Rose POV

I sat in a chair by Dimitri's bed, waiting for him to walk into the room. Getting into his room wasn't easy, and the feat had required me to steal the master key from the front desk while the attendant was in the bathroom. I hadn't been waiting long when I heard the sound of a key in the door.

The entire room was dark and only lit up briefly as Dimitri slipped in the door. He didn't notice me as he crossed the room to the closet next to the bathroom door. As he reached for his bedside lamp, I held my breath, excited.

"Hello, Comrade," I said as he flipped the switch.

To his credit, Dimitri didn't jump at my voice, though I could see the surprise in his eyes, and a hint of wariness too.

"Rose," he acknowledged. "What are you doing here? Or better yet, how did you get in here?"

"I have my ways," I said. "And I think you know why I'm here."

"You stole the master key again, didn't you?" he said, crossing his arms.

"Again?" I said innocently, standing from the chair.

Dimitri arched his eyebrow. "Rose."

"Dimitri." I gave a little twirl, distracting him as my skirt flew up briefly, and I could feel Dimitri's eyes on me. "See something you like?"

I could still feel Dimitri's eyes on me, though he didn't say anything.

"Come on," I whispered, walking closer to him. Dimitri didn't move. "Give me your heart."

"You already have it," Dimitri whispered.

His words sparked a glimmer of delight inside of me. I had known how he felt about me for a while, but the words still thrilled me.

"You have mine too," I responded.

I closed the distance between us and reached up to pull him down into a kiss. Dimitri kissed me back, pulling me even tighter to him.

"Roza," he murmured, breaking the kiss. "If this is just for the game—"

"No!" I exclaimed, shocked that Dimitri would think that. It took a moment to register that Dimitri wouldn't normally believe that, but a piece of doubt was rearing up in him. "I wouldn't do that. I love you."

He sighed in relief. "I love you too. I'm sorry for doubting you."

"Don't be," I said. "Because I am definitely taking advantage of the time the game gives to be with you."

Dimitri smiled one of his rare full smiles. "I would expect nothing less."

I kissed him again, subtly trying to guide him in the direction of the bed. It didn't take him long to pick up on what I was doing, and he broke the kiss again to walk to the edge of the bed and sit down. Dimitri pulled me on top of his lap, and we continued making out. Our tongues battled for dominance, and I eventually caved.

"Oh Roza," Dimitri groaned.

He broke the kiss again to kiss my neck. While he was doing that, I quickly unzipped my crop top and shrugged it off, tossing it on the ground.

"Rose." Dimitri's voice was strained when he realized what I had done.

I had already been naked in front of him on the night of the lust charm, but it felt different this time.

"Still see something you like?" I asked, my voice small. I knew that I had a good body, but that didn't change the fact that Dimitri was experienced, and I wasn't. Not like this.

"Lots," Dimitri said, his voice low. "But we don't have to do anything. I don't want you to feel pressured."

"I'm not pressured. I want to do this," I said. "Kissing you is nice, but I'm ready to bring things up a notch."

Dimitri nodded. "You're in control, Rose. You say stop, and we'll stop. There's no pressure to do anything, especially something you don't want."

I nodded. "Okay."

Dimitri kissed me again, and as I shifted on his lap, I could feel how hard he was in his pants. Dimitri groaned as I shifted again, grinding my hips against his. He let go of where he was holding me so that he could pull his shirt over his head and then pressed me tightly against him once more. He put one hand on my hip, helping guide me as we continued to grind against each other, while the other tangled in my hair as Dimitri resumed kissing me.

"Dimitri!" I cried out as a particularly well-aimed thrust sent heatwaves through me.

Dimitri ran his hand up the side of my body until he was cupping one breast in his hand, his thumb teasing my nipple.

"Don't stop," I gasped, feeling the pleasure build within me.

"Roza," Dimitri moaned.

"Dimitri!" I whined as he trailed kissed down my throat, and paused to suck a hickey at the base of my neck. "Please."

"I got you, Roza," he murmured. "Come for me."

He kissed me again, swallowing my cries as his other hand cupped my other breast, also teasing that nipple. Our thrusts became frenzied against each other, and my orgasm ripped through me. I ground lazily against Dimitri as I rode out the aftershocks before going limp against him, my arms draped loosely around his shoulders.

"Roza?"

"Hmm?" I was too blissed out from my orgasm to form proper words.

Dimitri laughed, his voice low and warm. "Come on, get some rest."

Dimitri moved me off of his lap and tucked me under the covers of his bed. He stood, and I reached out to him.

"Stay with me."

"I'll be right back, Roza," Dimitri murmured. "I'm just going to change."

It was then that I noticed a dark patch growing in front of his jeans. "You came?"

"Yes, Roza," he said.

"Good."

Dimitri smiled at the pride in my voice and pressed a quick kiss to my forehead before he slipped into the bathroom to change. He returned a few moments later, wearing a pair of sweats, and slipped into the bed beside me.

"Get some sleep. I'll wake you before midnight."

I didn't have the energy in me to argue and fell into a dreamless sleep.


In what felt like no time, Dimitri was waking me up.

"Roza," Dimitri whispered. "It's eleven-thirty. It's time to get up."

I groaned and rolled over in the bed. "Don't wanna."

Dimitri laughed softly. "Don't you want to win the game?"

At his words, I turned back around and sat up. He was right. I did want to win the game, and if I wasn't back in the gym before midnight, I'd be disqualified.

"Fine," I said. "Your logic wins this time."

He smiled and tilted my head up so that he could kiss me again. "I'll see you soon."

I got up from the bed, looking around for my crop top. I found it half under the bed a few moments later and put it on, zipping it back up. I could feel Dimitri watching me as I did and kneeled on the bed to give him one more kiss.

"I'll see you in the gym."

Dimitri nodded. He stood up from the bed and crossed to the door, cracking it open to see if the coast was clear.

"You're good," he said, stepping back into the room.

I didn't look at Dimitri as I walked out, scared that if I did, I would just start kissing him again and never leave.


I made a pit stop by my dorm to fix my hair and to make sure that I still looked presentable before making my way to the gym. I could hear the multitude of voices coming from the gym as I approached and slipped inside with three minutes to spare. I could see Lissa already sitting next to Christian in the Moroi section, and I made my way up the bleachers to where Eddie was saving a seat for me.

It didn't take much searching to find Dimitri standing up front near where Alberta and the rest of the guardians were. He caught my eye and gave me a small smile.

Alberta brought the room to attention a minute later as the clock ticked over to midnight.

"Welcome back! This competition has been a St. Vladimir's tradition for many years. The way that we are going to do it this year is simply by numbers. I'm going to start with a number, and if you have that many hearts, or more, stand up. Understand?" She held the novices at attention as well as the Moroi. Both were eager to see the winner. Some chorused back 'understood', others said 'okay', and some stayed silent.

I caught Lissa glancing up at me, and I gave her a thumbs up. There was no way I wouldn't win.

"Stand up if you have five or more hearts," Alberta said.

Over half of the student population stood. Alberta kept going higher and higher with the numbers. Lissa got knocked out after 13 hearts, and Eddie got knocked out after 19. As Alberta crept into the twenties, more students started sitting down until it was between me, a royal Moroi named Marlene Ivashkov, and Jesse Zeklos.

"If you have more than twenty-five hearts, stay standing," Alberta said.

Jesse sat down with a huff, and I grinned.

"If you have more than twenty-six hearts, stay standing."

With an angry cry, Marlene sat down. Her friends tried to comfort her, but she brushed all of them off.

"Novice Hathaway," Alberta said from the front, "how many hearts do you have?"

"Twenty-eight," I said, my voice echoing through the gym.

"Does anyone have twenty-eight hearts or more?" Alberta questioned.

Nobody said anything, and I met Lissa's grin with one of my own. I walked down the bleachers to give my hearts to Alberta so that she could confirm that count. Alberta quickly flipped through them before confirming me the winner of the game.

A few novices and a handful of Lissa's Moroi friends congratulated me as they walked out of the gym.

"Novice Hathaway, I will find you later to discuss the terms of your extra privileges and to get the Missoula trip set up," Alberta said. Her focus was on something in the distance.

I nodded. "Sounds great, Guardian Petrov."

I turned around and found Lissa standing there, Christian by her side.

"Congratulations, Rose! We're going to have so much fun in Missoula," she said, looping her arm through mine.

I let her lead me towards the gym exit but turned back before walking out, searching for Dimitri. My eyes locked with his as Alberta called him over, a stern look on her face. I watched Dimitri follow Alberta out of the other side of the gym, towards some of the guardian offices on campus, a sinking feeling in my stomach.