand and held it close. "Let me help you. We'll carry on training like we did before; we just have to be careful here."

My shoulders sagged in defeat; I knew I would do anything he asked.

I finally nodded and pressed my lips to his stubble covered jaw. "Goodnight, Dimitri." I whispered in his ear before reluctantly pulling away and taking myself to bed.

It had been a long day.

There we have Chapter 14! Daaaaaaaamn they finally kissed! How was it? I never really know how to go about these intimate moments as I'm not the most romantic person myself hahahah. Sorry for the delay, but I'm hoping the extra long chapter and Romitri moment will make up for it. I had my first week of training at the new job this week and literally didn't have a single moment to relax this week until now! The job is with the NHS so I'll be out on the wards in the hospital next week which I'm terrified for but also excited I guess, which means there might not be another chapter until next weekend, but we shall see! Anyway, thanks so much for all your support, your reviews have really helped me this week. Thanks again, please let me know what you think.