Chapter 52
RPOV
The five women standing with my parents were undeniably Dimitri's family. They had to be. They had the same eyes, hair colour and skin colour. There was also a baby and a little boy who looked identical to Dimitri, just a younger version. It took Dimitri a few moments to realise who had walked in with Abe. He had turned around to see who entered when the doors opened, but seeing Abe, he had turned back to his conversation with Adam. It was actually Lily that alerted him to who was at the door. Seeing the women walk in the door, she jumped down from Dimitri's arms and ran to the woman I am assuming is Dimitri's mother.
"Babushka" she called as she ran over to her. Dimitri's mother scooped Lily up in her arms and smothered her face with kisses causing Lily to giggle hysterically. Then she put Lily down on the flood and took a step back. Instantly Lily twirled around in a circle like she was modelling to the lady.
"Ay ay ay Lilyana. Look how big you have grown"
"Mama" whispered Dimitri finally. He walked quickly to his mother.
"Dimka" she said seconds later, running to meet him halfway. They embraced each other and I could see that both of them had tears in their eyes. Lily squeezed into the middle of them and Dimitri's mother picked her up so that the three of them could hug together.
Seeing them like that reminded me that they have known Lily since she was born. It reminded me that they knew everything that had happened. Lissa had used compulsion on him just before his last trip back to see his family in Russia…when I walked out of his life, breaking his heart. I wondered if they knew about our relationship before that, which made me wonder if they realised he was under compulsion on the trip.
Yes Rose, they did know about his relationship with you. He had told them all about you before the attack. Within a day of him being back there, his mother had called Kirova and demanded to know what was going on because of the way he was speaking about you Said Lissa through the bond.
Great, so they probably hate me for breaking their son's heart. Just what I need! I finally get my happy ending and it's going to be all fucked up because they will hate me and turn Dimitri against me.
Rose, stop being silly. They will understand why you did it
I sure hope so Liss, because I don't want to lose him now that I have just gotten him back.
You won't lose him Rose. Do you really think he would leave now, regardless of what anyone says?
They aren't just anyone Liss. They are his family.
And so are you and Lily. He wouldn't walk out on either of you.
I know he'd never leave Lily Liss.
Or you Rose!
I looked to Lissa and gave a half smile. I hadn't taken my eyes off Dimitri while we had our conversation through the bond. He had hugged his mother for a long time and was now saying hello to the rest of the family. Lily was standing with a girl that looked about the same age as me. It must be Dimitri's youngest sister.The little boy was standing with them as well and they were all talking quickly, hands going crazy.
This made me realise that Lily knew this family better than she knew me and the thought made my eyes water. They probably saw her first steps and heard her first words. They were at her first birthday. All the things I should have been there for. Suddenly, I couldn't breathe properly. I couldn't get enough air and the more I tried, the worse it got. Lissa was next to me in an instant, obviously feeling my distress.
"Breathe Rose, come on, take a deep breath" she whispered trying not to alert anyone to my problem.
"I'm….trying…can't….get….air" I managed to get out between gasps. Black spots started to dance in my vision. I blacked out just as I hear Lissa calling out to Dimitri.
DPOV
We were sitting around in the hall when Lily asked Roza to sing her a song. It was beautiful. I could never tire of hearing her sing. She had the most beautiful I had ever heard. I turned around when I heard the door open and saw Abe walk in.
"So what time are you doing it my man?" asked Adam quietly bringing my attention away from the door. Thankfully, Roza wasn't standing within hearing distance. She had gotten up on stage to sing.
"Huh?" I asked confused. Then I realised he was talking about the proposal I had planned. Cal and the band had helped me set it up. "After the concert tonight, when it's just her family and friends left"
"Nice" said Adam with a huge smile. "She will be thrilled"
Just then Lily jumped out of my arms and ran to the door. It wasn't that action that stunned me; it was when she had called out Babushka that made me turn towards the door. I watched frozen on the spot as my mother picked Lily up and twirled her around the room, before putting her down on the floor.
"Mama" I said. It was quiet, but loud enough for her to hear.
"Dimka" she said as we both hurried to each other's arms. I hadn't seen my mother in almost three years. Yeah we had spoken, but seeing each other in the flesh is completely different. We both had tears in our eyes. Lily squeezed in the middle of us obviously trying to be involved in the hug. My mother picked her back up and we stood there in each other's arms for what seemed like eternity. Then I remembered that my sister's, grandmother and niece and nephew were here as well. One by one I greeted them all before turning back to my mother and grandmother. Lily had jumped down from my mother's arms and was happily talking to Viktoria, my youngest sister, and Paul, my nephew.
"Mama, what are you doing here?" I said turning my attention back to her.
"Abe called us and arranged for us to come here. Said there was going to be a celebration tomorrow night and we should come and join you" she said with a twinkle in her eye.
"Thank you Abe. You have no idea who much this means to me" I said turning to Abe.
"Don't mention it son. Thank you for everything you have done for my daughter"
Before I could say anything more, I heard Lissa scream out for me just as I heard a bang on the floor. Turning to where the sound came from, I saw my Roza lying on the ground. I ran straight over to her.
"What happened?" I asked as I kneeled down beside her. I put my fingers near the base of her neck checking her pulse.
"She collapsed. I think she was having an anxiety attack of some sorts. She couldn't breathe. I tried to calm her down but she couldn't. She hit her head when she fell, I couldn't grab her fast enough" said Lissa from the other side of Rose.
"Come on baby, wake up. Open your eyes" I said while I gently tapped her side of her face. The bang had been quite loud so I gently lifted her head and checked to make sure she was bleeding. There was a nice sized bump, so Lissa quickly put a hand to it, healing it.
"Mama" cried Lily running over to us.
"It's ok princess. Mummy will be ok in just a minute. She just fell down" I said trying to reassure her. I looked at my sister and she understood what I was asking. Take Lily out of here. She grabbed Lily's hand in one hand, and Paul's in the other and took them outside for a moment.
"Can someone please get a blanket or a towel or something out of the cupboard over there?" I asked.
"She'll be ok Dimitri" said Adrian as he handed me a pillow and blanket. I don't know if he was trying to convince me or himself. I mumbled thank you and turned my attention back to my Roza.
I placed the pillow under her head but didn't worry about the blanket yet. She wasn't shaking so she wasn't in shock. I kept the blanket close though in case that changed.
After a few moments, her eyelids started to flutter so I knew she was coming around.
"That's it, come on babe, open your eyes for me" I said rubbing her cheek with my thumb. I still had my hand supporting her neck.
"Urggghhh" she groaned. That was good, she was coming too.
"It's ok Roza, I'm here. Wake up" her eyes opened and met mine. I couldn't stop the smile from forming on my face.
"For fuck's sake, I really have to stop doing that!" she exclaimed. Her hand went up to her temple as though talking had hurt her. Lissa had healed her bump, but she obviously still had a headache because she groaned again. Someone behind me chuckled and Roza's eyes opened wide, taking everything in around her.
"Oh crap…I didn't realise…"
"It's ok Roza" I chuckled. "We're just glad you're ok. What happened?"
"It's nothing, I'm ok" she said trying to sit up. I pushed her back down gently.
"Roza, you just collapsed and hit your head. How is that nothing?"
"Honestly Comrade, I'm ok now. I promise" she said.
Obviously she didn't want to talk about it here so I let it go, but I gave her a look that told her she would be telling me later. She nodded her acknowledging that she would, and then she held out her hand telling me to help her up. I took her hand and slowly helped her up, supporting her as she first got to her feet.
"You ok?" I asked her. She took a deep breath, like she was making sure she was, before she answered.
"Yep, fine now. I'm so sorry Dimitri" she said.
"Don't be silly. But we will be talking about this later ok" I said sternly, telling her she had no choice. She nodded and looked around the room at all of the concerned faces. You could see the relief on all of their faces, but I knew what was in the back of their minds. Last time she collapsed like that, it took days for her to wake up.
"Honestly, I'm ok" she said. Geez, you're all acting like I'm dying or something. I'm ok"
"Rose, last time you collapsed like that, you were dying. So forgive us for being a little concerned" snapped Christian with his usual sarcastic tone. You could see the guilt written all over Roza's face. I turned and glared at Christian which had him taking a step back.
"I'm sorry" whispered Rose.
"Don't be. It's not your fault. Now come on, I want you to meet my family?" I said making sure she could hear the excitement in my voice. Her face dropped and her hand started shaking. Suddenly, it all made sense.
"Babe, is that why you had a panic attack? Because you're about to meet my family?"
"Part of it! But what if they don't like me Comrade? What if they hate me for everything that's happened? I can't stand the thought of losing you" she cried and I could see her breathing was becoming erratic again. It was times like this that I could really see how much the past three years had affected her. Three years ago, she wouldn't have a care in the world about meeting my family. Now, the thought scared the absolutely shit out of her. I took her head in between my hands and made her look up at me.
"Roza, calm down baby. Look at me, look in my eyes" I said trying to get her to calm down before she passed out again. "Come on…that's it. Look at me. Breathe. In and out, in and out. That's it" I said as her breathing began to go back to normal. "Good girl. Now, don't worry ok. My family will love you" I finished pulling her into my arms.
"I broke your heart Dimitri. I made someone use compulsion on you. How could they love me?" she asked. What she hadn't realised was that while I was getting her to calm down, my family had made their way over to us and were within hearing distance, hearing her last sentence. Mama looked at me to see if she could talk. I nodded slightly and released her a little.
"We will love you because we know that everything you have done in the past has been to protect Dimka, not destroy him. We know how much you love him and he loves you. You have given our son the greatest gift a woman could give him. You have made my son whole again, and for that, we will forever love you" said my mother wrapping her arms around her. Roza was stiff for a moment, but then relaxed and hugged her back.
"Thank you. Thank you so much" sniffed Roza, and I could tell she was trying not to cry. I decided now was a good time to do the formal introductions.
"Everyone, if you haven't already guessed, this is my family. My mother Ohlena, grandmother Yeva, sisters Karolina and Sonya, niece Zoya and outside is my baby sister Viktoria and nephew Paul" I said pointing to each person of my family. They gave a little wave, except Yeva who just scowled at everyone. Christian backed away a bit further which made me chuckle. Yeva is very scary sometimes. "And this is Lissa, Christian, Adrian and Eddie. Or should I say Princess Vasilissa Dragomir, Lord Christian Ozera, Lord Adrian Ivashkov, Guardian Edison Castile and lastly, this is my Roza"
They all greeted each other accordingly. Viktoria, Lily and Paul returned a few moments later. Lily ran up to Rose and hugged her legs, telling her she was glad she was ok. Rose picked her up held her tight before giving her one of their routine kisses. First was a kiss on each cheek, then on the forehead, then the chin, nose and finally the mouth. Lily giggled with each kiss. It was adorable. I loved seeing them together like that, it was like everyone around them disappeared and they were in their own little world.
RPOV
Meeting Dimitri's family wasn't as scary as I thought it would be. I still couldn't believe I passed out like that. It was so embarrassing. They fit right in with everyone and within ten minutes, it felt like we had known them forever. Dimitri and I filled Ohlena and Yeva in on everything that had happened over the past few weeks or months or whatever it had been. Time meant nothing to me these days. I couldn't even tell you what day of the week it was.
We had sat in the hall talking for at least another hour before we decided we better get to bed, after all, tomorrow was the big concert, so we had to get some sleep. We walked Dimitri's family back to their room before heading to my parent's house. Dimitri wanted to thank them for bringing them over here and so did I.
They were just returning to their room at the same time as we got there. God knows where they had been.
"Mum, dad…We just wanted to say thank you for organising Dimitri's family to come here. It means a lot" I said.
"It's not a problem Kiz. We already consider Dimitri family, so therefore they are family. And the family is celebrating tomorrow after the concert, so we felt they should be here. Besides, Dimitri hasn't seen them for what? Three years?" said Abe looking at Dimitri.
"That's correct. Not since my two week visit after…um after the attack" he said flinching about the events that occurred after the attack, rather than the attack itself.
"See, so it was about time they saw him"
"Thank you Baba…Mum" I said giving them both a hug.
"Thank you, thank you so much" said Dimitri trying to offer them his hand. Unfortunately it didn't work though because he was holding a sleeping Lily in his arms.
"You are welcome. Now go and get her tucked in to bed and get some sleep. Look forward to a fun day tomorrow" said Abe kissing me on the forehead and then walking inside his apartment. I laughed when I thought of my father staying in the apartments here at Court. They were the size of our bedroom at home. Tiny.
As soon as we were home, we put Lily in her bed and tucked her in, each of us kissing her softly on her cheek before walking out.
Back in the lounge room, Dimtiri decided to go and make some hot chocolate. I picked up my guitar which was sitting next to the lounge and started playing quietly. I had been working on a new song that I wanted to sing tomorrow at the concert.
"What are you playing?" asked Dimitri coming back into the room.
"Just a new song I'm working on" I replied never looking up from the guitar.
"What's it about?"
"Just life in general and the obstacles we have to face"
"Can you play it for me?"
"Sure…but don't laugh ok"
I can almost see it, that dream I'm dreaming but, There's always gonna be another mountain. The struggles I'm facing, Gotta keep on pushing on, cuz There's always gonna be another mountain. Keep on moving, Whoa oh oh oh
there's a voice inside my head saying, you'll never reach it.
Every step I'm taking, every move I make feels
lost with no direction, my faith is shaking,
But I, I gotta keep trying.
I gotta keep my head held high
I'm always gonna wanna make it move.
Always gonna be an uphill battle
And sometimes I'm gonna have to lose.
It ain't about how fast I get there,
ain't about whats waiting on the other side.
It's the climb.
the chances I'm taking,
sometimes might knock me down
But no I'm not breaking.
I may not know it
But these are the moments that
I'm gonna remember most,
yeah, just gotta keep going.
And I, I got be strong.
I'm always gonna wanna make it move.
Always gonna be an uphill battle.
Sometimes I'm gonna have to lose.
Ain't about how fast I get there,
ain't about whats waitin on the other side.
Its the climb.
Keep climbing,
Keep the faith, babe.
It's all about;
it's all about the climb.
Keep the faith.
keep your faith
"Wow Roza, that was…" he looked like he was struggling to find the right words.
"Shit?" I asked hesitantly.
"No, more like amazing. Don't get me wrong, I have loved every song you sing, but that song. That song has so much emotion in it. It is definitely my favourite. Please tell me you are singing it tomorrow night"
"I was going to, but I wasn't sure if I should, considering tonight is the first time I've sung it completed. Do you really think I should?"
"100% yes you definitely should. So many people will pull strength from that song. I can't even begin to tell you how good that song is. Have I ever told you how amazingly talented you are?"
"You just did" I chuckled. I put the guitar down and turned to face him. "I've just been thinking a lot lately about everything that's happened. And well, I guess that song shows how I'm feeling. I have climbed more mountains in the past five years than I ever intended too, but I know it won't be the last one. And with you and Lissa and my family by my side, I know I can move any mountain that decides to pop up in front of me"
"You are…god I am speechless, I can't even form words to describe what you are" I giggled. This was definitely not like the old Dimitri. I really liked this new Dimitri since we reunited.
**********Mature Audiences*************
"Well how about I show you how much you mean to me instead?" I said seductively as I climbed up and straddled him. I brought my lips to his, kissing him softly. I felt his tongue trace my bottom lip, begging me to let it enter, which of course I did. I felt him grow hard beneath me and moaned at the feeling.
"Oh the things you do to me Roza" he said against my lips. I deepened the kiss, grabbing a fist full of his hair as I got more and more excited. I gently rocked back and forth causing him to moan. He ran his hands underneath my shirt causing my skin to break out in goose bumps. He pulled my shirt up over my head, only breaking the kiss long enough to get the shirt past my mouth. We kissed for a few moments more while his hands wandered around my naked back and chest, massaging and playing with my breasts. He broke the kiss from my mouth, trailing them down my neck instead. Each time his mouth touched my neck I moaned a little more. God this man turns me on.
I fumbled with his shirt before finally getting it off. Not an easy task when we are sitting up against the back of the lounge. Feeling his naked chest against my almost naked chest was enough to make me almost orgasm on the spot. I wanted to feel his chest against my breasts, so I reached back and undid the bra, allowing my bra to come loose.
"Hey, no fair. I was going to do that" Dimitri growled. I chuckled.
"Well you were taking too long and I want to feel your skin on mine" I replied crushing my mouth against his. He had now come forward on the lounge so that our bodies were combined. The only way we could have been closer together was if neither of us had any pants on. I stood up and did a little dance in front of him, teasing him. When he tried to get up off the lounge and help me, I pushed him back down. I continued dancing in front of him, getting out of my pants and undies slowly. By this stage, he was sitting back on the edge of the lounge again. I pushed his chest back so that he was half laying, giving me the opportunity to undo the zipper on his jeans. I pulled down his jeans and briefs at the same time, hovering my face just above his shaft as I did, never taking my eyes away from his.
Once his pants and briefs were down, I licked the length of his shaft before taking the whole thing in my mouth. His hands instantly went to my hair and I could feel his hips move slightly with the movement. Before he could orgasm though, I stopped and then straddled him again, this time, with him inside of me.
I moved my hips in slow motion, teasing him further. As he wasn't sitting up fully, he was at the perfect height to suck on my breasts. After a few moments, we were both close to climax so he sat up a little more and pulled my body close to his. We started rocking faster and faster, both of us reaching a climax almost simultaneously. Panting, once our body's stopped jolting, I sagged down, resting my head on his chest. He kissed the top of my head and kept his arms firmly around my waist.
************Ended***************
"You are amazing, have I ever told you that?" he asked.
"Yeah maybe once or twice" I said looking up into his eyes. "I love you Comrade"
"I love you too Roza. More than words can ever describe" he said.
After staying in that position for a few more moments, both of us enjoying the feeling of being one, we got up to get cleaned up before heading to bed. Once again, I fell into a deep sleep, safe in the arms of my man.
