When Spirit Shows Its Thorns
Chapter 8
As we pulled through the gates and up to a large staccato house, I only had one thought. Abe's house looked massive. There wasn't much of a yard here in the front. The area behind the large walls that bordered the front was swallowed by the oval shaped driveway that encased a small grassy lawn. Directly in the center sat a fountain. It reminded me of the large ones like you would find in the middle of mall, but with so much more elegance. It was something you would find in a human palace, I thought.
As we entered into the house, I noticed an older female Dhampir standing just inside. "Welcome home Mr. Mazur. Dinner will be ready in about an hour and I will let the feeders into the library when they get here, as you wished."
"Thank you, Sidika," he replied. The woman turned and left through the doorway ahead of us. "Come, I will show you all to your rooms so you can freshen up and then we can all eat a good, decent meal for a change, yes."
Come to think about it, a nice hot shower was starting to sound really awesome. Tucking my hand into to Dimitri's, we followed my father upstairs. At the top and midway down the hall, Abe turned and said, "My rooms are at the very end of the hall. You can choose from the remaining rooms, but Rose, I believe you will particularly like this room." He opened the door and led us in. My breath caught in my throat as I took in the spacious area. We stood in a large sitting room that had a single door on the right side. To the back of the room opposite of the door we entered from, sat a set of double doors. The glass was covered in an intricate metal design. Walking to the doors, I stepped out and opened part of the shuttered enclosure to see that beyond them was an enclosed balcony that overlooked a beautiful courtyard.
It was then that I noticed the house was much larger than I imagined. The house bordered the courtyard on three sides; the last side was simply another wall that stood a good twenty feet high. Taking one more wistful glance around the courtyard, I stepped back in and walked to where my parents were standing beside the lone unopened door. They were looking at each with a knowing nervousness, as if they were about to share a long held secret. I filed away the question that was forming in my mind as I drew closer to them and my mother opened the door, smiling.
Inside was as spacious as the sitting room. Against the wall that bordered the hall way was a king sized four post bed. The beige and white coverings looked to be made of the finest satin; on each side stood two mahogany tables with intricate lamps. The wall in front of me held two doors that saddled a large fireplace. Looking to my left, I found a large bookshelf, two armchairs, and a coffee table. The last wall contained an ornamental table below the two windows. They shared the same iron artwork over the glass as the doors in the sitting room held. The room was breathtakingly gorgeous. A room made for a princess, I thought.
"Beyond those doors you will find the bathroom and dressing rooms." My mother said as she slipped her arm around my shoulders and pointed. How did she know what would lie behind those doors? "Oh Rose, don't look shocked, this house has been in your father's family for years." She giggled. "I have been here before, you know." Then she straightened pulling her arm away and smiled. "We'll leave you to it, then."
"You like the room, yes?" Abe asked as he paused beside me. I nodded smiling at him. I think they must have missed a little dust because my eyes were starting to water. Abe patted my hand and walked out the door catching up to my mother; Lissa and Christian right behind them. Dimitri swung the hand he still held in his gently, bringing my attention to him.
"Should I find my own room, Rosa?" his eyes pleading, but for what. Was Adrian right and Dimitri would want more than I could give him? Could I take this Russian God to my bed knowing that he wanted that something more? I wanted nothing else for us to never be apart, but did Dimitri feel the same, or was he only here with me now out of obligation?
Dimitri began to stiffen and I realized that it must have been taken me longer to answer him than he was comfortable with. "If that is what you want Comrade." I was barely able to get the words out. I wanted him here, with me, more than anything in the world. As he began to pull away from me with so many questions in his eyes, I whispered again, "but I would much rather you stay here with me.
Dimitri studied my face for a bit, before picking me up and crashing our lips together. He carried me to the bed and gently laying me down, nipped at my bottom lip. With a gasp I opened my mouth to him, only to have his tongue slide against mine. What was that word the Abe had used again? Oh it didn't matter, my room, my furniture, was the last thought I had before I became oblivious to the world as Dimitri moved the assault of his mouth to my ear and throat.
His lips, tongue and teeth awoke my body causing my flesh to blush and prickle. Calling out his name I tried to pull him closer. I needed more of him. He brought his mouth back to mine and then slowed his kisses. "I want you so much, Rosa," he said before kissing me again. "But I am kind of scared what your father might do if I caused you to be late for dinner. Perhaps we should adjourn to the shower."
As I came up out of my delirious happiness, I began to grow agitated. Why would he tease me so? Letting his words wash over me and catching something about a shower, I allowed Dimitri to lift me from the bed and carry me into the bathroom. Only four words were forming in my head right now: Me-Dimitri-Naked-Shower.
As we walked out of my room, dressed in clean clothes we ran into Lissa and Christian in the hallway. Lissa was smiling brightly and looking at Christian as if he was the only thing that existed in the world. Christian nodded and murmured a hello. Lissa noticing they were no longer alone in the hallway danced forward hugging me. "It feels so nice to finally clean up a bit." She said. We continued down the hall and stairs to search for the dining room.
Beside the doorway I had seen the Dhampir woman disappear into, stood my parents. I saw my mother for the first time in history in something other than a Guardian uniform and wow, she cleaned up very well. "Christian, Lissa," Abe called out happily, "If you will join me in the library, I have some feeders waiting. Janine, we will join the rest of you shortly." My mother waved him on and walked over to Dimitri and me.
"Dimitri, the dining room is through that room and to the left." She motioned towards the doorway she had been standing beside. "Rose and I will be right behind you." Dimitri nodded to my mother in understanding and giving me a quick hug from the side, strode very sexily towards the dining room.
"I had this whole speech prepared since the flight, but now that I am on the spot, I can't remember a word of it." She seemed to be talking more to herself than to me, so I kept silent. "It doesn't matter, I suppose." She said looking up to my eyes. "You seem happy. I love seeing you happy, Rose. I don't think I could take seeing you in so much pain again."
I looked at my mother as if she was a stranger. My mother was attempting a heart to heart. Her Guardian mask was down and I could see her emotions as she replayed the last twenty four hours in her thoughts. "Are you sure about him?" Her question brought me out of my own thoughts.
"More than anything else," I murmured. She smiled and tilted her head. Finding the answer she seeked in my face, she slipped behind her Guardian masked once again and guided us both to the dining room. Dimitri was waiting just inside the door and seeing that I was settled and not upset, joined my side again, wrapping me safely under his arm. He guided me to the seat across from my mother and settled in beside me, just as Lissa, Christian, and Abe joined us.
Dinner was a nice affair. It was full of easy conversation. Everyone was beginning to relax after being cramped inside the plane for so many hours. By the time we had finished our meal, the sun was just rising over the horizon. My father excused himself to get some rest, commenting that "you younger kids should explore a little," then warning us to stay out of trouble. It was the least bit obvious when exactly two minutes after his departure, my mother rose from her seat, yawned and claimed exhaustion, before moving to leave the room. As I watched her, my body gave an involuntary shudder. Abe and my mother….Eww!
I heard Dimitri chuckle beside me and turning my attention away from my retreating mother, looked into his eyes. "You got to be here in some way, Rose." At his words I clamped my eyes shut.
"You didn't need to solidify the thought of them together in my mind, Comrade." I returned as another shudder went through me body. Since everyone was done eating, and not all that tired, we decided to take up the idea of exploring. We found a billiards room and decided it would do for a bit of entertainment. I also found the one thing that I was infinitely better at than Dimitri, Pool. He claimed I had the edge because he hadn't played since St. Basil's. I huffed, calling him on being a poor sport and he pouted at me. My 6'7" Russian God was pouting and the things that playful pout was doing for my libido was anything but funny.
Catching the glint in my eyes, Dimitri took me in his arms and excused us from the room. We left Lissa and Christian to find their own way to their room, and went back to our room to find out just how entertaining the bed could be.
