"How come Meredith gets her dress tomorrow, and I don't?!" I grumbled, not for the first time this week. Dimitri ran his hand through his loose shoulder length hair – a sure sign he was getting frustrated with me.
"You heard what Babushka said, ангел. Meredith's dress took less work than yours. Besides – wouldn't you rather be at the lake with me tomorrow than at a dress fitting?!"
It had been a shit week. Knowing we were fast approaching our trials, Dimitri had stepped up the training even more, meaning we were constantly sore and tired. Sonya was getting more and more excited, and nervous, about her trip to Omsk with Olena, Babushka, and Eddie so was vacillating between enthusiasm and irritability fast enough to give us all whiplash. Finally, Abe had been in poor humor all week in what I believed to be directly attributable to the lack of the promised phone call from my mother. So we were all feeling out of sorts by the time Tuesday evening rolled around.
The plan was for Eddie to drive Sonya, Olena, and Yeva to Omsk in Olena's car. They would be setting out early in the morning to maximize the number of hours they could spend there. In Omsk, they would first visit Kirill and the flat, and then Olena and Yeva would do some shopping while Eddie, Kirill, and Sonya did the necessary tasks for the apartment.
Meredith said she'd planned to spend the morning sleeping in and relaxing before heading to Miroslava's to have the final fitting for her dress, while Dimitri and I were off to spend the day at the lake.
"We'll have a good day for it," Dimitri tempted. "The forecast is thirty degrees…"
"What's that in Fahrenheit?" I grumbled.
"Warm. About eighty-five."
I grunted. At least I wouldn't freeze.
I knew I was being a bitch about things, but I was still worried about my dress, and it seemed so unfair that Meredith got hers finished while I'd not even got a good look at mine yet. However a day off training was nothing to be sneezed at, and I was looking forward to a whole day alone with Dimitri, so I tried to reign in my mood.
The next morning all bar Meredith were up bright and early. Olena was busily stacking the trunk of her car with bottles of pickled vegetables, jars of jams and chutneys, kitchen towels and even some new saucepans. While even amongst the family she claimed she was 'helping Kirill settle into his new flat' and that 'a young man doesn't have time to shop for this sort of thing' no one even pretended to believe she was doing anything other than stocking Sonya's new kitchen. Finally, everything and everyone was loaded, and they set out for the two-hour drive to Omsk.
"I wish they'd taken Abe up on his offer to borrow the van," Dimitri mumbled as we stood out the front waving them goodbye.
"You know your Mama. She'd feel like she owed Abe a favor."
Back inside, I raced up to our bedroom, slipping on a bikini I'd optimistically packed back in the States. I quickly dressed, covering my swimsuit with a pair of cutoff shorts and a TShirt. Downstairs Dimitri was packing our picnic lunch; potato salad, cold chicken, cheese and crackers, strawberries and even a couple of bottles of wine. I passed him our towels, and by 8 am we were saying our farewells to Karolina, walking toward the lake with Paul on his way to school.
"Uncle Dimka? Is Sonya going to get married to Kirill?"
"It's a possibility," Dimitri replied with a smile.
"So are you going to marry Auntie Rose?"
"That depends," I replied, not looking at Paul or Dimitri.
"On what?" they both asked, one curious the other alarmed.
"It depends on whether your uncle can convince me to put up with him," I laughed, sidestepping the question.
A little later we came to the same road where I'd made my most recent kill.
"See you this afternoon, Paul," Dimitri said as we veered off the road toward the lake. I looked around dubiously. Here the lake looked like a huge, shallow, weedy expanse of water abutting a grassy field.
"Later in the day when it's hotter, it will get busy here. This is the closest point of the lake to town, and it's shallow so good for wading. But since we have all day, I thought we'd walk around to a more secluded spot where the water is deeper?"
I almost purred in satisfaction. 'Secluded spot' tied in with my plans for a little topless sunbathing later on. We continued around the edge of the lake, the shore changing from grassy fields to gravel and eventually large rocks. After an hour of walking, we clambered over some particularly large boulders, and Dimitri declared us 'arrived.'
The spot was gorgeous. A natural cove on the edge of the larger lake, the horseshoe-shaped space was hidden from view by large rocks on either side. You'd only be able to see into the cove from the lake itself. There was a pebbled beach area that transitioned into low shrubbery and behind that pristine forest.
"When we were kids in summer we'd spend days here," he said. "We'd come first thing in the morning. Mama would bring a loaf of bread and a bottle of pickled peppers and mushrooms, and we'd swim and play all day. Babushka would pick wild berries and herbs in the forest and Mama would sing and sew. They were happy times."
"They sound it," I said wrapping my arms around his waist and pulling him to me for a kiss. "Thank you for bringing me here, Comrade."
We'd gone for a swim in the cool, clear water, eaten a delicious lunch, shared a bottle of wine, swam again, and I was now lying on my tummy doing a little sunbathing. I reached behind me, pulling loose the strings fastening my bikini top.
"Roza?" Dimitri asked, his voice husky from where he was lounging bare-chested beside me, reading a Western.
"I don't want any tan lines," I explained. My face was hidden from him, but I was smirking. I lay there tanning for ten minutes before I rolled over, plucking my bikini top from my chest and lying there nude other than my skimpy bikini bottoms.
"Tan lines?" he moaned, moving closer to me on the picnic blanket.
"Ahha!" I agreed, not opening my eyes.
I felt him move closer, and then without warning, I felt my lover's mouth gently take a nipple between his lips.
"I won't tan if you do that," I murmured, without any real conviction.
"Tanning's overrated," he growled, relinquishing my breast for an instant before suckling at it like an infant. My hand slipped to his head, playing with his hair as he focused his attention on my chest. I rolled toward him, using my fingernails to draw patterns on his back as he playfully buried his face between my breasts.
"I could spend all day like this," he teased.
"Knock yourself out," I laughed, peppering the top of his head with kisses.
"Or maybe I could spend the day here," he continued, kissing his way down from my breasts to my midriff, rubbing his face against my abs. "You have some fine muscles there, Novice Hathaway," he crooned.
"You put them there," I laughed, running my fingers through his hair and trying not to laugh. No way in hell I was letting him know I was ticklish!
"Are you ticklish Roza?" he asked gleefully.
Damn!
"No, not ticklish…"
"I think you might be…" he argued.
"I'm not ticklish," I growled. "I just think there are better things you could be doing with your lips!"
"Uhha," Dimitri uttered disbelievingly but bringing his lips back up to my breasts again. "Is this more like it?"
"I can live with it," I sighed happily, stroking his head again as his lips worshipped my soft globes. He pulled me close to him, his hands playing on the bare skin of my back.
"I love you, Dimitri," I murmured nuzzling his hair.
"I know it," he replied. "I love you, too."
"I wish it could be like this all the time."
"No, you don't. You'd get bored."
"Maybe eventually," I conceded. "It just seems we never get enough time to ourselves. And it's only going to get worse once I get an allocation, isn't it?"
"It's hard to say. A lot depends on who you get allocated to."
"What if Christian won't have me as his Guardian?"
"We'll deal with that if it happens" he replied firmly. "But now is not the time to worry."
He rolled me onto my back, pushing his knee between my legs as he climbed on top of me. He alternated between my breasts, nipping and sucking at each until my nipples were puckered, hardened nubs. I arched my back, lifting my chest toward him, and he slipped an arm beneath me, holding me in place.
"You're beautiful. So so beautiful," he moaned, rocking his hips against mine. I gasped, feeling the hardness of his cock concealed by his swim shorts. I squirmed beneath him, wriggling until his hardness was pressed directly against my core. Leaning up, I nipped at his earlobe, my breath hitching with every firm push of his dick against the tiny bright yellow scrap of fabric covering my folds.
I slid my hands down his back, playing with the back of his swim trunks. Lifting the waistband gingerly, I slipped the fingers of one hand inside his bathers, letting them gently caress his backside, relishing in the tightening of the muscles of his ass as he ground himself against me.
Dimitri's lips were on my neck, trailing open-mouthed kisses up to just beneath my jawline. He was making the most adorable little groans, that just added to my excitement. My slit was slick with excitement, my body preparing me for him.
"We can't do it here! Anyone could see us!" I gasped as he again pushed his covered length hard against me.
"There's no one to see," Dimitri growled. He had a point. We were completely secluded in the little cove and had heard and seen no one all day. But in concession to my modesty, he sat up and pushed the picnic basket to one side. Taking a careful look around, he quickly removed my saturated bikini bottoms, unashamedly discarding his swimming trunks before settling back on top of me, pulling half of the picnic blanket over to cover us from any intrusive eyes.
"Happy?" he asked, his lips pressed hard against mine.
"Yes," I groaned. And a second later, we were one.
"Feeling more relaxed now?" he asked as he walked through the late afternoon sun along the waters edge back toward Baia.
"Very relaxed," I said with a smile. It had been the perfect afternoon – sunning ourselves, making love, skinny dipping, eating strawberries, having more wine, swimming again, and now walking home.
"Dimitri? Wherever we end up, I want us to still do things like this. I know it won't be all the time, but when we can."
"We will, Roza."
"How can you be so sure?"
"Because I love you. We'll find a way to be together and make the time to show each other we care."
I smiled as he stopped and dropped a delicate kiss onto my lips before we continued walking.
"How do you think Sonya went in Omsk?"
"It would have been ok. Mama would have approved of and loved everything in the flat. Babushka would point out tiny flaws, but secretly would be pleased for her. Eddie would be in his element!"
"Do you think Kirill's going to propose soon?"
Dimitri didn't reply, so I sneaked a look at his face.
"Oh my God! He's proposing today, isn't he?!" I gasped.
"No… But I think it's going to be soon…"
I grinned. It was hard to believe their whole love story had played out during the short weeks we'd been in Baia. But they'd both fallen head over heels, and I knew first hand how fast love could grow when given even the slightest encouragement. I hoped we'd be there to share in the happiness of Sonya and Kirill's engagement. I knew Dimitri hated being away from his family but particularly missing special events like these.
"I asked Mama to pick up a clock while she was out shopping today from us for their engagement. We'll be back in the States by the time they wed, so I wanted to have something we could give them if we're here on the day of their engagement."
"I'm going to be sad to leave," I admitted, his words reminding me that in two weeks time the elimination fights would be over, and we'd be heading back to the States. "I still can't believe I got to see Russia!"
"I still can't believe I got to bring you here. My family adores you, Roza. They already consider you one of their own…"
"I love them too. I feel at home here Comrade," I replied. "Baia feels like home."
I squeezed his hand, and we walked quietly through the grass at the water's edge toward the road, feeling a peace we only ever seemed to feel when we were in one another's company.
"We've done nothing but relax all day, but I'm exhausted," I joked as we reached the gravel road and turned toward home.
"Maybe we can have an early night," he suggested, his eyes meeting mine. Nothing more was said, but we stepped up our speed as we walked home.
"We're back," Dimitri called out as he let us into the house.
We walked into the living room to find Abe and Pavel sitting awkwardly drinking tea with Meredith and Karolina.
"Hey Baba," I said easily, going over to kiss his cheek. "Why are you here?"
"No reason. We saw Meredith here in town coming down the street with a dress bag, so we gave her a lift home. Karolina said she expected you'd be home before sundown, so since it wasn't long, I waited to say hello."
It was such a normal thing to do! My father stopping by for a cup of tea. Somehow it was heart-warming to know that we'd reached a stage in our relationship where we could interact in such an easy way.
"Mama and the others not back yet?" Dimitri asked, looking out through the net curtains to the rapidly approaching dusk.
"No," Karo said, trying not to look worried. "But they can't be far away."
"I'll call to check," Dimitri said, picking up the kitchen phone and dialing.
"Castile," he greeted. "Where are you? The light is fading."
The five of us watched as Dimitri listened to what Eddie was relaying.
"It sounds like the radiator fan," he groaned. "It's done that since forever when it's hot. The only thing to do is let it cool completely and then try starting it then. Where are you exactly?"
I could see Dimitri's jaw tightening as he heard whatever Eddie had to say.
"Castile? Listen to me. Get everyone into the car. Lock yourselves in. You're half an hour or so away from us, but we'll be there as soon as we can. Check the glove box. There should be an old stake of mine in there. I don't know if the charm's been renewed recently, but it's better than nothing."
To their credit, Abe and Pavel were already on their feet, Pavel on the phone to the house mobilizing Abe's Guardians. I raced upstairs to grab my stakes, Dimitri thundering up behind me. Still on the phone, he switched to speaker, changing into cargo pants and loading his stakes so he could fight if he needed to.
"An attack is unlikely. It's basically summer, and Strigoi aren't as active, particularly right after sundown. But you might also run afoul of human bandits. If anyone stops, follow Babushka and Mama's lead."
I was starting to panic. I could hear the tension in Eddie's voice as he spoke. Broken down on the side of the road at night with an old lady, a pregnant woman and an untrained woman in her forties to protect was not a great situation. We needed to get there as soon as possible.
Back downstairs, Pavel ordered Abe to stay put, unequivocally declaring his presence would be more hindrance than help. Dimitri issued brief instructions to Karolina and Meredith.
"Meredith, I need you to stay here with Karo, Abe, and the kids. Lock the doors," he ordered, and I passed her one of my stakes. That done Dimitri and I followed Pavel out to the van. Appreciating Dimitri knew the roads better, Pavel ceded control of the vehicle to my Russian God, also demanding I take the middle row center seat. The safest spot. Any other time I might have objected, but this time I zipped it and buckled up.
Dimitri all but flew into town, skidding to a stop in front of Abe's house to pick up four Guardians waiting on the kerbside. Before they were even properly buckled in, he was turning onto the road out of Baia headed toward Omsk.
"Call Eddie," Dimitri instructed. "I need to get a better idea of exactly where they are."
I slipped my phone out of my pocket, dialing Eddie's number. He answered immediately, and I put him on speaker. Eddie must have done likewise because hearing his mother's voice, Dimitri suddenly launched into Russian, firing off questions and getting answers.
"We're about fifteen minutes away," he said in English for my benefit, stepping up the speed as we hit the freeway.
We kept Eddie on the line, Olena tensely asking about our day. No one really felt like talking, but I filled the silence by nervously nattering about the lake. We were probably ten minutes away from them when it all turned to shit. Olena was halfway through telling us about their shopping adventures when there was a shrill scream from Sonya.
There was nothing for a moment, and then we heard Eddie bark "Stay in the car. All of you! Lock the doors" then a car door slamming.
"What's happening?" I gasped.
There was a pause then Yeva answered.
"Strigoi."