Chapter 40: Pavel
I woke up feeling Dimitri caressing my face plus I could smell something really yummy. I opened my eyes to see the love of my life staring back at me. He kissed my forehead and asked "How are you feeling?"
"Sore, how's Pavel?" I asked.
"I don't know I haven't checked on him. Are you up for some food, they just brought some over?"
"Okay" I responded just one of the guardians brought in food for Dimitri and me.
"The chef said to let her know if there is anything else you want." The guardian informed us.
"Thank you" I tried to sit up but it hurt like a bitch.
"Here, let me help you" Dimitri said as he helped me sit up and then put pillows behind me for support.
I looked at his forehead and the bruise that seems to be getting worse. I reached out to carefully caress it and asked "How are you feeling?"
"I'm fine" he said dismissing my concern. He pulled over the bedside table so we could eat. One of the nurses poked her head in to check on us and asked if I needed any more pain medicine. I nodded yes, but I was hoping Lissa would stop by soon to heal the rest of my injuries.
When the nurse came back, I asked "How's Pavel doing?"
"About the same as you, sore, Princess Dragomir healed some of the more severe injuries."
And as if he knew we were talking about him, Pavel appeared in the doorway. "Hi Rose, Belikov, how are you feeling?"
"Okay, sore. How are you feeling?" I asked Pavel.
"The same" Pavel said. Dimitri stood up and sat on the stretcher with me offering Pavel his chair.
"Anyways, I just wanted to say how sorry I am for what happened." Pavel started.
"Pavel, it wasn't your fault." I said.
"I know, but I knew the plan and I abandoned you. I should have stayed. I'm so sorry, I will never forgive myself." Pavel flatly said.
"Pavel, Rose and I don't blame you." Dimitri stated and I nodded my head as well.
"I understand my parents reasoning however it was poorly planned?" I said "But I don't blame you at all. I know my mother and even though I am still getting to know Baba, it takes a lot to go against them, so I understand."
"Still, I wish" Pavel started saying and then stopped shaking his head.
"Can I ask you a question?" I directed to Pavel.
"Sure" Pavel answered.
"When we were in Baia and I spoke with Adrian in the office, what happened that made you leave so abruptly?"
Pavel took a deep breath and then let it out. I quickly regretted asking and said "I'm sorry if it is too personal, I understand."
"No, it's okay. I have an older sister, she is two years older than I am and we both trained to be guardians at St Basil's. Her first assignment was with an older royal moroi man. He seduced her and soon they were sleeping together."
Pavel took a deep breath and I watched as he clenched and unclenched his hands. "My sister thought that she had found the love of her life, but the royal moroi soon got tired of her and she was quickly reassigned to another royal moroi, who abused her. I had just finished my trials and was two days away from making my promise and graduating. I had the highest score so it was expected that I would have been assigned to someone important."
"All the graduates had gathered at court to be assigned to their new charges. When I arrived, I went to see my sister and that is when I found out what happened to her. I beat up both royal morois. And that did not go over well with Guardian Croft. So, I ended up getting assigned to your father, who was considered the lowest on the list. At the time, there were enough guardians, so your father was entitled to a guardian even though he was basically head of a gang."
"I'm so sorry, how is your sister?" I asked.
"I brought her home, we lived in a dhampir community, similar to Baia and she ended up marrying an older guardian and they have adopted four orphaned dhampirs." Pavel pulled out his phone and showed Dimitri and I the picture of his sister's family.
"They look so happy" I said and Dimitri nodded as well.
"They are and they run a daycare for dhampir's for free, your father has a lot to do with that. When I first started working for your father, I sent the majority of my paycheck to her as most guardians do. And when your father became successful, he started sending them money as well as setting up a trust fund for the children and they are set for life."
I nodded my head, unable to say anything at that moment. Dimitri had his arms around me and gave me a slight squeeze and put his lips to my ear and asked "What is it Roza?"
"I just can't believe how generous my father can be."
Pavel continued "Give your father some time to explain, even though he is a ruthless mobster and businessman, he really does care for the people he allows into his inner circle. Plus, he's learning how to be a father and same with your mother. They are going to make mistakes."
I nodded my head and I looked back at Dimitri and then to Pavel and said "Thanks Pavel, I will keep that in mind. I was wondering if there is any way we could go to Baia for the weekend to see Dimitri's family? If that's okay with your family?" I asked looking back at Dimitri.
"My family would welcome us at any time. I can call mama later and let her know we are coming."
I looked back and forth between Dimitri and Pavel "Do you think Baba will let us?"
"Rose, you could ask to become Queen of our World and Abe would make it happen." Pavel said jokingly.
"Damn, right, I would make it happen." Baba said from the doorway. My mom was standing next to him tucked under his arm. "Rose, your mother and I are so sorry for what happened. While it was an exercise that would have happened when you were a little bit younger had you grew up here. However, you would have known about it. I feel like your mother and I keep making wrong choices for you and for that I apologize."
"Thank you, Baba, we all have a lot of work to do on our relationship." I said.
"Yes, we do and if you would like to go see Dimitri's family, let me know when and we will get you there." Baba said.
I looked around the room and asked "Is it safe enough to stay overnight with his family?"
"I will make it safe." Baba said.
"Thank you."
"Rosemarie, since you are taking some time to recover from this incident, would it be too early for us to have dinner next Thursday?" my mother asked tentatively.
"I think that may be possible, how about I let you know on Wednesday night?"
"That would be lovely. And again, please know how much your father and I are sorry for what happened."
"Okay" I said, and with that my parents left.
I took a deep calming breath and blew it out. Dimitri just held me closer and kissed the top of my head.
Just then, Lissa and Christian walked in with Celeste and Yuri, plus her normal guardians who were outside the door. Lissa came over to me giving me a hug and I felt the familiar hot and cold as she fully healed me. Lissa pulled back looking a little paler that normal.
"Thanks, Liss"
"No problem, anything for you."
Pavel came back into the room "Everything is all set for you Rose."
"Thank you, Pavel,".
Lissa walked over towards Pavel but Pavel put his hands up to stop Lissa but Lissa insisted. Pavel was amazed at the feeling of spirit healing. He was too injured last night to fully appreciate the experience.
"Wow, thanks you Princess Dragomir."
"You're welcome, and it's Lissa, please."
Pavel helped Christian guide Lissa to the chair "Rose, I will make sure that the plane is ready for whenever you would like to leave and Guardian Brown will be in charge in Baia." And with that Pavel left the room.
Lissa looked at me "Where are you going?"
"We are going to Baia for the weekend, do you want to come? It's really beautiful there and Dimitri's Mama is the best cook."
"No, I think I'll stay here." Lissa said and I saw the quick flash of Lissa's eyes to Christian meaning she wanted sexy time with him. A quick probe in her head confirmed my suspicions.
Dimitri got up from behind me and said "I am going to find the doctor to see if we can get you out of here and also a feeder for Lissa."
I loved the way Dimitri took care of me and everyone that I care about. A feeder came in for Lissa and she gave me a hug "Have a great time".
"Thanks, Liss, I'll see you when we get back on Monday."
Celeste handed me a bag of clothes to change into since mine had been cut off. The doctor came to see me and cleared me to leave the infirmary and leave for Baia but with strict instructions to rest for the weekend.
Dimitri walked in just as the doctor was finishing up and he said "Don't worry about that, Rose will not be lifting a finger this weekend."
I looked at Dimitri as he said that and rolled my eyes at him.
"I'll leave you to it." The doctor said as she walked out the door.
"I called Mama and told her the four of us were coming for a visit and she was thrilled and insisted that we stay with her. I discussed it with Pavel and he will set up the appropriate security for you." Dimitri said.
"Okay, sounds good Comrade, we never really got to spend time at your childhood home." I said.
"Come on, let's get you dressed, then we can take a nice long shower, pack and head to the plane." Dimitri said with a twinkle in his eye making me suspicious that he was up to something.
Dimitri helped me into my clothes that Celeste had gotten for me even though Lissa had healed the majority of my injuries. But truth be told, I was kind of enjoying Dimitri taking care of me. We walked over to our house holding hands just enjoying our precious quiet time. We climbed to the second floor so Dimitri could tell the guardians the weekend plans.
Once we told everyone of the plans, Eddie approached us and asked if we could talk privately. Dimitri and I followed Eddie to his room knowing that I needed to let Eddie know about me seeing Mason.
We entered Eddie's room and it was organized just like Dimitri's room was at St Vlad's. Dimitri sat on the chair in the room and pulled me onto his lap. Eddie sat on his bed and to my surprise Yuri and Celeste appeared in the doorway.
"What's up Eddie?" I asked as my level of concern started to rise.
"I was wondering if it would be okay for me to stay here with Yuri and Celeste in order to keep training?" Eddie asked directing his question more at Dimitri than me.
I saw out of the corner of my eye Dimitri looking at Celeste and Yuri getting a quick nod from them. Dimitri stated "That's fine if you would like to stay. Yuri, Celeste are you okay with staying here?"
Both Yuri and Celeste nodded in agreement.
"Um, Eddie, I need to talk to you about something." I said.
Dimitri stood up and said "Why don't you two talk and Celeste, Yuri and I will discuss training ideas."
"Okay, I'll see you upstairs." I said as the three of them left, Dimitri closed Eddie's door and I moved to sit on the bed next to Eddie.
"What's up Rose?" Eddie asked hesitantly.
"So, you know how I am shadow-kissed and I have the bond with Lissa?"
"Yeah"
"One of the side effects is that I can see ghosts. So, when I was in Baia, I could see something shimmering in the woods during the day. I finally convinced Dimitri to let me go beyond the wards to look at it, since no one else could see it. Once we got to where I saw the shimmering, Ivan Zeklos was there who was Dimitri's first charge and best friend who ended up getting killed by Strigoi on Dimitri's day off. Dimitri and I talked to him for about an hour and it really helped Dimitri."
I gave Eddie a few moments to take in that information. "So, when my parents did this little kidnapping exercise, it was Ivan who helped me get back here. And Mason was with him as well."
I looked at Eddie and noticed he got all tense. I looked down at my hands as I said the next part "Mason said he is okay and when we are ready, he wants to talk with us."
I looked up to see tears streaming down Eddie's face and my first instinct was to hug him tightly. Eddie hugged me just as tightly as we both cried. I don't think Eddie and I had ever really mourned Mason's death. After about five minutes, Eddie and I pulled apart and wiped away our tears.
Eddie took a deep breath and said "I would love to talk with Mason, maybe when you come back from Baia."
"Definitely, are you sure you don't want to come with us to Baia? Dimitri's family is so nice and his mama always says the more the merrier."
"No, I want to stay here and train, after being kidnapped twice, I worry it's going to happen again. Plus, I worry about being turned Strigoi or that my charge will be killed because I am not good enough."
"I'm sorry Eddie. I wish I could help you with that. Maybe when you are ready to talk, you can talk with Pavel, maybe there are some guardians who have been through similar situations. And I know Dimitri would talk with you about his experience with Ivan, if you wanted to."
"That sounds like a good idea, thanks'"
Eddie and I talked for a little bit more then we hugged again and I went upstairs to Dimitri's and my bedroom and I heard the shower running, so I stripped off my clothes and I opened the door to the shower. Dimitri was facing away from the door with his body facing the water. I stood behind him and I wrapped my arms around Dimitri's torso, causing his head to go back and I heard him groan.
Dimitri initially grabbed my hands, to take them off his chest in order to turn around and face me, but I had other ideas. "Not right now Comrade."
Dimitri hadn't rinsed himself off completely, so my hands were sliding up and down his torso freely. I was kissing his back with closed and open-mouthed kisses. And while I could not see his face the moans and his breathing were telling me that he was enjoying himself. Plus, another part of his body was confirming how turned on he was.
Dimitri had enough of my teasing and brought my hands to the one place he needed me and the one destination I had in mind as well. By the time my hands reached his cock, he was standing a full attention. As soon as my hand wrapped around his manhood, Dimitri let out a groan and brought his hands up to rest on the shower walls and providing support for him.
I grabbed a little bit more soap and wrapped my right hand around his cock, slowly pumping up and down. After a few minutes of this, I brought my left hand down from his lower abs to his balls and started to gently pull at them.
Dimitri's breathing hitched and he said "Wait, Roza, I want to come inside you. I want to feel your body writhing beneath me."
"You will, after this" I said as I started nipping at the skin on his back that I could reach. Dimitri's breathing was ragged and I watched as is hands were clenched in fists against the wall as they were holding him up.
"Roza, I need you" he said in a very thick accent.
"Soon, very soon" I said as I increased my pressure and speed and tugged on his balls just a little harder. His breathing was so ragged, I knew he was close. His right hand left the wall and settled over my hand that was on his cock. He applied more pressure and caused my hand to pump faster, apparently, he needed more.
After another thirty seconds, I felt Dimitri become rigid and then I could feel his orgasm take over his body. Once his orgasm had abated, he grabbed both my wrists and he quickly turned around and placed them above my head against the shower wall as he kissed me hard.
He reached behind him and turned the water off and led me out of the shower. He grabbed a towel and roughly dried himself off, I was still pretty dry since I had been standing behind him. He started kissing me again walking me backwards out of the bathroom and into the bedroom.
The next thing I knew, the back of my legs hit our bed and Dimitri reached down and hoisted me up and placed me high on the bed. "Milaya, I want you to hold onto the headboard, I'm not going to tie you up yet. But if you hold on and don't let go, you will get an idea of what it feels like to be tied up, okay."
"Yes" I moaned out as I was turned on and curious about this. Once I was in position, Dimitri started kissing down my neck, down to my breasts, giving them both adequate pleasures. I had to admit, it was a turn on as well as frustrating not being able to touch him.
He continued to kiss down my body until it was obvious what his intended target was. He spread my legs wide apart and the rush of cold are on my pussy was stimulating as well. He spread my lips as he licked me. I grabbed the headboard harder, since I really wanted to grab his hair.
"Please" I moaned to Dimitri, I was already so turned on from the shower, but I still needed some consistent stimulation to achieve an orgasm. Thankfully, Dimitri was happy to oblige. It didn't take long until my hips were moving of their own accord and as much as I wanted to bring my arms down and grab his hair keeping his face in place, I didn't.
Soon, a few fingers joined his mouth and entered me and started pumping in and out of me. I was so close, and I needed to come and Dimitri knew that as well. He reached up with his other hand and grabbed my breast, squeezing and teasing my nipple. That was it, my orgasm wracked throughout my body, wave after wave.
I was so caught up that I didn't realize that Dimitri was crawling up my body. I did notice when he removed his fingers and I groaned at the loss, but he replaced it quickly with his cock and I moaned in delight.
As he set a frantic pace, he whispered in my ear "Don't let go of the headboard." I don't know why, but at that time it seemed like the hottest thing he ever said and it turned me on so much.
It didn't take long for me to get worked up again. Between Dimitri's smell, the little grunts he was making, the delicious areas where his body was rubbing against mine and then the fact that I could not touch him. I screamed as my orgasm hit and Dimitri came about 30 seconds after me.
He dropped down on top of me, to exhausted to hold himself up anymore. I finally brought my arms down from the headboard and gently guided my finger tips up and down his back.
"Was that taking it easy Comrade?" I said with a devilish look in my eye.
"Oh fuck, are you okay?" the concern evident in his voice.
"I'm fine, Comrade, that was so good."
"It was, wasn't it." Dimitri said finally having the strength to pick himself up and look at me in the face.
Dimitri rolled off me and I said "I need a shower" as I sat up on the edge of the bed. "So, you want to join me in the shower?"
"As much as I would love to shower with you, I think we would repeat what just happened." Dimitri said as he winked at me.
"And what is wrong with that?" I challenged him.
Dimitri groaned "Roza, you will be the death of me. But we do need to get going, I want to land in Baia and get to my family's home before the sun sets."
"Oh, right, I'll just take a quick shower then."
I took a quick hot shower that felt so good after the last 24 hours. I walked into the bedroom and noticed that Dimitri had laid out a comfy outfit for me. As I finished dressing, Dimitri walked out of our closet with a bag that he had packed and then he went to the bathroom to get our toiletries.
"Ready?" Dimitri asked as he zipped up our bag.
"Yup" I said as I finished tying my sneakers. Dimitri hoisted our bag on his shoulder and then pulled me to his side. When we got outside, there was a SUV waiting for us and Pavel and my parents were there waiting for us.
Pavel started "The plane is ready for you and I have scheduled guardians inside as well as outside your family's house. Guardian Brown is in charge of the schedule and transporting them back and forth to the compound."
"Thank you, Pavel," Dimitri said shaking his hand.
"Rose, Dimitri, have a wonderful time and if you need anything at all, don't hesitate to call me." Baba said.
"We will" I said as I hugged Baba. I think it took him by surprise because it took him a few seconds to respond and then he hugged me tight. I waited for him to start to let go before I let go, then I went to my mother and gave her a hug as well and she immediately pulled me tightly to her. I could hear Dimitri shaking Baba's hand and then Dimitri put a hand on my back and said "Rose, we need to get going".
I pulled away from my mother and said "Okay".
"Enjoy your visit Rosemarie" and I could only nod as the emotions of the past 12 hours seemed to be catching up with me.
Dimitri guided me to the SUV and once we were in our seats, he pulled me to him. Thankfully the only other person in the car was a guardian driving us to the airstrip. A few tears leaked out of my eyes and I quickly wiped them away. Dimitri kissed the top of my head and pulled me even closer to him. It was a quick ride to the airstrip and once Dimitri and I were seated, a guardian pulled up the stairs and we got into position for takeoff. Vika, Matt and the guardians who were coming with us had arrived prior to us and had been waiting for us. I did notice how cozy Vika and Matt were looking and as much as I liked to tease Vika, I was so happy for the both of them. As we started to take off, I grabbed Dimitri's hand and my necklace. I still wasn't used to flying and was still worrying about the mind-numbing headache that could happen. Dimitri squeezed my hand and gave me a reassuring smile as the plane climbed in the air.
Once we reached our cruising altitude, Dimitri asked "Any headache?"
"Nope" I responded.
"Good" he said as he raised the arm rest between us and pulled me towards him. A shiver ran down my spine at the warmth and smell of Dimitri.
"Are you cold?" he asked.
"No"
Dimitri reached up and turned off the lights above us and then we reclined both of our seats. As soon as we snuggled, I heard Dimitri's breathing even out and I felt all the tension leave his body. Poor guy, I thought, I had slept a little in the infirmary, but he hadn't slept at all. I think he was finally able to rest, since we were on a plane where no threat could reach us. And being in his arms surrounded by his warmth and smell, it did not take long for me to fall asleep as well.
I woke up when one of the guardians was lightly shaking Dimitri letting us know we were about to land. Once we landed and came to a stop, a guardian opened the door releasing the stairs. The pilot approached Dimitri and me "Guardian Belikov, Novice Hathaway, you father has arranged for us to stay here and the plane will be at your disposal."
"Thank you" Dimitri said.
I could see that Guardian Brown was at the airstrip directing guardians to one of the SUVS.
I could sense Dimitri slightly on edge since the sun was starting to set. Dimitri had stepped in front of me and looked around before he started down the stairs. Vika and Matt were behind me and Matt seemed on edge as Dimitri was.
As soon as Guardian Brown spotted us and he walked over "Dimitri, Rose, I have you in the middle SUV with Guardian Logan and Novice Belikova and ten guardians will be traveling with you to your house. There are five guardians who will be guarding the inside of the house and there will be ten guardians outside the house. Call me at any time if you have questions or concerns."
"Thank you" Dimitri and I said simultaneously. Dimitri guided me into the SUV and placed our bag at his feet.
"Are you excited Comrade?"
"Yes, we haven't really spent a lot of time with my family and I never really had a chance to show you around my house either." I looked back at Vika and could see she was as excited as Dimitri was.
"If we have time, there are a few things I want to pick up from our room here." I stated.
"Okay, like what?" Dimitri asked.
"Just some clothes" I tried to say nonchalantly, I didn't want to let on to Dimitri, that I wanted to get the few pieces of lingerie he had wanted me to try, including the red bustier.
The SUVs sped thru Baia and we reached Dimitri's house just as the sun was setting. The guardian in the front passenger seat radioed the guardian inside the house and shortly thereafter the door to Dimitri's house opened and two guardians exited and stood on either side of the front door. The guardian in the front got out and opened our door. Dimitri got out and hoisted our bag his shoulder then he grabbed my hand and led me into his house with Vika and Matt right behind us.
As soon as we entered the house the two guardians closed the door and it became a little chaotic in the house as the guardians in the house started to introduce themselves and Dimitri's family started talking and walking towards us. Then Paul yelled "Uncle Dimka, Auntie Rose, Auntie Vika" and started running towards Dimitri. The two guardians from the door pulled me to them and pushed me against the wall, in an attempt to protect me, causing the back of my head to hit the wall with a loud thump.
Dimitri yelled "STOP, Stanovit" causing everyone to stop moving and talking except for Zoya who was being held by Karo who let out the loudest wail.
"Sorry Karo" Dimitri said as Karo walked into the kitchen with Zoya to calm her down. Dimitri turned around to the two guardians who were holding me against the wall. I have never seen Dimitri look so menacing before in a low voice he said "Take your hands off Novice Hathaway Now!"
They released me immediately and a guardian came over to Dimitri, I suspect to introduce himself as the guardian in charge but Dimitri put his hand up to stop him as he walked over to me and placed his hand behind my head and I winced when his hand ran over a tender spot.
Dimitri asked quietly "How do you feel Roza?"
"Okay" I responded as he started to lead me to the couch, but before I could take a second step, the room started to spin. I grabbed Dimitri's biceps trying to hold myself upright.
I felt Dimitri's arm snake behind me and I looked up at him. I could see his lips moving but I couldn't hear him and the blackness started taking over until there was just a tunnel and the tunnel collapsed and the blackness took over.
DPOV
I have never been so incensed in my life. I know the guardians were trying to protect Roza, but slamming her head into the wall after recent fight with strigoi, was not going to help her recover.
The guardian in charge started to walk over to me and I raised my hand at him to stop. I walked up to Roza to assess her head, when I felt a big bump forming. I started to walk backwards to get Roza to sit on the couch when she reached up and grabbed my biceps. I could tell she was unsteady on her feet so I snaked my arm around her back and I watched as her eyes rolled back in her head and her legs gave out.
I caught her and picked her up bridal style and walked over to the couch and place her down. Mama came over helping to put pillows under Roza's head. I looked at the guardian I was assuming was in charge and said "Get the doctor over here now." He nodded and started speaking in his phone. The rest of the guardians disappeared to their previous posts. I watched as Vika went to Paul to console him, who was nervously looking around. I kneeled down next to Roza stroking her hair. I don't know why but the story of Snow White came into my head and I wished that a kiss from me would wake her up. Mama brought me out of my thoughts as she bought me a warm cloth to put on Roza's forehead. As I took the cloth from her, she reached down and took Roza's pulse. I looked up at her and she nodded indicating that her pulse was good.
There was some chatter from the phone of the head guardian and he opened the door and in walked the doctor and Guardian Brown. I stood up to allow the doctor to examine Rose. I watched as the doctor took her vitals and then started to feel the back of her head. I saw Roza's eyes begin to flutter open.
Hi, sorry for the long absence, it has been crazy! A couple of surgeries, the holidays and this crazy time. I hope everyone was able to enjoy the holidays to some degree. Thank you for the reviews, I hope you enjoy the chapter. Stay Safe!