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So yeah... This is the chapter you've all been waiting for! I think... Hope you all like it! ;)

Disclaimer: I do not own Vampire Academy.


CHAPTER 53

A few months later

RPOV

"Ha! I won!"

I smiled triumphantly at Dimitri as I pinned him down for the third time in a row. I was really getting good at this. Dimitri and I'd finally continued our self-defense training at the beginning of the summer. I'd been a little stiff and rusty when we started, but now, a few weeks later, I was unstoppable. Well, most of the time.

Or rather…sometimes. Dimitri still managed to take me down more often than the other way around. It sort of had become a game for us. Whoever managed to pin the other down most times that day got to choose what we'd eat or which movie we'd watch that night.

"Only because I let you win," Dimitri said teasingly.

"Not true!" I told him, grinning, very pleased with myself. "I won because I'm better than you. I guess that means we're watching Iron Man tonight instead of a crappy Western movie."

Yeah, I admit it. I'm a sucker for superhero movies. Dimitri, however, not so much.

He smiled reluctantly. "Fine. Iron Man it is."

In all honesty, I had no intentions of watching a movie tonight. I had other plans in mind, but Dimitri wasn't aware of those plans. Yet.

A lot had happened over the past few months. I'd graduated a month ago, together with my friends. I'd had to work hard to do so; my grades hadn't been exactly stellar thanks to all the drama going on in my life. But all that mattered was that I'd made it through. I'd reached my goal.

Graduation had been one of the best days in my life. I could honestly say I'd felt proud of myself that day when I received my graduation certificate. Me and my friends had gotten totally wasted that night. And yes, Lissa had been there as well. She and Christian had made up right before graduation. But only after a lot of groveling from Lissa. She'd finally realized that she'd been acting like an idiot and had apologized profusely. To him and…to me.

She'd apologized to me before, I know, but this time she sounded so sincere and, best of all, she finally dumped Avery's sorry ass. We weren't on the best of terms yet and I wasn't even sure we would ever be as close again as before, but we were friendly towards each other and, for now, that was enough for me. It also made Christian happy to see us talking again in a civilized manner and I really wanted him to be happy after all he'd done for me.

Aside from my graduation and sort of restoring my friendship with Lissa, another big thing had happened.

The trial.

I could barely believe my ears when the judge had found Nathan guilty. Even though Sonya Karp had assured me that Nathan was going to prison for many years, the trial had been nerve-wracking and very emotional. Dad had pulled some strings to speed up the whole process; otherwise it might have taken a year – maybe even longer – for the trial to start.

And then there had also been the media. When word had gotten out about the Chief's son being a rapist, there had been a few articles about it - and me - in the papers. That hadn't bothered me too much, but after the night Nathan had come into my house... The journalists had been pretty much everywhere after that particularly horrible event. Especially when the trial started. Camping out on my front porch, harassing me when I left the house, invading my privacy... It had been the same for Jesse and his family, if not worse.

My family and friends had supported me through the whole ordeal, but my biggest support had been Dimitri. I wouldn't have gotten through it without his support and love. Like always, he'd been my rock.

When they'd sentenced Nathan to twenty-five years to life in prison… I couldn't even begin to describe how I'd felt upon hearing those words. I'd felt so relieved, like a burden had been lifted off my shoulders. I'd felt free the moment I'd left the hospital all those months ago, knowing that Nathan would go to prison, but now…now I was truly free. I could leave this all behind at last.

And I had.

I'd left it all behind. I'd promised myself to never look back again and focus on the future instead. My future. Nathan was in the past and he would stay there.

I realized, though, that Nathan wouldn't have gotten twenty-five years if it hadn't been for Mia's testimony – and another girl named Kira that had come into the police station a few days after Nathan had been arrested a second time. She'd been raped on several occasions by Nathan, a few years before he'd met Mia.

Like Mia, she'd kept it a secret, but when she'd heard Nathan had gotten arrested she wanted to come clean and tell the police. But she'd still been scared that Nathan would get out. So she'd waited. When Nathan got arrested again after that terrible night, she finally decided to step up and inform the police.

If it had been just me, Nathan would probably have gotten out after a couple of years. He would have only been charged for possession of drugs, attempted rape and violation of his parole. He deserved a lot more than a few years so I was glad Mia and Kira had my back.

And Jesse, of course. He'd testified against Nathan, too. His mom had finally come to terms with Nathan's imprisonment. There'd been a lot of screaming and crying involved according to Jesse, but she'd finally accepted the truth.

And Ralf… Well, he got lucky. Since he was still a minor, they hadn't sent him to prison. He got community service instead. I sincerely hoped he'd learned his lesson and would start to hang out with a different crowd.

So yeah, a lot of things had happened lately. But there was still one thing left that needed to happen. That I wanted to happen.

"You sure your parents don't mind you spending the night here again?" Dimitri asked, pulling me back to the here and now.

"They won't mind," I told him, still straddling him. "But they want us to have dinner with them tomorrow night since we're leaving soon…"

In a few days, we'd go on vacation together with Vika and Ivan. Our destination was San Diego, chosen by Viktoria and me. I was really looking forward to lying on a beach all day and relax. Aside from that, I'd heard that there was plenty to do in San Diego so it should be fun.

"Okay," Dimitri agreed. "Now we're on the subject, you should really start packing, Rose. I'll help you if you want me to."

I groaned. "I know. I'll do it tomorrow."

Smiling, I leaned in closer and kissed him on the lips. His fingers dug into my hips as he returned the kiss, pulling me closer. When I pulled away from him he started pouting, making me laugh.

"I'm going to take a shower. See you later, comrade."

Reluctantly, Dimitri let go of me so I could stand. When I was at the door, I glanced over my shoulder at him and saw he was still lying on the mat. He noticed me looking and smiled at me. I smiled back and blew him a kiss before leaving.

I waved at Ivan as I passed him at the bar, ignoring Tasha completely. We hadn't exchanged a word since…well, since the start of summer. She was still hung up on Dimitri, but she'd finally started to realize that Dimitri wasn't going to give me up to be with her so now she was giving us both the silent treatment, which was fine by me. I liked her better when she was quiet.

After my shower, I got to work. I still had about half an hour before Dimitri would close up the gym so I needed to work fast. Grabbing my backpack, I took out the rose petals and the candle lights. Strewing the rose petals on the floor, I made a path to Dimitri's bedroom. I had more than enough rose petals so I strew the rest of them across his bed.

After lighting the candles, I checked myself in the mirror. I was wearing a burgundy halter dress, knowing Dimitri liked that color on me. I also let my hair down because Dimitri loved my long locks. Underneath my dress, I was wearing lace underwear and a matching bra. I'd spent at least an hour at the mall searching for nice underwear for tonight.

Normally, I wasn't like this. Dimitri was the romantic one, not me. But I wanted to make tonight special, hence the rose petals, candle lights and the nice outfit. Hopefully, Dimitri would like this surprise.

Five more minutes. I waited in his bedroom, chewing on my bottom lip nervously. It was a good kind of nervous, the butterflies-in-my-stomach kind of nervous.

At last, I heard Dimitri coming up the stairs. Taking a deep breath, I smoothed down my hair and dress quickly. The door opened and Dimitri stepped inside. It was quiet as I waited for him to follow the path of rose petals down to his bedroom.

"Hi," I said, smiling shyly when he walked in.

An astonished look crossed his face as he took everything in, as he took me in. "Roza, what…what's going on?"

"I wanted to surprise you," I answered.

He blinked a couple of times, staring at me in awe. "You look stunning, Roza," he complemented, smiling softly. He stepped closer. "Why… Is there a reason that you…" He was at a loss for words. He shook his head, still bewildered.

"I wanted to surprise you with a romantic gesture," I explained. "You're always being so sweet and good to me so I wanted to do something nice for you for a change. I know I'm not as good as you at this, but I hope you like it."

Dimitri took another step towards me and put his hands on my waist, smiling down at me. "I love it."

I breathed a sigh of relief. Before I could say another word, Dimitri closed the distance and kissed me deeply. When he pulled away from me, I was breathless.

"You sure there's no reason why you did all of this for me?" Dimitri asked.

I blushed. "Well… I thought we could take our relationship to the next level."

He looked uncertain. "Are you sure you're ready for that? The last time-"

"It won't be like last time. I'm ready," I said without hesitation. "I want to be with you."

He still looked unsure.

"Do you still want to be with me?" I asked.

He took my hands in his and laced our fingers together. "Of course," he murmured.

"Then what's the problem? Let's do it," I said.

Dimitri chuckled. "Very romantic, Rose."

"You know what I mean," I said, rolling my eyes.

He sobered up. "Are you absolutely sure? Because I can wait, you know. If you're not-"

"But I am ready," I told him, my voice steady.

I'd been thinking about this a lot lately and it was true. I was ready. Everything that had happened with Nathan was in the past; it was over and done with. He was in prison and he wouldn't be able to hurt me again. My focus was on the future…and on Dimitri.

"I don't want to wait any longer," I said. "I'm-"

Dimitri cut me off as he pressed his lips against mine in a passionate kiss. My eyes fluttered closed and I wrapped my arms around his neck as I returned his kiss.

"Okay," Dimitri whispered when he pulled away, resting his forehead against mine.

I smiled up at him. He smiled back, but it was only briefly. With a small frown, he said, "I'm afraid I'm unprepared. I don't have any-"

I pulled out a condom from the inside of my bra. "That's fine. I took care of it."

I'd already guessed Dimitri wouldn't have any. He was too chivalrous to presume I'd have sex with him now that my life was pretty much back in order. I'd figured that I would have had to take the first step, which was fine. I thought it was sweet and very kind that he was giving me all the time I needed. Seriously, Dimitri deserved a medal for his patience.

Dimitri shook his head at me in amazement. "Why am I still surprised?"

I grinned. "So...you still on board?"

"If you'd want to stop, you'd tell me, right?" he asked.

I nodded. "Of course," I answered sincerely. "But don't worry, comrade, that's not going to happen."

I'd expected him to continue badgering me until he was absolutely sure I'd tell him to stop as soon as I'd start feeling uncomfortable, but to my surprise he let it go. He trusted me on my word, which was a relief – because, honestly, I didn't want to spend the rest of the night convincing him I was ready. I would show him instead.

- START M SCENE -

Grabbing the front of his shirt, I pulled him close and kissed him fervently. He responded to my kiss immediately, putting his arms around my waist and lifting me off the floor. I wrapped my legs around his waist as he walked us to the bed and laid me down without breaking the kiss.

My breathing was shallow and labored when he pulled away at last to take off my dress. My bra and panties followed suit and I didn't shy away when Dimitri gazed at me, adoration clear in his eyes. He leaned in and pressed his lips against my neck, sucking gently. He started kissing down my body, agonizingly slow, and my eyes fluttered closed. A moan escaped my lips as Dimitri continued to press his lips against every inch of my skin.

"You are so incredibly beautiful, Roza," Dimitri murmured softly, glancing up at me, smiling. "The most beautiful woman I've ever seen…"

I looked at him, a blush burning on my cheeks. Oh God, I wanted him. Badly.

I pulled his face back to mine and crushed my lips against his. His tongue invaded my mouth, making me moan again. Frantically, I pushed up his T-shirt. Breaking away from me, Dimitri removed his shirt, then his pants and boxers. He gave me a soft, sweet kiss before he moved away and grabbed the condom from his bedside table.

When he climbed back on top of me, I felt the butterflies in my stomach again. This was it. It was finally happening.

"You nervous?" Dimitri asked.

I nodded, then smiled. "But it's okay. It's a good kind of nervous."

"I promise I'll be gentle," Dimitri whispered. He leaned in and pressed a soft kiss to my lips as he gently eased himself into me. I winced a little and Dimitri asked, "Are you okay? Do you want me to-"

"No, it's fine," I answered quickly. I knew it was supposed to hurt the first time; I also knew the pain would fade. It would be alright. "I'm fine."

As Dimitri started moving inside of me, the pain subsided. He was still as gentle as ever, trying not to hurt me too much. Gingerly, I lifted my hips to meet his thrusts. Wrapping my arms around his neck, I kissed him.

Dimitri kissed me back feverishly, tangling one of his hands in my hair, and picked up the rhythm. I let out a moan, digging my finger nails into his back as pleasure built up inside me. Oh wow.

I cried out Dimitri's name in ecstasy when he thrusted inside of me one last time before climaxing. He collapsed on top of me, murmuring my name over and over again. My breath came out in pants as I tried to calm my racing heart.

Dimitri lifted his head to look at me and kissed me passionately. "You okay, Roza?" he asked as he lay down next to me.

I nodded, smiling. He smiled back and his lips found mine again.

- END M SCENE -

"I love you, Roza," Dimitri whispered against my lips.

"I love you too, Dimitri," I whispered back.

Dimitri's smile widened and he pulled me close to him, wrapping his arms around me. I sighed in contentment and closed my eyes, relishing this moment. Dimitri pressed his lips to my forehead and as he gently stroked my hair, I drifted off into a peaceful sleep.


So...how was that? I fastforwarded the story a little bit, because I thought that if I wrote the whole trial out it might get boring and, well, I don't know enough about the law of the US to write all of the trial. So, hope you don't mind too much. ;)

Please leave a review and let me know your thoughts on the chapter! Have a nice day/evening! ^^