It had been a while since I had trained as hard as this morning, and I could feel it as I lay down after lunch. We were meant to be doing chores, but none of us had quite acclimatized to the new time zone, so Dimitri suggested we all rest until we resumed our training in an hour.

Eddie and Meredith both retired to their rooms, so we did likewise. Lying side by side on his bed, I curled up under one of Dimitri's arms as he continued reading the book I'd bought him in London. Or maybe he was already re-reading it already.

"I can smell you," I commented, getting a whiff from his underarm. It was masculine and combined with his deodorant was actually pretty sexy.

"Sorry," he said, starting to move to lower his arm.

"I didn't say I didn't like it," I mumbled, rolling over and kissing the underside of his jaw. I would have liked to take things further, but I had a feeling I was going to be sore enough tomorrow already.

"I might just check on Lissa," I said, seeing Dimitri so engrossed in his reading.

I put my head on Dimitri's shoulder, smiling when I felt his fingers playing with the ends of my hair. With my eyes closed, I opened my mind and 'looked' for Lissa. It didn't take long, and I slipped into her head.

Baia was ten hours ahead of Pennsylvania, so while it was 2 pm here, it was 4 am there. However, since Lissa was running on the Moroi nocturnal schedule, it meant she'd just got home from school with Christian. In fact, the two of them were sitting in the living room in the Ozera house hanging out.

"Does Tasha want to come to the Badica's party with us?" Lissa was asking Christian. "She's been flat since Guardian Belikov left for Russia – maybe it will cheer her up?"

"You can ask, but I doubt it. You know how she hates those fancy get togethers."

The way he said it made it clear he wasn't too keen on them, either, but I knew he would go and try and enjoy himself for Lissa's benefit.

"Maybe a night out is just what she needs?" Lissa said optimistically. "We could make a real thing of it. Get our hair and makeup done and buy new dresses?"

Christian shrugged, but he didn't look convinced.

"I'm going to ask her," she said, standing up from the sofa and walking up the stairs and toward the master suite at the front of the house. Knocking at the closed door, she waited for Tasha to say come in.

Lissa opened the door and stepped into an enormous set of rooms. While she'd seen it from the doorway, she'd not been in there yet. Taking up the entire front of the house, the master had a separate sitting area, two dressing rooms, a palatial bathroom as well as a large sleeping area complete with a lady's dressing table and a man's valet stand.

Tasha was sitting at a small bureau in the sitting area with a laptop, calculator and a pile of paperwork. She looked up and noticed Lissa looking around curiously.

"I haven't changed any of it since Moira and Lucas died," she explained. "It's all exactly as they left it. To begin with, I was focused on supporting Christian through everything, and the last thing he needed was to stay where everything was a reminder of them. Then we were never here, so it wasn't a priority. Now I thought you and Christian might want to keep some of it, so I thought I'd let you go through it when the time comes."

She said it with a smile, but there was sadness behind Tasha's words.

"When the time comes?" Lissa questioned.

"I see the way things are with you two. You're in love, and unless I don't know my nephew as well as I think I do, I'm sure he'd like to marry you sooner rather than later. All this will be his when he's twenty-one. I'm just looking after it until he comes of age."

"You don't want to live here?" Lissa asked her mind reeling. Christian's financial status had never really occurred to her before now. As the sole heiress to the Dragomir fortune, she'd assumed her money would provide for both of them. She had, however, thought about marriage and she was hopeful one day Christian would pop the question.

"Court doesn't agree with me," Tasha said sadly, "and I don't agree with it. I much prefer living in the human world. While the bulk of the family money went to Lucas when our parents died, I was also well provided for. Once Christian comes of age, I intend to return to the human world and continue my life there."

She didn't say it, but Lissa could tell she still hoped she'd have someone to share that life with.

"I've noticed you've been a little flat since Guardian Belikov left for Russia. The Badica's are having a party this weekend – I thought you might like to join us?"

Tasha's eyes dipped at the mention of Dimitri's name, and I could feel Lissa's sympathy.

"Thanks, but I'm not sure I feel like it," Tasha said softly.

"We could make a day of it? We could have massages and get our nails and hair done? Guardian Belikov will be back soon enough. You might as well have fun and treat yourself while you're waiting," Lissa said sweetly.

While everyone else, including Christian, had got the message Dimitri wasn't keen on becoming Tasha's Guardian, Lissa was still blissfully ignorant.

"I'm not sure he wants to guard me," Tasha said sadly. "Twice now I'd hoped he'd come and spend some time to get an idea of how it could work, but both times he's gone elsewhere."

"He's a Guardian, Tasha. It's not like he gets to choose…"

"He asked Guardian Petrov to allocate him to train the Novices in Russia," she argued. "That wasn't going to happen until he requested it."

"I think it was too good an opportunity to refuse," Lissa replied. "An all expenses paid trip home... Anyway - six weeks will fly in no time," she said, trying to focus on the positives. "Come to the party with us. It could be fun…"

"I suppose I could buy a new dress and try some new up styles," Tasha said looking at her mane of black hair. "Dimitri will be back in time for the Queen's Birthday ball. Maybe I can do a trial run for that?"

"That's the spirit," Lissa said enthusiastically. "We'll go shopping this week and find the perfect dress. Guardian Belikov won't be able to resist you once he sees you all dressed up!"

I pulled myself out of Lissa's head with a sigh. I couldn't blame Lissa for not getting with the agenda, but Dimitri told me he'd made it clear to Tasha he wasn't interested in being anything more than friends with her.

"Everything ok?" my love asked, his book resting on the covers.

"I suppose…"

"Roza?" he asked sternly.

"Lissa's talking with Tasha. Tasha is still upset you're not staying there. She's going out shopping with Liss to buy a dress to impress you at the Queen's Birthday Ball," I grumbled.

Dimitri surprised me by chuckling. I, personally, didn't think there was anything funny about scar-face still carrying a torch for him and said as much.

"Rose, it's you I want and you I love. You don't need to worry about Tasha."

"Says the man who can barely say a polite word to Adrian," I replied raising my eyebrows.

"That's different. He's all over you, and I can tell he wants to have sex with you!"

I pffted.

"Comrade? I hate to tell you this, but I'm pretty sure Tasha doesn't just want to play tiddly winks with you…"

He shuddered, which actually made me feel a whole lot better.

"It doesn't matter, Roza. She's not the one I care about."

"I know. It's just you said you were going to make it clear you weren't interested in her."

"I tried… I really did. I thought she'd got the message."

"Next time I'll help you with it," I growled, knowing I'd make sure the message was crystal clear.

"So what do you have in mind?" Meredith asked as the four of us were doing a fast jog around town in the afternoon.

"I'm not sure. Pavel didn't say much, only that he's never seen Abe put himself out there for anyone like he has for me, and that he doesn't make a big deal of his birthday. I know it's really new, but he's done so much for me. And he's my dad… I want to hold a party for him!"

Dimitri gave me a big smile.

"What about a big family meal? Mama can cook something special?"

I shook my head.

"I want it to be from me. Well, us. What if we cook and organize it all? We could plan and make the meal for everyone and then we could have a bonfire in the back yard afterward. You said you used to love having those when you lived here. We'll invite Abe and all his Guardians. It will be fun!"

"We could make sashlyk," Dimitri suggested, explaining they were cubes of marinated skewered meat cooked over coals, and that they were delicious.

"That's perfect!" I enthused. "Pavel said it's next Sunday." It was Friday today, so that gave us just over a week to plan.

"It shouldn't take too much. I'll get Mama to buy the ingredients. We can do the skewers after church next Sunday. That should give us plenty of time to get everything ready."

"I'd like to get him a present, too. I don't have a lot to spend, but I noticed his wallet was looking worn the other night when he pulled it out to pay your mom. So maybe a new one?"

Dimitri said he knew just the place and promised to take me there tomorrow.

After running for almost an hour, we ended back at the gym, and again there were Dhampir training there. Men and women. While it was mostly men, I was surprised to see some unpromised females training, too.

"Even though they're not Guardians, some of the Dhampir women like to keep up with their training," Dimitri said quietly, correctly interpreting my curious glance. "Some work in the human world, some are homemakers."

He didn't come out and say it, but I knew he was letting me know these were not blood whores – simply women like his sisters who had chosen to do something other than guard with their lives.

With the equipment again in use, Dimitri had us doing squats and using heavy bags to do core exercises. While it was boring, I understood why it was necessary. I also knew I was going to be in a world of pain tomorrow.

"Are we going to be having our first fights tomorrow?" I asked a little nervously. While no one had been outright rude, we were certainly drawing our fair share of attention using the gym.

"Next week," Dimitri said with a smile. "I'll give everyone a week to get used to us, and for the word to spread about what we're up to."

He'd only just finished speaking when a male Dhampir around his own age walked into the gym. He took one look at my Russian God and called out "Mitya!" from across the gym.

Dimitri turned and his face split into a huge grin, and he walked across to greet the man. They spoke animatedly in Russian for a few minutes before Dimitri led him over to where Meredith, Eddie and I were carrying on with our workout.

"Guys, this is Kirill. We trained at St. Basil's together. Kirill, this is my girlfriend Rose and her classmates Eddie and Meredith. They were at St. Vladimir's, but it's been temporarily closed. I'm training them here for six weeks, and they'll be graduating from St. Basil's."

Kirill smiled at us all politely, noticing the casual way Dimitri draped his arm around me.

"So someone has finally claimed Belikov's heart," he laughed. "We thought Dimitri would never settle down."

"And here's me thinking you would have had girls lining up to date you, Comrade," I teased.

"Oh he did," Kirill laughed. "The girls loved him, but he never got serious with any of them. Of course, that didn't stop him having fun…"

"Is that right?" I said looking up at Dimitri questioningly. We hadn't discussed his past loves, but if I'd had to guess I would have picked him as the type to have a long term girlfriend throughout high school, not some sort of player.

"I went out on a few dates," Dimitri replied a little nervously. It was as though he could tell we'd be discussing this later.

"A few?!" Kirill chortled. "You and Ivan had a different girl on your arm every week!"

"Yes well. That's all changed now hasn't it?" Dimitri said giving Kirill a look and pulling me close to his side. "There's only one woman for me, now," he said pointedly. "So what are you doing in town?"

"Darya had a baby," Kirill said looking far from happy about it. "She's at home with Mama, so I'm visiting for a few weeks."

"Ohh…" Dimitri's eyes went wide. "Please give her our congratulations."

Kirill nodded, still looking as though he wanted to punch someone's head in.

"Is it a boy or a girl?" Dimitri enquired.

"A boy," Kirill said looking a little happier. "A healthy little boy. She called him Anatoly!"

"Watch it, Kirill – being an uncle is expensive. I'm always seeing things I want to send my niece and nephew!"

"Yes, and another on the way I hear?"

"That's right," Dimitri said, it now his turn to look unhappy, but shrugging as if to say 'what can you do.'

"Well, it's good to see you, Mitya. I'll be here for a week or so; we should go out for some drinks."

"I know your idea of a few drinks, and I don't think so," Dimitri laughed. "I'm getting too old for a hangover like that. Why don't you come over for dinner next week? Wednesday? Mama and the girls would love to see you."

"Are you sure that would be ok?" he asked, looking a little torn.

"Of course it will be," Dimitri reassured him.

Kirill walked across to the weights area of the gym while we finished our workout. At twilight, the gym started to clear, and we followed, Dimitri raising his hand and bidding Kirill farewell before the four of us sprinted back to the Belikov house, walking in to find the table set and Olena starting to load it with food.

"Wash up before dinner," she ordered with a smile. I followed Dimitri upstairs, arriving in front of the bathroom at the same time he did.

"It will be faster if we shower together," he tempted, not that I needed much convincing - which is how we found ourselves kissing and cuddling in the shower stall together as the hot water coursed over our tired muscles.

"You are so beautiful," Dimitri whispered into my ear, his hands dipping from around my waist to cup my backside.

"Hmm," I groaned in appreciation. "That feels good…"

I reached up and wrapped my arms around his neck, our lips joining in a kiss.

"We'd better get downstairs," he grumbled pulling away. "But hold that thought. I'm going to give you a nice long massage before bed tonight," he promised.

"I can't wait," I told him, smiling in anticipation.

Back in his room we quickly dressed, throwing on some clean sweats before heading downstairs. Olena was just finishing bringing the food to the table as we converged, so we quickly took our seats, admiring the alarming amount of food in front of us. Viktoria led us in a quick prayer before we all dug in.

Karolina started telling us a funny story about Zoya putting her fist in her mouth and then trying to fit the other in at the same time, and that she'd visited the health nurse who said she might be ready for solids. Olena and Yeva both had their own thoughts on the issue, which were contradictory, so there was some discussion about that.

Dimitri then announced that since she wasn't going back to school until Sunday, Vika should join us for our Saturday training tomorrow and each weekend when she was home. Initially she wasn't thrilled, but she was a lot more enthusiastic when Dimitri explained Abe was putting on food on Saturday afternoons and the local Dhampir would be invited to spar with the Novices.

"Everyone's going to be there, Mama. You and the girls should come down, too."

"That's very generous of Mr. Mazur," Olena said. "I'll bring down some salads."

"You don't need to," I said. "I think he's planning to have it catered."

"You can never have too many salads," Olena said with determination, declaring the matter closed.

"You'll never guess who I ran into at the gym today," Dimitri said. It was very casual, but I could tell he was being purposeful.

"No? Who?" Karolina replied.

"Kirill! He's in town as Darya's had a baby."

"I heard about that," Olena said darkly, her lips pursed.

"Darya was the year below me at St. Basil's," Viktoria explained. "Kirill is her big brother. She's fifteen."

Meredith and I both sucked in our breath, and Eddie looked uncomfortable. The idea of becoming a parent at that age was abhorrent.

"He wanted to catch up, so I suggested he come to dinner next Wednesday," Dimitri said to his mother questioningly.

"Of course. It would be lovely to see him," Olena replied.

"Don't you think you should have asked me first?" Sonya snapped looking very pissed off.

"He's my friend, Sonya. It's not like you and he ever went out of anything."

"I still wished you'd asked me. I'm not sure I want to see him!" she said, fire in her eyes.

"Well, I can tell him not to come if you'd rather, but he seemed very keen to see you… He'd be disappointed to miss the opportunity…"

Sonya looked uncertain, and her hand dropped to her barely there baby bump.

"Let him come," she said with a shake of her head. "If I don't want to see him, I'll go visit Oksana or Lena."

Dimitri smiled, and I knew he felt he'd won a little victory.

The rest of dinner was spent discussing training and then talking about Abe's birthday party. As Dimitri had anticipated, Olena and the rest of the family were happy to help out. Olena immediately volunteered to cook, but obligingly agreed to hand over her kitchen to Dimitri, Eddie, Meredith and I when I explained I wanted it to be something we did.

Karolina mentioned the neighbors had a tree that needed to be felled, and she was sure they'd give us the logs if we helped lop it. Babushka promised to borrow sashlyk sticks and the coal trough from a friend, and the Belikov girls volunteered to bake a cake. And just like that, it all came together.

After dinner, we washed and dried the dishes. While the Belikovs stayed up to watch TV in Russian, Eddie, Meredith, Dimitri and I, all decided on an early night.

"I believe I was promised a massage?" I prompted as soon as Dimitri and I walked into our bedroom.

"I think I can do that," Dimitri said, eyeing me up as I stripped to my bra and panties and lay in the middle of the bed.

"Good," I purred, turning to fix him with my gaze as he came to sit on the bed next to me. "And while you're doing it, you can tell me all about these many dates with many girls you used to go on," I suggested.