****Disclaimer: I do not, in any way, profit from this story and all creative rights to the characters belong to Richelle Mead.****

Unfortunately, winter was on its way. And that meant I had to say goodbye to my cute shorts, tank tops, and flip flops until next spring. Temperatures had dropped tremendously the past week, thus I had to start bundling up or I would probably catch frostbite. I liked to keep all ten of my toes.

The one good thing about Dimitri—besides his stunning good looks—was his lack of care or concern with my choice of clothing for our practices. So long as I was present and punctual, I could wear anything I wanted.

It was 6 o clock at night, time for after school practice with my Russian jailer, and an hour before curfew—thanks to Meredith's gruesome murder.

They still hadn't found any leads to who might have committed the murders—the person or persons could be on the other side of the world by now for all they knew. The more time that passed by, the likelihood of catching whoever did this dropped even further. The clock was ticking.

I had put all of my faith into the police system. And I was just now starting to realize that wasn't the most logical thing to do. Sure it was their job, and they were good at it, but they could only do so much—obviously.

I didn't want to sit around and wait for the next teenage girl to get murdered. And everyone was positive the killer would strike again. And whoever the killer was, they were clever in what they did. They were neat and unobtrusive. No one had seen or heard Meredith's body being dumped on school grounds—which I find peculiar considering how many students and staff workers walked around St. Augustine's.

I'd already begun forming my own hypothesis of who might have killed Meredith and kidnapped the missing girls.

I knew, beyond the shadow of a doubt, that it was someone who was familiar with the system here at St. Augustine's. Possibly even someone who worked here. Maybe even a student—but I doubted that, a teenager would be sloppy, conspicuous, and draw a lot of attention to them selves. Yeah, I ruled the chance of a student being the murderer out.

I had a feeling the killer was someone who blended in with the crowd. An insider. The thought of it being someone I knew scared the hell out of me. Students here at St. Augustine's were growing increasingly uneasy about the situation. Hell, even I was glancing nervously over my shoulder every couple of minutes. I even made sure to lock my dorm room anytime I occupied it—day or night. I wanted to catch this murderer and have this nightmare finally over.

I felt like Sherlock Holmes, the only thing I was missing was a deerstalker, microscope, and a pipe.

I shook my head to clear the negative thoughts and took a deep calming breath. There was plenty of negative energy flowing around campus; I didn't need to feed it. I planned on staying on the positive side with my close friends and Dimitri. Everyone else could run and join Dark Vader on the dark side.

I slipped into a pair of thermal tights and a pair of black jeans. After pulling on a matching thermal shirt, combat boots, and my favorite leather jacket, I headed out the door to meet Dimitri. The taser nuzzled in my pocket for protection—the safety button clicked on. I'd learned my lesson when I tried to zap both Adrian and Christian and accidentally caught myself instead.

I was informed by Dimitri today at morning practice that I'd be having a lesson in firearms. I was excited to say the least and I made sure to dress for the part.

I was unsure of how I felt towards what he'd confessed to me the previous week. At first I was ecstatic, amazed, out-of-this-world happy. Dimitri had finally admitted he felt something for me! But at the following practice, his face was emotionless and guarded—indicating he wasn't planning on mentioning anything towards our romantic situation. If you could even call it that.

There were times I even questioned my sanity. Did he really call me beautiful? Had I imagined it? Did my brain form the words I wanted to hear? It ached my mind just thinking of it.

There was one thing I was positive about: The increase in sexual tension between Dimitri and I. I could feel it—the way it got harder to breathe around him, the thickness in the air, and the sickly sweet taste of lust. And I was positive he felt it too.

"Morning, Comrade." I waved, "You look ready to kick some serious ass."

Dimitri was clad in olive green army pants, a cotton black tank-top, combat boots, a bullet proof vest, and protective yellow glasses—the ones that people wear at a shooting range. I wanted to run my fingers through his silky shoulder length brown hair that was worn loose and shaggy today.

He looked dangerous. Sexy. I had an undeniable urge to rip his clothes off and tackle him to the grassy field and make sweet passionate love to his body. I might even let him keep the bullet proof vest on during sex, possibly the glasses too.

My libido was begging to be satisfied or at the very least partially quenched. I blamed my horniness on being a teenager with raging hormones. I knew that wasn't the case at all, the cause of all my problems was standing in front of me, smiling with his arms crossed, muscles bulging.

"Good morning, Rose." Dimitri said, voice relaxed and airy. He was in a good mood. Yippee!

"So, where are the big guns at?" I asked, "And don't say your arms. It's cliché and totally unoriginal."

This got an eye roll.

"First, put this on." He handed me a black vest that matched his, only this one was much smaller.

"You're not going to shoot me, are you?" I pulled the bullet proof vest over my head.

"No."

"Then why do we have to put these on?"

"It is a precaution. Accidents happen all the time. We are dealing with firearms."

"Is this your subtle way of apologizing in advance if anything shall go wrong?"

"I'm not going to shoot you."

"Accidents happen all the time." I threw his words right back at him.

Dimitri bit his tongue, momentarily unsure of how to respond.

"You're wearing the vest because it is better to be safe than sorry. I'll try my best not to hit you with a bullet, Ms. Hathaway." He winked.

My God, if Dimitri looked incredibly sexy doing that little gesture...just imagine what a strip tease or lap dance would be like.

Stop it! I scolded myself.

"Thanks, Comrade." I smiled sweetly. "It's always comforting to know that you won't pull the trigger on me—purposely."

Dimitri cracked a small smile. "Come on, let's go."

He led me towards the outlying fields of the school—it was smart not to have passing students in the line of fire. There was a flat plane of dirt and rocks.

"Stop right here. This is where I'll be shooting." His hand shot out to prevent me from going any further.

Approximately twenty feet out, was a line up of empty aluminum cans, glass bottles, and colorful circle targets.

That's not what caught my eye. The life-size cardboard cutouts sung to me. They looked incredibly life like, with expressions ranging from happy to sad to angry. One in particular stood out to me. It was a woman cutout with curly red hair and a scowl etched on her face, teeth barring. My mother, Janine Hathaway.

"I call dibs on that one!" I pointed dramatically towards it.

Dimitri outright laughed, and I'm pretty sure it was at me and not with me.

"You're not shooting today."

I gaped. "What? That's not fair!"

"I didn't become your mentor so I could be fair," He pulled out a sleek black gun and slammed the clip into it. "I am your mentor so I can teach you self-control, respect and discipline. You are not shooting today."

I crossed my arms and narrowed my eyes at him.

Dimitri didn't seem fazed as he went on with the lesson. "This is a 9 mm semi automatic. It will do some damage, but not as much as some of the other firearms here at St. Augustine's."

"And here I was thinking we were going to be using something cool like an UZI or a rifle, possibly even a tank."

"Rose," he warned, underlying irritation to his tone. "If you are not going to take this serious, then we will not be doing it. Handling firearms takes extreme responsibility and caution."

"I'm not going to be handling any guns, remember?"

Dimitri released a long drawn out exasperated sigh. "You are the most obstinate woman in the world."

I put my hand on my hip. "So I've been told."

"I'm not doing this for fun, Rose. I'm doing this to help you." His gaze intensified. "By doing this—" Dimitri jabbed a finger towards the targets. "You will be ahead of your fellow cadets. I have total and complete faith that you will surpass them in your upcoming trials if you work hard enough."

My lips involuntary twitched into a smile. "Thanks—I guess."

"And…" he let the word trail off.

"And?"

"And if you remain on good behavior during this lesson," Dimitri handed me the same protective glasses and earplugs he was wearing. "I might let you shoot off a couple of rounds at the end—if you swear to be careful and not fool around."

"I swear, I swear!" I jumped up and down, squealing excitedly. "Thank you. You're the best mentor ever."

Unable to help myself, I ran up to Dimitri and jumped up to give him a hug. My hands encircled his neck, my feet off the ground—thanks to his impossible height. I probably looked like a monkey hanging around Dimitri's neck.

His stiff posture indicated he'd been startled by my sudden actions. But after a few seconds, he chuckled and wrapped his arms around me.

"You're welcome." Dimitri whispered.

Reluctantly, I unlocked my arms and jumped back to the ground. Dimitri smiled down at me. I returned it.

"Put on your protective gear." he instructed.

I did.

And I had to admit…Dimitri and I looked like one badass team.

"We're like Bo and Luke Duke," I said.

Dimitri stared at me.

"You know," I waved my hand in the air. "From The Dukes of Hazzard."

More staring.

"Ah," I made a dismissive motion. "Never mind! Just forget I said anything."

"Alright," he arched an eyebrow. "Watch closely at everything I do."

I nodded.

Dimitri pulled the gun out and pointed it ahead of him, aiming for a glass bottle. "The first thing is you need to keep your hips and shoulders squared at the target."

"Got cha'."

"Keep your arms straight up and place one hand along the bottom of the trigger guard. Acquire your target."

Dimitri demonstrated the move. I nodded to let him know I was following along.

"And fire."

I heard a popping noise as the bullet left the gun and exploded through the glass bottle, shattering into a thousand pieces.

"Bulls eye!" I fist pumped the air. "That was so fucking cool!"

He smiled dryly. "Language, Rose."

"Sorry." I pursed my lips together.

Dimitri continued to shoot the gun over and over again. And although I was wearing protective ear plugs, my ears ached with a constant ringing. It was worth the discomfort though. Seeing Dimitri fire his gun repeatedly was a site to behold. He was skilled and confident in what he did, you could tell by the way he carried himself. Dimitri with a firearm was sexy. Dangerous. Powerful. Intimidating.

By the end of training, he kept his promise and allowed me to shot off a couple of rounds myself.

Dimitri replaced the clip and carefully handed the semi automatic to me, handle first.

I got into a nice solid stance—just like he had—and pointed the gun straight at the red head cardboard cutout. I shot.

"Damn it," I muttered. "Why did I miss? I had it aimed perfectly."

"No, you didn't," Dimitri arms were crossed casually. "Give it a couple more tries."

I did. None of the bullets made contact with their target.

I kicked a rock in frustration and swore loudly.

"You obviously didn't watch me carefully enough." he said.

"Yes, I did!" I protested. "I watched everything you did, Dimitri. You lick your lips before you pull the trigger—every damn time."

"What?"

"Nothing." I muttered.

"If you were observant enough," he said, pointing to the Janine cutout. "Each one of those bullets would have met their destination. Try it again."

I growled and got back into a aggressive formation.

"No, you're too tense." Dimitri came up behind me to correct my stance. With his chest pressed firmly against my back, he placed his arms over mine, his long graceful fingers curling over my hand on the gun. "You need to loosen up a bit."

I took in a sharp breath. "Look who's talking."

He chuckled and his breath tickled my neck. I shivered.

"Relax your arms." One of his hands slowly trailed up and began kneading miracles into my bicep.

"That's it," Dimitri whispered encouragingly. "Now keep your shoulders and chin straight. And…fire."

He placed his index finger over mine and applied pressure.

The bullet struck the redhead straight in the forehead, between her orange eyebrows.

"We did it! We did it!" I giggled.

"You did it." Dimitri released me and smiled. Respect and pride shone brightly in his dark eyes.

"Thank you."

He nodded, that genuine smile never faltered.

Of course, when you achieve something as impressive as I had, pride and bragging naturally come along with it. And in my case, it was excessive. But hey, I was proud of myself and I wanted to shout my accomplishments to the world.

"And then I ripped the gun out of its holster and shot her smack dab in the forehead. Her soul and shame…like literally…spilled into the dirt."

"It was a cardboard cutout, Rose. Not an actual human being." Lissa said at the same time Christian said. "You do know what literally means, don't you?"

Christian and Lissa cuddled together on my bed, while I explained—in vivid detail—my experience at the shooting range with Dimitri today. Some may believe I over dramatized it, but I believe I told the story just right.

"Whatever, whatever." I waved my hand in the air. "You should have seen me out there. Yellow glasses, bullet proof vest, sleek black gun…sweat just pouring down my face. I looked like a true—"

"Badass." Christian and Lissa yelled in unison.

"Yeah. Rose…I love to hear about this. But you've told the same thing over and over again." she said.

"At least several dozen times." Christian added.

I shrugged. "I don't know, I though it was pretty cool."

"It is very cool." Lissa's head bobbed up and down. "Isn't it very cool, babe?"

She looked at Christian. He nodded. "It's very cool."

"But," Lissa yawned and stretched her arms out. "It's two hours past curfew and I'm getting pretty tired."

"Me too." Christian added.

I laughed. "You guys are terrible actors, ya know that?"

They both gazed at me, their faces carefully blank and innocent. I snorted.

"Just get out of here you two," I made a shooing motion. "I can tell you are dying to. Are my stories really that bad? Sheesh!"

"No they're wonderful, Rose. Honestly, they are." Lissa and Christian already had my door open, conspicuously trying to head out as fast as possible.

Eager much?

"Just with the killer on the loose and all," she shrugged, "It's safer for us to be in our rooms."

"Yeah, yeah. Get outta here. No need for lame excuses."

Lissa smiled and kissed my cheek. "Sweet dreams, Love you! See you tomorrow at lunch."

"Love you, too." I grinned.

"Good night, psychopath." Christian waved.

I flipped him off. "Night, hotstuff."

"Shh, shh, Rosemarie," How does he know my name? "Just relax, hun…you'll be fine—for now."

I felt a pinch in the fold of my arm. The needle.

A second later, I felt a burning sensation as he injected the contents into my blood stream.

I screamed in agony. It wasn't enough. I couldn't move. I couldn't talk. I could feel pain.

I was useless.

I felt like was being held underwater. I was trapped in my own body and couldn't escape.

"It's okay, it's okay…" Something metal shined against the light. A scalpel.

I felt it cut deep into my skin. A horrible, stingy sensation. A crimson color reflected in his green eyes. My blood, my life line seeping out of me…

"Please, don't please…stop." I was begging for my life.

I didn't want it to end now. I wanted to grow old, have children…I wanted to see my 18th birthday. I didn't deserve to die...not like this.

"Hand me the electric saw," the doctor looked past me—I was unsure at who or what. "I need to get past her ribs so I can reach her heart."

"NO!"

I shot up in my bed screaming, drenched in sweat, and breathing heavily. My body was shaking uncontrollably. I could still feel the poison leaking into my veins, the burning of the knife cutting viciously into my flesh. I lifted up my shirt to peer at my stomach. It was tan and smooth. No flesh wounds.

Still shaking, I searched the nightstand frantically for my inhaler. My fingers curled around the cool, white plastic as I brought it to my lips, greedily breathing in four hits. My lungs instantly felt better. But I was still absolutely terrified as the memories of my gruesome dream danced in my brain.

Tears stung my eyes and began falling down my cheeks. I clutched the sheets of my bed for dear life. I sobbed embarrassingly loud—the frustration, the fear, and the hopelessness nearly overwhelming. I felt like I was falling apart. The murders and these repetitive dreams I'd been having were really beginning to take their toll on my mind and body.

No matter how much I tried to deny it, I knew there was something bad coming—and it was heading straight for me. The only question was when?

It was always in the back of my mind.

And I honestly didn't want to know the answer. The more knowledge the more sorrow and worry. Ignorance was bliss.

My fingers brushed against the chain around my neck. A spare key to Dimitri's house.

I ran to my closet and searched for the jeans I'd worn on the day Dimitri had given me his number. It didn't take long—I had a very small wardrobe. Not that I was complaining, I loved my old jeans and comfy t-shirts.

I unlocked the multiple locks on my door and crept out into the hallway. The lighting was dim—it would be, it was the middle of the night. There was an eerie feeling in the air—like someone was watching me—that made my stomach knot in fear and caused my heart to speed up.

Blaming it on my paranoia and imagination, I simply tried to ignore it. With a trembling hand, I reached for the housing phone and dialed the numbers written on the paper.

Dimitri picked up on the fourth ring, sounding drowsy and sluggish.

"Belikov."

It was such a relief to hear his deep accented voice. I was so happy to hear him, to talk to him…just knowing he was there made everything better. I burst into tears again from the rise in emotion.

"Dimitri…c-can I-I come over?" My voice cracked numerous times and I'd be surprised if he understood what I had said.

"Roza?" His voice was alert and sharp now. I felt a pang of guilt for waking him up. I suddenly regretted calling him. I could have just sucked up the memories from that nightmare and went back to sleep, I didn't need to drag Dimitri into this situation. He already had enough on his plate.

"Roz-Rose? Tell me what's wrong. Are you hurt?"

I shook my head, realized he couldn't see it, and answered. "No. I'm fine."

Dimitri let out a breath of relief. "Oh, Roza. You scared me."

I wiped the tears from my face roughly with the back of my hand. "I'm sorry…I ju-just wanted someone t-to talk to."

"Go back to your dorm. Lock the door. I'll be right over." And the phone line went dead.

I did as he said.

Although I was mad at myself for waking Dimitri up in the middle of the night, I didn't want to be alone. I needed someone there to comfort me. To hold me—okay maybe not hold, but if Dimitri offered, I wouldn't object.

A few moments later, I heard the door knob jiggling. I nearly had a hear attack, but then the door creaked open, revealing Dimitri—clad in cotton black pants and his duster. Nothing else. His jacket peek open just enough to give me a perfect view of his smooth, muscled chest.

"You know," I said. "If I were to get murdered…it would look really suspicious on your part, considering you're the only one with keys to my dorm."

"Don't talk like that." He growled, striding towards me. Dimitri wrapped his arms around me, in a strong and firm embrace. I instantly felt whole again, like Dimitri was the band-aid keeping me from falling apart.

"I'm sorry," I whispered, my face pressed against the warm skin of his abdomen.

"For what?"

"For waking you up," I sniffled. "I had a nightmare."

He pulled back to study my face. "Are you ready to tell me about it?"

I nodded. "Yes."

I proceeded to tell Dimitri about the reoccurring nightmares I'd been having. I was careful not to leave anything out—bloody or not, Dimitri needed to know the truth. I relayed the conversation I had with Adrian about his dreams and psychic abilities to foresee certain parts of the future. Throughout my long tale, Dimitri's face was the perfect picture of calm and collected. However, I did notice the occasional jaw clench and narrowing of his eyes.

"I will protect you, Roza." He whispered. "I swear I will always protect you...if it's the last thing I do."

I reached down and grabbed his hand. "Please, don't talk like that."

Dimitri went deadly still staring at me. The only sound I could hear was our soft breathing. He stared and stared and stared. Never moving an inch. It was sort of frightening and creepy. He was like a ghost. If I wasn't looking directly at him, I wouldn't have known he was there. Finally, after what seemed like an eternity, he spoke.

"Let's go."

"What?"

Dimitri stood up and held out his hand for me. "Let's go. I have something that will take your mind off this nightmare you've been having."

I grabbed his hand and followed him to the door. "Where are we going?"

"To the gym."

"The gym?" I groaned. "But I'm going there for third period, can't it wait until then?"

"No." Dimitri locked my door with his key.

"Fine," I huffed. Arguing with Dimitri was useless when he set his mind to something. "Can I at least know why we're going to the Gym at this horrible hour?"

"To sparr."

"Sparr?" A spark of excitement ignited in my voice. "I like the way you think, Belikov. But I still don't know we're sparring in the middle of the night."

"I can tell you're scared, Roza. I can see it in your eyes," he paused, "Can you think of a better way to get your mind away from this bad dream? You need to feel in control of your life, to feel empowered…fighting is a great way to achieve that."

"I have another idea to get my mind off of the nightmare."

"And what is your great idea?" He lead me towards the gym, his hand pressed lightly against the small of my back.

"Sex."

Dimitri stopped mid-stride and stared at me.

"It was a joke, Comrade! Relax."

He laughed, but I could tell it was forced. There was fear and pain and tiredness swimming in the depths of those brown eyes.

Was he afraid for me?

We arrived at the Gym. It was deserted like I'd expected. Dimitri instructed me to stretch as he flicked on the lights and turned on the stereo. The hand that feeds by Nine inch nails spilled into the room.

"Interesting choice of music." I stretched out my hamstrings as Dimitri started stretches of his own.

He shrugged. "It's good when fighting."

After we were done warming up, he slipped off his duster and placed it on the ground.

My mouth went dry. I swallowed hard. I felt my cheeks heat up. My God, Dimitri was unbelievable when shirtless.

I shook my head vigorously. I had to stay focus. The only thing on my mind was finishing the sparring match with the Russian God in front of me.

I signed all of my senses over to the animalistic side. I became the predator. The hunter. I concentrated on the beat of the music as Dimitri and I circled each other on the mats, waiting for the other to mess up, to give an opening.

Finally, I found one. I jabbed my finger into his ribs. Dimitri grunted but otherwise kept his composure.

"No limits?" I asked.

"The power is in your hands. Give it your all. Don't hold back."

I released a front kick. I was aiming for his stomach but Dimitri anticipated it. He gripped my ankle roughly and threw it back towards me. I stumbled from the force and fell straight on my ass.

"Get up."

I did.

Dimitri's fist flew out into a diagonal uppercut. It connected with my cheek. I gasped. The pain on the right side of my cheek was searing. White spots danced before my vision. It felt like my skull had been ripped from my head. It soon became a numb feeling.

"Fight back."

"I am." I growled, battling off the dizziness his blow had brought.

"Obviously not hard enough."

"Shut the fuck up."

"Make me."

I successfully landed a spinning kick to his shoulder.

"That was good," Dimitri crouched down. "But you can do better."

And then he ran from me. I barely side stepped just in time for him to grab at thin air.

With his back towards me, I shoved my elbow into his kidneys, effectively bringing him to his knees. Dimitri was back on his feet in lightening speed, battle lust burning in those bottomless eyes.

"Impressive." he grinned.

I went for a left hook to his face but he blocked it effortlessly. Dimitri held both my fists in one of his hands as the other landed and uppercut to my stomach. I doubled over in pain. I didn't have time to recover as Dimitri's elbow shot out and caught me in the solar plexus.

"Fuck!" I hissed, rubbing the tender spot between my breast bone and stomach.

"Here, I'll make you a deal," Sweat glistened the bare skin of his body. His breathing came in ragged gasps. "If you can land another hit on me, I'll allow you to sleep in tomorrow."

"Deal."

I released a fury of kicks and punches, targeting his face and abdomen. Dimitri blocked all of them with ease.

"You went easy on me before."

He shrugged. "I had to. Do you give up?"

"Hell to the no." I shook my head.

Using all the weight of my body, I lifted my leg into a roundhouse kick that I intended for his head. It never made contact. Instead, Dimitri grabbed my calve mid-air and yanked me towards his body. I fell flat on my stomach and the wind left my lungs with a loud whooshing sound.

The pain was indescribable. In those few seconds, without any oxygen—much like it had been with my other asthma attacks—it felt like the end of the world. You can't help but feel like you're going to die. It felt like someone was holding a plastic bag over my head. Panic rose inside of me in pounding waves.

Dimitri crouched down beside me and wordlessly handed over my inhaler. Thank you God. I'll never say anything bad about you again. I might even consider going to church on Sundays—probably not.

I wanted to thank Dimitri for wisely bringing my inhaler along with us to the gym, but I was currently incapable of speech. I knew he understood that.

After regulating my breathing, I stood on my feet. "I give up."

"You do?" he cocked an eyebrow, his face amused.

"Yeah," I nodded in defeat.

"I'll give you a second chance," he crossed his arms. "If I haven't got you pinned within the next twenty seconds, I'll let you sleep in for the next two weeks."

Dimitri knew I couldn't resist a challenge like that.

"Bring it, Big boy." I grinned.

He definitely brought it. I fought and kicked and screamed with all I had in me, but I was no match for Dimitri. He brought me to my knees as he shoved an elbow to the back of my neck and pounced on my body, like a lion with a gazelle.

"You won."

"Indeed, I did." Dimitri smiled down at me. His entire body was pressed against me. His waist smashed against mine, immobilizing me. Being in this type of proximity with him was not good for me, I wanted him so badly…And knowing that I would never have him, ached my heart.

I covered my emotions with attitude. "Are you going to get off me…or are we planning on staying like this all night?"

Dimitri looked momentarily startled and embarrassed. "Of course not, I apologize."

He gracefully stood up, balancing on the balls of his feet. His hand shot out, I took it and he helped me stand up.

"Well," I cleared my throat uncomfortably. The air around us suddenly became awkward. "I guess this is good night. Thanks for coming by and keeping me company, it really helped out with the nightmare and all. And the fighting—" I grinned. "It was good too, you were right. I felt in control—even though I totally had my ass handed to me."

Dimitri chuckled. "You did wonderful, Rose. I am very impressed with how you've been improving since your arrival here at St. Augustine's."

I nodded. "Well, good night, Comrade."

With one last glance, I headed for the gym doors.

I had barely reached for the door handle when he called out my name.

I turned around to face him. "Yeah?"

"If you are still scared or feel uneasy in your room," he scratched the back of his neck. "I would prefer you come stay with me tonight—if you feel comfortable enough."

I grinned. "Are you inviting me to a sleep over?"

He laughed and shook his head. "No, I am inviting that you come over to my home so I can keep you company. So I can keep you safe. With these dreams you and Adrian are having, I'm not going to lie...it is extremely concerning and worrisome."

"I know." I grimaced.

"But as I have said, the choice is yours. You are welcome to sleep in my bed, I will stay on the couch. We can watch a movie and I'll order us some Chinese food—"

"Where can you get Chinese at—" I glanced at the clock behind his head. "2 AM?"

"I have my sources. But I cannot tell you, it is strictly General secrets."

I giggled, unable to help myself. I was practically bursting with excitement and happiness. A night with Dimitri, in his apartment, watching movies? Hell yeah!

Of course I didn't shout that out loud, but I screamed it in my brain over and over again. In a collective voice, I spoke. "Alright…sounds good. I really don't feel like being alone anyways."

Dimitri smiled, the content and serenity shone brightly in his eyes. "Alright, come on. It is cold outside."

He slipped into his brown duster, came up next to me, and pulled the right side open. He beckoned me towards him.

I gulped and went to him. Dimitri pulled me inside the large coat. I wrapped my arms around his waist and pressed my face against the overheated skin of his rib cage. The smell of aftershave mingled with his sweat flooded my senses. The heavenly masculine scent was overwhelming. I closed my eyes and relished in it.

Dimitri led me out of the gym and towards the staff apartment complex.

We passed multiple guards on duty and they didn't even bat an eyelash at me and Dimitri. He could have been the murderer for all they knew—hello! I was a teenage girl being carried away by a grown man. That was what truly scared me about Dimitri's power and influence here at the Military Academy.

Dimitri unlocked the door to his home, and like a true gentleman, held it open for me as I entered first. The air inside was toasty—a good change from the freezing weather outside. His apartment smelled of crisp, clean linen and soap. It was comforting and familiar.

"Would you like something to drink?" he hung his duster on the coat rack.

"Anything but Pedialyte would be great."

Dimitri chuckled and headed towards the kitchen. I followed.

"Alright," he leaned into the fridge, scouring the shelves. "I have bottled water, orange juice, and Dr. Pepper."

"Dr. Pepper?" I raised both of my brows. "That seems a little out of place next to your other healthy food and beverage choices."

He shrugged. "I knew it was your favorite, so I had the cafeteria order me a few boxes. Just in case."

My heart warmed at that. I couldn't help but smile. "A Dr. Pepper would be great, thank you."

Dimitri nodded and tossed me one. I cracked open the top and took four big gulps. "Ah," I patted my stomach. "That really quenched the beast within."

"I'm glad," he said. "Now I'm just going to step out so I can order some Chinese food."

He pulled the house phone from its charger and headed out to the balcony, shutting the door softly behind him.

I went to the living room and raided his DVD shelf of John Wayne movies. After finding nothing that caught my eye—considering they all looked the same, I closed my eyes and chose at random. My hand came back with She Wore a Yellow Ribbon.

"Oh, joy!" I feigned excitement.

"Are you mocking my John Wayne movies?"

I screamed. "God, damn it, Dimitri! You scared the hell out of me. Don't sneak up on me like that."

"I didn't sneak up on you," he paused. "You were just careless and unobservant. You should always be on guard."

"Even in the middle of the night?" I asked.

"Especially in the middle of the night. You don't know what monsters are lurking in the shadows."

"Monsters like you?"

"I am not a monster," he grinned. "I am one of the good guys."

"Could have fooled me with all those damn laps you have me run every morning." I muttered.

Dimitri ignored me. "I ordered Chinese; they'll be here within the hour."

"Yum. I'll put in the DVD."

He nodded and went to fetch the blanket off his bed. Dimitri laid it on the ground for us. I plopped down and inhaled the minty scent of aftershave. I bit back a moan.

Dimitri laid down beside me at a safe distance. We watched the damn John Wayne movie and I had to admit it was a lot funner than I'd expected. I laughed at certain parts of the movie when Dimitri would quote the line right before John Wayne would say it, or simply talk along with the characters.

Before I knew it, our food had arrived and we devoured it. Well I did. I ended up eating all of my helpings, and stealing a few bites from Dimitri's plate—receiving a few playful glares.

Later that night, after Dimitri had cleaned up, I snuggled under the covers with my Russian God beside me. Not touching—but more intimate than it should have been.

"Thank you." I whispered, gazing into his chocolate brown eyes.

"For what?"

"For everything you did for me tonight, I really value that you stayed with me." I paused. "After that nightmare—" I shook the bad memory away. "I was scared. I didn't want to be alone. So, thank you for keeping me company. I wouldn't have been able to sleep tonight if you weren't here."

"And why is that?" He tucked a lock of stray hair behind my ear, calloused fingers brushing along my temple.

"I didn't feel safe."

"You're safe now, I promise I will always protect you with my life." He whispered. "Sleep now, Roza."

The black shadows consumed me. I was beside my Russian God. I was safe. For now. And that was all that mattered. Life was good.