Hey guys,

Sorry for the delay. This chapter is very fluffy due to the fact that I was feeling sad these last couple of weeks and it just seemed to make me smile as I wrote it.

So I really hope you enjoy this chapter.

Happy Weekend :)

Saludos!

Chapter 7. – The key

Rose's POV

Before I had become a married woman, I liked to spend my nights eating ramen and watching Turkish dramas. It was my only source of enjoyment before I had to wake up and go through my daily routine.

Now as I loaded a shopping cart with ramen and other unhealthy choices, I needed the comfort my old habits to face the truth. All the free time I had without Dimitri, had finally made me label my feelings towards him.

It wasn't just a normal infatuation that I could chalk up to sharing a living space with him. No, it wasn't as simple as that. Somewhere along the way I had fallen in love with the man, without expecting it.

Feeling my purse vibrate, I looked at my phone and there he was…

Dimitri calling…

Either he had perfect timing or he was a mind reader.

"Mrs. B speaking, who is this?" I answered, pulling my shopping cart to the side.

"I called you at the office, but you didn't answer." He said, as I noticed some shuffling on his end.

"I stopped by the store for some snacks, before I went home. As much as I enjoy to hear from you, shouldn't you be asleep by now?" I asked, noticing the time. It was a little past two in the morning in his part of the world.

"Zelig invited us to dinner before we left, and time kind of got out of our hands. Wait a minute… did you take security with you?"

"My body is the all protection I need."

"Bullshit, Rose. You promised me you wouldn't get into trouble while I was gone." He warned.

"How will I get in trouble? I'm just grocery shopping. Besides getting a cold from standing too close to the refrigerators, I don't see a problem." I said loading some ice-cream into the cart. "So besides scolding me to death, did you actually need something or did you call just to yell at me?"

"I wanted to listen to your voice…" he said.

Feeling my face get red, I opened the door of a refrigerator just cool down.

"I guess you do, I mean my voice is very lovely." I said in a gravelly tone.

Dimitri laughed. "What are you doing tomorrow after work?"

"Nothing, I was actually going to order pizza and call it a day. Why?" I asked curiously.

"Let's go out tomorrow."

"Like a date?" I asked, my heart beating a million miles per hour.

"Well, you could call it that."

"Mm, I think I can take some time out of my busy schedule for you."

"Thank you for your kindness, Mrs. B." He said, a yawn escaping him.

"You know how I am. I better go before my ice cream melts and you should get some sleep or tomorrow you'll be toast. Good night, Dimitri."

"I'll go to sleep once I know you're home safely so hurry it up, understood?"

"Just when I think you're going to say goodbye like a normal human being. Now let me hang up so I can use both of my hands to get home sooner."

*.*.*.*

Dimitri's POV

I was an impatient mess.

The moment I knew we were a couple of minutes from landing, I wanted to parachute into the city just to get there faster.

During the whole week, my mind had been utter chaos trying to separate work from the thoughts of Rose and the things she did in my absence. If she wondered what I did in mine, I could honestly say that I was going mad without her.

As I entered the building, I made myself walk slowly and not run up to her office.

Greeting my staff, I walked into the elevator expecting for someone to get in. Just as the door was about to close, I was greeted by the person I was most excited to see.

"Wait for me, please!" Rose yelled. Pressing the button for the elevator, I took in how beautiful she looked. She looked elegant in her white suit and her curly hair was straight and in a high ponytail.

"Thank you, so much," she said as she caught her breath. "I didn't think I was going to make it."

"Why are you running around so early in the morning?" I said, looking down at the coffee tray she was holding.

"I didn't recognize you with all the fuzz growing on your face!" She reached up to touch my beard. "Don't they sell razors overseas?"

"I had other things to worry about." I said, liking her touch. "Is the company still in one piece?"

"Yes, I mean it was too little time for Ivan and me to do some real damage. How was Germany?" She removed her hand from my face, and it was ridiculous how much I missed it.

"It was pleasant, but I've never actually gotten to sightsee. Next time, I'll take you with me." I said looking at her and it was a miracle I didn't kiss her then and there.

Sadly we were interrupted, by none other than Tasha.

I had never been one to spend my money carelessly, but in that moment, how I wished I'd splurged on a private elevator.

*.*.*.*.*

Rose's POV

As Tasha interrupted us, I decided to collect my thoughts and hide until the meeting. I wanted to smack the smug look she had off her face when she looked at me. Sure, she'd gotten to spend all week with Dimitri but that didn't mean she was getting anywhere with him.

"I thought your suit was white, not green." Ivan remarked as soon as he saw me.

"Ha, ha, ha." I said, bitterly. "Couldn't have Tasha found someone to seduce over there? There must be other men better looking than Dimitri, so why does is it have to be the guy I like?"

Ivan grinned. "I've been waiting for this moment since the beginning. You two were too explosive not to make a spark."

"Would you, please, talk to me like a normal human being?" I whined. "Give me some advice; I'm desperate."

"It's going to cost you." He said, inspecting his nails.

"Haven't I done enough for you?"

"Fine, this is a freebie for you, my friend. It's all about boundaries."

"Be serious, Ivan."

"I didn't mean literally, Rose. I meant establish your limits with both of them. Tell Dimitri what you feel for him and tell Tasha to get her smarmy hands off your man."

"If only it was that simple…" I sighed.

"It is, you're just complicating things. You're already married to the man and it just so happened you like each other, there's not many people that can say that about their arranged marriages," Ivan explained. "As for Tasha you have an advantage, I like you. That gives you bonus points over her."

That made me laugh. "Why thank you, godmother, I am touched to have you on my side. Here's your compensation." I said, placing his coffee on his desk.

"Thank you, my dear. Now let me talk to Dimitri and see how I can help another of my children." He said skipping out of his office and managing not to spill his coffee.

I guessed he was really magical after all.

*.*.*.*

Just as the meeting began, the rest of the employees began to enter in leaving me to find a spot next to the newest assistant. Mason.

I wasn't exactly a veteran within the assistants, but after a month I had definitely learned my way around the company. That being said, I helped him out as much as I could.

He leaned over. "Are you taking notes?"

"Not this time, I was planning to mooch my notes off you." I whispered. "I'm kidding, I wanted to try out another method with my boss, so I'm recording the meeting."

"Why didn't that occur to me?" he smiled, showing me his dimples.

"Hey, we can't all be geniuses like me."

Looking up for a moment, I noticed that we'd gathered Dimitri's attention and from the tick in his jaw, he didn't look happy.

Okay, I guess he was really paying attention. Jeez.

After listening for over an hour from every department within the company—as it was customary to review what had been accomplished during the week. The week and the meeting were officially declared over.

While everyone began to exit the conference room, some of the directors had approached Dimitri and were asking him about his trip. Instead of letting him speak, Tasha had taken the conversation and had involved herself in it. Don't strangle her… I told myself.

Leaving the room before I made any mistakes I would regret, I decided to collect my things and call it a day since Ivan had told me he had plans and wouldn't need me. Besides, I didn't want to be near Dimitri and that smarmy wench.

Too bad he had other plans because when I finally made it down to the entrance, he waiting for me inside Wanda.

Opening passenger door, he ordered. "Get in."

"You're awfully nice today." I said buckling up my seatbelt.

"Rose, can you keep quiet?"

"What the hell climbed up your ass and died? It's not like I wanted to talk to you either." I said folding my arms over my chest.

Dimitri drove down the highway and for a while I was okay not knowing where we were going, but as the houses began become more and more sparse, I was starting to become anxious. What the hell was he doing in the middle of the woods?

While my mind began to make up different scenarios, Dimitri finally turned off the car in the middle of what seemed to be an abandoned road. He got out and began to walk away and apparently the only choice I had was to follow him. The possibility of him being a serial killer was sounding more and more plausible.

Trying to keep his pace was impossible under normal circumstances, but as I hadn't known we were going out for a hike, my heels kept getting buried in the dirt. Getting angry at him for not waiting for me, I picked up a pebble and threw it at him, missing his head by a few meters. He turned around and glared at me.

"Hey Paul Bunyan, it wouldn't kill you slow your ass down, wouldn't it?" I said, trying to get my heel unstuck.

He turned around and suddenly hoisted me over his shoulder leaving my shoe as evidence in case he did murder me.

"Those were the Louie's!" I said as I slapped his butt.

Dimitri continued to carry me in silence, while I tried not to puke from being carried like a sack of potatoes. Thankfully, we didn't have to go on much longer, because I wasn't sure spending so much time upside down was good for the brain. And I needed my brain to work perfectly for the tongue lashing I was about to inflict on the poor man.

But before I could focus on that, I finally noticed were he was taking me. A cabin.

"Can I speak now or do I have to keep quiet longer?" I asked sarcastically as soon as he sat me down on a chair.

Dimitri closed the door behind him. "I've never met someone who had so much trouble with silence."

"It's because when you've been told to shut up and not voice your opinions for so long, you come to hate silence."

"Fuck." He cursed, as he sat down in a chair in front of me. "I'm already fucking this up. I'm not telling you quiet down to be an ass, I need silence sometimes because it helps reign my temper. Otherwise, I find myself becoming too impulsive. "

"You need another method, because silence isn't doing you too many favors…Why would you need to reign in your temper?" It's not like I had done some something to make him angry, had I?

"Why? Because I'm a fucking mess! I'm jealous to death of anyone that gets to spend time with you or even talks to you, which it's absurd because I don't behave like this. You have invaded my every thought and I don't know what to do about it."

I tried to fight a smile, but it was a lost cause. "I'm like that you know, everyone loves to be around me."

Dimitri glared at me. "After all I said to you, this is what you say?"

"I'm just messing with you for how you treated me." I laughed. "You have become one of the people I am most thankful for, which makes you very important to me. So when you tell me all this, it makes me very happy, because it's exactly how I feel about you."

"Really?" he raked his hands over his hair. "Fuck, if I would've known I wouldn't have dragged you away like that, I'm sorry Roza."

"It's fine, though for a minute I thought you were going to murder me. But it ended much better than I'd thought."

"I would never hurt you, you know that right?" As I nodded, he reached for my hand. "Now if you excuse me, I'm going to do what I've been wanting to do since I saw you this morning.

Tugging me onto his lap, he kissed me. One would've thought that as we'd kissed before it would be no different. NOPE. This was on a whole other level, because we were alone. This was something personal and not for public entertainment. Though I was pretty certain the kiss wasn't suited for public audiences.

"I missed you," he said as I held on to him.

"Me too, though I'm not sure you really got to miss me since you were with company." I pointed out.

"By company? Do you mean Tasha?" he said causally.

"Don't play coy with me, Belikov. I'm watching you like a hawk, stay away from her or else it's going to get messy."

He kissed the top of my nose and I couldn't think straight. "I wouldn't dare mess with you, Mrs. Belikov. I promise I'll keep as much distance as I can."

"Good to know. So what is this place," I said as I turned around to get a proper look at the cozy space

"This was what I wanted to show you, I thought it'd be a good idea to bring you out here on a date."

"A date in a secluded cabin," I raised my eyebrows. "Suspicious if you ask me."

"Keep your mind out of the gutter," he smirked. "I wanted to show you one of my favorite places, because I've just realized that we don't know much about the things we like."

I smiled. "It's a good idea. But I'm quite hungry, do you have food?"

"I'm a prepared man, I'll make you some burgers outside on the grill."

"Mm, if my memory is correct, aren't you a terrible a cook?" I grimaced.

He laughed. "I am, but Celia being the angel she is, packed some food for us. I would've gotten the bags out, but as I was being a jackass I didn't take them out. So we should probably go back for them."

"Yeah, but this time try not carry me like a sack would you?"

*.*.*.*

For the rest of the afternoon, Dimitri and I unpacked all the supplies he'd brought and I couldn't say that the man hadn't put some serious thought into it.

We had food and water, and a bunch of delicious snacks for the rest of the weekend. He'd also managed to pack clothing suitable for outdoors. After lunch, Dimitri insisted on showing me a small lake near the back of the cabin. So as we walked around—both dressed in much more comfortable clothing—he went all in and linked our hands together.

I couldn't help the smile that spread across my face. "And I thought our house was peaceful, this place is amazing I can see why you like it."

"I thought you'd like it. It's far to come here often, but it's worth it for the view of the stars."

"Now that I would like to see," I said as I picked up a stone and tossed it into the water resulting a big splash.

"Here let me show you how," Dimitri said as he picked up a stone and tried the same while his stone bounced on the water.

"Show off." I muttered.

"Come here." He said, placing himself behind me.

I expected for him to teach me how to throw. Instead, I felt him reach into his pocket and put a dainty necklace around my neck, closing the clasp that held it together.

I gasped. "You saw it?" I said looking down at the necklace.

He nodded. "You were wearing a low shirt the other day and I got a glimpse of it."

While I looked down at the necklace, I couldn't but fall in love with the craftsmanship of the rose gold key pendant. Dimitri had seen my tattoo.

A small bird cage, which I had gotten tattooed when I finally understood I would have no way out of my life. And now the man that who was supposed to be my keeper was handing me me the keys to it?

"Thank you!" I yelled as I turned around and kissed him. "You have no idea how much this means to me."

"I don't know what that tattoo means to you exactly…But if you felt you were caged, I wanted to let you know that as long as I am alive, you will have the freedom to do whatever makes you happy. With or without me." He said, reaching down to tuck my hair behind my ear.

"Are you serious?" I frowned at his choice of words. "You are never getting rid of me. EVER."

And it was the truth…I was officially adopting Dimitri Belikov as my man.