A/N: I'm sorry it's a short chapter, but I wanted to end it where I did.
If you have been reading so far, you know that there is sexual content in this story, so just as a warning, you're going to see more of it.
Disclaimer: I own nothing.
December
After careful deliberation, we decided to go back to Russia. We were not going to be able to get closer to our last two targets anytime soon, so we chose to go back to where we felt most comfortable. I have started to pick up Russian quickly, and Dimitri has commented multiple times how clear my American accent is, but still says that I am doing well.
We also discovered that the more times that Dimitri and I fed off each other, the more we could feel things we shouldn't. A few times I have felt love blossom through me when it is just Dimitri and me, and I sometimes feel guilt, but it passes quickly. We also feel more connected, I can feel what he feels if he is close enough, or during feeding, it can be overwhelming to feel his emotions, along with hearing his thoughts.
Dimitri decided that he wanted the two of us to live alone, so we bought a house a few blocks away from the compound in Novosibirsk, and we have settled there. It's nice because we don't have to hide the humanity that we feel when we are home. Dimitri has even gone as far as to put money in his mother's bank account, not enough for her to question, but enough for them to be comfortable on top of his pension they receive.
"Why are you frowning," I ask him, rolling onto him and kissing his jaw. We had spent most of the human day lounging in bed, not wanting to do anything else except being wrapped up in each other.
Dimitri sighs, shaking his head and pulling my lips to his, kissing me gently. We have our moments now and again, where we feel more Strigoi, and it usually rears its head when we fight. One time we fought so violently that Dimitri struck me across the face and froze immediately after, and I watched guilt pass through his eye. The fighting ended instantly, and he apologized for hours. I knew that it was the Strigoi part of him that hit me, and I was more shocked that he did, but the moment the more humane side of him took over, I knew I couldn't hold it against him.
"It's nothing," he says, his breath fanning across my lips, and I move to place my knees on either side of his hips, cupping his face and kissing him deeply. He runs a hand to my lower back, and the other twists into my hair, roping my locks around his fingers as he holds me closer.
Pulling away and looking into his eyes, the brown is brighter against the red and I know that he is more human than usual, and I lean back down to kiss him again. "Something is bothering you," I say softly.
"I feel like we are being watched," he says, running the hand on my back up and down my spine, cupping my face with the other. I furrow my brows and sit up, resting my hands on his chest.
"Why do you think that?"
He sits up and scoots back to lean against the headboard, running a hand through my hair and pulling me closer, so our chests press together. "Gut feeling, I guess. I don't know; I just feel like we are being watched," he says.
I give him half smile and rest my face in the crook of his neck, breathing in his smell and rubbing my nose over the pulse point in his neck. If I look hard enough, I can see scarring from where my fangs have pierced his neck over the last few months.
"Maybe you need a good distraction until sunset?" I murmur into his skin, pressing my lips to his neck and travel up his neck to his ear, kissing the soft spot behind it and smirking when he lets a throaty moan slip through his lips. Gripping my hips and grinding against me, I wiggle out of his grip and slide down to straddle his legs, leaving kisses on his chest.
"Let me take care of you," I purr, moving lower and moving to kneel between his legs. Catching onto what I'm about to do, he bends his legs to accommodate me and brushes my hair over my shoulder so he can get a better view.
Dropping a kiss to the head of his cock, I fist him in my hand and pump firmly, cupping his sack with the other. A moan passes his lips, making me smile as I lick his length and take him into my mouth, bobbing and pumping. Dimitri runs a hand through my hair, fisting it at the back of my head and using it to guide me to a rhythm that he enjoys, groaning when I sink my mouth further down on him. I moan around him when he butts the back of my throat, pulling back up to suck on his weeping tip.
"Christ, Roza," he breathes, and I release him from my mouth with an audible pop, moving up him and hovering over his cock before sinking down onto him, whimpering in pleasure as I grind my pelvis against his.
I am looking forward to spending the next few hours being the perfect distraction.
Ordering a drink at the bar and sipping it, I observe the crowd carefully, looking for my next meal. Dressed in jeans, a keyhole blouse and knee-high heels, I move through the crowd, breathing in the smell of blood, drugs and alcohol in the air. Catching the eye of a young woman sitting at a table alone and sit across from her, offering a smile.
"Hi," I shout over the chatter of the bar, raising my glass to her.
She smiles at me, but shakes her head at me, pointing to her ear. I move to the seat next to her and say hi again, closer to her ear.
"Hi, I'm Alina," she shouts and clicks her beer against my glass. "You're not from around here, are you?"
I take a sip of my drink and shake my head, setting my glass down on the table.
"No, I'm American, but I live here with my boyfriend. You?"
"Traveling, I'm from Ireland," she says, draining the last of her beer and waving to a server walking by for another. There is something about this woman, and I cannot put my finger on it. Looking her over, she has hazel eyes, red hair, freckles on her face and dimples when she talks. She is dressed modestly, jeans, boots and a t-shirt with a scarf looped around her neck. But when she shifts in her chair, I see it, two small puncture scars on the side of her neck.
Her eyes flick up to meet mine when she catches me looking, she blushes.
"It's not what you think," she stammers, and I raise a brow at her. She fidgets in her chair, lifting her beer to her lips again and gulping deeply.
"Really, because to me that looks very familiar," I say, flashing her a fanged smile. She stiffens in her seat before abruptly rushing from it. I smirk and drain the last of my glass before calmly following her from the table, following her scent.
Stepping out into the blowing snow, I pull my coat around me to give the illusion that I am just a regular person, following the footsteps in the snow. The street is quiet, in the back of my mind I can sense that Dimitri is still in the bar, and I pursue my meal.
"I did everything that I told you to," I hear the woman whisper as I approach, but she is talking into thin air.
Frowning at her, I slow my steps as I hear a shuffle behind me and turn in time to be slammed backwards by brute force. Slamming into the car parked across the street, shattering the windows and setting off the alarm, I jump up to my feet and prepare to fight back to see a man standing across from me.
He is smirking at me with his hands in his pockets. I can tell from here that he is a Strigoi, I can smell it on him. Platinum tousled hair and bright blue eyes ringed in crimson; he was clearly a Moroi before being awakened.
"Dimitri really does have a fine choice in women," he says, his English laced with a heavy accent. I creep closer when he shows no signs of advancing me, and I slowly circle him.
"Who the hell are you?" I ask. Calming my mind, I try to reach out to Dimitri, and I can feel myself brushing his mind, giving a mental tug in my direction.
"A friend of a friend, but you should already know who I am since you've been screwing Dimitri long enough," he laughs, and I slam into him, knocking him back into the wall with a growl. He laughs and raises his hands in a surrendering gesture.
"Easy kitten, I'm just messing with you. I'm looking for Dimitri," he says.
Who the hell is this guy?
"Roza!"
I whip my head around to see Dimitri striding up the street quickly and I grip the man's shirt and toss him to the ground.
"You were right, Comrade. We were being watched," I huff, delivering a kick to the ribs, rolling the man at my feet onto his back. I walk closer to Dimitri, giving him a look over and small smile to let him know I am ok.
Reaching me and pulling me closer to him, he gives me a once over before walking closer to the man on the ground. Dimitri sucks in a deep breath and stops in his tracks, and the man starts to laugh at Dimitri.
"Did you miss me?"
Dimitri shakes his head, stepping backwards towards me. "This isn't possible. I saw your body," he whispers as the other man stands.
He brushes the snow off his clothes and runs a hand through his hair, winking at me as he steps closer to us.
"Oh, come on, you know we live in a fucked-up world, Dimitri," he quips.
"Ok, and I still don't know who the hell you are," I say, clearing my throat and bring their attention to me.
"My, my, she really is feisty. Allow me to introduce myself since my best friend has forgotten how to speak. Ivan Zeklos," he says, walking past Dimitri and taking my hand, bringing it to his lips to kiss it.
I look over to Dimitri, seeing shock clear on his face. Mine must match his, because Ivan lets out a deep laugh and wraps an arm around me. "Come on, we have some things to discuss," Ivan says, canting his head and stirring me back towards the bar and Dimitri rushes towards us as I worm out from under Ivan's arm.
Stepping away from Ivan and closer to Dimitri, Dimitri wraps his arm around my shoulder and kisses my head, placing himself between Ivan and me.
This is a turn of events.