Disclaimer: I do not own VA and thank Richelle Mead for writing such an awesome series.

Thank you to my lovely readers who made suggestions on the dishes I could consider for the Banquets.

Also I forgot to thank 'touls' in my last chapter – for giving this story its 200th review! And I hope the sneak peek you got for this chapter made up for missing out on the sneak peek for the previous one.

Not going to say much (apart from sorry again for the delay in getting you the update)…Will let the chapter do the 'talking' but be warned its 'saucy' (And slightly different to previous chapters – I blame the stuff I've been reading lately!)

Please check out the AN at the end

Je vous remercie (French – thank you)
_

Two rival restaurants and chefs – what happens when love joins the menu?

Restaurant Wars

CHAPTER 20

Dimitri POV

I was looking forward to this week.

Our fathers where in Berlin on some restaurateur convention and we were given yet another chance to showcase our talents by running the Banquet challenge on our own. Sure they gave us the whole 'this is what the menu needs to be' coaching before heading off but in the end we were the ones who were going to cook and have the final say on which dishes we would include.

It was going to be strange, cooking for the judges and the other contenders at our individual restaurants – something they failed to mention at the end of last week's shooting. Another titbit they forgot to mention was that since we were cooking at our restaurants they were spreading out the challenge across 4 days and had randomly selected who would go when. At the moment Roza and I were scheduled to cook in the last two days of the challenge.

Oh my sweet Roza – every time I think of her, I can't help the goofy smile that comes across my face. I've had to be careful, since my sisters and Tasha have caught me a few times looking dreamily into the distance or walking around with a stupid grin on my face. Guess having father in Berlin right now was probably a good thing, otherwise he'd be playing 20 questions with me to figure out why I was suddenly in an upbeat mood.

Unfortunately we weren't any close to figuring out how we were going to reveal our relationship to our families or the best way to end the stupid feud. After the events of last week, where our relationship almost ended due to miscommunication & assumptions, we decided it'd be best to speak to each other on the phone every night – an opportunity to air out issues, concerns and fears. We had made some colossal mistakes in the past which had nearly destroyed our relationship and all the heartache and pain could have been avoided if we had just talked to one another.

Now tonight was going to be special – I had a date with Roza.

Well, it wasn't much of a date – more like two 'colleagues' working together in a kitchen, which was probably counter-productive since we were supposed to be competing against each other in the challenge.

We wanted to conduct a trial run for our banquets, see if the final dishes we had selected 'worked' well together. The exercise could have been done within our respective families but instead we choose each other – think it was more so we could spend time together than anything else. We couldn't use Roza's kitchen since Eddie was working on a large catering order but our kitchen was free, so the plan was Roza would come over with her box of ingredients after our restaurants were closed and all our staff had left for the night.

I was looking forward to cooking with Roza again – even though we would be doing our own thing I missed sharing a kitchen with her. It had felt like heaven working alongside her – total bliss. I had been staring off into the distance yet again, so was startled when I heard the loud knocking on the back door. Practically running and embarrassingly giddy with excitement, I almost threw the door off its handle to greet Roza, who stood there with an amused smirk at my antics.

"Evening Chef…" she whispered, causing the hair at the back of my neck to rise and goose bumps to erupt all over my skin. Having lost the ability to speak since I was spellbound by her beauty – she was wearing tight black jeans and a t-shirt that said 'Chefs do it better' – I moved out of the way and motioned her into the kitchen, grabbing the large box that housed her ingredients.

I gave her a quick tour of the kitchen so she knew where everything was and the entire time we walked around, she sauntered in front of me, swaying her hips and delicious derriere in a teasing and enticing manner.

How the hell were I supposed to cook anything with her being such a saucy distraction?

Ever since that night when we had been almost caught by her brother Eddie, Roza seemed to be on some kind of mission to tease me to death. Even though we had agreed we wouldn't try for another round of phone sex – since the last session was interrupted by her other brother, Christian (I swear her brothers are such big cockblockers!) – it hadn't stopped her from teasing me with sly hints and actions. I know she was frustrated by my stance for waiting but until we had figured out how we would handle our families I didn't want us to take this next step. It was the right move even if it was the hardest – in more ways than one!

After familiarising Roza with the kitchen, we sat down to discuss our final menus, families and the competition. I served us some Russian vodka, pickles and cured meats out of habit. When I realised what I had done, I thought Roza would have shied away from the strong drink and was about to offer her something else when I was pleasantly surprised (and mildly turned on) to see her grab a shot, hold my gaze with great intensity, exclaim "Za vstrechu!" and down the drink in one go! It was such a sexy move that I was rendered speechless while my heart hammered away in my chest.

"I didn't think you could handle Russian vodka…"

I murmured lamely, my eyes still locked with hers. She picked up a gerkin and in a move that almost caused me to come, slide the whole thing in one slurp into her mouth and proceeded to lick her fingers. She held my gaze as chewed the pickle, then finally she leant forward and whispered huskily.

"I'm sure you'd be surprised to find out what I am capable of handling… (she licked her lips seductively before leaning back and continuing)…but you forget I grew up with 3 brothers and a Scottish mother – I may not be Russian, but I can hold my alcohol…"

Could she be any sexier!?

Finally finding my bearings and the ability to speak, I shook my head clear of the sexy moment, though I had to clear my throat a few times to remove my nervous croak.

"So hmm…we should probably start cooking our menu…"

I felt a shiver run through me as I took in the intense look Roza gave me from across the counter as she poured us another shot each. It was beyond erotic that she was able to pour the perfect amount in each glass without breaking eye contact.

If I wasn't sure before, I was certain now – this was the woman I was to spend the rest of my life with!

"To us", she whispered before knocking the shot back.

Was her voice always that husky and enticing?

Even though I had more sexual experience than Roza, I found myself extremely nervous around this 'sexualised' persona of hers. When she played this role she was confident, daring and simmering with so much sexuality that it didn't take me long to gain a very hard, throbbing muscle.

Adjusting myself subtly, I was the first one to break eye contact and tried to distract myself by focusing on the list of dishes we were going to be cooking. I moaned quietly when I heard her giggle softly – the naughty minx knew exactly what she was doing to me!

I forced myself to ignore her for the moment and look at the two lists before me. We had approached the Banquet challenge by offering an entrée, salad, main and dessert with an additional bread-based side dish that would work with the others.

I was making:

Black bread

Beet Borscht

Olivye salad

Tefteli

Medovik

While Roza was making:

Lahmacun

Ezogelin

Kisir salad

Kofta

Kanafeh

As I went through the recipes in my head – so I could decide which dish to start on – I sensed Roza move closer to me, feigning to read our lists. I almost stopped breathing when I felt her soft breast push against my arm as she leaned into me, acting like she couldn't read my list from where she was standing. Even though her hair was tied up in a bun, a few strands where loose and these brushed against my cheek which was on level to her height since I was still sitting on the stool. She was driving me crazy and she knew it, as I saw the little smirk she was fighting hard to keep from appearing on her face.

Well two could play this game!

I allowed myself to enjoy her closeness, in fact I finally relaxed and opened my legs so I could gently manoeuvre Roza so she was standing between my legs instead of leaning over me 'awkwardly'. I kept my hands on her waist at a teasingly equal distance from her breasts and her hips, and even though all I was doing was holding her in place, I slowly moved my thumbs around, applying enough pressure to feel like a massage. I was rewarded with a soft moan before Roza closed the distance and laid back against my chest, giving me a tantalising view down her shirt which I hadn't realised was low enough to give me a great view of her heaving breasts. Using my nose to push aside a strand that was blocking my approach to her left ear, I bought my lips close and 'accidently' brushed against her lobe and neck as I murmured.

"So… How did you want to handle this? How should we start?"

At this point I wasn't sure if I was talking about cooking or taking Roza on the damn kitchen counter! The throbbing in my pants was unbelievable and it felt like I was going to explode if I didn't release the beast from within! Roza shivered at my touch and squirmed in my arms – nice to know I wasn't the only one suffering. She slowly turned around and placed her hands on my chest – a seemingly innocent move if it wasn't for the fact she had placed them perfectly over my hard nipples and started moving her hands gently in a circular motion as if massaging my pecs but really was caressing my nipples, forcing the hard nubs to harden even more.

The girl was playing a dangerous game!

Looking at me through lidded eyes, she leaned closer and whispered softly.

"Well I was thinking we should work together on the dishes – I teach you what I know…And you teach me what you know. How does that sound… Chef?"

The statement was loaded with sexual innuendo and it didn't help that she called me 'Chef' and proceeded to lick her lips.

Who knew being called 'Chef' could be such a turn on?

FUCK!

Seeing the hunger and desire in my eyes, that matched her own, I watched Roza push back and bought some much needed distance between our quivering bodies. Seeing something else in my features – maybe the struggle I was experiencing regarding keeping my promise to make her first time special – she finally took pity on me and paused her little game, for now.

Planting a gentle kiss on my cheek, she moved away and grabbed the apron from the box she had bought with her. She then pulled her phone out of her pocket and connected it to our speaker system and started playing some music. The first song that filtered through the speakers was 'our' song – the song we danced to at the club. While Ed Sheeran played away in the background, I watched Roza pull out the ingredients she had bought with her. While carrying out this mundane task she kept swaying and moving in time to the music and I found myself mesmerised by her luscious curves and hypnotising hips. She incorporated some of her belly dancing into the moves and a soft growl escaped my lips while I tried to adjust myself yet again – the woman was on a mission to torture me, whether she realised it or not!

Sensing my intense gaze, she finally turned around and gave me a sly once over, clearly enjoying the torment she was putting me through. Nibbling her bottom lip, she leant back on the counter – an action that would have seemed nonchalance if it wasn't for the fact it thrusted her ample chest forward and exposed her slender neck. I was moments away from saying 'Fuck it' and rushing over to ravish her delectable body but yet again noticing she had pushed too far, she toned down her sex appeal – if that was even possible – and straightened up her act.

With an endearing, shy smile she pushed a strand of hair nervously behind her ear and looking away from my probing gaze, she cleared her throat and attempted to bring us back to the task at hand.

"So…hmm…I figured we could start on the bread-base dishes first, since we have to leave the dough to rise. So I will start on the lahmacun and you can start on the black bread".

Not waiting for my response, she headed towards the sink to wash her hands and tried to keep her walk chaste. It was adorable watching her switch personas – she was playing the teasing game like a sexy vixen but her lack of experience and virgin status would come through every so often and cause her to become suddenly shy. It was causing some severe emotional whiplash for me while I tried to keep up with her ever changing signals and actions but it made things interesting and kept me on my toes. Luckily I found my libido slowly deflating, allowing my thoughts to finally focus on the reason for us being here in the first place.

I waiting patiently for her to finish washing her hands and forearms before doing the same. Thankfully she kept her distance though she was still close enough for me to smell the heady mix of jasmine, gardenias and sandalwood. From the corner of my eye I watched her continue to sway to the music that was playing the background and wondered how on earth I had been able to work with her on the food truck challenge without being distracted or causing accidents.

This was going to be a long night!

We stood opposite each other on the same counter and started preparing our doughs. I know I should have been concentrating on my own dish, but I kept looking at Roza as she worked away on the dough – her pink tongue sticking out in a cute manner as she kneaded and rolled the dough while every so often pushed back a strand with the back of her hand, smearing more flour on various parts of her face. God she was beautiful! She didn't need any make-up, jewellery or fancy clothes for her beauty and grace to shine through. I'm sure if I were to point out just how stunning she looked right now she would surely laugh at me and say I was being absurd.

Knowing I wasn't going to focus on my dough while watching her struggle with hers, I quickly wiped my hand on the tea towel I had nearby and walked over to her to lend a hand. Coming around and standing so she was in front of me while I was behind her, I bought my arms under hers and helped her with the kneading. She must have been in her own little world because the moment her back connected with my chest she jumped and almost fell back into my arms. Instantly recognising what I was trying to do, she resumed her movements and we worked the dough in tandem.

Our actions started off innocent – I would supply the strength and Roza would move and shape the dough. But it wasn't long before we started noticing other aspects of our position. I became very aware of her body as it rubbed against my own every time she leaned forward to roll the dough, to the point where her perfect butt kept rubbing against a very sensitive part of my body. And I could hear her breath catching and the slight shiver she would experience whenever I reached forward to push hard into the dough which caused my breath to brush against her neck.

I would never admit this out loud, but the moment we were in reminded me of the scene from the movie Ghost when Patrick Swayze and Demi Moore worked on the pottery wheel. Thanks to my sisters, I had seen the movie enough to know that scene well and when I was old enough to appreciate girls, I was finally able to understand the significance of the moment.

It was freaky how we both seemed to pick up on the hidden romantic setting at the same time, because our actions changed from simply kneading the dough to finding ways to bump, caress and press against each other. It wasn't long before we were breathing heavily, our hands entwined in each other's while Roza rubbed back and forth against me. In essence we were dry humping and it was both amazing and frustrating at the same time. My lips brushed against her ear and I nibbled against the edge until I reach the lobe, which I nipped playfully causing Roza to release a loud moan. I had just found the sensitive spot behind her ear and was about to work my magic when ironically 'Unchained melody' – the actual song that played in the pottery scene – came through the speakers. Instead of pushing us further into the moment it acted like a bucket of ice water because we both stopped moving, looked at each other and burst out laughing.

It was probably a strange way to react but we just found it too weird that the song would play in the background while we had our own romantic moment.

We were still laughing as I moved away from Roza and returned to my own dough, shaking my head at how we had completely lost ourselves in the sexual tension.

"Truce?"

Roza gasped when she finally found her breath. I was still chuckling so nodded my head in agreement. After that we kept to our respective sides of the counter while we finished preparing the dough to rest. Once done, we moved on to the dessert, knowing it would need time to set. Again we kept our distance and just focused on the cooking, only occasionally talking to discuss what we were doing while we made the food. I was so engrossed in getting the salad done I hadn't noticed the subtle change in Roza's demeanour. When I finally looked up, I noticed she was nibbling on her bottom lip nervously and kept throwing glances my way. Once I was done with the salad and had placed it in the fridge I finally addressed her unease.

"What's wrong Roza? You seem nervous and keep glancing my way…Everything ok?"

She had just finished on her own salad so she put that away before replying.

"How were you able to convince your family to allow me to work in your kitchen tonight?"

I felt my heart thump loudly in my chest – I had hoped she wouldn't ask me this question because I didn't want to tell her truth, but now that I was put on the spot, I had no choice.

"Well…hmm I told them I was going to hang back in the kitchen tonight after we closed and work on the banquet…by myself…"

She looked at me and when she saw I wasn't going to supply anything more, understanding finally flickered across her face.

"So you didn't tell them I was stopping by to practice in your kitchen?"

I looked away, feeling ashamed before nodding my head in agreement to her assumption. Now I was nervous and wanted to avoid her gaze because I was worried about her expression. Instead I heard her resigned sigh.

"I'm not angry with you Dimitri …it's not like I was honest with my family either…telling them I was going to be working late on the banquet as well….just didn't mention where I would be or with whom. But Dimitri…this is getting tiring and I know it's not your fault or anything but we really need to find a way to tell our families…I hate hiding our relationship like it's something bad…I love you and I want the people I know and love to know how I feel about you. All this sneaking around – while it's fun and exciting at times is getting tiresome and makes me feel like we are ashamed of our love or something – which I know is not the case for either of us…"

She looked away and I could see her lower lip trembling – she was trying to avoid looking at me as she struggled to control her emotions and not cry. My heart clenched in my chest and in two long strides I was by her side, pulling her into my arms.

"I'm sorry Roza…I know this sucks and I promise you I'm working on trying to find a solution as well….we have already told our closest siblings…maybe the next step is to tell our mothers? Maybe they can help guide us on how best to break the news to the rest of our families? I don't know about your mum, but I know mama isn't too keen on this feud either and even though she loves her family and understands the whole 'loyalty' aspect of it, she thinks the 'unknown' feud is stupid and high time put aside….so how about we reach out to them to help us out?"

She held me tightly and I felt her release some of the tension she was holding. I wish I could ease her concerns and find a quick solution. So far the only people in our corner were Eddie and Vika and though it felt nice having them there as support, there wasn't much they could really do for us – especially when it came to our fathers. No – the best approach to them would be via our mothers. All we could hope for was that their maternal love for their children would supersede the stupid feud.

"Come on Roza…we still have lots more cooking to do".

Giving her forehead a quick kiss, I returned to my side of the counter and gave Roza the opportunity to compose herself. Having left the dough long enough to rise, we went back to them to finish making our bread dishes. Once done we moved on to the soups.

Lost in our own little worlds again I was startled by Roza suddenly jumping, as if remembering something she had forgotten.

"Oh…before I forget...can you give me a lift home again? Mason still has my bike and I have no way to get home. If you can't its ok I can catch a cab home…"

I rolled my eyes at her uncertainty – like I wouldn't take up the chance to spend more time with her!

"Of course I can give you a lift home – I'd pick and drop you off every day if I could moya lyubov'…"

She gave me one of her sweet, shy smiles and it was all I could do to remain in my spot and not march over to her spot and kiss her senseless.

"Thank you….Chef…"

She whispered huskily, gazing at me through her lashes. And so the throbbing in my pants returned – with a vengeance. At this rate, with all the hot and cold moments, I wouldn't be surprised if I end up coming in my pants before the nights done.

The things this woman did to me!

Gently growling at her in warning – as a reminder of her promise to behave – we resumed with our cooking. Once the soups were done we only had the meat dishes to take care of and then we would be done for the night and could finally taste our creations – well most of them anyway, the Medovik would need to set in the fridge overnight.

It wasn't long before we had finally finished our banquet and the spread looked impressive. By that time in the night we were starving so had no qualms in enjoying the large array of food. I pulled Roza close to me and had her sitting in my lap while we fed each other our foods.

It suddenly dawned on me that this was our first real date. Since the weekend we had spent together working on the food truck challenge, we hadn't had a single chance to actually spend time together, uninterrupted. And here we were, having cooked a meal and eating it together. I embraced her tightly against me, feeling overwhelmed at the notion that it had taken us this long to even have this chance. It had been so easy to fall in love with Roza but the challenges we were currently facing had nothing to do with that love and everything to do with the love and duty we felt towards our families.

Burying my head in her soft, wavy hair – which I had let down from its confines once we had started eating – I no longer felt hungry for food. Instead my other 'hunger' returned and I slowly edged my lips from her chocolate strands to her creamy throat. Taking my time, I savoured the mind-warping sensations of tasting and feeling her soft, slightly sweaty skin under my lips, I proceeded to explore every inch of her beautiful neck and jaw. With a quick move that left Roza even more breathless, I spun her around so she was no longer facing the food but instead straddling me – chest to heaving chest. I grabbed her fingers, still coated in the last morsels of food she had just consumed and taking each one at a time I placed them in my mouth and gave them a good lick and suck – my excuse to clean the food off her fingers, my motivation to taste every part of her.

We were both breathless by the time I was finished 'cleaning' her fingers and Roza didn't even bother to regain her breath before her lips crashed against mine. Her pink, velvety lips moulded perfectly against my own and it felt like she was on a mission to devour me completely – there was absolutely nothing gentle about the way her tongue forced itself into my mouth and fought against my own or the way her hands fisted my hair and tugged them on mission to keep my head as close to her as possible. My own hands were busy – one having found its way to the base of her neck and hairline so I could hold her head firmly in place, while the other was slowly massaging her lower back and moving inch by inch to her luscious ass. When it had finally reached its destination, it squeezed causing Roza to emit the sexist moan I had heard to date.

Fuck this was getting out of hand!

At this rate, I was willing to rip our clothes off and take her against the damn counter – the gentleman in me was being very quickly replaced by the horn-dog persona and there was no way I would be gentle about the way I would ravish this goddess.

Thankfully we were interrupted and this time I was actually grateful because I had been only seconds away from tearing her shirt off. The music had abruptly stopped because her phone was ringing. It was Roza who now growled in frustration, as she pulled herself away from me and walked over to answer the call. Finally getting some much needed oxygen, I was glad to have this respite which allowed some common sense to come back to my thoughts.

This was not how I wanted to make love to Roza for the first time, especially since it would actually be her 'first time'. Glad that the universe saw to it to stop us from making a huge mistake, I suddenly realised Roza hadn't moved from her spot and seemed to be suspended in the spot. Adjusting myself quickly, I carefully walked over to her, worried at her deathly silence.

"What's wrong Roza?"

The frozen look of horror on her face twisted my stomach and it wasn't until I physically pulled her out of her position that she finally remembered where she was. Her eyes were already tearing up and I felt another punch in the gut as I repeated me question, fearing the worst.

"What's wrong moya lyubov'?

The tears finally burst through and as they streamed down her cheek she hoarsely muttered.

"There's been an accident…"

Online Russian language resource:

Za vstrechu – To our meeting

Such a meany aren't I leaving you on a cliff-hanger like that….who do you reckon it is? I know I normally finish 'challenges' on RPOV or DPOVs but this week's Banquet challenge will conclude in next chapter – which will be a BIG one! (For lots of reasons…)…

So even though it took me a while to get this to you…hope it was worth the wait :P

Again let me know if there are any glaring mistakes – I tried to finish editing this to two screaming kids seeking my attention *sigh*