Chapter 2

Under My Skin

A/N: This is the best response I've gotten from either of my stories so I thank you all!
Okay, so I know it's been over a month since I've last updated, but my computer crashed a little while ago and I just got it back about a week ago (I've been working on this ever since... writer's block). I feel really bad, though, so here's your chapter!

P.S. This chapter was a major, major filler...
P.P.S. PLEASE CHECK OUT ALKERR'S WHO KNEW? SERIOUSLY, SERIOUSLY AMAZING. You will not regret reading her story. She's amazing. Go and read. Enjoy! (:

My feet carried me to the tiny kitchenette, following the scent wafting in to the bedroom area. I sniffed a few times and walked right in, stopping dead in my tracks.

Dimitri was... cooking? Was I imagining this?

I shook my head to clear my thoughts and promptly pinched myself just to check. I glanced up.

Nope. Still there.

Puzzled, I slowly wandered in to see what he was cooking. I peered my head around his massive bicep (Which was about where the top of my head reached), and took in the wonderful sight before me.

I wasn't sure exactly what the food was, but the wonderful aroma emanating into my senses made me believe that it could have been opossum for all I knew, and I would consume it in a heart beat anyway.

"What are you cooking?" I asked. Dimitri must have jumped about a foot in the air, shocking me almost as much as he appeared to be. No one ever caught Dimitri off guard.

He pulled his earphones out of his ears. "You'll see," He murmured. I rolled my eyes and hopped up on the counter beside the gas stove.

"Is there a reason you're being an ass and not telling me simply what you are making?" I questioned like we were discussing the matter over a nice afternoon of tea and good times. Definitely not the case.

"Because I enjoy annoying you," He replied. I scoffed. What an understatement.

I decided to ignore his retort and instead reached down and snatched his ipod from the front pocket of his jeans- which happened to be riding dangerously low on his hips- and turned it on, scrolling through all of his music. There was nothing here that I recognized, they all seemed to be in a foreign language.

Save for one song, at which I gasped at and alerted him to what I was doing.

"Hey!" He exclaimed, trying to snatch the device from my hands. I yelped and hopped off the counter, running away from him while still looking at the song that had appeared on the screen. I didn't know he liked this kind of stuff...

My distractions proved to be helpful to Dimitri, enabling him to grip my upper-arm and yank me backwards to him. I immediately began to try and meander my way out of my restraints, but so far it was seeming futile.

I quickly elbowed him in the gut and he grunted, allowing me to slightly get out of his hold. Not for long though, as he pounced on me not even three seconds later, sending us both crashing to the floor, an all too familiar action that had occurred a measly two days prior. Except this time was a bit more uncomfortable, considering I had a man the size of a truck sprawled all over me.

"Ow..." I moaned, unable to control the whimper that escaped my lips as I moved his elbow from my breast, where it had previously just been smashed in to. No doubt that'd be leaving a bruise.

"Give it to me," Dimitri demanded. It was safe to say that an angry Dimitri, was a sexy Dimitri. As much as I hated to admit that, it was true to me and the rest of the female population.

"Huh..." I crooned. "This was my favorite song when we were little. You hated it. And here I find it on your ipod..." A smug smile tugged at my lips. "I guess it grew on you. My taste in music is- and was- superb."

Dimitri glared at me. "It was kind of hard for it not to grow on me when you blasted it in your room every day," He noted dryly. "Especially when your window was always open during the summer."

"Oh... well, whatever. I don't care. You still have it on here, so it still counts," I stuck my tongue out at him. Juvenile, I know. "Now will you please get off of me? Jesus, what do you eat? Children?"

He chuckled and rolled to the side of me. I slipped the ipod into the breast pocket of his shirt and silently got up.

"Er... Dimitri?" I glanced at him.

He grunted in response.

"Weren't you... cooking something?" It felt weird to hear those words escape my mouth.

He said something in Russian and jumped up from the floor, straight into the tiny kitchen.

I heard him breathe a sigh of relief, meaning that nothing was ruined. Hopefully.

I strolled into the room. "I really hope all is well, because I am starving,"

I licked my lips and plopped down at the tiny- the adjective used to describe everything in this apartment- dining table. The whole set only included two chairs and a small table, obviously intended for couples who didn't have any kids yet and were in a small space. Again, definitely not the case in this situation.

Dimitri pulled something out of the oven and set it down on the stove top.

"Can you tell me what that is now?" I whined. It smelled delicious. I bit back my moan of hunger.

He sighed. "It's pirozhki."

"Piro- what?"

. "Pirozhki," The way his tongue rolled when he spoke his native language did wonders to my body. No matter how much I despised him. "Now eat, we have classes to attend."

"Yes, father," I sneered.

Ilookeddown .Itlookedlikesomepersonal loafofbread. Didn't seemlikemuch. I ripped off a small piece and popped it in my mouth.

"Holy-" Damn, that was good. This time I didn't hold in the moan that sneaked its way from between my lips. From the corner of my eye, I could see Dimitri watching me, but I shrugged it off and instead focused all of my attention on this delicacy before me.

"Damn, Dimitri. I didn't know you could cook. Now all you need is a cute little 'Kiss the Cook' apron and some new oven mitts and you're good to go. Remind me to put that on my shopping list," I grinned at him.

"If you want to continue eating like this and not some shit out of a box, then I suggest you be quiet now and eat. We've only got about... ten minutes before we have to go."

My eyes widened and I shifted my gaze over to the clock above the stove. "Shit," I mumbled, and greedily shoved the rest of the bread in my mouth before sprinting out the door. I heard his footsteps behind me but didn't wait for him.

Opening the door to my first training, I entered and sure enough, all eyes were on me. I was late. Again. "Hathaway," Eric began, "nice of you to join us. Let me guess: you slept late?"

I scoffed. "No, this time that wasn't my reason. I-"

"Don't care," He cut me off. "Sit down."

I made my way to my seat, grumbling to myself the whole time. About five minutes later, the door opened again, this time to reveal the all-too-chipper Dimitri, sporting a happy grin. What?

Eric stopped what he was saying and looked over at the door. He smiled. I could already tell I didn't like where this was going. "Ah, Dimitri! How are you buddy? We were just getting started!"

My jaw dropped. "What!" I exclaimed. "Why didn't he get in trouble! I don't see how that's fair. Sexist!What the f-"

"Rosemarie!" Eric hissed. He was an avid Catholic and had zero tolerance for swearing. Which is probably why he had no tolerance for me, either. But then again, most adults didn't.

I bit my lip and kept my mouth shut, while Dimitri was over in the corner smiling like an idiot.

XXX

Let's just say that I had a rough day at the academy today. The instructors were practically groveling at Dimitri's feet while all of my fellow female classmates were swooning all over him. And he was milking it.

Big time.

Heading into the bathroom that was across from the bedroom, I stripped out of my training clothes- which were sticking to my from the sweat that had been produced from my vigorous workout- and hopped into the shower, almost falling asleep the instant the scalding water poured over my skin.

Turning the dial to stop the water flow, I stepped out of the steam-filled enclosure and wrapped a towel around my body. Drying myself off and slipping into some boyshorts and a t-shirt, I padded across the hall and into our shared bedroom, plopping down on my single mattress.

I groaned as my back hit the bed. It felt so good to be laying down after a long, tedious day.

My muscles were sore from all the training and my mind was clouded with everything Dimitri. I was ashamed of myself for this, and I sure as hell was never going to admit that to him. Especially with his unusually large ego looming over me, there was nothing that needed to be said to make it expand even more.

My thoughts were interrupted by a knocking on the door. "Ah, are you... decent?" Dimitri called through the door. I would've expected him to just barge in without so much as a second thought to what I was doing, which explained my immense shock.

"Uh... yeah, you can come in," I replied, my voice sounded unsure. I heard the door open and footsteps making the floorboards creak as Dimitri came closer.

I squeezed my eyes shut as I heard the removal of clothing (uncertain of what), and promptly turned my body so it was facing the wall and away from him. I licked my lips and swallowed, uncomfortable in my bed.

I heard the shifting of the covers as he slid in his own bed, along with a sigh.

"Goodnight Rose," Dimitri murmured.

"Night Dimitri."

I was drowned in sleep a few moments later.

I know, I know, crappy ending. But it's like 1 o' clock in the morning and I woke up at eight today. Major filler, and a boring chapter at that, but I needed to update for all of my lovely reviewers! I felt bad. You guys have honestly been amazing, 32 reviews for only 2 chapters? I'm completely honored and I love you guys! Thanks for reading and don't forget to review! :3