** Putting a trigger warning for the second portion of the chapter**

I turned my eyes to Dimitri in mortification, but Dimitri just smiled at me with a shit-eating grin.

I cleared my throat and carefully ran my hand through my hair while walking quickly to the chair to hide that I wasn't wearing pants. Olena smiled at me sweetly and rested her hand on the teacup in front of her. I was surprised to see something so antique and feminine in Dimitri's apartment, but he must have kept it here just for her.

I wasn't surprised that he was a 'Mama's boy'.

"Did you sleep well, dear?" Olena asked I tried to fight the blush as I thought about how little sleep I actually got.

"I did," I said after a moment. "Was your flight good?" I asked a little awkwardly, tugging Dimitri's shirt down around my thighs. Dimitri set a cup of hot chocolate on the counter in front of me. I beamed at him and blew at the steam. Dimitri recently learned that I preferred hot chocolate to coffee, mostly because I had a sweet tooth, and made it his personal duty to bring me one every day.

Whether it be at lunchtime with a quick heavy kiss, or once he finished teaching. I thought it was sweet and I looked forward to it. My friends at school thought it was sappy, but I could see that it made Lissa happy to see me happy. All my previous relationships were on the casual side, but with Dimitri, it was the real deal.

"My flight was fine, long as usual. But when Dimitri told me that he had finally made connections with his young mate, I knew that I needed to meet the beauty who has captured my son's heart." Olena boasted, resting a hand on one of mine. I smiled at her and then looked at Dimitri, winking at him.

"She is a beauty," Dimitri chirped as he grinned at me from the other side of the counter.

"Hush, you," I said as I took a sip of my hot chocolate, licking the chocolate off my lips. Dimitri chuckled and came around the counter to kiss my hair.

I can't believe you let me walk out here with no pants on! I scolded Dimitri through the bond. Dimitri couldn't contain his laughter to the bond and laughed out loud, ducking down to kiss my cheek.

"How was I supposed to know?"

The final party of the year was the biggest I had ever been to, and that was including the college party I went to at the beginning of the year. It was being held at Natalie Dashkov's house. She was a bit of an oddball but was nice enough. Lissa's family was close with the Dashkov's and Lissa had been friends with Natalie her whole life.

The party was spread out around the house and the back garden, booming and boisterous. If I ever thought about throwing a party like this at my house, my mother would string me up by my toes. I sipped my beer and smirked as Eddie flirted shamelessly with a girl from another school. I could tell from here that he was pulling all the stops and I couldn't help but laugh at him.

"What's got you so chipper?" Mia said loudly in my ear.

I took another sip of my beer and pointed at Eddie.

"Heartbreak King," I said back. Mia laughed and ran her hair through her newly short hair. She had given up her curly, long, golden locks for a short pixie cut. I had to admit that it made her look like a five-foot-nothing badass.

"Has he had an actual relationship since you?"

I scrunched my brows together and then frowned. "Uh, yeah. Deanne, remember, the one who cheated on him with two guys at the same time? And he caught the three of them together at Lissa's party last year?"

Recognition crossed her face and she make a strangled noise in the back of her throat. "I forgot all about that," Mia said after a minute, grimacing as she thought about it. We both watched with amusement before my eyes moved over the room, catching a glimpse of Lissa's hair off in the hallway. I leaned to the side to get a better look and my mouth dropped.

I smacked Mia's arm repeatedly and she snapped at me. "What!?"

I pulled over to the side and pointed. "Look!"

Mia moved around so she could see, raising up on the balls of her feet so she could see better. I knew the minute she saw what I saw because she gasped loudly, in turn, hitting my shoulder a few times.

"Is that?!"

"Yep!" I snickered. "How much you want to bet that they'll be making out by the end of the night?"

Mia grinned at me. "I'll buy you that scarf you've been eyeing if you're right. If not, you have to buy my booze until the beginning of term."

"Deal," I laughed. I gestured to my bottle and left Mia where she was and went to get a new one.

I moved through the room and grinned to myself when I saw that I was getting that scarf indeed. Lissa had a sweet blush on her face when she pulled away and she caught my eye, shrugging the slightest bit. I gave her an encouraging thumbs up and went into the kitchen.

The kitchen was full and I saw our host flirting heavily with Ralf Sarcozy. She had been head over heels in love with him since freshman year, and I was actually happy for her that he was giving her the time of day.

She deserved to be happy and I was glad that she had a smile on her as large as it was. I looked over the selection of beer and frowned when I didn't find a brand that I liked, so I switched a hard cider instead. I popped the cap of it and turned around, slamming into someone else.

I gasped as ice cold liquid splashed all over me, running down the inside of my shirt and into my denim shorts. I licked my lips and tasted a little bit of cranberry before realizing that it was Ralf standing in front of me.

"Shit. Sorry Rose, I didn't see you," he said somewhat apologetically.

I gave him a tight smile and swore.

"Shit," I moaned, looking down at my white shirt that was now stained with red juice. Natalie's eyes widened and she chastised Ralf before looking at me sadly.

"Rose! I'm so sorry!"

"It's fine, Nat," I said grabbing a napkin from the table and dabbing at my shirt. After I moment I knew that it was useless and I sighed, tossing the napkin on the table.

"IF you go upstairs and to the last door on the left, you can borrow a shirt from me. I can send that out to be cleaned," Natalie offered.

"It's okay. Can I just toss this into the laundry tub to soak?"

"Of course!" Natalie said, her head nodding like a bobblehead. "Go get changed and I'll bring it downstairs after."

I set my bottle down and headed for the stairs, Eddie turning towards me as I approached.

"Where you going?" he asked, "And what happened to your shirt?"

"Ralf dumped his drink on me accidentally," I said waving my hand in the direction of the kitchen. "Nat said I could borrow a shirt. If I don't come down in ten minutes, send a search party. I probably got lost in Natalie's closet," I laughed. Eddie chuckled too and smirked at me before looking back at the girl he had been flirting with.

I walked into a closet by mistake before finding Natalie's room, my brows raising at the inside of it. I hadn't been in her room before, but it screamed Natalie. It was bright pink with yellow bedding, and clothes and makeup everywhere. I knew that I could be a bit of a slob, but this made me look like a neat freak.

I tripped over clothes and kicked them over to the side so I wouldn't trip again as I headed to the closet. My eyes grew wider as I stepped inside it, finding it an even bigger mess. I looked over the clothes that were hung and I determined that they were either too small for me or too dressy for me to borrow. I headed back into Natalie's living room. I spotted a dresser and went for it, determining that would be the best course of action. I was rummaging through the shirt drawer when the door opened.

"You know, Nat, I'm pretty sure I tripped over your cat hiding under your clothes," I laughed, "I thought my room was messy."

"I've always wondered what you'd look like in that position."

I stilled and stood up, my hand still clutching one of her shirts. I turned and saw that it wasn't Natalie who had come in, but Nathan.

"What are you doing here?"

"Buddies got invited, thought I'd come with there," Nathan said with a shrug. I swallowed and squared my shoulders back.

"No, I meant in Natalie's room. It's off-limits. The whole upstairs is," I spat.

"You're up here," Nathan said taking a step toward me, and running his hand through his blonde hair. I notice that he was purposely keeping himself between me and the door. I flicked my eyes back to the closet for a second. Natalie's closet connected the bathroom and her bedroom, and there had to be another door in the bathroom.

I didn't know what Nathan's plans were, but I wasn't going to be stuck in here with him. I took and slow breath and bolted to the right, heading for the closet. I hear Nathan's feet behind me and I thought I made it into the closet when his hand clamped on my shoulder, gripping my shirt as he yanked me back.

My footing was shoddy and stumbled around, my shirt tearing in the process. I swatted backwards and caught his cheek, but he was stronger than I was and gripped my sore wrist. I knew that the music was loud downstairs and that unless someone was right outside the door, nobody would hear us. My only option was to fight him off.

Nathan used his height and pulled me around, wrapping a hand into the back of my hair and tossing me onto Natalie's bed. I used the momentum of the bounce to push myself off, but Nathan was prepared and trapped me against the bed, mouth sealing against mine.

I tried to push him off but Nathan pinned me down, hand already going to my pants. I thrashed beneath him, trying to get any limb free. While trying to get him off, I wasn't able to keep my mental barrier up, knowing that Dimitri would know something was wrong soon.

Nathan's lips tasted like cheap vodka and I did the only thing I could think of. I bit him – hard!

Nathan pulled back roughly with a roar, hand going to his mouth with anger flaring in his eyes.

"You fucking bitch!" he snarled as I used the moment to try and move from under him. His hand came down and struck me hard, his fist cracking against the side of my head. The impact pushed me back and my vision swam. I blinked a few times and tried to right myself when his hands touched my chest again, fingers hooking into the cups of my bra. While there was a little room between us, I managed to pull my legs up and thrust them into his stomach.

He stumbled back with a grunt when the door burst open, a welcome face standing in the door. Adrian's eyes flew to me and then to Nathan, eyes hardening as he lunged at him. Eddie came up the stairs behind him, eyes flicking over the room before landing on me. Eddie moved quickly into the room, gripping my shoulders and hurrying me out of the room, all while I could hear Adrian's fist hitting Nathan's face.

I sniffed and licked my lips, dazed still. Because of the commotion, somebody called the police, and now we were all being questioned. I sat on the front step with a blanket from the couch wrapped around me to give me something to cover up with.

"And he followed you?" the officer asked. I nodded.

"Yes."

"And he pushed himself on you."

"Yes. I had made it clear in the past, and recently, that I wasn't interested in him," I repeated, "I went upstairs to borrow a shirt from Natalie because someone spilled their drink on mine."

"Mr. Gregory sustained multiple injuries, can you make any statement for them?" the officer asked, her face firm but her tone soft.

"I bit him when he kissed me. He had me pinned down and when I did, he got angry and punched me. He tried to take my bra off and I got my legs up between us and I pushed him off. I did try to hit him while he grabbed me, but anything else I cannot make a comment to," I explained, "Can I some water, please?"

The officer nodded and gestured her head towards the house so her partner would get me a water bottle.

"Where can we reach your parents?"

"Baba is in Turkey right now, and my mother is in New Mexico for work. You may have difficulty reaching them," I said but wrote down the numbers on the notepad she extended to me. I handed it back to her and took the bottle of water from her partner when he came back.

I was surprised by the amount of police here and I could see Adrian being questioned a few feet away. Eddie had already finished giving his statement but refused to leave until I was done. He wanted to drive me home and make sure I was okay.

I was dreading having to tell Dimitri about the night already.

"Rose!"

I sighed and looked around the officer in front of me. Dimitri was trying to make his way through but an officer stopped him. I don't know what he said but I could feel an odd sensation in my head before the officer let Dimitri pass.

"Dimitri," I said, my voice cracking. I had kept myself composed the whole time, but seeing him and his panic, I started to feel myself crumble. Dimitri made his way up the path and the officer taking my statement turned to face him.

I stood up and took a step forward, my hands keeping the blanket wrapped tight around me. Dimitri scooped me into his arms and held me tightly, running his hand over the back of my hair.

"Oh, my baby," he whispered, "What happened?"

I didn't want to repeat it again and instead used the privacy of his embrace to cry, my shoulders shaking violently. Dimitri made soothing shushes and turned his attention to the officers beside me. I tuned them out as Dimitri spoke with them, my face buried in his chest.

I could feel his panic turn to anger and his grip on me tightened. I turned my face and rested my cheek against his chest.

"I can say that Rose did in fact say she wasn't interested in him a few weeks ago. We were at a gathering where she introduced me to her friends and he showed up. Rose made it very clear she didn't want him there," Dimitri stated firmly.

"We may need to take a formal statement tomorrow. Will you be able to come down to the station in the morning?" the woman officer asked.

"I have a lecture hall to teach from ten until noon, but I can come right after," Dimitri said.

"A lecture hall?" the male officer asked, "Where do you lecture."

"Lehigh University," Dimitri said.

The officer wrote it down and nodded his head. "You're young to be a professor."

Dimitri didn't respond to the comment and instead kissed my forehead, running his fingers over my hair. I could feel that he was trying to keep himself calm so that I would be able to feel his comfort, but I could still feel it. It was like a deep itch inside my skin, like wearing a wool sweater that hadn't been treated.

"Ms. Hathaway, we will need to take some pictures, and if you would like, we can do a kit. Is that something you would like?" the female officer asked. I met her eyes and I could see that there was no judgement there, just sympathy. I nodded and Dimitri let go of me, resting his hands on my shoulder.

I turned to him and tried to muster a less agitated look. "Can you go home and get me a change of clothes? Sweats or something?" I asked, not wanting Dimitri to see the state of my clothes. Dimitri nodded and ducked his head down and waited for me to reach for him. I stretched up and pressed my lips chastely against his.

"I'll meet you there," Dimitri promised, nodding at both the officers. I nodded my head and sighed when he walked away.

"Eddie won't want to leave until I go come. Can he come to the station too?" I asked. The male officer looked at his partner and she nodded.

By the time the police had taken pictures of my clothes and then packaged my ruined clothes, I just wanted to go home.

When the woman escorted me back out to the main sector, Dimitri and Eddie were sitting together, Adrian at a desk a few feet off.

"Is Adrian going to be charged?" I asked.

The officer shook her head. "Not unless Mr. Gregory presses charges," she said. She stopped me before I went back to Eddie and Dimitri.

"If you remember anything else, please don't hesitate to call me," she said handing me a card. I took it from her and read over the card. Stg. Delia Quinn.

"Thank you, Stg. Quinn," I said quietly.

Stg. Quinn nodded her head. "Do you feel comfortable going home with Mr. Belikov?"

I chuckled. "Of course. He probably won't leave me alone until my parents get home," I said, "He's very protective."

Stg. Quinn made a noise of agreeance and squeezed my shoulder. I turned and shuffled back to Dimitri, swamped in my clothes. I was touched that Dimitri brought his shirt for me to wear, knowing that the smell would calm me while I was in with the officers.

Dimitri stood up and opened his arms for me as soon as I was within reach. I sighed and snuggled into his chest. Eddie came to stand beside us, a sympathetic look on his face.

"How are you feeling?" Eddie asked softly, resting a hand on the back of my shoulder.

"Tired," I said quietly, "I just want to go to sleep."

Eddie nodded and looked at Dimitri. "I think I can leave her in your capable hands," Eddie said. I could tell that Eddie wanted to see me home himself, but he knew that Dimitri would take care of me.

"I'll text you when I get home," I said as I pulled out of Dimitri's arms, my hand slipping down his arm and into his. Dimitri nodded and murmured something to Eddie before leading me out of the station. I held Dimitri's hand tightly as he walked me to his car, opening my door and holding my hand until I was seated.

I toyed with the edge of the shirt and rested my head against the door. I closed my eyes and tried to clear my head. Dimitri rested his hand on my knee as he drove, the music playing just loud enough to be heard. Dimitri's thoughts were running wild but he tried to keep them to himself.

"Is Adrian going to be okay?" I mumbled.

"He'll be okay. A little bit of compulsion can go a long way," Dimitri replied.

I was half asleep when Dimitri got to my house. Dimitri carefully opened my door and my head lulled, startling me awake.

"It's just me," he whispered, reaching around me to unbuckle my seatbelt. I opened my eyes and Dimitri carefully untangled me from it. I wrapped my arms around his neck and he lifted me from the car, picked up my bag as well and carried me into the house. I rested my head on his shoulder as he set me on my bed.

"Do you need anything?" he asked, stroking my cheek.

"A shower," I said quietly, standing up. Dimitri nodded and let me by. I gathered a clean pair of underwear and a new pair of pants. I headed to the bathroom and glanced at Dimitri. He sat on the bed and gave me a small smile. I smiled back at him and went into the bathroom, not shutting the door all the way.

Had the day gone any different I would have invited him to join me, but now I needed a moment to myself. I know that he understood that too, relaxing where he was. I stripped and got into the shower, lathering the soap in my hands before washing myself.

I knew that I was fortunate that the situation didn't go further than I did, but I couldn't help but feel dirty. I didn't like that he had touched my skin or kissed me, and I wanted to scrub it from my body before I got into bed. I wanted to smell like myself before I laid down for the night and curled myself around Dimitri.

I washed my hair too and resorted to sitting on the floor of the shower, letting the water flow over me. I closed my eyes and tried to breathe deeply, trying to force the anxiety from my body. In the techniques Stan had given me, he said that there were ways to expel negative emotions and energy from my body. It was the same principle as projecting emotions onto Dimitri but simply just pushing them out completely.

Once I got some of the nerve-biting energy out I stood up and turned the shower off, wrapping a towel around myself. I took my time getting dressed and washing my face, slowly moisturizing my face and neck.

I brushed my teeth and brushed out my curls before going back out. Dimitri had changed into a pair of sweatpants he kept here and had gotten my bed ready, turning down the blanket and moving my pillows into the spots I put them in when I slept. The sweetness in the small gestures made me feel better and seeing the glass of ice water and a few cookies on my nightstand made me smile.

Dimitri had my sketchbook balanced on his knees, a pencil in his hand.

"What are you doing?" I asked quietly.

Dimitri beckoned me to sit with him.

"I opened it at the back so I didn't look at any of your work," Dimitri said and angled it toward me. I looked at it and took the book from him, balancing it on my knees as he had. I didn't know that Dimitri knew how to draw, but it should have been a no-brainer. He had been alive for centuries, he must have learned plenty of things over his life.

"Who is that?" I asked.

"My niece, Zoya," Dimitri said softly, "She's two."

"Your sister just had a child?" I asked.

Dimitri nodded. "Yes. Karolina hadn't found her mate until recently. Her son, Paul, was her first and he is ten."

I smiled down at the sketch. "She's adorable," I said, "She kind of looks like you."

Dimitri took the sketchbook from me as I handed it back to him. "My sisters and I all look alike. We all take heavily after our mother."

I grinned. "Well, your mother is beautiful. I can only imagine what your sisters look like," I said with a sigh, reaching for my snack.

Dimitri grinned at me and rested his hand on my back. He rubbed it soothingly as I ate my cookies.

"How are you feeling?"

"You haven't checked?" I mumbled.

Dimitri breathed slowly. "I brushed, but I want you to have your privacy."

I took a sip of my water. "I'm okay," I said quietly, "I just want to forget tonight ever happened."

Dimitri nodded. "I understand."

I set my cup on the bedside table and turned towards him, tucking my legs under the blankets. I rested my head on the pillow and rolled onto my side. Dimitri stayed where he was and put the sketchbook on my desk.

"Do you want me to stay, or do you want to be alone?"

I looked up at him. "Please?"

Dimitri nodded and got under the blankets with me, letting me move to him. I laid close enough that his arm was around my waist and my nose brushed his chest. Dimitri didn't push for anything further, stroking my side and kissing my hair every once in a while.

Sleep was eluding me so I shuffled closer, wrapping my arms around his waist.

"Help me sleep?" I asked quietly.

Dimitri frowned. "I don't want to use compulsion on you, my love."

"Please? I don't want any nightmares."

Dimitri's frown deepened and I knew he was conflicted. I stretched my neck out and pursed my lips a little, beckoning him. Dimitri brushed his lips against mine and brushed his knuckles over my cheek. When I pulled back I found that Dimitri's frown was gone.

"Go to sleep, Roza," Dimitri said softly, eyes holding mine intensely. I blinked and rested my head on his shoulder, the dark edges of sleep creeping over me.

I know this chapter was heavy, but the next one won't be.

This first part is almost finished. Only three more chapters!

Let me know what you think!:)