I followed Roza up the stairs frustrated, both sexually and mentally. I didn't think that our sensitivity to Strigoi would transfer to holograms. I also didn't think that the Alchemists' simulation would be so realistic that it could set off our sensitive detection.
I heard slamming cabinets from the kitchen accompanied by so very angry muttering. Seems I'm not the only one who was frustrated.
"Roza?" I asked cautiously as I eased my way into the kitchen. Roza was busying herself with making something, but all she had out were ingredients so I couldn't tell what it was yet. It looked like some sort of bread.
"What?" She snapped or growled depending on how you looked at it. I raised one eyebrow and gave her a pointed look. "I know. I'm sorry. I'm hungry and frustrated."
"I can fix both of those things," I responded with a smile. She sighed and fought off a smirk before gesturing to the things she'd gathered.
"I wanted to make char sui bao, but we don't have char sui." She mumbled annoyed.
"You do know we aren't far from Chinatown where you can get char sui or already prepared bao." I pointed out. I'd never made bao, nor really had an idea of what it was.
"I realize that, but homemade bao is so much better." She said crossing her arms and throwing her nose up in the air. I bent down and kissed the tip of her nose, earning me a cute giggle from her.
"Of course, Roza." I simpered. "How about tomorrow we go to Chinatown and pick up what we need for char sui? We can make bao tonight?"
"If we make the dough tonight, it will rise too much to work with it tomorrow. If we're going to make the dough tonight, we're just going to have bao." She said looking down at the bag of flour.
"Then we have bao tonight," I said with a shrug. "Umm…what is bao?"
"You've never had bao?!" She exclaimed, and I raised an eyebrow. "Right, Russian. Bao is a Chinese sweet bread. It's very rare that you find a restaurant that sells bao or char sui bao because it's time-intensive, but while Lissa and I were on the run I got one owner of a restaurant to show me how to make it."
"We have Chinese food in Russia, you know, plus I lived in the U.S. for a few years. I've just never had bao, but what you're trying to tell me is that you just magically got the owner of a random restaurant to show you how to make bao?" I asked with my eyebrow still raised.
"Yep. Magic." She said with a large smile, and then I understood. Lissa. "Anyway. Char sui is a Chinese barbeque that fills a bao and it's the most amazing thing in the world!"
"Alright, do you want to show me how to make it?" I asked rubbing my hands together.
"Absolutely!" She said before beginning a search for something.
"What are you looking for?" I asked.
"A steamer." She stated. "And a large mixing bowl."
"I found the large mixing bowl, but I don't see a steamer," I called out easily locating a bowl.
"I found it." I heard her say before a large clattering of metal. I whipped around to see Roza sitting amongst a pile of pots and pans. "Whoops."
I busted out laughing as she shrugged her shoulders lifting the aforementioned steamer triumphantly. I helped her off the ground before filing the scattered cookware back into the cabinet they came from.
"Do you have everything we need?" I asked looking over at her surveying her ingredients.
"Yep. This is going to make a lot. The guy said his mother only taught him how to make large batches." She said gesturing to the five-pound bag of flour.
"My mother was the same way with black bread," I said nodding in understanding. "So, where do we begin?"
"Wash your hands first." She instructed doing the same.
"Yes, ma'am," I smirked, earning me a playful smack.
"Add the flour and two cups of sugar to the bowl. I'll mix the wet ingredients." She said pushing the bowl, flour, and sugar in my direction. She took out a smaller bowl adding water, vinegar, oil, and condensed milk.
I slowly added the flour into the large bowl, making sure it didn't fly everywhere, and carefully measured two cups of sugar.
"Do I mix it?" I asked. She nodded, barely sparing my bowl a glance as she tended to her own mixture.
"Now, make a divot in the middle so I can pour this in." She said holding her bowl and nodding to mine. I did as she asked holding the larger bowl steady as she carefully poured from hers. "You can slowly start folding in the dry."
I savored the feeling of the soft flour between my fingers. It felt lighter than black bread dough, but it was familiar nonetheless. She'd scraped the last of the wet ingredients from her bowl and placed it in the sink.
I kept mixing as she filled the bottom of the steamer with water and set it on the stove to boil. She came to stand beside me as I kneaded the dough.
"You've definitely made bread before." She said smiling up at me. "Your hands are much better suited for kneading than mine are."
"My hands are better suited for a lot of things," I said with a wink. She released a groan that caused my hands to pause in their task. She'd closed her eyes and leaned back against the counter.
My eyes traveled the length of her body. In our rush to locate Strigoi, she didn't put on any undergarments so the outline of her breasts was prominent. Her nipples tightened under her shirt the longer I stared. Her shorts revealed the underside of her ass making me want to sweep her away to where no one could possibly walk in and see her.
Her eyes flew open and a smirk spread across her face. I recognized the look of impending mischief from months of studying her at the academy, but I couldn't figure out what she was planning.
"You've dough to finish kneading." She said nodding at my flour-covered hands. I narrowed my gaze at her trying to determine what she was planning, but she turned on the balls of her feet, giving me a glorious view of her ass, and walked away.
"What are you planning, Roza?" I asked focusing back on the dough before me.
"I don't know what you're talking about, Comrade." She said innocently, turning to bat her eyelashes on me.
"Don't lie to me, Roza. That look on your face spells trouble, and if the past is any indication, that trouble is going to be for me." I said glancing over at her.
"Well, if you know it's coming, you shouldn't be too surprised when it happens." She said smiling. She hopped up on the counter beside the stove and swung her legs back and forth.
"So, you are planning something," I stated.
"I'm always planning something." She retorted. I released a sigh and finished kneading my dough.
"What now?"
"Now we form the bao and steam them." She smiled. "Bring me the bowl."
I brought the bowl over to her wiggling fingers, and she greedily took it from me and set it on the counter next to her. I spread her legs slightly so I could stand between them. I placed a light kiss on her forehead and watched as she pinched off a lemon-sized ball of dough.
She rolled the dough between her small hands and placed it on a small square of parchment paper.
"When and how did you cut those without me noticing?" I asked confused.
"Guardian secret." She responded saucily.
"I am a Guardian." I sighed.
"Then you should already know." She said giving me a toothy grin. I narrowed my eyes at her and huffed. I mimicked her process of rolling the dough between my hands.
We rolled in silence. She would occasionally squeeze her knees against my hips, which I would reward with a kiss to her forehead. I was surprised how many bao we made with the dough I'd mixed, but she had warned me that it made a lot.
"The most time-consuming part is steaming them. The owner had an industrial steamer that could steam dozens at a time, but this one will probably only be able to do a dozen at a time and it takes twenty minutes to steam each batch." Roza said placing the first round of bao in the steamer.
"What should we do with that time?" I asked with a smirk. I was still standing between her legs as she sat on the counter. It wasn't the best position for her to work in, but I wasn't going to move from my spot. I'd opened the steamer for her and handed her each bao so she could remain where she was.
"I don't know. Do you have any ideas?" She asked looking up at me through her lashes. I could spend my whole life getting lost in her eyes.
"I've got a few, but I'm not sure how much you're going to like them?" I answered.
"List a few of them, and I'll let you know." She said rolling her eyes. I leaned down and placed a light kiss on her lips.
"There's that one," I said pulling back. "Then this one." I pulled her lips to mine, using my tongue to pry her lips apart. She nipped my tongue as it invaded her mouth but allowed me to continue.
"Anything else?" She breathed against my lips.
"This." I murmured pulling her closer by the waist grinding my hips into hers. Her feet hooked around my back and her arms looped around my neck. While she tangled her fingers in my hair, I slid my hands under her shirt and began kneading her breasts.
Her nipples were hard under my palms and when I brushed my thumbs over them, she released a throaty moan. I attached my lips to her neck as not to obstruct her natural sounds as they fueled my desire for her.
"I'm not sure I'm liking any of these options." She moaned as I traced my tongue along her collarbone.
"Do you have something else in mind?" I asked working my way back up her neck.
"I'm sure I can think of something." She breathed running her hands down my chest coming to rest on the elastic band of my shorts. My need for her was on prominent display, the flimsy fabric of the gym shorts doing little to hid it.
She fingers slipped under the waistband, her nails scraping against my heated flesh causing me to shiver with desire. She pulled me closer taking one of my nipples into her mouth. She pulled her lips back and gently nipped at my skin eliciting a moan from me.
"Do you two plan on having sex on that counter or are you going to save it for the bedroom?" I heard Christopher growl from behind me. Roza peeked around me as I buried my face in her hair. She smelled like freshly picked peaches.
"We were probably going to start here and finish in bed," Roza smirked. I could feel the tension radiating off of the intruding Guardian. I looked over my shoulder at him, and he was glaring daggers in my back.
Roza chose that moment to dig her cold toes into my shorts. I released a sexually fueled hiss and hauled her off the counter. She giggled and squealed in a very girly manner as I moved quickly past Christopher and up the stairs.
"Do you think you could finish steaming the bao, Christopher? I'll be hungry soon!" Roza called out before I moved us out of earshot. I heard a growl from behind me but didn't stop to get a genuine answer.
"I'm not letting anything interrupt us," I growled locking the door behind us.
"I think I can live with that." She said walking backward toward the bed, and I stalked toward her. I felt almost predatory, but Roza had a fire dancing her eyes that let me know she was going to make it a challenge.
Without warning, Roza launched herself at me and knocked me to the ground. I quickly recovered and flipped us over trying to pin her down. Her elbow shot out and jabbed me in the side of the throat causing my vision to darken, giving her enough time to wriggle out from underneath me.
She kicked my right leg out from under me as I tried to rise sending me sprawling back to the floor. She straddled my back and placed her hands on my spine. I grabbed behind her left knee pulling her to the left as I rolled to the right. With my hand still behind her left knee, I grabbed behind her right knee and pulled her closer to me.
"You really making me work for it, Roza," I whispered against her soft skin. I gripped her wrist as she threw a punch at my ribs and pinned it above her head. Her eyes were still dancing with mischief.
I couldn't locate her other hand to effectively pin her beneath me, but I soon found it. Her delicate fingers danced lightly down my side causing my body to convulse and roll away from her touch.
"Are you ticklish, Comrade?" She said with a large smile.
"No," I said a little too quickly. Her smile grew and the fire burned brighter. "Shit."
"Language, Comrade." She chastised, and I couldn't help but roll my eyes. "Is it just your sides or are you also ticklish on your feet or neck?"
"I'm not ticklish." I reinforced backing away from her slowly. She had her hands extended in front of her, her fingers wiggling in malicious intent.
"Really? You wouldn't mind me testing the validity of that statement, would you?" She asked with a smirk.
"You'll just have to trust me," I said eyeing her wearily. Seconds ago, I would have done anything to be near her, but I was hesitant now.
"Seeing is believing, Comrade." She said before lunging at me. I moved out of her reach quickly, jumping over the bed in the process. In my rush to escape her, though, I didn't notice I'd backed myself into a corner.
I looked at my escape options to either side of her, but I knew there was no way to get past her without enduring some sort of torture. My best bet was to pin her hands before she rendered me useless. I prepared myself to fight again, but she dropped onto the bed and looked up at me expectantly.
I was hesitant to let my guard down, but the fire in her eyes had died down, so I relaxed. She beckoned me with a crooked finger, and I happily complied. I settled my body over her, and she tangled her fingers into my hair tugging lightly.
"I love you, Roza," I whispered against her lips before closing the little distance between us. Her legs spread further allowing me to settle between her thighs. The battle of lips and teeth was evenly matched, but I should have known that Roza wouldn't give up that easily.
In my lust-fueled haze, I let my guard down. She swept her hands over my shoulders and down my sides. She rested her hands there letting me get used to her hands being there. Next thing I knew, she curled her fingers and began tickling me.
My body convulsed, and I began to try to push her away, but she'd locked her legs around my hips effectively keeping me in place.
"Roza, stop!" I screamed between my uncontrollable laughter. Her giggles were mixed with my heavy breathing. My sides clinched as I fought harder to escape her grasp. She released her grip, and I scrambled off the bed and tumbled to the ground breathing heavily.
"Are you okay?" She asked in a fit of full-belly laughter.
"You're a little minx," I muttered trying to gain control of my lungs. My sides ached from her tickling and my lungs were burning with the lack of oxygen laughing caused me.
"You fell for it. You should have known I wouldn't give up that easily." She said crawling down the bed to peer over the edge at my sprawled figure.
"A man can dream," I mumbled looking up at her. Her face was flushed from the fighting and the laughter, and her hair was disheveled from the fighting. "You're beautiful."
A blush worked its way over her face at my whispered compliment. My breathing had slowed, but my heart rate increased at the thought that I could cause such a reaction in her.
"Are you avoiding sex?" I asked suddenly. Her eyes widened, and she paled.
"Why would you think that?" She asked evasively.
"I don't want to push you into anything you're not comfortable with, but you've been finding ways to get me worked up and then effectively killing the mood. The whole Strigoi thing wasn't your fault, but I can sense your hesitation. I just want to know why." I said sitting up and crossing my legs.
She mimicked my position on the bed and continued to stare wide-eyed. She released a sigh and smoothed down her tangled hair. She twirled the ends around her fingers while looking down at her lap. I waited patiently for her to explain.
"I can't deny my feelings for you, Dimitri." She began softly. "You're the only man that will ever have claim to my heart, the only man I will ever love, but I'm scared to let you that close again. I don't mean to string you along like this, but my body tells me I want it. When my mind catches up, I can't go through with it."
"Is it something I'm doing?" I asked after a moment of tense silence.
"No!" She exclaimed quickly, meeting my gaze. "No. It's not what you're doing, not necessarily. It's more like what you've done. The last time I allowed myself to get that comfortable with you – let my guard down like that – I ended up losing you the next day. I know it's irrational, but I can't help but think that if I allow myself the pleasure that I'm going to lose you again."
"Roza, you're not going to lose me," I promised quietly but powerfully.
"You said that the last time, too." She said with tears in her eyes.
"I did, and you didn't lose me. I'm right here in front of you. You won't let me leave. You brought me back, more than once. You're not going to lose me because you won't allow it to happen." I said taking her hands in mine. I gently wiped a tear from her cheek and pulled her down into my lap.
"I can't lose you, Dimitri." She said strongly. She pulled back and looked up at me. I could see the fierce determination that fueled her shining bright in her eyes.
"You're not going to lose me, Roza," I promised with the same fierceness. She brought her lips to mine with that same determination I'd seen seconds earlier. I lifted her in my arms and set her gently on the bed.
I settled myself between her luscious thighs and peeled her clothes from her body. Sparks danced across her skin as my fingers traced her curves. She was looking up at me with so much love I could almost see it shining in her eyes.
The longer I stared the more the light became visible. She was glowing. She pulled me back down to her before I could inquire about the light. She used her toes to pull my shorts from my body, and I wasted no time joining our bodies.
We both released a moan as I filled her.
"God, you feel perfect." She mumbled into my neck. I buried my face in her hair as I fought my natural instincts to just pound into her. She deserved better than that. She should be cherished. I will cherish her forever.
"I've missed your body. I feel complete when I'm inside you." I whispered pulling back to look down at her. Her hair was splayed across her pillows in an angelic manner. She eyes were bright with love for me, and her lips were pulled back in the most breathtaking smile I'd ever witnessed.
"I feel complete when you're inside me. I forgot just how much I missed you." She said reaching up to stroke my cheek. I closed my eyes and savored the moment until the movement of her hips started breaking my self-control.
"Roza," I growled pushing my weight, and my cock, further into her trying to still her motion. She released moan that made my cock twitch which only provided me with less self-control and a smirking Roza.
"Come on, Comrade. Lose control." She purred in my ear. Her teeth nipped at my earlobe and pulled it gently. Her breath tickled my ears causing me to shudder. Her nails scrapped down my back before pushing into my hips trying to get them to move.
I allowed myself a little movement, but it was controlled. With each slow thrust I provided her, she gave me a moan that chipped away at my self-control. The remaining strands were severed quickly when she whispered in my ear:
"Fuck me, Comrade."
I released a groan and pulled out to my tip before slamming back into her. It was the first breath of relief, the moment my eyes saw clearly, my chance for clarity. She screamed out in pleasure as I repeated my action as swiftly as possible.
I captured her lips with mine as she tore my back to shreds with her nails, but I didn't mind one bit. From this moment on, I was hers, and she was mine. I could feel a deep connection forming in the pit of my stomach. My life would be tied to hers, and hers to mine.
Her screams became higher in pitch as my thrusts became more frantic, more desperate. I needed her, all of her, and I could feel her fighting it trying to make this moment last. The moment before we both fell apart will be one burned into my mind for eons.
"I love you." We both whispered smiling blissfully at each other, knowing that we were seconds away from giving each other what we truly needed to live in harmony. Sex was never just sex for me, and I doubt it was that was for Roza either, but this sex sealed a promise.
Our promise.
Our promise to each other, and it said exactly that, "I love you."