Chapter 35: You Have a Hold on My Heart

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.

I think that this chapter is EPIC! You will love it! I promise. On a side note. I had to go back to work yesterday so I will still be updating as frequently as possible, but the school year can be hectic and I never know what to expect so it may be a few days between updates from now on. I know I spoiled you guys, but I hope you understand=)

DPOV

I trudged slowly back to my room supporting my sister who was wrecked at the thought of Rose being aboard that plane. My stomach swum as I realized I might never see her again. I had to do something. I had to call someone, but who? How could I even be sure where that plane was going? It was a royal jet. It did not have to declare a flight plan.

"Are you going to be okay?" I asked dropping Vika at her door.

"No, Roza is going to die. I will never be okay," she cried.

"I'm going to try to fix it," I said. "Stay here. I will let you know if anything changes. Don't talk to anyone!" I warned.

I tried to keep my head on straight as I walked purposely toward my room. I needed to figure out a plan and fast. I couldn't let her die.

I opened the door and sat down at my desk flipping on my computer. There had to be something I could hack into or someone who knew what was going on. If only I could figure out a way to stop that plane or at least warn her. I had already tried her cell and it sent me straight to voicemail. I tried Prince Adrian's phone as well, but there was no answer.

"Damn it!" I cried grabbing the nearest thing to me, which happened to be a glass paperweight, hurling it at the wall. It made a loud crashing sound, but surprisingly did not break.

"Woah, calm down Comrade. What's got you so riled up?"

I whirled around at the sound of her voice doing a double take as I took in the sight before my eyes. She was sitting on my couch completely unharmed, her feet up on the table with a magazine in her hand giving me a very amused look.

"How? Why? I thought you.." I couldn't manage a coherent sentence.

"You thought I what? Geez, you really need to start drinking decaf. I just came to tell you I was sorry for running away when you showed me the house. I actually like it and I was going to tell you that I wanted us to try to be friends, but if you're going to throw things."

"You didn't get on the plane." I took a step closer. My eyes had to be deceiving me. She couldn't be here. She was an apparition. She was unhappy and she wouldn't have stayed, not if she had the chance to leave.

"Why would I do that? It was going back to the palace in Istanbul and I have absolutely no desire to ever see that place again."

I took another step forward.

"You stayed," I said not believing what she said.

"Are you feeling okay? You look pale," she said rising to her feet and walking toward me.

She put her hand to my forehead and it was warm against my skin.

"No fever, but you are definitely sweaty. What have you been doing?"

"Are you really here?" I asked taking her hands in mine.

"Uh, as opposed to where? Do you mean physically or metaphorically?"

I needed to feel she was here with me so I took a chance of angering her and pulled her into my body cradling her in my arms.

"I thought you were on the plane," I said stroking her hair. It was soft against my fingertips and I ached to run my hands through it the way I used to.

"I was supposed to be," she said looking perturbed.

"Why didn't you get on it?" I asked.

She pulled away and shrugged. "I couldn't."

"Why?" I asked needing to hear it for myself.

She looked up into my eyes hesitating fear in her eyes.

"Because I can fight it all I want, but you have a hold on my heart," she whispered before pressing her lips to mine in the kiss I'd been waiting for since I brought her here.

I pulled her closer to me possessing her lips with mine.

"Ya tebya lyublyu maya Milaya."

"I love you too Comrade."

I lifted her into my arms still not quite sure she was actually here.

"I have waited so long to hear that," I told her as she responded hungrily to my advances. Clothing came off as we continued to grip each other tightly neither wanting to let the other go.

"God how I've missed you," I said trailing my hands over her hips pressing my lips to her neck making us one for the first time in nearly a month.

She moaned in pleasure as I placed on hand on her stomach and the other on her breast anchoring her body against me.

"Don't stop," she whispered grinding her hips into me pushing me closer and closer to the edge.

"I need you so much," I growled making sure she knew without a doubt that she would never belong to another man as I claimed her body with fervor pulling her into a sitting position.

She clung to the headboard as I buried myself within her both of us on our knees.

"Let go Roza," I breathed in her ear encouraging her to fall over the edge with me. It took mere seconds for her to begin writing and trembling crying out as she allowed the ecstasy to wash over her.

I reached my climax shortly after before collapsing with her on top of me. Both of us were panting, our chests heaving.

"Stay with me tonight," I whispered kissing the top her forehead lightly as she rested her head on my chest.

"Mmmm," she murmured snuggling closer to me like she used to. After texting Vika that everything was okay, I wrapped my arms tightly around her reveling in the feeling of having her in my arms. Finally things were looking up for us.

RPOV

I hated to see my brother go, but I knew he couldn't stay. He was relieved that I hadn't taken him up on his offer to fake my death. I couldn't do that to my friends and I certainly couldn't do that to Dimitri. It would be wrong and what was the point of being free if I could never see the ones I loved again?

Dimitri seemed very surprised that I hadn't gotten on the plane with Abi. I couldn't blame him, what with my behavior and all.

I kissed him knowing full well that I was going to give into temptation and open myself up to heartbreak for the second time. Making love with him was just as charismatic and beautiful as usual. Lying wrapped up in his arms felt so good after being separated so long.

I woke rested and happy for the first time in weeks. His bed was really very comfortable and even more so now that I was waking up in his arms again.

"Morning," he murmured brushing a stray hair behind my ear with his fingers.

"Morning Comrade," I yawned stretching out my limbs.

"Did I ever tell you how beautiful you are in the morning?" he asked smiling brightly at me.

"I believe you've mentioned it more than once."

He rolled over onto his side propping himself up with one arm.

"I have to ask you something." His tone had turned serious and I didn't know what to expect so I braced myself.

"Okay."

"Was your brother's plan to fake your death?" I should have known he would be smart enough to figure it out.

I let out the breath I'd been holding. "It was."

"Why didn't you go through with it? You could have been free." He was tracing a pattern lazily on my shoulder as he spoke.

"Freedom at that price wasn't worth the cost."

"Is that the only reason?" he asked looking deep into my eyes.

"No," I admitted biting my lip.

He nodded waiting patiently for me to continue.

"I want to try to make things work with us. I have been incredibly selfish and only thinking of myself these past few weeks. I could use the excuse that I was hurt and betrayed, but that was only part of it. I didn't want to believe you loved me because I was afraid."

"Afraid of what?"

"Afraid of this. Afraid that I would want to stay and be with you and the consequences that would come with my decision to love you," I confessed still unsure as to whether I had made the right choice or not.

"Roza, I'm not going to lie. Things will be difficult and we will face many challenges both in a royal capacity and in our marriage, but one thing I can assure you is that I will never take our love for granted. I don't want us to be like all other royal couples. I loved what we had in Chicago and I want things to stay that way. I want us to have our own place and live our own lives. Sure we will be in the press and there will be a certain amount of things that are out of our control, but our love is strong and together I truly believe we can withstand any tribulations and overcome any obstacles that stand in our way. Roza, I love you and nothing will ever change that."

A tear slid slowly down my cheek at his words. I finally believed he was speaking the truth and I wanted nothing more than to be with him just the way he described.

"I want everything you just described and so much more. Promise you'll always talk to me before making a decision that affects our marriage and I will stand by your side." If I was going to take a leap of faith, then I guess the only way to do it was blindly and head first.

"I can do that. I want nothing more than to be partners. Roza, you are what I love most in this world and I meant what I said when I told you that I would do anything to make you happy."

"Okay then, I have a request." I was going to test him to see if he meant what he said.

"What would that be?"

"I want a small wedding with just friends and family. You can send photos to the press, but I don't want them at the ceremony or the reception. I don't want royal fanfare and I don't want a bunch of strangers. I want it to be intimate and fun just like a normal couple."

He smiled at me. "I think that can be arranged in fact, we have a meeting with the wedding planner this afternoon."

"Ugh, do we have to? She seemed a little stuck up if you know what I mean."

"Don't worry, I found this one special for you. She's definitely the right woman for the job. You'll see."

A few minutes later there was a knock at the door.

"That would be Ivana with our breakfast tray."

My eyes widened. "She knows I'm in here?"

"Don't worry my love, she can keep a secret," he said brushing his lips across mine as he hopped out of bed pulling on some sweat pants before answering the door.

"Thank you," he said wheeling the cart into the room himself.

"Mmm Comrade that smells divine what is it?"

"Crepes with Nutella," he said with a grin as he uncovered the plates.

My eyes widened and I licked my lips in anticipation.

"They're just like the ones we had in Paris," he said pouring me a cup of coffee.

"So are you going to cook for us at our house?" I asked rifling through his things until I found the t-shirt I was looking for.

"Well I'm going to have to since my bride to be does nothing but burn things up in the kitchen," he said smirking at me from behind his newspaper.

"I could learn," I said putting my hands on my hips.

"Where's the fun in that? I want to spoil you."

"I think I'm going to enjoy that. Hey why do you have all of these stuffy white shirts?"

"My mother likes them."

"Mmm, well I hate them," I said tossing them on the floor.

"What are you doing?"

"I'm doing what every fiancée has the god given right to," I said continuing my raid on his dresser.

"And what would that be?"

"Getting rid of their significant other's offensive clothing."

"I see well then by all means keep going."

"No, not that one!" he cried as I added a very hideous looking t-shirt to the pile. It was black and had neon green lettering.

"Why? This is hideous! Your mother would definitely hate this one." I wrinkled my nose in disgust.

"Where did you even get it?"

I sighed. "Christian made me wear it while we were in Chicago. It was supposed to help me blend in."

"And what significance does it hold that you have some sort of abnormal attachment to it?" I asked dangling it in front of his face.

"I was wearing it the first time I saw you," he said snatching it out of my hand.

"No you weren't. I would totally have run the other way if I saw you wearing this," I laughed.

He looked at me rubbing the back of his neck like he did when he was going to tell me something else I wasn't going to like.

"That wasn't the first time you saw me was it?" I asked.

"No, it wasn't."

"When?" I asked wanting to know how long he'd been stalking me.

"The night you arrived. You went out with your friends to the Grand Lux and then out clubbing. You were wearing a very short tight dress and I was entirely jealous of that guy who was hitting on you."

I remembered that night and that guy. "Well that guy deserved what he got," I said defending myself.

"I know he did and boy was I ever afraid to approach you after that."

"You were afraid?" I asked not quite believing that he was afraid of anything.

"Afraid and a little turned on," he said winking at me.

"You would be you pervert," I cried tossing a pair of his perfectly rolled up socks at him.

I squealed as he lunged at me throwing me down on the bed with him.

"Oh you like it. I know you do," he growled pinning my hands to my side.

I giggled unable to control myself as he began to tickled me in all of my most sensitive areas.

"Tell me you like it," he whispered.

"No."

"Tell me Roza or I'm going to have to torture you."

"Who says I don't like when you do that?" I asked seductively using the element of surprise to reverse our positions.

"Ugh, I love it when you do that," he groaned as I pressed my chest up against his face.

"I'll bet you do, now if we're going to meet that wedding planner of yours then I think I'm going to need a shower." I pulled away from him and headed for the bathroom.

"You my love are such a tease," he breathed grabbing me from behind before I reached the door.

"Who says? I think there's room for two in this big tub of yours," I said stripping off my shirt.

It was two hours before we managed to make it out of the tub.

"Uh, I don't have any clothes in here," I said not wanting to do the walk of shame all the way back to my room.

"That's okay. I much prefer you without them," he said swatting my ass playfully.

"What has gotten into you? You do know that your mother is going to shit a brick if she finds out what we're doing in here."

"She won't and she'll be fine. She wants us to be happy and right now I couldn't be any happier," he said enveloping me in his strong arms.

"You know you're going to have to let go at some point," I reminded him.

"Mmm never letting you go again."

I relaxed into his embrace allowing him to hold me as long as he wanted. It was the least I owed him for all the crap I'd pulled in the last few weeks.

DPOV

I couldn't believe she was actually here in my arms letting me hold her. She had finally let go of her anger and although I'm sure she was a long way away from forgiving me completely, this was a good start.

As much as I hated to let go of her, she needed clothes and we both needed to make ourselves presentable to meet with the wedding planner. I had a strong feeling she was going to like this one.

"I'll be back in a few minutes. Do you have a preference on clothing?" I asked.

She shrugged. "Anything in my bag is fine. Don't forget my make-up bag."

I hurried down the hallway. I did not want to leave her alone too long. It was absurd, but I actually thought I might be still be dreaming and that I'd get back there and she would have vanished, never having been there at all.

I decided that despite what my mother and sisters would think, there was no way we were going back to separate rooms. I was going to have the maid staff move her things into my suite.

"Good morning your highness. I take it you had a good night."

Alberta was sitting in an armchair sipping her coffee with a slight smirk on her face.

I rubbed the back of my neck as my face turned crimson.

"I see you've come for Rose's things," she said. "I took the liberty of packing them up nicely for you." She pointed to a pile in the middle of the room.

"Thank you," I said not really knowing what else to say.

I grabbed two of her duffel bags, one rolling suitcase and her toiletries.

As I neared my room, I passed Vika in the hallway.

"Where are you going with those? I thought you said everything was okay."

"Everything is more than okay. I don't want you to be shocked or think that this is acceptable behavior, but Rose and I are going to share my suite until our new house is finished." I didn't want her to think that I would ever condone her shacking up with a man before marriage, but I wasn't going to lie to her either.

Her eyes lit up. "Oh Dimka, you two are back together? I'm so happy for you!" She nearly jumped on me causing the duffel bags to fall to the floor.

"Thanks Vika. We are meeting with the wedding planner this afternoon, but after our initial meeting maybe you could help Rose with some of the plans," I asked knowing that we were short on time and nothing short of a miracle would pull this off in time.

"Oh I can't wait. It's going to be so much fun. I've always wanted to be a bridesmaid." She chattered on a little more until we reached my room.

"I will have Roza find you when she's ready okay."

She nodded. "I'm just so happy for you Dimka. I've missed you this year and I know I'm young and kind of a pest, but it makes me feel honored that you allowing me to be a part of this."
"Vika, I love you and you may be young, but you are not a pest. There will never be a day that I don't want you included in my life. Got it?"

She smiled skipping down the hallway to do whatever it is she did all day when she was not with her tutors. I was glad that she and Roza got on so well. They both needed a friend.

"Geez, I said bring me some clothes, not my entire wardrobe," she said raising her eyebrow at me.

"Well I told you I'm never letting you go, so if it's okay with you, I thought you might move down here with me until the house is ready. I held my breath waiting for her reaction.

Oh no! I did it again! You guys are really good at predicting my story. Most of you guessed that she wasn't on the plane. Vika overheard the guards going over their plan to fake Rose's death, but she didn't know that Rose wasn't really going to be on the plane. So do you think she'll say yes to sharing a bedroom? Who is this mysterious wedding planner? I think you already know since you're so damn smart=) If you think there's nowhere to go from this point, you are wrong. I have a whole lot of fun still yet to come. They need to have their first public appearance, the wedding, the honeymoon, the house etc.. believe me this is far from over so stick with me and I promise I will not break them up again well at least not anything serious=)