"Janine, it's Dimitri. We're on our way home now. All is good. We have Christian and Guardian Frankie with us. Since the house is full, can you switch on the lights for the guest house?" Dimitri didn't spell it out, but he was sure his girlfriend's mother got the underlying subtext of his message.
Rose was asleep cuddled against Dimitri. The wedding had been at 10.30pm, the reception going through until almost daylight. Dawn was nearly upon them and used as she was to a diurnal schedule, Rose was exhausted.
Sitting on one side of the back seat, Rose in the middle, Dimitri couldn't help notice the way Christian and Frankie were cuddled against each other on the far side of the rear seat. Frankie was sitting side on across Christian's lap, an arm wrapped around Christian's shoulder, his arms curled around her waist. Christian's head was resting in the crook of Frankie's shoulder, her head resting casually on top of his. It might have been innocent were it not for Christian's hand softly caressing Frankie's waist, his fingers coming dangerously close to the underside of her breasts. Not that Frankie seemed to be objecting!
Pavel did a great job of getting them home safely. It seemed like minutes, rather than an hour when they pulled up at the farmhouse.
"Wake up, Roza. We're home…"
"Too tired. I wanna sleep," Rose complained, nonetheless opening an eye.
"It's not quite dawn. Let's get up to bed."
Rose stirred, opening sleepy eyes before shutting them again.
"Christian? The main house is full, so Janine has prepared the guest house for you and Frankie. There are two rooms there. Since we weren't expecting you, there's no food, but come across to the main house when you're ready. If the house is locked, there's a key in the cutlery drawer," Dimitri explained pointing to the guest house.
Scooping Rose up in his arms, Dimitri followed Abe and Pavel to the primary residence, carrying Rose through the door and upstairs to their bedroom. Putting Rose onto their bed on her side, Dimitri carefully unzipped her dress, pulling it down her arms and over her hips. Doing likewise with her pretty, lacy bra, Dimitri stared at his beautiful woman lying on top of their bed in just a pair of skimpy lace panties.
Rose had always been beautiful, but right now – gloriously pregnant with his child – she had never looked better. While Dimitri wanted nothing more than to climb into bed with his sleepy woman, after tucking her in, then tiptoeing into Lara's room to check she was sleeping happily, Dimitri reluctantly headed downstairs. As he'd anticipated, Abe was sitting at their kitchen table, a glass of scotch in his hand plus one poured ready for Dimitri.
"What did you say to Lissa?" Dimitri asked, dropping into a chair to the side of Abe.
"I told her I knew everything, then I reminded her that she didn't want me as an enemy."
"What did she say?!" Dimitri hissed, curious despite himself.
"Oh, she tried to bluster, at first…"
"And then…?" Dimitri pressed.
"Then I told her I'd heard her threat to Rose. I reminded her of what I'm capable of, then I explained how precious my daughter and grandchildren are to me. A broken statue will be the least of her worries if she continues."
"Was she scared?" Dimitri asked in amusement.
"She should be," Abe declared ominously.
"Thanks for agreeing to come with me," Christian said quietly as he let them into the guesthouse fifty yards from the main house. "Tonight was so dismal… I just needed to get out of there."
Dumping his bag on the floor in the small kitchen and living area, Christian turned to face Frankie.
"It's ok. I've been bored shitless at the Academy," Frankie replied, dumping her own bag before taking off her black tailored jacket, then slowly unbuttoning her white shirt. His breath coming faster with every button, Christian was simultaneously relieved and disappointed when Frankie removed her button-up to reveal a plain cotton tank beneath. Trying not to look like he was perving, Christian nonetheless noticed Frankie wasn't wearing a bra, her nipples erect and prominent through the soft cotton. For just a moment Christian wondered what it would be like to take one into his mouth.
"You changed your hair color," Christian said after swallowing heavily, dragging his eyes away from Frankie's breasts. Currently a blue-green, the hair worked magnificently with her eyes which were a similar hue.
"Yeah. Not much else to do at the Academy," Frankie replied playfully, moving through to the small living area and flopping onto a sofa, sitting cross-legged on the comfortable cushions. Following, Christian sat at the other end, turning to look at Frankie.
"Was it bad? Seeing her today?" Frankie asked without preamble.
"Not really," Christian replied. "It's hard to explain, but she's like a stranger to me now. It doesn't hurt, because the woman I once loved isn't there anymore. Instead, there's someone else with her face and her voice, but not her heart."
"You must have loved her very much," Frankie stated, her eyes not meeting Christian's.
"At one time I did," Christian admitted. "Maybe if she hadn't become Queen we might have stood a chance. But she did, and we slowly grew apart. And the blame is not all hers… I mean, I went away for a year…"
"Were you faithful to her?" Frankie asked.
"Always. Even if our vows meant nothing to Lissa, they meant something to me," Christian explained with a sigh.
"And now?" Frankie prompted.
"And now we'll stay married for appearance's sake. If we divorce, then the offensive magic project will suffer because of it."
"You'd give up your own happiness to ensure the success of the project?"
Christian shrugged. "I'm just one person, but the offensive magic project has the potential to save hundreds of Moroi and Dhampir lives. Some things are too important to give up on. Besides, I doubt there's a queue lining up to hook up with her Majesty's ex," Christian joked sourly.
"Don't sell yourself short, Ozera. You have plenty to offer a woman!"
"Yeah? I'm traveling all the time for the project, so I can't offer a woman a home, and everyone knows I am married to Vasilisa, so the best I could offer is a position as my mistress." Christian said it with more bitterness than he'd intended. Stating these truths to Frankie hurt, because had things been different – if he'd been free – he would have liked to see where things with her might lead.
"And what if you fall in love again?" Frankie asked softly.
"I can't let that happen."
"Why?"
"Because while it might be in name only, I'm still a married man," Christian snapped, his anger spurned by disappointment.
Frankie regarded Christian curiously. His anger didn't bother her – in fact, if anything it made her happy. Christian wouldn't be angry unless there were emotions involved, and something told Frankie the strong feelings Christian was expressing didn't involve Lissa. She scooted down the sofa toward him, reaching out slowly and placing her hand over his heart.
"Are you still married here?" she asked softly.
Christian closed his eyes, bringing his own hand up to rest on top of Frankie's. His thumb stroking the back of her hand, it was an undeniably intimate gesture.
"No."
"Then you have something special to offer," Frankie said softly.
"I can't ask a woman to love me, knowing I'll never be able to give her all of me. That she'll never be able to take me home to meet her mother."
"Surely that's for the woman to decide?" Frankie murmured, leaning in and kissing Christian.
Her lips were soft on his. Barely touching, Frankie gave Christian the chance to pull back, which he finally did.
"What are you doing?" he asked in shock.
"Something I wanted to do months ago," she replied, straddling Christian's lap and bringing her lips almost back to his. "Is this ok? Do you want this?" she whispered nervously.
"So, so much," Christian moaned, leaning into her kiss and shivering with excitement as Frankie's arms slipped around his neck, her fingers playing in his hair.
Christian's hands were dancing down Frankie's back, ending up on her hips. Still in her black dress pants, Frankie's movements on Christian's lap was not helping the discomfort he was currently experiencing. His cock was hard as granite, pushing against his briefs and the front of his tux trousers. Christian couldn't remember ever wanting a woman as much as he wanted Frankie right now. Everything about her was drawing him in, and he wanted nothing more than to take her to bed and spend hours getting to know her in every way imaginable.
Opening his mouth to Frankie's curious tongue, their kisses became more intimate. Unable to stop himself, Christian ran a hand up the side of Frankie's ribcage, finally letting himself touch one of her breasts through her tank top, his fingertips finding a tight, puckered nipple. Groaning as he felt the softness of her breast, he pinched its nipple lightly, smiling at the needy hiss it elicited from Frankie.
Grasping behind Frankie's back, Christian half stood moving them until he could push her onto her back on the sofa. Lying on top of her, in between her legs, he rested most of his weight to one side as their lips joined again. Kissing Frankie was nothing like kissing Lissa. Frankie was much more daring and more of an equal participant. It's like intimacy was something that happened to Lissa, where Frankie was all in.
Having Frankie on her back was a bad idea, Christian quickly realized. Her moans of pleasure and the way she kept tugging on his hair was driving him wild. With his shaft positioned right over her core, his hips were moving of their own accord, giving Frankie a hint of what he wanted to do with her. Knowing if he didn't stop now he wouldn't be able to, Christian pulled back, taking a deep breath and resting his forehead against Frankie's. She smiled shyly, still tickling his back with one hand, the other in his dark hair.
"I want this. I want this so much…" Christian explained.
"But?" Frankie asked, trying to keep the disappointment from her voice. She'd never be able to look at Christian again if he turned her down now. Hell – she'd all but thrown herself at him – foolishly believing he was as attracted to her as she was to him.
"But I don't want to rush things… And I want to make sure we're on the same page. I don't have a lot of friends – I can't afford to lose any more."
"You want me to be your friend?" Frankie asked. Oh God, how embarrassing! Here she thought maybe she and Christian had a shot at something, and he was just after a friends with benefits sort of thing! The guy hadn't had sex in months – of course, he just wanted to get his rocks off!
"You are my friend," Christian clarified. "At least I consider you that way. I'd like to take our time and see if it could become more."
Frankie smiled, her heart restarting. More. She could live with that.
"I'm not saying no, because believe me more than anything I want to keep going with what we were just doing. I'm just saying not yet," Christian continued, ice blue eyes meeting blue-green as they regarded one another.
"Ok. Slowly, then. But… do you think we could rest together? As friends who might become more…? It's been a long time since I've slept beside someone, and I'd like to be able to touch you."
"I'd love to sleep next to you," Christian said, kissing the tip of Frankie's nose before climbing off the sofa and her. And he would love to sleep next to Frankie, but he might need a long cold shower, first!
Holding out his hand, Christian helped Frankie up from the sofa, and together they picked up their bags and checked out where they were staying. A modest little place there were two bedrooms, a bathroom, and the open kitchen/dining/living area they'd already seen. The bedrooms were a similar size, both with double beds.
"Let's take this one," Frankie suggested, choosing the one on the western side of the house. They'd sleep for four or five hours and then get up so they could flip to daylight schedule, so it made sense to choose the bedroom without the morning sun shining into it. Drawing the curtains, Christian let Frankie use the bathroom first. She was out quickly wearing a small pair of sleep shorts and the tank she'd been wearing earlier. She looked so good, Christian immediately ruled out being able to sleep on his stomach!
Stepping into the bathroom with his duffel, Christian stripped down, turning on the shower. Setting it to cold but not icy, Christian looked at himself in the mirror. He was no Dimitri, but as part of the offensive magic project he worked out and had earned himself a tight set of abs and some decent muscles. Still – it was nothing compared to what Frankie was probably used to from Dhampir men. Making a decision to ease off the carbs and work out a bit more, Christian stepped into the shower, the water beating down on his still turgid cock.
He couldn't go back into the bedroom like that - they were meant to be taking things slowly. Still too turned on for things to subside naturally, Christian decided there was no other option – he was going to have to rub one out. Feeling guilty, he wrapped his hand around himself, closing his eyes and leaning forward against the wall of the shower as he remembered the feel of Frankie's breasts. Then he imagined Frankie was in the large shower with him, on her knees with his cock in her mouth. In his fantasy, Frankie was deep throating him, one hand working the base of his cock, the other touching herself as she blew him.
It took no time at all and Christian was grunting quietly, blowing his load against the tiles, panting in excitement as he imagined Frankie swallowing every drop, her beautiful eyes looking up at him as she did so. Vlad! The thought of that was almost enough to make him hard again. Quickly soaping himself down, and splashing the tiles to erase any evidence of his jizz, Christian turned off the water, stepping out and drying himself off.
What to wear? Boxers were a given, but maybe a shirt, too? It was hot, though. Not unbearable but undoubtedly warm. If he were alone, he'd just wear boxers. Biting the bullet, he rifled through his duffel, choosing a dark checkered pair of boxers. Stepping back out into the living room, he hung his button up and suit pants over the back of a chair before moving to the bedroom where Frankie was waiting.
"I switched the air con on," she said shyly, already in bed covered by just a sheet.
"Yeah, it's hot," Christian said, castigating himself for not coming up with something more suave. "You know, this is the first time I've had a Guardian share a room with me," he blurted out. Oh God. Kill me know, he thought, instantly regretting it.
"Belikov and Vitsin not suitable bunk buddies?!" Frankie teased.
"Ahh, no. Any time Belikov and I traveled, he'd spend half the night on the phone to Rose. And Vitsin sleep talks."
"Does he say anything interesting?" Frankie asked with a laugh.
"Fuck knows, it's all in Russian!" Christian neglected to mention the incident at his parent's country house where Vitsin had no doubt had to overhear Christian's dream about getting hot and heavy with Frankie.
"Well I don't sleep talk or snore," Frankie giggled, lifting the sheet invitingly. "But I do like to cuddle…"
"I like to cuddle, too," Christian admitted, and it was true. Right now, he couldn't think of anything better than cuddling the beautiful Guardian Isabella Frankenelli.
Janine walked into the kitchen, scooping Lara out of Eddie's lap with one arm and grabbing the spoon he'd been using to feed Lara in the other. Sitting down opposite an outraged Eddie, Janine pulled over the plate of toddler food and started feeding Lara, talking to her the whole time.
"That's right! Open wide for Nanny!" she coaxed, spooning the minced beef and vegetables into Lara's mouth.
"Morning," Christian said seconds later, walking into the kitchen through the kitchen door followed by Frankie.
"Hey," Frankie added, smiling at Janine tentatively. She knew Eddie from St. Vlad's so flopped down in the empty chair next to him. "I didn't know you were going to be here," she stated curiously.
"Rose and I have been close since we were four," Eddie explained, looking at Christian from the corner of his eye. "We grew up in the same unit at the Academy together. I hate spending my days off stuck at the Academy, so Alberta lets me bank my hours, and I come here for a weekend every month. It's nice to catch up with Rose and Dimitri and just get away from it all, you know?"
If Frankie thought Eddie's presence at Rose and Dimitri's place was odd, Christian thought nothing of it. They'd both been at Spokane and lived through the aftermath. Eddie had always been close to Rose, and now she'd lost Lissa he was really her last old friend.
"Open wide! Nanny has the airplane!" Janine said, pulling faces at Lara as she guided the spoon forward into the infant's mouth.
Christian's eyes flicked across to the nearly one-year-old sitting on Janine's lap. When he'd asked to visit, he'd almost forgotten Lara would be here. Looking at Lara now, she was all Lissa.
"Wow," he said, eyes wide.
"She's just beautiful, isn't she?" Janine said proudly – as though Lara's looks somehow had something to do with Rose and Dimitri.
"She is," Christian said, sounding awed. Lara had always been an abstract thing. A babe in arms when he last saw her. Now here, a living breathing child, he was finally confronted with the proof of Lissa's infidelity. No one said anything, but all eyes were regarding Christian carefully as he stared at Lissa's daughter.
"Hello, Lara! I'm your Uncle Christian! I've known your Mama and Papa for years! Your Papa used to be my Guardian."
Collectively everyone breathed a sigh of relief. Eddie because it didn't appear that Christian had deduced he was Lara's father. Janine, Abe, and Pavel for much the same reason. Frankie was a little less sure about the reasons for her relief. If she was honest with herself, it was probably that Christian didn't seem too upset being faced with his wife's lovechild, which hinted maybe he was ready to move on.
"I'm Guardian Isabella Frankenelli," Frankie introduced herself to Janine since no one else had the presence of mind to do so. There was no need to introduce Janine – she was legendary as a Guardian, and honestly, Frankie was a little star-struck.
"Sorry," Christian stepped in, dragging his eyes away from Lara. "Frankie came with Adrian and me on our European tour," he explained. "She's now stationed back at St. Vlad's with Adrian, and they've visited here a few times. When I wanted to get away from campus, I had to take a Guardian with me. Rose and Dimitri need to keep their location secret, so Frankie is here to guard me while I visit."
Janine looked at Frankie with interest.
"Frankie? This is Guardian Hathaway, Rose's Mom. You've already met Mr. Mazur, her Dad, and Guardian Pavel, Mr. Mazur's Guardian."
"Janine and Abe, please," Abe said pleasantly. Rose had raved about Frankie and their burgeoning friendship. Looking at the young woman now, dressed in low cut jeans and a tank top, sporting blue/green hair, Abe thought she was just the breath of fresh air his daughter needed.
"Morning all," Dimitri said coming down the stairs and into the kitchen. At 10 am, it was exceptionally late for him to be waking, but it had been a very late night.
"Where's my girl?" Abe asked, noticing Rose was not following Dimitri.
"Still asleep," Dimitri replied. "Last night took it out of her. I thought I'd try and rouse her with food!"
Christian chuckled. From experience, he knew if anything was likely to get Rose out of bed it was something to eat.
"How's she going with the pregnancy?" he asked. They hadn't really had a chance to catch up at the wedding.
"Good. She's tired more than usual, and college isn't helping with that. She loves it, though."
"Would you like some help with the food? It's been a while since we cooked together…" Christian offered.
Once upon a time, in the early years of his marriage to Lissa, Dimitri and Christian had regularly cooked for their women. A Sunday morning ritual, each week they'd made a feast for their girls while Lissa and Rose gossiped and caught up.
"According to Rose, I still can't do choc-chip pancakes as good as you," Dimitri grumbled. "I'm sure she'd love a batch."
"Easy done," Christian said with a cocky grin. Quickly canvassing the others, Dimitri and Christian started preparing to make everyone's favorites.
"And what can I cook for you, Bella?" Christian asked, the term of endearment slipping easily from his lips.
Frankie blushed slightly, a pretty pink hue spreading across her cheeks.
"I eat anything. Surprise me," she replied with a small grin.