It took Dimitri a few days before he worked up the courage to message Rose. He'd saved her number the day she gave it to him but was too nervous to actually do anything with it at first. It wasn't until the other guys began to nag him about it that he finally decided enough was enough. He missed her a lot, she had easily taken over his mind and was all he could think about, and he wanted to know if she felt the same.

He typed out, deleted, then re-typed a message about a hundred times before sticking with one that he finally thought was good enough.

Hello, Rose (Shadow). It's Dimitri from a few days ago, it said.

Yeah, it was boring, but it was a decent and safe way to start a conversation. He sent it and immediately tossed his phone across the room so he wouldn't be tempted to stare at it until a text came in.

And god, it felt like hours before his phone finally buzzed. In reality it was only about fifteen minutes but when he finally heard that sound, his heart leapt in his chest. He practically dove onto his bed to grab his phone and a grin formed on his face when he saw Rose's name on the screen.

Well, hello tall, dark and handsome, she sent, I've missed you. How are you doing?

She missed him?! Thank god he wasn't the only one.

I've been good, thank you, and you?

Good, thank you.

He was going to respond before another text came through.

Any plans to come back to Vegas soon?

He grinned. She really did want to see him again.

Not at the moment, unfortunately. You should come to Los Angeles one day, though.

That sounds very tempting. Would I get to see you?

Of course, if you'd like that.

Oh, I would. Very much.

Another typing bubble popped up so he sat back to let her finish. It disappeared and reappeared a couple of times as she obviously struggled with what to say before the message finally sent.

Call me?

Dimitri accepted immediately, leaving the message app to switch onto the phone and pressed on her contact. It rang a couple of times before she finally picked up and just the sweet sound of her breathing had Dimitri's own breath catching in his throat.

"Hello, Dimitri," she said.

"Hello, Rose," he replied. "Or do you prefer Shadow?"

"You can call me anything, comrade, and I'll be happy."

Comrade? Where did that come from? He couldn't say he hated it, it was kind of amusing, but now he felt like he needed to give her a nickname.

"Okay. Roza."

She gasped and Dimitri was worried for a second he'd crossed a line. It was simple, just her name in Russian, but he could understand if it felt too affectionate for someone he barely knew.

"That is... so sexy," she breathed out. Thank god.

"Yeah?"

"Yeah. I love the sound of your voice."

Dimitri didn't usually blush but having her compliment him just did something to him. He probably looked like a fifteen year old girl talking to her first crush but he couldn't help it. That's what she made him feel like.

"That's good, I plan on having you hear it for a while longer," he said.

He hoped she was blushing as much as he was.

"Me too," she said.

They talked for a few more hours and by the time Rose hung up, they'd made plans for her to visit in a few weeks. It was the earliest she could do with getting time off her job but Dimitri was relieved; he needed time to make sure he was ready to see the woman of his dreams again.

—

The day Rose arrived, Dimitri was a wreck. He was running around his house all morning, just trying to make sure that everything was clean and perfect. As he had a spare room in his apartment, Rose had asked if he was okay with her staying with him while she was there. He had no problem with that, of course, but he was a little surprised she asked. Not a lot of people would want to stay with a man they'd only met once in a strip club. But maybe Rose felt the same connection that Dimitri had and that's why. He sure wanted her to stay with him.

He offered to pick her up at the airport and she agreed so about half an hour before her flight landed, he hopped in his car and headed there. Once there, he texted Christian to let him know what was happening and that Rose had asked to see the other guys again. He readily agreed and mentioned that Lissa wanted to meet, and Dimitri quotes, "the only woman to ever get any interest out of Dimitri Belikov." Dimitri rolled his eyes at that, but it was with fondness. He loved Lissa like a sister and she often made fun of him in that way. Despite her acting like an annoying little sister, she meant a lot to him and he hoped she would get along with Rose.

After about an hour, the passengers from Rose's flight began to walk out through the doors and only ten minutes after that, Dimitri saw Rose appear. Their eyes met almost instantly - pretty easy because of Dimitri's height - and Dimitri felt a shiver run down his spine when she gave him an excited grin.

She walked over to him and hesitated just a second before putting her bags down and opening her arms for a hug. Dimitri chuckled just a little and bent down to wrap his arms around her waist.

"It's nice to see you again, comrade," she said.

"You too, Roza," he replied. He felt the sharp intake of breath she took at the nickname and his heart leapt that he had the power to make her feel that way.

He pulled away from the hug and smiled gently at her. "Ready to go?"

"Sure!"

He took her bags like the gentleman he was raised to be and lead her out to his car. He put her bags in the trunk as she got in the passenger seat then got in the driver's seat himself.

"So, do you want to see the other guys again right now or go back to the apartment for a bit?" he asked as he pulled out of the parking space.

"Can we go back so I can shower and change?" she asked.

"Yeah, of course."

They made small talk the short drive back to Dimitri's apartment and when they got there, Dimitri showed Rose to her guest room and the bathroom. He left her to do what she needed and took the time to double check everything with Christian as they would be meeting at his and Lissa's place.

When Rose re-emerged after about half an hour, long beautiful hair still slightly damp from her shower and cheeks slightly red from heat, Dimitri felt his stomach clench. She looked just as beautiful with barely any makeup and dressed casually as she did on stage the weeks prior. Dimitri couldn't believe someone so exquisite existed (and was standing in his apartment!)

It was obvious that Rose noticed him blatantly checking her out because she grinned and her pretty blush deepened.

"See something you like?"

Oh, boy, did he ever.

She took his silence for a positive answer and her blush spread from her cheeks to take over her entire face.

"Shall we go?" she asked, pulling her bottom lip into her mouth with her teeth. Dimitri watched the action and barely held back the animalistic groan in his throat. Fuck, did he want to do the same.

"Sure," he replied, coughing just a little after to clear the lust from his voice. Rose went off to grab her things so Dimitri made himself take some deep breaths and will his growing arousal away. He was not going to lust over a woman he barely knew and was only visiting for a short time. It wasn't healthy.

Once the two were in the car, Dimitri noticed that Rose was looking a little nervous. He understood why; she was about to spend time with people she barely knew, and some she didn't at all, but wanted her to know that his friends were harmless.

"They're all really friendly," he said, hoping to ease her nerves a little.

"Oh, I'm sure they are, but I'm a little anxious around new people," Rose admitted.

"Really?" Dimitri wasn't expecting that from someone in the profession that she was.

Rose laughed. "I know, strippers are usually very sociable people. And I am when I'm at work, but I'm playing a different character so it's easy. In real life I'm pretty anti-social."

"I understand, I am too."

Rose grinned at Dimitri so he smiled back at her, glad to see that she was already relaxing.

"Who's going to be there?" she asked.

"Adrian, Eddie, Christian, and his fiancée," Dimitri replied. "We have other friends who would like to meet you, too, but I figured it would be better for you to see people you mainly know already."

"That's great, thank you."

Dimitri drove into Christian and Lissa's complex and turned to give Rose a reassuring smile as he turned the ignition off. She smiled back then the two got out of the car and walked up to the apartment. Dimitri entered without knocking as Christian had told him to and lead Rose to where the group were waiting in the kitchen area. He could hear Rose breathing, now very heavily, but before he could try and reassure her again, he heard Lissa's familiar gasps.

"Rose?" she asked, eyes wide as she stared at the newcomer.

"Liss?" Rose said. Lissa squealed in excitement and ran over to throw herself onto the smaller girl in what looked like an excruciatingly tight hug. It seemed that Rose didn't care, though, as she hugged Lissa back just as tight.

The men in the room looked at each other in pure confusion but no one had an answer. Somehow the two women knew each other and seemingly had been reunited after a long time.

Lissa pulled away from the hug after a few minutes but didn't move much further away from Rose than wrapping an arm around her waist.

"Why didn't you tell me that your girl was Rose, Dimitri?" She asked, eyes now on him. He opened his mouth to refute the 'his girl' claim but Rose spoke before he could.

"I asked him not to tell anyone my real name, it's not something I'm really comfortable with," she said.

"And I had no idea you two know each other," Dimitri added.

"Well, it has been, what nine years?"

Rose nodded at Lissa's question before explaining the situation to the guys. "We became best friends when we met in Kindergarten and stayed close until 9th grade when my mother and I moved to Vegas. We stayed in contact for a little while but then I changed my number and I guess we just lost contact."

"Well, we need to catch up, then!"

Lissa dragged Rose into the living room and the four men were left just listening and watching.

"My fiancée stole your girlfriend," Christian said to Dimitri, shaking his head.

"She's not my girlfriend," Dimitri argued.

"Not yet anyway."

The two women talked for over two hours, catching up on people and things that they'd missed in each other's lives in the nine years, and the four men were left mainly out of the conversation. Dimitri spent most of the time listening and staring at Rose and his heart would flutter every time she made eye contact with him and smiled. They were just casual smiles, something a friend would give another friend, but there was just something in her eyes that told him that she felt the same about him as he felt about her. They would soften just a little and that would make their dark shade of brown glisten in the light. They were so beautiful and Dimitri swore they held all of the answers to everything in the world, they were so deep. He wanted to be the one to explore them and find out what exactly was hidden in them.

"Alright, seeing as Rose and Dimitri haven't stopped eye-fucking each other since they got here, maybe it's time they go home," Adrian said, a teasing smirk on his face.

Dimitri quickly looked away from Rose in embarrassment but it was too late; everyone was looking at him and laughing. Was he really being that obvious? Could what he was doing really be considered 'eye-fucking?' He didn't want to make Rose uncomfortable, even if Adrian did think she was doing it back.

"I'm sorry," Dimitri said, shaking his head at how inconsiderate he was being. "I'll just head back now. Lissa, can you drop Rose off at my apartment later?"

"No, I think you two should go back together and get to know each other more," Lissa said. "You're here for a week, right Rose? We can hang out another day?"

"Yeah, of course," Rose said.

"Rose, you don't have to come," Dimitri argued.

"No, I want to. Adrian is right, we should probably talk."

Dimitri felt bad about the two of them leaving so soon after arriving but after looking at all of his friends for confirmation and seeing their nods, he relented. He and Rose got back in his car and the entire drive back to his apartment, he felt his heart pounding in his chest. He was really nervous about what they were going to talk about when they got back; he just hoped it wasn't going to disappoint him.

Once there, Dimitri silently lead Rose to the living room and deliberately did not meet her gaze as he sat down on one end of the couch. He raked a hand through his hair to try and calm his nerves but just as he'd built up the courage to look finally at Rose again, she suddenly slid onto his lap. Her legs were bracketing his, knees pressed against the back of the couch and her arms moved to wrap around his neck and bring their bodies closer together.

Wide-eyed and heart pounding impossibly faster than in the car, Dimitri's eyed flicked up from Rose's legs to her face where he saw her eyes now full of lust.

"Wha-"

She cut him off. "I've been waiting to kiss you since we first met and I can barely hold back anymore, so can I kiss you?"

Did she even have to ask?

Dimitri tangled his left hand in her gorgeous, soft hair and used that grip to pull her into a kiss, immediately deep and full of passion. She moaned out loud into his lips and the sound stirred arousal deep within his stomach, forcing all of the blood in his body to flood his crotch. He barely noticed it, though, all he could focus on was the feeling of Rose's mouth.

He'd been waiting for this moment since he first laid eyes on her, too, and now it was finally happening. She tasted like mint, probably from when she brushed her teeth earlier, but she also tasted overwhelmingly and naturally sweet. He couldn't get enough, he wanted more.

He flicked his tongue along her bottom lip and she instinctively opened her mouth to let it in. She let out noises of pleasure when their tongues continued to meet and every sound managed to arouse Dimitri even more. He was straining in his jeans now, his dick just begging for some kind of attention, but he wasn't going to give in just yet.

His right hand slid from where it was gripping Rose's hip around to her back and slid under her black tank top to rest on her warm skin. The skin-on-skin contact seemed to arouse Rose even more as she began to rock her hips against his while tangling her fingers in his hair. The new movements caused Dimitri's jeans to rub against his erection and he couldn't help the small grunts he was letting out into her mouth.

Rose pulled away before their kiss went any further and Dimitri was entranced by her lips; swollen and cherry-red from the strength of his own. She somehow managed to look even more gorgeous than ever.

"Are we going to take this to the bedroom?" she asked.

Dimitri's brain stuttered for a second, completely taken aback for some reason, before he finally managed to pull himself together and answer. "Do you want to?"

"Yes."

His heart was racing now, palms beginning to sweat from anticipation.

"Okay." Rose moved to get off him but he quickly gripped her hips again to stop her. "I should probably tell you that I haven't… been intimate… in quite a while."

"Oh. How long?"

Dimitri winced. "Almost seven years."

"Hey, that's fine. I don't care."

"I just want to make sure that you know that I might not be very good."

Rose laughed, not making fun of Dimitri in any way, but because she couldn't believe he was worried about that.

"Dimitri, I've never had sex so I'm not going to be any good either," she said. "And I'll have no one to compare you to."

Dimitri's eyes widened at the new information. It's not like he was expecting her to have hundreds of partners throughout her life, she was only twenty-three of course, but her occupation would hint that she had done at least something. He immediately hated himself for coming to that conclusion; not all strippers got intimate with their clients and he didn't want Rose to think that he thought less of her because of what she did. After all, he was one of the creeps who went to a strip club and fell for the pretty girls there.

"I know, that's how a lot of people react when they find out," she said. She said it kind of nonchalantly but Dimitri could see that it was a sore topic for her.

"I'm sorry, I reacted horribly, I shouldn't have jumped to conclusions," he said, looking down at his lap in shame.

Rose wouldn't allow him to feel embarrassed, though, as she cupped his cheeks in her hands and forced him to look at her again.

"I don't blame you," she assured him. "It's something I have to deal with and it's okay. I've just been saving myself for someone I really have a connection with and could see myself being with."

"And that's me?" Dimitri asked, now smiling from her words.

"Yes. I like you, I like you a lot, and I want to give you my everything."

Dimitri swore no words had ever made him feel so good. Rose, the most perfect woman to have ever existed, wanted him in the most intimate way. How could he ever have gotten so lucky?

He didn't say anything to Rose, just slid his arms under her and lifted her as he stood up. She squealed a little at the sudden change of position but grinned eagerly realizing Dimitri was taking her to his bedroom.

After shutting the door behind him with his foot, Dimitri tossed Rose onto the bed, watching as she bounced a few times before settling right in the middle. Her hair was splayed out around her and with her cheeks flushed from the blood rush to her head, god, no one had ever looked so tempting. Dimitri felt as if she was the last meal on earth and he was ravenously hungry; he just wanted to devour her. He couldn't wait to get his mouth on every inch of her body and show her just how much he worshipped her.

"Stop staring and come get it," Rose teased, lifting herself up onto her elbows and smirking up at him.

Oh, he was going to.

Dimitri had had sex four times in his life before Rose, all when he was in his late teens and early twenties, but none of those times could compare to right then. Sure Rose was a bit inexperienced in the actual act but fuck did she know how to drag out foreplay. The way she removed her clothes without ever taking her eyes off Dimitri, the way she moved when she was finally on him… She was lethal.

The physical act only lasted a few minutes as they were both so worked up but they spent hours together just touching, kissing, and appreciating each other's bodies. Dimitri was already obsessed with Rose's body. He'd seen that she was in shape up on the stage but being up close he could see just how in shape she actually was. She had muscles on her arms, soft but visible abs on her flat stomach, a perfectly round and toned ass, and thick, strong thighs that he just wanted wrapped around his head. Dimitri knew that he was strong but he felt Rose would have no trouble taking him in a fight. He kind of wanted to put his theory to the test, but maybe another time.

"Wow," Rose whispered, breaking Dimitri from his thoughts. She was now lying half on him, head resting on his heart and soft breasts pressed against his side, and was panting heavily. "That was… Wow."

Dimitri laughed a little but he felt the same. He had no words to describe how he was feeling after that.

"I'm glad I didn't disappoint you," he said.

"Comrade, you could never disappoint me, not being as sexy as you are," Rose said. He couldn't help but grin, wrapping his arm around her waist and tugging her warm body closer.

"Thank you for coming to visit me," he whispered as he leant down to place a kiss on her hair. "I hope it won't be the only time."

"Oh, I'm definitely coming back again, you're never getting rid of me now."

"Good, I wouldn't let you go even if you tried."

They laid naked in Dimitri's bed the rest of the day, taking the time to get to know each other - while also enjoying their new favourite activity - and by the end of the night, Dimitri was ecstatic. He couldn't believe he'd been so lucky to find someone he connected with so well and he knew he was never going to let her go. What he'd said to her was the truth; she was his now and he would keep her as long as possible.

Author's Note

Hey guys, here's the second part! I feel like it was kind of boring and I'm not in love with it but I hope you guys like it! I will probably write another so look out for that :) thank you for being so sweet and leaving really nice reviews, I really appreciate it!