A/N
Hola guys! Thanks for all the love! Thanks to everyone who reviewed last chapter, I loved every sweet word!
Claire3loves3music, this one is for you. Thanks for the super long review! You had me smiling for miles, so thank you! I hope you continue to enjoy!
You guys do know by now that I've got one hell of a beta, right? Well, just in case you're new or live under a rock and have no idea who I'm talking about, Mitrioselove is her name and editing the hell out of chapters while writing pretty amazing stories of her own is her game! You should totally check out these amazing stories of hers btw. Mitrioselove, thank you. You know I love you and I do not care how that sounds, haha
I don't own VA or any of it's characters. That's all Richelle Mead's; I only hope that I'll be as good as she is someday! I do own the plot and any new characters though.
In The Rain.
Chapter 14.
"Adrian's coming home today." The air around them immediately tensed, and Rose regretted saying the words, though they were true.
Dimitri felt the air leave his lungs in a rush at those words. He sank down on the bed beside Rose feeling defeated though he had no idea why. The illusion he'd somehow let himself conjure up in the last week shattered instantly scattering like ashes in the wind. Yes, this relationship with Rose had been strained and tensed but it had just started getting better, and now that was all for nothing. He had held out hope, when he knew it was all just fantasy. Her fiancé was coming home, and she would go running back to him.
She always went running back to him.
"Ok," It was honestly all he could make himself say, anything more and he may turn bitter, may have yelled at her. Rose who had been staring at the floor suddenly snapped to attention. Her gaze snapped up to his, her brown eyes holding so much.
"Ok? That's all you have to say?" Dimitri stared back into those dark eyes incredulously mirroring Rose's expression perfectly.
"What else am I supposed to say, Rose? That I'm happy for you? Well I can't say that." Rose held a hand up to silence his long winded rambling, but Dimitri didn't seem to notice or care, Rose was betting it was the latter.
"I'm not happy that he's coming home. I'm sorry, I know I should be happy for you, I should be happy that you're going to fix things with him, though I believe you shouldn't. Roza, but I-"Rose did the only thing she could. She didn't think. She just acted.
She lunged forward and pressed her lips against his in a hard kiss. She had no idea what she was doing but she could not help herself. Startled, Dimitri reared back but Rose tangled her fingers in his hair holding him in place. And soon enough, he was kissing her back with just as much passion. He could never fight her, she was his one damn weakness and she was sure to get him killed.
"You talk too much," Rose informed pulling back slightly. Dimitri shot her a weak smile. What could he say; he'd never heard that before. Their kissing picked up once more and soon enough they were rolling around half naked in a tangle of limbs and messy, hot kisses.
"We can't, Roza." Rose's eyebrows shot up in confusion. Dimitri couldn't believe that just a few days ago they were in a similar position. And now, here they were once more but this time Dimitri was the reluctant one.
"Dimitri, please. Let's just forget. Let's not think." She sounded so vulnerable, he just wanted to wrap her up in his arms and promise her the world. But that was not who he was. He could not give in, not this time. She had just been talking about her fiance, how could she just turn around and want this from him, especially when she had stated not too long ago that she wanted to fix things with Adrian.
"N-"
"No, Dimitri. Don't say no. We'll deal with Adrian later. For now, I need this. I need you." Well fuck, how the hell did he say no to her when she was looking at him with those big brown eyes framed by those long lashes? The answer was that easy, he could not. He nodded his agreement before reattaching his lips to hers. Dimitri was weak, but at least his weakness felt so fucking good.
Much like they always had, they found their kisses picking up quickly, made more frantic by the unspoken but very known fact that this might be the last time they would be together like this. And soon enough Dimitri found himself over Rose's body, poised to enter into her slick wet heat. He couldn't help but study her for a few minutes taking in everything that he wished was fully his before entering her though.
She was so beautiful, and like it always was, it was hard knowing that once again they were doing this to each other. The casual, no strings attached sex they had been engaging in for the past week had apparently reached it's limit because Dimitri was sure that he knew Rose well enough now to know that she would never continue once Adrian was back home. And for whatever reason, that made him mad.
He felt like an ass, he should not be mad he'd always known that he was just the other man... He had gone into this a willingly participant, Rose had put herself out there for him to take but he knew it was just temporary. Dimitri knew deep inside Rose was made for him, he just had to make her see it. But he was pissed, and there was nothing he could do about his anger. Or was there? Rose wanted to play dirty? Fine, he would play her game.
An animalistic growl ripped past his lips as he slammed into her. She cried out and Dimitri being the man he was was about to pull out of her thinking he had hurt her, but her legs tightened around his waist as she shook her head. He found a rhythm which consisted of hard deep thrusts nearly to the point of pain, but if the moans and screams leaving Rose's lips was any indication, she didn't seem to mind. If anything, she seemed to rather like it.
"Fuck, Dimitri!" His body purred at the knowledge that he was responsible for the pleasure coursing through her. She kept repeating long drawn out versions of his name over and over and it was as though every time his name left her lips an unspoken command was spoken.
Multiple orgasms later, they found themselves lying together on the bed sticky, and in a tangle of limbs that felt like jelly as they tried to catch their breaths. The smell of sex permeated the air and Rose felt her eyes droop. Just as quickly as they closed though, they shot opened. But as her eyes found the clock, she knew her eyes had been closed for longer than she'd anticipated.
"Oh fuck," She groaned. "Dimitri, we have to get to work." Dimitri's eyes shot opened and straight toward the clock.
A string of Russian words which quite frankly didn't sound complementary left his lips and Rose raised her brows in question. Dimitri didn't explain though. Instead, he untangled his body from hers, got out of bed and took off toward the bathroom. He hated that their time was coming to an end, but he had been lucky to even have gotten what he had from her.
Rose on the other hand could not move. Her body was sore, but that wasn't the reason. No, her inability to move had to do with the naked Russian walking across her room. Even though she'd seen Dimitri's sculpted body more times than she cared to count, every time was like the first time. Exhilarating, mind blowing and completely jaw dropping. When he turned back to face her giving her full view of every part of him, it was all she could do to not jump him then and there.
"Aren't you coming?" He looked at her, brow raised in question and a knowing smirk playing at his lips. Cocky bastard, Rose wanted to hit him.
"I don't think I can walk," She said. As she caught sight of his face, she instantly regretted her words. "Shit, I just gave you an unnecessary ego boost, didn't I?" That smirk turned into a full out grin that made her heart flip and tug at the same time.
"Oh, maybe?" Dimitri chuckled but in a second he was standing before her. And in the next second, he had her up against his chest wrapped safely in his strong arms. Rose squealed unable to help it.
Once they were under the cool spray of water though, Dimitri set her down on her own two feet. Whilst being in the same shower with him knowing that he was completely naked did turn Rose on, having him massage her neck and shoulders evoked another feeling entirely. It was a feeling that tugged at her heart, and one she was not able or willing to put a name to. Putting a name to the emotion would make it real, and she could not do that. Not now. She had made her choice, even if deep down she knew it was wrong.
"Oh god, Dimitri, I think you're in the wrong profession." Dimitri's light hearted chuckle sent a slight shiver through Rose's body. Everything about the man was hot, even his freaking laugh. Maybe that was all it was, some hardcore lusting between the two?
"What makes you say that, Roza?" Rose shook her head when Dimitri looked at her to answer his question. She attempted a strong defiant look, shoulders squared, chin held high and arms crossed over her chest. But when Dimitri's hand slid through her hair massaging her scalp with tender fingers, her façade crumbled and words spewed past her lips.
"You'll make a good massage therapist," She said. Dimitri smiled, but Rose was not done.
"Fuck Dimitri you'll make a good anything. Everything about you is good, you're sweet and kind, I've been nothing but a bitch to you," She had no idea where she was going with this, she tried to stop talking, but she could not. Her body and brain wanted different things at the moment, and because her brain was responsible for the rest of her body the words kept coming.
"I'm a fucking selfish bitch. I don't deserve you Dimitri, I don't deserve your kindness. You should be mean to me, but you're not. For whatever reason, you're always kind to me even though I always hurt you." She needed to stop, her breaths came out in deep pants, but she could not stop although she tried to get a hold on her rapid breathing. Her brain was not listening to her though and so she continued her rant breathlessly. Maybe it wasn't her brain, maybe after all this time her heart was doing the talking, she shook that thought away. Her heart could not have anything to do with it.
"I've treated you like nothing but a fucking sex slave, you're the one I turn to when shit happens with Adrian and I and you're always there for me. You take care of me as though you're responsible, I do not deserve that." Tears stung her eyes, she was reluctant to let them fall, she tried so hard to keep them at bay but just like everything else in her life, she didn't even have the control of that.
"I don't deserve you. Fucking hell I don't even deserve Adrian." The tears were falling freely now, and she felt so fucking stupid. Her hands balled into fists and she let them fly at the wall. At least that was what she meant to do, but Dimitri's hand shot out lightning fast and grabbed her hands in his before they made contact.
"Roza, stop." She shook her head as she tried and failed to free her hands from his iron grip.
"Rose," Her name was all he said but it got the point across. Dimitri couldn't find words to explain the relief that shot through him as she stopped struggling. As he looked at her though, tears pouring down her cheeks, body shaking with the force of the heart wrenching sobs that was coming out of her, that relief faded replaced by an ache in his chest.
"You're not a bitch, and you are definitely not selfish." Her mouth opened as she got ready to say something but Dimitri shook his head.
"No let me finish. You are so selfless Roza; I see it every day in the way you look out for Lissa and everyone else around you. I see it in the way you always put everyone else first and yes, you always leaving does piss me off, but on some twisted level I understand why you leave. You love Adrian, I get that. But you also love me." Rose's mouth opened once more, but no words came out.
"N-no," The word was spoken softly, nearly inaudible as she blinked rapidly. Dimitri felt like someone was sticking a knife straight through his heart and twisting. But as soon as Rose spoke, the feeling was gone as understanding dawned.
"No Dimitri, I don't. I-I can't!" The classic defense mechanism, she was in denial. He knew though, she had been pegging it all on lust, but it was love for him that kept her coming. It may not have been strong enough on her end but it was there.
"I don't love you!" She was hysterical now, and the flow of tears which had stopped only moments before started up again. Her body shook and with strength he didn't know she possessed, she yanked her hands free of his grip.
"I-I I can't love you! No, I don't. I love Adrian Dimitri, I'm sorry! God, I'm sorry," Dimitri ignored her nonsensical rambling as he turned off the water and scooped her up into his arms.
"Shhh," He soothed as he walked out in the bedroom. "It's ok now, you're ok." He needed to calm her down, but she was not having any of it.
"No, no! Don't lie to me, it's not ok, it's probably never going to be ok." She fisted her fingers in his hair. "Dimitri, make it stop, say I don't love you, tell me that you don't love me." He'd never said he loved her, but hell he did. He knew he did. He'd felt it from that first day they'd had sex, that day that felt so long ago now.
"Dimitri, say it!" He had no idea what the hell was going on with her. She looked so lost and confused, and he hated to think that it was his doing.
How had she gone from being a sexy vixen just moments before to this? And all because he pointed out that she loved him? She loved him, he'd seen it in her eyes as they made love and he'd seen it in those rare moments when they were at peace. Those moments when he put everything that had happened between them aside and pretended that she wasn't with another man. But if saying that she didn't love him would get her to calm down then so be it. Seeing her all freaked out like this was scaring him a little.
"You don't love me." He could not help the bitterness that seeped into his voice as he said those dreaded words. Rose relaxed a bit and commanded him to let her down. Then he watched as she got dressed for work as though she hadn't just had a break down or whatever the hell that was. Seeing no other way, he followed her lead and soon enough they were out of the apartment and on their way to work.
"Rose, Dimitri!" Lissa came running toward them the moment they got inside the building. She looked paler than usual and Dimitri instantly snapped to attention.
"Did you guys hear?" She was bouncing on the balls of her feet unable to speak. Dimitri cast a sidelong glance at Rose to see if she knew what was going on but he found a clueless expression on her face.
"Hear what?" Rose asked, chewing on her thumb nail, anxiety leaking from every pore on her.
The moment she noticed Dimitri was watching her she shot him an annoyed look at the concern shining in those bottomless pools of deep chocolate eyes and turned away. Bitchy she knew, but she couldn't deal with his concern. She wanted him to be mean to her, to tell her that he couldn't fix her problems. After today he would just be a co-worker. She had to stop her cheating ways.
"Michelle Aldridge was found dead early this morning." Lissa informed them her jade eyes impossibly big.
Both guardians stood for a few moments completely stunned and at a complete loss for words. They had both been hoping that Lissa was going to say that at least one of their fallen colleagues had come to during the night. They could've really used some good news, but as fate would have it, luck was not on their side.
"I-how is that even possible?" It was Rose who recovered first. "Dam it we beefed up protection around her to prevent this very thing." Dimitri nodded still incapable of speech.
Michelle had been under the protection of the guardians since she was just a baby. She lived with her grandmother, an elderly woman who didn't have very much money, but she provided for her granddaughter as best as she could. The moment Michelle moved in with her the woman called Abe and requested that she have a guardian.
Abe didn't understand why, but he knew the lady quite well and knew that she would not request protection without reason. As it turned out, the girl's father was a drug lord. He was rich no question about it, but for whatever reason he still insisted on doing drugs. It was all such a sad story.
Michelle's mother had tried to talk him out of it, but the man didn't listen to her. And so, Kate, Michelle's mother sent her daughter to live with her mother in the village she'd grown up in knowing that she would be safe from her father. As could be imagined, the man did not take kindly to having his only child shipped off in his words to the hell hole that was Montana and so in a fit of rage, Kate met her demise.
"Are you fucking kidding me?" Rose snapped feeling herself choking up with emotion. Lissa shook her head a grim look on her face. With that Rose spun anger radiating off her in waves and took off in the direction of her father's office.
"Baba, is it true?" Abe looked up from a stack of papers and her mother looked up from the computer screen, both looked like they had not slept in weeks.
"Is what true?" Rose gritted her teeth and narrowed her eyes.
"Is it true that Michelle is fucking dead?" Rose yelled again when it was clear that neither of them were going to answer her question.
"Watch your mouth, Rosemarie." Her mother chastised. Rose rolled her eyes., not believing tha was what her mother chose to caught on to.
"Don't call me that, mom." She said mustering up a small smile knowing that this was her mother's way of making sure she didn't punch something or someone. "So is it true?" They both nodded.
"Yes, Rose. Her grandmother called this morning." It was her mother who spoke up and Rose applauded her for it. Her father always wanted to protect her and the fact that the girl had gone to school with Rose and Lissa was more reason to do so. They had at one point been friends, not nearly as close as Rose and Lissa or Mason, Eddie and Christian, but still they had been close.
"Fuck!" Rose said sinking down into the nearest chair. She raked her fingers violently through her hair repeatedly. When Lissa grabbed her hands she jumped having not notice that she was there. As she looked up though, she noticed that not only was Lissa there, but so was Dimitri.
"Her death will not go unpunished, kizm. She'll get justice and so will every other person that has been murdered. I promise you that."
"Yeah," Janine said. "We'll hunt those motherfuckers down and we will not stop until we have them."
Rose couldn't help it. She burst out laughing. It was hysterical, the laugh of a mad woman but with everything going on lately, Rose was surprised she hadn't lost it by now. Soon everyone else in the room was laughing along with her. Yes, the circumstances were not the best, but they all needed a good laugh and it did break the tension.
Feeling much calmer now, everyone stood to get back to work. Abe and Janine stood and pulled their daughter into tight hugs, and just like that Rose felt herself feeling somewhat sane once more. Things were not perfect, far from it actually but she knew they would get better and she always had her family if they didn't. She set out for her work day and by the end she just wanted to crash into her bed, and sleep for days.
"Roza, wait up." Rose stiffened at that voice, was it wrong of her that she just wanted him to go away?
The end of the day was here finally and she just wanted to go home and climb into bed. She had a killer headache that pounded at her temples, maybe due to everything that was going on lately, and she honestly did not want to stick around to talk to anyone. But Dimitri was nothing if not persistent, something Rose knew better than anyone. So, she halted in her tracks and waited for him.
"What do you want, Dimitri?" She asked when he was close enough so she didn't have to yell across the parking lot. Dimitri looked taken aback by her icy tone instantly making her feel bad.
"Sorry, it's been a long day." She said by way of explanation. Of course that didn't give her the right to snap at the man, but as always Dimitri didn't seem to mind. Maybe he'd gotten used to her moods.
"It's fine, I just wanted to know if you're ok. You know, with Adrian-" And there it was. The concern and pity that Rose did not need nor want.
"Dimitri, stop. I'm fine ok. I'll deal with Adrian. That's my problem not yours. You do not have to worry about me." She snapped running her fingers through her hair for the millionth time that day.
"You know what? I am sick of your hot and cold nature. What the hell do you want, Rose? I get that you have a lot going on at the moment, but does that give you the right to push everyone away?" Dimitri had reached his limit. He had done so much for her, and here she was again treating him like trash, like second best.
"Fuck," She slammed her hand against the hood of her car. "Dimitri, I have to go ok. I don't want to hurt you again, but I don't know what else to do! " Dimitri shook his head.
"Then stay. End it with Adrian and stay with me, Roza." Rose shook her head tears brimming in her brown eyes. All Dimitri wanted was her. He knew he could give her so much more. Her obsession with staying with Adrian was sick, she had cheated on him, complained and belittled him. Why was it so hard to leave him.
"Dimitri, I-I can't. It's not that easy." Dimitri's eyes narrowed dangerously.
"What's so hard about it Roza? Just call it off with Adrian. Call off the engagement. I know that if this week meant anything to you, you would do it." Rose shook her head again a tear rolling down her cheek before she could stop it.
"I can't Dimitri, I'm-" Dimitri cut her off. He didn't want to hear her excuses, he didn't want her apologies. He had had enough. He was not going to put up with her going back and forth anymore.
"I don't want to hear it. You want to go back to Adrian? Fine. But this time when you come running back to me, I won't be waiting just so you could do this all over again." With that he walked away to his own car and took off leaving a spray of dust in his wake.
Rose felt her chest ache. That was what she'd been talking about earlier. She always did shit like that and then she went right back to Dimitri who accepted her with open arms. Apparently, not this time if the way he'd driven off without looking back was any indication. She did deserve it though, Dimitri had finally snapped. She was a fucking asshole if she expected him to always be there waiting for her. She held the tears back just until she was locked in her car, and then they came pouring as she drove off into the night.
Some time later, Rose was ready to rip her hair out. Her head was pounding and she needed something to make it stop. She'd changed the sheets which smelt of Dimitri and sex, but more like Dimitri. So now she sat curled into a ball on the floor the pillow Dimitri had slept on clutched to her chest. But that wasn't enough; she needed something to help with her headache. And then, she got it.
In one swift movement, she was on her feet and heading for Adrian's liquor cabinet. She didn't drink often but today, today she needed it. It was funny how many times she told Adrian to stay away from the liquor, and now here she was doing the same thing she was against him doing. But she couldn't help it. She had a one track mind. Get to the cabinet, choose a bottle, and pour yourself a drink. It was that simple, and it was as though the bottles called to her, and she just had to heed their call.
Adrian wasn't very surprised when he walked into a dimly lit apartment. He was however surprised by the silence and the gut instinct that something was wrong. But as he glanced around, nothing seemed amiss. There was nothing out of place, no broken anything, but it was quiet. Too quiet and he could not shake the feeling. As he walked over to the couch, he understood why.
A/N
Another cliffy, sort of? Thoughts? How do we feel about everything happening? Rose's melt down in the bathroom? Her conflicting emotions? The way Dimitri finally snapped and told her off? And now that Adrian is back and Rose is once again hell bent on going back, how do you think things will turn out? Is Rose ok? Tell me everything.
Review lovelies and Dimitri/Adrian will come give you a massage and wash your hair… :D
XXX
Roza