I am sorry I haven't replied to reviews for the last chapter, I wil do that as soon as I get home!
Chapter Four.
The pianist sighed as the sweet memory ended, and another one took its place.
"Roza," Dimitri laughed, his hands swatting at hers as he tried to wriggle out of her reach. "Stop it. Please! Stop!" His words were broken up by bouts of laughter as Rose tickled him relentlessly.
That had been a surprise to find out, that Dimitri was extremely ticklish. Hell, Rose only had to pretend to reach over to poke his sides, and a chuckle would burst from his lips as he squirmed away.
It had been four months since her birthday, and two months since she and Dimitri had kissed. And exchanged several more kisses. Every day.
"Say uncle." Rose grinned as she climbed on top of him, straddling his waist as she poked at his sides.
"Nev- Okay! Okay! Uncle! Stop, Roza! You win! You win!" His pleas trailed off into chuckled shrieks as Rose left his waist alone, instead spinning around to tickle the soles of his feet. He thrashed around on her bed as she laughed with him, before deciding to be merciful and let his body recover.
"Next time you decide to call me Rosemarie, just remember what the consequences will be."
Rose smirked at the horror that crossed Dimitri's features and then leant forwards to press her mouth to his, relishing in the way that his lips moved in sync with hers, the way his hands clutched at her hips, pulling her in against his body until there was no space between them.
Dimitri's arms tightened around her waist, holding her securely as he rolled so that she was on her back and he was hovering above her. A soft moan echoed in his throat as Rose twisted her fingers into the roots of his hair, massaging his scalp lightly as their kisses grew more heated, Dimitri breaking away from her lips to trail soft pecks down her neck as she arched into him.
It was in moments like this when Rose wanted desperately to give him everything she had, body and soul. She was already in love with him; he'd had her heart from the start. He was kind, gentle, honourable, and he cared for her too. She loved his quiet intensity, his thoughtfulness, his small, loving gestures, and the way he would call her Roza when she would stay awake and sneak over to his room to see him after he'd had a long shift, massaging his tense neck muscles until he'd relaxed and almost fallen asleep. She loved the way he'd shake his head in mock exasperation whenever she teased him and called him 'Comrade', as a sign of her affection. Giving in to her desires would mean he had her body too, and by giving him that, combined with her heart, he'd have her soul. But she couldn't do that yet, and he respected her decision, never pushing for more, and instead only taking things as far as she was comfortable.
They had plenty of time to explore that side to their relationship.
15th September 1960.
"I love you, Roza."
The words were unexpected, but the timing was perfect. Random. Beautiful. They'd been sat together, enjoying the warm, sunny Sunday afternoon. The hotel owner, Adrian Ivashkov, had married for the fourth time, and in a fit of generosity had given all the staff the afternoon off.
Christian was in town, so Lissa was spending the extra time with him, and Rose and Dimitri had decided to simply sit and enjoy one of the rare, warm autumn days. She was curled up in his lap, her ear pressed to his chest, listening to the steady thump of his heart, and his arms were wrapped around her waist, holding her securely.
And out of the blue, he'd tilted her face up, kissed her lips softly and spoken those words.
Tears sparkled in Rose's eyes and he'd brushed them away with the large pads of his thumbs as they slipped down her cheeks.
"I love you, too."
And then he'd done something even more surprising.
He'd cupped her face in her palms and stared into her eyes as he whispered his request. "Marry me?"
What wil Rose say? Are they moving too fast? Not fast enough? ;) Lol, has Dimitri just hit his head and gone absolutely doo-lalley?
You'll find out with tonight's update!