"No!" Dimitri yelled, leaping up from where he sat on the sofa. Unable to control his anger, he made even Abe flinch from across the room. "Absolutely not!"
"Dimitri-"
"Don't even think about it Rose, I'm not risking your life like that!"
Running a hand through his hair, Dimitri began pacing the room, as Rose stood unsure what to do in front of him. Sparing a look to her father, who was just as confused at her actions, he simply shrugged, seemingly agreeing with Dimitri's reaction.
"But –" she began, recoiling when Dimitri cut her off again.
"No, Rose! Enough!"
Rose was beginning to get frustrated. She knew that this would be their best chance to finally take down the monster, and Dimitri was refusing to see that – instead focusing on the risks involved and treating her like a fragile china doll.
"Would you just let me speak?!" She yelled back, instantly halting Dimitri in his repetitive tracks. He furrowed his brows in irritation, but complied none the less and let her continue. "I'm just saying, that if we head outside the wards, to somewhere he's likely to be, surely he'd come for me?"
"Exactly! I'm not voluntarily putting you in the line of fire!"
Why couldn't Rose see just how dangerous this was? Dimitri couldn't understand why she would allow such a risk to her life, especially as it had taken so long for her to get to a point of normality again!
"Dimitri! Just calm down and let me finish!" She shouted, folding her arms defiantly. "If he knows I'm vulnerable then we'd be able to lure him out and finally take him down."
A deep sigh escaped Dimitri's lips and, knowing he was fighting a losing battle, he sunk back down onto the sofa and hung his head in his hands.
"And what happened in the caves? When we knew he'd be there? He got you, Rose," he stated, barely audibly.
"We're more prepared this time," Rose shrugged.
"She has a point there, Son," Abe agreed, moving to sit next to his daughter's boyfriend on the sofa.
Dimitri's head shot up, his glaring eyes boring into the man's next to him. He couldn't believe what he was hearing!
"You're agreeing with her?!"
"This might be our only chance," Abe responded, and Rose nodded in agreement, thankful her father was realising what she had.
"If we had our date in Harrisburg, he'd without a doubt find me, and that's our chance to take him down," she explained, taking a step closer to Dimitri and gently pushing his hair back from his face. Instinctively, he leant into her touch, taking a deep breath to calm his anger. "We keep him busy while we wait for back up, and then with all of us there he doesn't stand a chance."
Dimitri shook his head.
"It's too dangerous, Rose."
If he could, Dimitri would kick himself for not standing his ground further - this whole ordeal was too dangerous! Unfortunately, that would have been quite hard to do, considering he found himself groggily drifting in and out of consciousness in a moving vehicle.
Struggling to focus on anything in particular, one thing he knew for sure was that his head killed. A painful, dull ache encased his skull – the pain so intense he barely registered the discomfort around his wrists. As his mind was doing all it could to pull itself from the blackness of sleep, through blurry eyes he noticed the restraints on his wrists, tightly tying his hands close together, preventing him from any movement.
Darkness, blur, darkness, blur… it was a losing battle – the harsh blow to the head had Dimitri struggling to stay awake and his eyelids began to feel as heavy as a tonne of bricks. His willpower to drag himself from sleep was overpowered by his body's desire to give in, but he knew there was something important… something important to protect, to save…
"Roza…" he tried to call out, searching for her, but he found himself gagged and unable to make more than a muffled groan.
Roza…
As his vision blurred into reality again, he blearily registered an unconscious form slumped next to him in the car - her dark, tousled hair falling across her face, obscuring her beauty.
Roza…
He tried to reach across to her, before the darkness surrounded him once again and he fell into the depths of unconsciousness.
Rose felt a chill of dread shoot down her spine, as she found herself emerging from nothingness into whatever hell awaited her. The ache in her chest told her that wherever she was, danger was afoot.
What had happened?
She and Dimitri were one minute wrapped in each other's arms, the next dragged apart without warning, knocked unconscious and thrown into the back of a car and taken God knows where.
"Fuck," Rose groaned, as she struggled to see through the blurriness of her vision.
When she could see clearly, she found herself tied to a chair, in a cold, concrete room. She couldn't help but notice the similarities to the last time she was in Nathan's clutches – no windows, just one lonesome door between her and freedom. She silently thanked God that, this time, no bed was to be seen.
Trying as hard as she could to ignore the pain searing through her body, she scanned the room for any possible hidden escape routes, or any weapons she could find. Unfortunately, the room was bare, besides her chair and… Dimitri's.
Her eyes landed on his lifeless form, he too restrained tightly to a chair across the room from her. His head had fallen forward, his dark hair cascading across his face like a thick curtain, the only tell-tale sign of life was that of his shoulders, moving ever so slightly as he breathed slowly.
"Dimitri?" She whispered. "Dimitri –"
Without warning, the door to the room swung open and her stomach instinctively churned at the sight of the Strigoi smirking at her. All her feelings of fear, terror, and disgust came flooding back to her and she felt her heart rate increase tenfold as bile formed in her throat. Visions of his leering face staring down at her as his hands eagerly roamed her body clouded her mind, and it was all she could do not to let tears spill across her cheeks.
"Hello my love," Nathan leered, stepping into the room and walking over to where she sat helpless. "It's nice of you to join me again. I missed you."
He reached out and stroked her hair gently, relishing in the first touch of her in months. "Did you miss me?"
Rose, summoning all the courage she could muster, simply stared up at him, never breaking eye contact. Irritated, Nathan's hand stopped smoothing her head, choosing instead to grip her chin so painfully it caused her to wince.
"Rose, I asked you a question. Have you forgotten your manners since you left me?" He asked, lowering his face so that it was level with hers, his crimson eyes staring intently into hers. "Did you miss me?"
"Yes."
A chuckle escaped Nathan's lips, but his brows furrowed in confusion none the same – this was unprecedented. Releasing Rose's face from his strong grip, he stepped back, eager to see where this was going.
"Well that wasn't the answer I was expecting, considering you couldn't wait to get away from me before."
Rose flexed her jaw, trying to ignore the ache left from where Nathan's hand just rested. "I realised something, when I went home," she explained with a smile, staring warmly up at him.
"And what was that?"
"I don't love him anymore." The gesture of her head showed that she was talking about the man slumped unconscious across the room.
Nathan raised an eyebrow, intrigued by this revelation. This was something he definitely hadn't been expecting. Screaming and crying, he had expected that – but an empowering feeling of warmth was a new development.
"Oh?"
"I – I love you," Rose continued confidently, unable to miss the brief way his eyes widened and shoulders tensed. This was music to his ears. "When I got home, I thought about everything you said. You and I together, our power, how great we could be, and… I agree."
Almost as quickly as his eyes widened, they narrowed again into a look of confusion and disbelief. Surely, this was a trap? He had to be falling into some kind of deception. It was everything he wanted – power, and Rose by his side. It had to be too good to be true.
"I don't believe you."
"Why do you think I came to Harrisburg?" She questioned urgently. "I knew you were there. Why would I do that if I didn't want to find you? I knew you'd come for me."
"You were on a date with him," he sneered, spitting in the unconscious man's direction to show his distaste.
"That was the only way I could get out of the wards," Rose explained softly. "Please believe me Nathan. I love you."
Taking a deep breath, she continued, her sincere eyes never breaking contact with his. "I need you."
Nathan felt his dick twitch in anticipation; he couldn't recall how many times he wished Rose would tell him that. But he couldn't help but listen to the undeniable feeling that this was a lie…
"If you love me then kiss me," he dared, stepping closer and leaning down to attach his lips hungrily to hers.
Almost as urgently, she responded by kissing him back with an intense desire. Restricted by the restraints on her arms, she put as much passion into the kiss as she could muster. With a groan, Nathan's tongue forced its way past her lips and Rose eagerly complied, moaning at the way their tongues danced together. He could feel his desire for her growing as the seconds flew by - it wouldn't be long before he wouldn't be able to control himself. Unfortunately for him, Rose needed to breathe, and he reluctantly pulled away, licking his lips to chase her taste.
"Fuck..."
"See?" Rose laughed through heavy breaths. "I love you."
"Hmm…"
"If you untie me, I promise you can have me forever, however you want – Dhampir, or… Strigoi," she urged. "I just want to be with you."
Still wary, Nathan reached out and twisted a strand of her hair around his index finger. He desperately wanted to believe her.
"Do you realise how awful the last few months have been?" Rose pleaded, taking a deep breath before continuing. "Dimitri can't fuck me like you can."
Nathan couldn't help the chortle that escaped his throat, throwing his head back in laughter.
"Okay, that I believe."
"I need you, Nathan," Rose continued, ignoring his laughter. "Properly. Where I'm not tied down or too high from your bite to realise what's happening. I want to be with you."
"Fuck," Nathan groaned, "you have no idea how much I want to believe you, Rose."
"I promise. Let me show you how much I love you."
Nathan eyed her warily, his head telling him that something was wrong, that this was all a ruse, but the bulge in his pants and thirst for her blood were urging him to ignore his gut. He wanted her, and now, it seemed, she wanted him too. This was something he had craved since the moment Dimitri dragged her into Galina's estate back in Russia. Something that was constantly niggling at his thoughts. He wanted her.
Against his better judgement, he frantically began to untie Rose's restraints, his heavy breathing doing nothing to hide his desire for her.
"Upstairs, now. There's a bedroom," he smirked, as he hastily pulled Rose from her chair urgently and headed for the door, ignoring the pleas from the back of his mind that this was not going to end well.
Free from her ties, Rose took her chance. She couldn't believe it had worked! With his back turned, she struck out, knocking him to his knees with one swift kick. Not expecting it, Nathan cried out, unable to respond before she was on top of him, landing blow after blow to the back of his head.
As if Rose could ever love someone like him! As if she would ever want to be with him, fuck him, after what he did to her! After he destroyed her! She threw as much anger as she could into each punch, determined to end this once and for all.
Finally registering what was happening, Nathan shook her off him, scrambling to his feet in a flash and turning to face her with a snarl, his fury clear in his red eyes.
"Fucking bitch!" He spat, lunging at her.
Rose was quick, though, and dodged his advances effortlessly, darting out of his reach and subsequently landing a kick to his stomach, followed by an uppercut to his chin as he doubled over. She was relentless - striking, kicking, landing numerous blows to the vile creature until he found himself on the floor, trapped beneath her surprisingly strong body weight as she continued her ministrations.
This was it, she could feel it! She was finally going to finish this! He would never come near her again, he wouldn't –
A groggy groan from the side of the room had her head snapping up and looking towards the direction of the still unconscious man tied to his own chair.
Dimitri.
Her heart leapt in her throat, and that was all it took for Nathan to take his window of opportunity. He struck out, pushing her off him and flipping them over so that she was now trapped beneath his body weight. His hand wrapped tightly around her throat and he angrily landed consecutive blows to the side of her face with the other, a deep bruise forming already under her eye. Her lip split open, blood trickling down her chin, which he wasted no time in licking off her delicious skin as he continued to strangle her.
Rose's vision blurred as she frantically tried to catch her breath, trying as hard as she could to push him off her, but it was no use.
She soon found herself surrounded by darkness once more.
Well sorry guys, no happy ending just yet. We're getting there though (maybe 3/4 chapters left, and an epilogue?) - which why it's starting to get a lot more fast paced and we're moving through things very quickly.
Thanks for the reviews on the last chapter - for some reason I'm not getting notifications from Fanfiction . net in my emails anymore, so the only way I can see I have reviews is to physically search for them. Is anyone else having this issue?
H x
