"Because you love me?" I questioned quietly. "You love me?"
"Yes, you big dolt." She huffed as she gave up her struggle to get out of my grasp.
"You love me?" I voiced again, making sure I heard her right.
"Do I need to try it in a different language?" She remarked sarcastically. "Ya lyublyu tebya, Dimitriy."
The need to kiss her, to feel her lips pressed tightly against mine, was overwhelming as I heard the Russian escape her mouth, but I didn't have control over my body enough to execute the movement. My mind was still reeling from her revelation, and the fact that she could speak Russian, she even had a little bit of an accent when she spoke.
"Ya lyublyu tebya, Roza," I whispered.
"Great, now get off me." She said. "I'm still upset with you."
"What are you upset about?" I asked rolling off to the side immediately.
"You, for being an idiot." She yelled removing herself from my bed as quickly as possible. She straightened her clothing and marched out the door, leaving me stunned.
I snapped out of my frozen state when her door slammed closed down the hall. I rushed out into the hallway in time to see Abe and Pavel standing near the stairs looking just as stunned as I felt.
Abe ran his eyes over my attire, or lack thereof, and raised an eyebrow.
"I'm assuming you guys made up," Pavel said pointing to Roza's room, a tone of hopefulness tainting his words.
"I thought we had, and then she stormed out of my room telling me she was mad at me for being an idiot, but I don't know what I did wrong this time," I explained running a hand through my hair with a frustrated sigh.
"Then you're definitely an idiot," Abe said sagely.
"What did I do to be considered an idiot?" I asked trying to understand. Before either of them could answer, Roza abruptly opened her door dressed in running gear, though she was lacking shoes.
She glared at me before pushing past Abe and Pavel without so much as a greeting. Abe looked after her with a confused expression. Pavel kept looking at me, assessing my reaction to Roza. I'm sure my face reflected my current state: confused and lost.
"What did I do?" I asked quietly when we heard the back-door slam.
"What did you do?" Christopher asked in a threatening tone.
"That's what I'm trying to figure out!" I said throwing my hands up in exasperation.
"Why don't we all move into my office to discuss this," Abe suggested motioning for all of us, including the newly arrived Guardians, to move down to his office. Everyone else started in the direction immediately, but I hesitated, looking down the stairs, contemplating whether to follow Roza or Abe before Abe made the decision for me. "Belikov, that includes you."
I nodded in compliance and entered Abe's office. Christopher was pacing in front of the windows where you could barely see Roza off in the distance as she moved in a blur down the beach, smoky black tails trailing after her. Pavel was leaning against the wall by the fireplace, and Kyle and Jasper were sitting on the sofas, leaning forward with their hands clasped in front of them.
Abe closed the door behind us and sat in one of the chairs in between Jasper and Kyle. I opted to stay standing.
"Dimitri, why don't you tell us what happened last night and this morning," Abe suggested though it sounded more like a command.
"Well…we…we were dancing last night…" I began, not really knowing where to start and sharing wasn't exactly my specialty.
"I figured as much considering you went to a club, but how did she end up in your room last night? How did you end up like that?" Pavel asked and motioned to my half-dressed state.
"She asked me to take her home," I stated leaving out all the personal details.
"Was she tired of being in the club?" Christopher asked.
"You could say that," I mumbled looking toward the floor rubbing the back of my neck.
"What happened between you two?" Kyle asked with an amused expression, I forgot that he would have seen everything from inside his vehicle.
"We shared a moment, and she asked me to take her home," I explained again.
"Then how did you end up in your room?" Jasper asked wearing the same amused expression that Kyle had. Only Christopher looked a little put out by the events of last night.
"That's where she said she wanted to be," I stated
"I find that hard to believe." Christopher scoffed looking out the windows. At least he'd stopped pacing.
"Believe me, I did too," I mumbled.
"What moment did you share?" Abe asked. How was I meant to share that his daughter and I were making out and on our way to much more passionate actions?
"An intense moment I'm not sure you really want to hear about nor do I really want to share with you." I finally said blushing.
"You're probably right, but if that's true, what happened this morning to make her upset?" Pavel asked, and I tried to ignore Abe's murderous glare. It wasn't like I defiled his daughter or anything, I just wanted to.
"We'd finally admitted how we both felt about each other, though her admission was much more violent than mine. Then she stormed out of my room calling me an idiot." I concluded.
"Well, I personally can't see why she would call you an idiot, especially if you finally got her to admit she's in love with you, but you must have done something wrong," Kyle said with a shrug. Jasper and Pavel nodded in agreeance while Abe and Christopher stayed silent, though I think Abe was just thinking.
"What's going to happen now that you've both admitted that truth?" Christopher asked finally.
"I'm not sure. I'm really hoping this changes things. I still plan on courting her. I want to date, but I'm not sure if she'll let me." I said.
"She will, but you'll have to work for it. It won't be easy." Jasper said with a smirk.
"Nothing with her ever is, but she's more than worth it," I said watching as Roza sped back up to the house. I don't know how she managed it, but there wasn't a hair out of place, and the sheen from working out was noticeably absent from her skin. "She's worth everything I have to offer and so much more."
"Whipped." Christopher chuckled.
"Damn right." I retorted before I could stop myself. There was a moment of silence where I hoped no one heard me before the whole room started laughing. I felt my cheeks heat when the door burst open.
The guys instantly quieted and we all turned toward the door to see a miffed Roza. Her eyes passed over Pavel, Kyle and Jasper, narrowed at Christopher and Abe, and finally landed on me. Even though her eyes narrowed dangerously, the look in her eyes softened. I suppose she couldn't be too mad at me.
"Rose? Are you okay?" Kyle asked with a smirk.
"I'm fine. I need to talk to Dimitri." She said never taking her eyes off me.
I snuck a glance at Abe, and he gave me a subtle nod. I followed her out into the hall. She didn't say anything as she walked down the hall to my room. She dug around in my drawers until she found that she was looking for.
I barely caught what she threw at me. They were a pair of gym shorts. I looked up at her to find her giving me a pointed look. I quickly took my pants off, very much aware that she was staring at me the entire time. I pulled the shorts on and wondered if I should find a shirt, but since she didn't give me one, I decided against it.
I looked up at her to ask her what we were doing, but she just walked out the door. I followed her all the way down to the gym where we lowered ourselves into fighting stances.
She'd grown a lot more patient since the last time we'd fought. Her patience outlasted mine, that or I couldn't stand the thought of not touching her again. I didn't know what her game was, but I was all for playing it.
Her eyes were focused, though when she met my steady gaze her demeanor relaxed slightly. We circled until I couldn't take the lack of action any longer. I dropped in an attempt to sweep her legs from under her, but she knew. Instead of just jumping over my leg, like a normal person would, she vaulted over me using my shoulders to propel herself over my back.
She landed silently, so silently in fact that I thought she might still be in the air until I turned to see her back in her original defensive position. While I kept my eyes glued to her face, her gaze was firmly planted on my sternum.
I threw a punch toward her face, technically off limits, but I don't think Strigoi would usually play by the rules. Her eyes barely flickered to where my hand was rushing toward her face when she stopped it by the use of her forearm. In retaliation for my attack, she brought her elbow up and jabbed me in the side of the throat.
She'd already recoiled and stepped back by the time I had the sense to raise my left arm to block it. I saw the sense of accomplishment flash in her eyes before she focused again. She didn't seem mad or irritated, which was comforting considering her previous attitude toward me. She just seemed focused.
"Roza?" I questioned. Her eyes raised to meet mine, and I sensed her hesitation. I held her gaze as I made my next move. She seemed to be trapped in my eyes as I aimed my punch at her ribs. I pulled my punch quickly realizing she wasn't going to block me.
Her defensive stance had been completely forfeit, and she stood before me completely enthralled by my eyes. I don't think she even felt the blow to her ribs, she didn't even stagger. I remained in my fighting stance, not sure what was going on, but she didn't seem to notice.
"Roza?" I spoke once more trying to draw her attention. She didn't respond verbally, but she did tilt her head to the side in confusion. She just stood there unblinking, staring at me.
I raised my hand to her cheek, wondering if my touch could pull her from her daze. When my fingers brushed her skin, there was an odd spark that leapt from my fingers. It didn't hurt, at least it didn't hurt me, and Roza didn't respond other than a small smile that crept over her face.
I gently cupped her face, watching in awe and wonder as the sparks jumped from my skin to hers. They glowed an odd purple and seemed to skate across her skin before disappearing beneath the surface.
Her eyes seemed glazed over as she continued to stare into mine.
"Roza, can you speak?" I whispered brushing my thumbs across her cheeks. She nodded in my hands but didn't make a motion to speak. "Would you speak for me?"
"What would you like me to say?" She asked dreamily. I didn't answer, though I knew my eyebrows furrowed in confusion at her tone.
"That answer will suffice for now," I muttered. I heard someone coming down the stairs but didn't look away from Roza.
"What did you do to her?" Christopher's voice spread across the room.
"I didn't do anything," I said quietly, but I knew the sound would carry in the empty gym.
"Then what's wrong with her?" He growled coming closer. I heard other footsteps on the stairs but remained focused on Roza.
"I don't know," I responded. Roza's gaze still hadn't left mine, but her smile had disappeared when Christopher started talking. That was the only indication that she was focused on someone other than me.
"Belikov? What's going on?" I heard Abe question cautiously.
"I don't know." I ground out again. I could feel the frustration in the room as I gave the same answer to all their questions. Eventually, I explained the short events that led up to Roza's trance.
"Do you think that you could get her to do something?" Abe asked suddenly.
"What do you mean?" I asked, looking away from Roza for the first time.
"You said that she responded when you asked her questions. Can you ask her to do something?" He explained.
"What should I ask her?" I asked turning my attention back to Roza. She looked more troubled than I had left her looking seconds ago.
"Ask her to kiss you." Kyle offered.
"Why would I do something like that? She's in a daze, and you're wanting me to take advantage of that?" I asked astonished. Roza had returned to the dreamy look she'd had earlier.
"Don't act like you don't want to kiss her." Jasper scoffed. "If you won't ask her to kiss you, ask her to fight."
I was hesitant to ask either option. I didn't want their suspicions to be proven, but I wanted to know how to help Roza, and to do that, I need to know what was wrong with her in the first place.
"Roza? I want you to fight Kyle." I whispered. She gave an almost imperceptible nod and smiled at me. She abruptly turned from me and face Kyle who was on her left.
"Really, dude? You had to ask her to fight me?" Kyle said exasperatedly. I only shrugged in response and watched in amazement as Roza lowered herself into the fighting stance.
Where she had patience when fighting me, she seemed almost too eager to get this fight over with. She lunged at Kyle causing him to dodge rather clumsily. Kyle wasn't expecting it but quickly righted himself and went on the defensive.
Roza was moving so quickly, all Kyle could do was block her moves at the very last second. He was sustaining some serious damage. It didn't appear that Roza was going for the kill, just fighting, but she was fighting to injure.
"Stop," I commanded as I saw Kyle wearing down, and Roza immediately dropped her fists to her side and turned back toward me. Kyle shot me a thankful and irritated glance before it turned concerned.
"Alright, so Belikov has control over Rose," Christopher said finally.
"How did this happen?" Abe asked quietly.
"I don't know. We were sparring one minute, the next she was like this, only answering when I asked a question." I explained again.
"Well, have you asked her what's going on?" Pavel asked.
"No. I hadn't even thought to do that." I mumbled. Roza had slowly made her way to stand directly in front of me. "Roza, what's going on?"
"What do you mean, Dimitri?" She asked with a confused expression.
"Why are you only responding to me? Why are you following my every command?" I asked.
"Isn't it obvious?" She responded with furrowed eyebrows.
"Not really. Could you explain it to me?"
"You hold the Light." She whispered. "The Light controls the Darkness if it tries hard enough."
"What's the Light?" I questioned in a whisper. I could feel the others creeping closer to hear our conversation, but I was focused on Roza.
"The Light is rare and powerful. It only appears in a being that has walked amongst the dead but belonged to the land of the living. The Darkness is also rare and powerful. It appears in a being who belongs with the dead yet walks in the land of the living." She explained. "The Light is more powerful than the Darkness, powerful enough to control the Darkness, even."
"What if I don't want to control the Darkness?" I asked.
"The Light and the Darkness must live in harmony. If they don't, one will always control the other."
"How do I live in harmony with you? How do I get you back, Roza?" I quickly asked, hoping to find my answer.
"I can't give you that answer, Dimitri." She responded. I felt my shoulders sag in defeat until Roza placed a hand on my chest. I felt a tingling sensation as her hand contacted my bare skin. I looked down and saw bright yellow sparks dancing across my skin, as the purple ones had danced across Roza's.
Before I knew what I was doing, my lips met hers in a fiery dance. I closed my eyes at the sensation of kissing Roza, but I could still see the dancing colors of sparks through my eyelids.
Her lips molded perfectly to mine. Her one hand still on my chest, the other came to grip the back of my neck. I'd placed my hands on her hips to pull her closer, but I heard someone clear their throat behind me.
I reluctantly pulled myself away from Roza. She was breathing heavily and looking around as if she'd just woken up.
"Roza?" I asked quickly, realizing she'd come out of whatever trance I'd put her in.
"What happened?" She asked not looking into my eyes.
"What do you remember?" Jasper asked.
"I remember everything, but I don't know what happened," Roza said. "I remember doing as Dimitri asked of me. I remember all the conversations you guys had around me, but I wasn't able to contribute. I was only able to look at Dimitri and do as he commanded."
"And you couldn't break free of my hold?" I asked.
"No. It was like I was feeling what you were feeling. I looked into your eyes and I was completely at your mercy." She spoke the last part so quietly I was absolutely sure that I was the only one that heard it. I tried not to think about what I could do with Roza at my mercy, but the thoughts came unhindered.
"Dimitri!" Roza exclaimed raising her eyes to meet mine in astonishment, as if she could tell what I was thinking. I felt my mind go foggy. My field of vision narrowed and all I saw was Roza. She had this sort of light emitting from her. I don't think it was her aura, though, because Adrian had always said hers was black. It was a purple light that faded from an eggplant to a lavender.
I heard her breath catch in her throat as I stared deep into her irises.
"Shit." She muttered.
"What? What happened?" Came a muffled voice. It was almost as if there was a wall between me and whoever was speaking. Only Roza's voice was clear.
"I've done it." She growled. "How do I stop it?"
I felt her frustration and panic grow. My eyes grew wide in concern and my heart rate increased. I felt the adrenaline pumping through my veins, trying to anticipate Roza's next move to help her.
A voice responded to her question, but I couldn't make out whose it was. Roza quickly threw her arms around my neck and pulled my lips down to hers. She tasted so sweet. Her lips were so perfect as they moved against mine.
I moaned into her mouth as she nipped at my bottom lip. A sense of déjà vu overtook me as someone cleared their throat behind me. Roza quickly pulled away leaving me wanting more.
At some point during the kiss, the fog on my mind had lifted. My mind became my own again, and I looked down at Roza in awe.
"Was that what it was like for you?" I asked breathlessly.
"Probably." She mumbled, not meeting my eye. I wanted so badly to stare into her soul as she had done with mine, but I also didn't want a repeat of what just happened.
"Alright, so, heightened emotions are most likely the trigger," Christopher said rubbing his brow. "So far, the only way we know how to break it is for you two to start making out."
"Roza had said that we need to live in harmony for one not to control the other." I provided.
"Up until today, you two couldn't stand each other, how are you going to live in harmony?" Pavel pointed out.
"I don't know, but we better figure it out quickly," Roza said. I could see the anxiety begin to fill her eyes. I reached down and gently took her hand in mine rubbing small circles over her knuckles.
She visibly relaxed and a sense of calm overtook me. I suppose this was one way to live in harmony.
"Until we figure it out, I don't think we can hunt without putting either of us in danger," I said cutting Roza's argument off with just a look. She still seemed defiant, though I'm sure she actually agreed with me.
"I agree," Abe stated. "It seems that the two of you have a lot to discuss."
I looked down at Roza to find her already looking at me. She had a small blush on her face and quickly looked away from my gaze. Abe gave us one last look. It was calculating and stern. He gave a sharp nod and turned on his heels. He silently ascended the stairs as the others continued to stare at Roza and me.
"We'll leave you to it, then," Pavel muttered following Abe up the stairs after giving us the same calculating stare. The other three looked a little more hesitant, but they followed soon after, leaving Roza and I standing in the middle of the gym alone.
"Would you care you go for a walk on the beach?" I asked taking notice that I still had her hand in mine. Her warmth spread through me, heating my cold bones, bringing me back to the life that I once had with her.
"Sure." She said quietly as she tangled her fingers with mine. "We have a lot to talk about, Comrade."
"Of course, Roza."