Chapter Twenty-Five

Dimitri POV

My eyes flicked open signaling my body that it was time to wake up. I inhaled a deep breath and stretched out my lower limbs feeling the muscles immediately loosen up as I exhaled.

Rolling over onto my back I felt a soft prickle against one of my shoulder blades. I resisted the urge to jerk away from the tickling feeling when I remembered that it had to have been Rose.

My assumption was proven right as I fixed my gaze to the naked body lying next to me. God she looked so beautiful. Her dark hair was fanned out around her head, completely covering the pillow she rested on. She was still sleeping so her eyes were closed, but her mouth was in a perfect pout, accentuating her luscious pink lips.

Those lips that had the power to make my whole body tremble when she kissed me at just the right location. Those lips that felt cool to the touch of mine yet sent a fire blazing through me. Those lips that had whispered the simple three words any man would have been ecstatic to hear from her last night before we went to bed together.

She must have been exhausted after last night's unexpected events. We had been up late, finding any way that we possibly could to please each other. I however, had more stamina than her petite fragile body even though she managed to keep up with me the entire time. Her body obviously no longer running on energy, but instead it was fueled by adrenaline and pure pleasure.

I smirked happily to myself recalling the memories of last night as I rolled over onto my side in order to get a better view of her sleeping. She looked peaceful and almost angelic. Her naked chest rose and fell with her steady breaths, and it took all of my will power not to reach out and touch her. Not in a lustful way, since we had clearly satisfied our needs last night. I simply wanted to feel her soft skin against my fingertips, or even her silky hair, which now radiated in the morning sunlight as it peeked through the blinds.

After admiring her for I'm not sure how long, I gave in. I wrapped my hand around the bottom of her delicate face, letting my index finger lightly caress her jaw line. My thumb was now in the perfect position to stroke her curvy lips, which I did ever so lightly. I ran the pad of my thumb against her upper lip, feeling the contours of it beneath my fingertip.

Taking me completely by surprise, her eyes shot open and lips turned into a pucker as she laid a light peck against my thumb. Her mouth suddenly opened, and she let my finger fall into the entrance of her mouth. Watching her with curiosity, her teeth lightly bit down on the nail portion of my finger and her lips turned up into a wide grin. After her playful bite, she took my hand from her mouth and laced her fingers into mine.

"Good morning." She said as she stretched her arms out above her head and rolling over onto her side to face me.

I glanced down to see that my bed sheet was now barely draped over her upper body, and she met my obvious gaze, giving me another grin.

"You act like you've never seen them before, Comrade. They must have been in your face and mouth for at least two hours last night."

I let out a hearty chuckle as I considered her point. It was true, but seeing her now in such a different state was still mesmerizing.

"Did you sleep okay?" I asked, wanting to make sure that everything was perfect for her. At this point I was so engrossed in her beauty and with her love that if she had asked me to completely renovate my room, I probably would have done it.

"I slept perfectly. Until someone decided to go and wake me up…" Her voice was playful, with no seriousness at all behind it. Yet I still felt partially bad, since it was out of my own pure selfishness that I woke her up.

We were both dragged out of our sleepy trance as I heard my cell phone go off. Its ringer was a loud, irritating sound, which I set for numbers that were unknown. My friends and clients had a much happier tone, which is how I always distinguished between the two. I unraveled myself from the sheets and pulled myself out of bed. Still naked from last night, Rose took full advantage of the situation and gave my ass a quick tap before I was out of her reach.

I fished through our piles of clothes that were on the floor and finally retrieved my cell phone from the back pocket of my jeans. I answered it with a professional tone of voice, trying to hide the fact that I was still in bed and had just woken up. Greeted by someone who was very foreign, most likely of my same Russian decent. After conversing with the man for a mere five minutes, we hung up.

Setting my cell phone on my nightstand and plopping myself back onto the bed to join Rose; I gave her a big smile.

"Good news." I simply said, not wanting to reveal anything just yet.

"What?" She asked me excitedly, as she shifted her body so she was now leaning against my backboard.

"A photographer in Russia who got a hold of some of your pictures through my friend in Baia thinks you have potential."

"That's all? He thinks I have potential? I KNOW I HAVE POTENTIAL." I laughed at her sudden outburst and simply shook my head.

"No, that's not all Roza. Maybe if you were patient for one second in your life you would have let me finish." That earned me a shy grin as she took my statement into consideration.

"I let you finish plenty of times last night." She playfully ran her fingers along the lines of my chest, and I took her hand in mine and gave her a large smile.

"That's not what I meant and you know it." I laughed under my breath, recalling her last answer. Leave it to Rose to turn a serious situation into some kind of joke relating to sex.

"He said he's sending a few outfits he wants you to be photographed in to see just what kind of a model you could be. Once I send the proofs back to him, he decides what we do next. But it looks good, especially if he's taking the time to send you outfits all the way from Russia."

"So how long until they get here?" I could see the excitement in her eyes; she wanted to do this right away. Unfortunately, since Russia was practically half a world away she would have to wait.

"Probably five to nine days." I cautiously said, not wanting to let her down.

"UGH!" She slid her body down on the bed and grabbed a pillow, which she quickly used to bury her face in.

"Hey…" I said in the softest tone I could manage, as I reached for the pillow to pull it away from her face. She looked at me with her bottom lip puffed out, and a sad look in her eyes. "I know how badly you want this, and it will come. I promise you. It just takes some time, that's all." I threw the pillow towards the end of the bed so she couldn't use it as an escape route again.

"I know, I know. I should be happy I was even given this opportunity. But I just want to prove to everyone that I'm good at something, you know?" Her voice became shaky, and I thought for a second I was going to see her cry.

"You are good at many things Roza. Hell, I could name at least five things you are AMAZING at after what happened last night." She gave me a playful nudge, and as quickly as I thought her tears would come, they vanished.

"I know one thing I suck at, which could actually come in handy right now."

"What's that?" I asked, reaching a hand up so I could stroke her hair.

"Cooking breakfast… I'm starving!" Almost as if her body agreed with her, we both heard her stomach let out a fierce grumble. Together we laughed and continued to lay with each other on the bed for a few more moments as a tangled mess of limbs.

Eventually I was able to pull myself out of bed and over to my dresser where I slipped on a clean pair of boxers.

"Go shower, breakfast will be ready when you get out."

She hopped out of bed, ten times quicker than I did and ran right up to me, giving me a small peck on the cheek.

"Thank you!" She squealed before bounding off towards my bathroom. I shook my head, overcome with happiness as I watched her banter off. My only thoughts as I walked towards the kitchen were 'Damn, I love this girl."

Rose POV

He didn't need to tell me twice. The second I heard he would be making breakfast; I did exactly as he told. After spending as much time as I did in this apartment, I now knew where everything was by heart.

After grabbing a towel and washcloth out of the bathroom closet, and turning the water to an appropriate temperature I marched my already naked body right into the shower. I washed my hair with Dimitri's shampoo, my body with his soap and after realizing how masculine they both smelled, I soon made a mental note to go and buy my own toiletries.

The water was warm and comforting to my tired body, but I thought about all the wonderful food that awaited me when I got out, which was enough for me to shut off the shower and dry myself off.

I tousled my hair around until it looked presentable and made my way back into Dimitri's room. Slipping into a clean pair of my underwear and one of his oversized t-shirts, I crossed through his apartment towards the kitchen.

He hadn't heard me come in, so I snuck up behind him and wrapped my arms around his waist. Compared to mine, his body closely resembled a tree trunk. It was thick in all the right places, and firm to the touch. His strength was incredible, yet he still remained graceful and agile with all of his movements.

His body shivered a bit under my cool touch, since his upper half still remained unclothed. He stood at the stove with a spatula in hand, preparing the last bit of eggs. I felt myself get a teeny bit wet as I watched him cook. He was so manly, yet here he was doing a chore that most women usually did.

"You know… I'm starting to work up an appetite for something else." I purred into his ear as I let my hand linger down towards his junk. I felt his body go stiff as I grasped his length through the fabric.

"Roza," He exhaled and chuckled at the same time, trying to keep his composure. "You need to eat something. We have all the time in the world for this later." He spun around so our chests were nearly touching. Or rather his chest was actually closer to touching my face, but we won't get technical. "Go sit down and I'll bring you some food."

I'm sure if I had fought a little bit harder he wouldn't have been able to resist me. But he was right; I did need food, badly. My stomach was actually starting to hurt a little since I hadn't eaten in so long. I stood on my tippy toes and leaned upwards to give him a kiss.

"You win this time Comrade. But don't think I'll let you off the hook so easily next time." I winked at him and walked over to the island in the middle of the kitchen, pulling myself up onto one of its tall seats.

After a couple minutes Dimitri set down a plate in front of me. The aroma that was filling my nostrils began to make my mouth water. Not only did the food smell good, but it also looked delicious, almost as if it had come out of some sort of fancy cookbook or magazine.

In the middle of the plate were two eggs, sunny side up, which was my favorite way to eat them. My foster parents always tried making them for me as a kid, but none of them ever succeeded. They always made the yolk too hard so it was impossible to dip my toast in. Pushing that memory aside, I took a slice of bacon and bit it in half. It was the maple kind that was salty but had just the right amount of sweet. My throat let out a lofty moan as I let the food slide down my throat.

Dimitri was still fiddling with things in the kitchen, and he immediately turned to look at me as soon as the sound left my lips. Setting a bowl of fruit in front of me, he gave me a large grin.

"Not only can I make you make that sound in the bedroom, but also with my cooking too? Damn I must be talented." He laughed and turned away from me, placing some of the dirty dishes into the sink.

I hadn't realized how much I was enjoying the food until I looked down at my left hand, which was clenched around the napkin he gave me. I tossed the crumbled mess in his direction, which promptly hit him on the back. Glancing over his shoulder, his smile widened.

He soon joined me with his own plate of food. I noticed that he had given himself two extra pieces of toast and a whole lot more bacon and eggs.

"Hey! What gives? I can probably eat as much as you can!" I said, reaching for one of his extra slices of meat and immediately stuffing it into my mouth.

He shook his head in an almost disapproving manner. This was a gesture he often did, almost as if he couldn't believe the words coming out of my mouth. I was used to it by now, plus it was almost always followed by a smile. Which was an excellent indicator that told me yes, he thought I was unreasonable at times. But he still loved it nonetheless.

"So do you think I did okay?" He asked as he raised his eyebrows at me and nudged me slightly with his elbow.

"Eh… it was alright. But the last guy I slept with made me French toast AND brought it to me in bed." I stuck my tongue out and gave him a teasing smile, then turned back to my plate.

"I would bring you French toast and serve you breakfast in bed every day if that's what it took to make you happy." He smiled, but I knew the seriousness behind his words. Even after spending such a short amount of time together, he really, truly cared about me. That was a feeling I was used to, because I knew it was a feeling that Mason had had for me too. But with Dimitri, it was different. Mason was essentially still a boy and didn't have as much life experience as Dimitri had. Dimitri was a man, and he had been through enough in his life where he could distinguish things differently than someone who was seven years his junior.

His comment nearly brought out a faint blush in my cheeks, but when I looked away from him I was sure the color had faded. Noticing my reluctance, he brought his hand to my chin and tipped it up so I was looking him straight in the eye.

"What is it, Roza?" His voice was sincere, and his eyes filled with concern for me.

"I just…I don't know." I let out a frustrated sigh, something I often did when I couldn't exactly put my thoughts into words.

Dimitri then turned my chair so it was facing his own, and put his hand gently on my knee. "You can talk to me about anything, you know that right?"

"I know, and that's it…" I looked down and fumbled with my own fingers. "I love you so much, but I feel like it's wrong, because we know each other, but we don't. There's so much I have to tell you, but it never seems like the right time, or the place. And we've been through a lot so we haven't really had time to get to know each other like I would like… and it's just these stupid eggs. They're good but nobody has made them for me since my last foster parent's and I miss them a lot and I'll never get to see them again…" I knew my rambling was becoming ridiculous, but it was another nervous habit of mine so it's not exactly something I could stop. I felt tears well in my eyes, and a few stray drops cascaded down my cheeks.

Dimitri's strong hands being placed on my shoulders interrupted my rampant speech and brought me back to normality. He shook me, only slightly, not enough to do me any damage. "Roza, it's okay." His voice was timid, and soothing. Almost making me completely forget about the rambling spree I had just gone through.

"If you want to talk about those things, then lets do it. I care about you so much, and I want to know everything you are willing to tell me. Just please don't get upset about this. We'll work through everything, I promise." And somehow, I believed him.

He eventually moved our conversation into the living area, and we both sat in front of the fireplace in our underwear for most of the day. We talked about everything and anything that normal people did before they actually fell in love with each other. I told him everything about every foster family that I ever had, for as far back as I could remember. And he told me about his abusive father who often took advantage of his mother and sisters who still lived in Russia to this day. He told me about his journey to the United States when he was only fifteen, and I told him about my journey to New York. We discussed our exes, our friends, the schools we attended growing up, and even the things we wanted to do before we died. We bonded over many similarities, one's that both of us never even knew we had.

By the end of the day, I felt closer to him than I had ever felt towards someone before. I started to feel like I knew him like the back of my own hand, as I carefully took in every experience, memory or feeling he told me about. We laughed and we cried over things from the past, and things we hoped to do in the future.

Before we got up and made our way to the bedroom, I undoubtedly felt like Dimitri was my soul mate. The way we clicked not only mentally but also emotionally today, confirmed that for me. I am 100% certain that I love Dimitri with every fiber of my being and I not only appreciate him as my boyfriend, but now also as my best friend.

Hi guys! This is kind of just a filler chapter, and even though it only happened in the last part of the chapter, many people thought that Dimitri and Rose had to have 'the talk'. I took everyone's ideas into consideration regarding where I want this story to go next! I'm kind of using a little bit of everyone's ideas and putting them together, but I'm not sure how it will turn out yet. But thank you to everyone who submitted ideas, you really helped get my creative juices flowing!

Now that school has started I'm not going to have a specific time frame of when I will be updating next. I kind of just plan on doing it when I'm not busy, like today. So stay tuned and keep being great and reviewing!

Speaking of which, I hit 105 reviews last chapter. That is awesome! I never expected to get such amazing feedback, but I'm grateful for every one of you who gave it to me. xoxo