A/N:

Here's your promised weekly update! Enjoy! =)

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

The original content, ideas and intellectual property of this story are owned by Ms. Belikov. Please do not copy, reproduce, or translate without express written permission.

RPOV:

There was a firm knock, followed by the doorbell. I looked up from my jelly donut, and frowned. It was seven in the morning. Way too early for visitors.

"Want me to get it?" Lissa asked. She was my awesome new roommate and partner in crime.

"I'm not going to." I said grumpily, sipping on my iced coffee.

She rolled those huge jade-green eyes of hers. "So that's a yes."

"Yes, no, maybe so..." I mumbled, busy with finishing up my breakfast.

I heard the door open, and Lissa let out a surprised oh. I tensed and settled my hand on the gun.

"Well good morning!" she said cheerfully, and I relaxed. There was a low, steady voice, but I couldn't really make out any of the words.

"Rose, um, someone is here to see you…"

I leaned back in my chair to get a glimpse, and when I saw who it was, lost the balance I had going on and the chairs wooden legs slipped out from under me. Crash. My body somehow managed to slam down on my back, then do an awkward flip and twist. Long story short, I ended up landing on my feet.

"Dimitri," I said flatly as I walked to the front door, trying to pretend like all that clumsiness didn't happen. The man had the nerve to have the ghost of a smile on his stupid—sensual—mouth.

"I'll let you guys talk." Lissa said, grabbing her purse from the counter and fishing the keys out. "Christian and I are working on, uh, something together. See you guys later."

"What do you want?" I asked him.

My best friend stomped on my foot as she passed by and shot me a warning look. Have some respect! Do you want to get fired? He is our boss, dumbass! That's what those evil eyes of her said.

I stared at Dimitri once Lissa was gone, feeling overheated with anger. I was burning up. Absolutely pissed off, like a fire ant whose hill had just been kicked.

"Mind if I come in?" he asked.

"Actually I do."

"Too bad." he slid passed me. "I was just asking to be polite."

"Control freak." I muttered under my breath, and slammed the door shut.

"Would you like something to drink? Water, soda, tea?"

Dimitri arched an eyebrow, surprised by my generosity. "No, thank you. I'm fine."

"Good. I wasn't going to get you anything anyways. I'm not that polite."

"Really?" he mocked. "You've had me fooled this entire time."

"What do you want, Belikov? I know you came here for a reason. Quit wasting my time and get on with it."

"We received a break in Ambrose's case." Dimitri said. "One of his past girlfriends named Ilianna came forward when she saw reports of him on the news. The two have been in contact, and the last time she spoke to him was yesterday at 7:04 PM when he asked that she rent him a car."

I smacked my hands together. "Hell yeah! That's what I'm talking about!" I ran, hopped on top of the couch that separated us, and tackled Dimitri in a hug that nearly sent him flying into the wall.

Dimitri chuckled in surprise, regained his balance, and wrapped his arms around me. I hung onto him like a monkey, legs circled tightly around his waist.

"When is this all going down?"

"Tonight at eleven."

"Can I go? Can I go? Can I go?" I bounced up and down excitedly, like a five year old all pumped up on a sugar rush. "Pleaseeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeeee e."

"Yes, only if you stop doing that." Dimitri grunted, eyes flared. "Right now."

"Thank you!" I listened, and glanced down at his lips. I had a rush of energy and joy, felt so absolutely alive and on fire, and a wicked thought passed through my mind. Oh, what the hell! You only live once. I might as well make the most of it.

I kissed Dimitri hard, and this time he didn't push me away or tell me to stop. He remained stiff and deadly still for a brief moment, then kissed me back with full force. I gasped at his response—he seemed even more eager than I was!

He pulled back for air. We were both breathing quite heavily. I stuffed my hands in his hair, trying to wrench him closer, desperately wanting more. This man was like oxygen to me. I needed him to live.

"Tell me to stop now," Dimitri growled, his accent thicker than I had ever heard it. "Or else I won't be able to."

"Are you out of your damn mind?" I demanded, panting. "Just shut up and kiss me!"

He didn't hesitate for a split second and did exactly that.

"Bed?" I mumbled against his full mouth, trying to get words out. "Upstairs. Left…room…is…mine."

"Too far away." Dimitri fell back on the couch. "This is perfect."

He ripped off my shirt and gazed appreciatively, licking his lips like he was starved. He slid his shirt over his head, then carefully flipped me over and covered me with his body. I had never felt so warm, so safe and protected, like nothing in the world could hurt me.

"Tell me you want me," I said, voice rough and low.

"I want you." Those bottomless eyes locked with mine.

"Say it again."

"I want you, Roza."

When I woke up, I was in my bed. It was dark outside. I was naked. And alone.

Frowning, I wondered tragically, Had that all just been some astonishing, terribly naughty dream?

But then I stretched. My body hurt but I also felt blissful, and I wouldn't trade the aches and soreness for anything in the world. I was absolutely refreshed. I don't think I had ever slept that good or deeply before.

I breathed in deeply. There were some wonderful smells coming from downstairs. I quickly showered, tossed on some jeans and a warm sweater, and headed for the kitchen.

Dimitri was there, near the stove. He had his back to me. The ends of his hair were wet so he had clearly showered. Sadly, he was fully dressed. I stared for a moment, feeling like I was suffocating, as the memories of what we had done together flooded me.

"Hi." I said shyly. What was wrong with me? It was like my cool had been stolen.

Dimitri turned around and gave that smile he reserved only for me. Goddamn it—he was too damn good looking. Those perfect white teeth, sensuous mouth, intense eyes that seemed to look right through me…

My traitorous eyes flickered down on their own accord. That wasn't the only intense thing about him. I blushed.

"Are you hungry?" Dimtiri asked, brow arched. There was a hint of amusement in his voice. He had clearly caught me looking. My cheeks got even hotter.

"Starved." I answered, sitting down at the table. "You're cooking for me…"

"You sound surprised."

"Pleasantly surprised," I said. "Not a bad surprise. There's a difference between the two."

"Perhaps there is." He set a plate piled with eggs, bacon and toast down in front of me. I grabbed my fork, but before I could dig in, Dimitri leaned down, grabbed my face and gave me a gentle, lingering kiss.

I was struck stupid, steel reeling, as he sat across from me and began eating.

"Um…"I tried really hard to think, but nothing came to mind. I looked down. There was food. What exactly was I supposed to do with that?

I laughed and looked up at Dimitri, who appeared quite smug with himself. He was on the verge of laughing when he saw that I couldn't stop giggling.

"How can you be like that when I'm like this?" I asked. He tilted his head to the side in question.

"You know what I mean! Don't play dumb."

"I am simply in better control of my emotions than you are," Dimitri answered. "It doesn't mean I don't feel them. It doesn't mean that I am unaffected by you. It just means that I know how to hide it."

"I don't like that."

"Too bad. It's just the way it is."

"I'm pregnant."

"What?" Dimitri's eyes flared, whole body went rigid for a split second.

I laughed, pointing at him. "See! You're not as in control as you think you are."

He rolled his eyes and stood up. "Get dressed. We have to be at the station in twenty-five."

Ilianna was a stunning Spanish woman in her early twenties. She had dark, curly hair that went all the way down her back, sultry eyes, and a figure to die for. I could see why Ambrose had pursued her. She was freeking gorgeous, and I had begun to develop and inferiority complex since the moment I had laid eyes on her.

Speaking of eyes, she couldn't seem to keep her prowling ones off my man.

My man? Yikes, that sounded pretty possessive. I looked over at Dimitri. We hadn't made anything official yet, but it felt that way. I needed to cool it. Stat.

"Are you ready?" Dimitri asked her, resting his arms against the open driver's window of the supposed "rental" car.

"Yes," replied Ilianna. She even had a sexy, low, come-do-me-now voice. Damn it! Why did God have to spend so much time with this one? He could have given me a little more love—I always thought my eyes had been too big for my face. I also didn't care for my slight overbite.

Damn this inferiority complex!

"Just act natural," He told her. "If he gets the slightest hint that something is off, there's a good chance he won't show. That's exactly what we don't want to happen."

"Got it, officer." She smiled charmingly, and drove off.

I stared disdainfully after the car as it disappeared into the night.

"What's the matter?"

"Got it, officer." I mocked immaturely. "Did you see the way she was undressing you with her eyes?"

Dimitri shook his head in exasperation. "Grow up, Rose. This isn't the time to be fooling around."

"You didn't seem to think that earlier."

"What?"

"Nothing."

Charleston Falls was a fairly small town in Montana, with a population of right under sixteen-hundred. There was one bank, a diner, two gas stations, and a few grocery stores thrown in the mix. Basically, there wasn't a whole lot going on—so anything even slightly out of the ordinary would stand out like a sore thumb. That's why we couldn't park the patrol cars across the diner where Ambrose and Ilianna's meet up was supposed to happen, which is what I had wanted.

Instead, we were stuck up at the top of some freezing mountain with some cool binoculars watching everything that happened in town. It was amazing how much we could see from here.

"What happens when Ambrose shows up?" I asked, as I kicked it on top of the patrol car. "Are we going to have a race to see who can fall down the mountain the fastest and arrest him first?"

"We will trail him." Ivan answered, busy with some fancy looking technical device that had a scanner.

"We don't want to put Ilianna in harms way." Pavel said, eyes on binoculars.

"Too late for that." I muttered.

"Hold on." Ivan urged, popping the other headphone into his ear. "We've got a call coming through."

"Can it be traced?" I asked Dimitri.

"If Ilianna can keep him on the line longer than thirty seconds, yes." he told me. "But it's doubtful."

Ivan swore in Russian. "Fuck! Twenty-four seconds. Lost him."

That disappointment continued for the next several hours. Ambrose would call Ilianna, Ilianna would answer, and then Ambrose would say what he needed to and hang up in a matter of seconds. It was like winning the lottery but never actually receiving the money.

Eventually the calls stopped coming in and all the exciting stuff that got my heart pumping with hope ceased to exist. Dimitri called it quits at around six in the morning and told the boys to head home. We did the same.

Because I was beyond exhausted the drive to my apartment was silent, except for the few questions I had to ask.

"Why didn't it work? It was the perfect plan." I voiced my thoughts, staring out the window. The sky was a pretty, early morning grey. The trees of the forest were a bright green. I felt sick to my stomach.

"No, it wasn't." Dimitri said.

"Why not?"

"Ilianna completely gave it away with her voice. It couldn't have been more obvious. Ambrose didn't even need have a brain to know something was wrong." he said. "It's like tossing a hook with no bait in the water—you aren't going to get a bite."

"And now we've lost our only break in the case and put Ambrose on high alert, which puts him even farther out of our reach."

"Exactly."

I glanced over at Dimitri. He had his eyes trained on the road. He looked as tired as I felt. I put my hand in his, encircling our fingers. He brought it up and kissed the back of my hand.

"I'm tired." I moaned.

"I know, Roza. We're almost home."

The next morning I woke up naked under the covers, with Dimitri's warm bare body wrapped around me. That was certainly a great way to start the day off.

"Dimitri…" I groaned, kissing my way up his arm. "I'm hungry."

"Go get something to eat then."

I smacked his shoulder and laughed. "Dimitri!"

He grinned and rolled over, giving me a great view of his back. Even relaxed, the graceful cords of muscle were incredible and packed with strength.

"Fine. I'll get it myself, a-hole!" I said, placing a kiss to his neck before I hopped up and pulled on some clothes.

I opened the door and closed it quietly, careful not to wake my best friend in the room across from mine. Something bumped into my back, and I yelped in surprise.

"Shhh!" Lissa said. Her hair was disheveled, mouth swollen, and she had on a fluffy pink robe and bunny slippers.

"Oh, my gosh! You got lucky last night!" I teased. "You got laidddddddd."

"So did you by the looks of it." Lissa turned bright red. "Shut up! You're going to wake him up!"

"Who is it?"

"Not telling."

"Oh, come on, Liss. I'm your best friend. Tell me."

"Nope." she said, popping the P.

"Now I have to know." I pushed passed her and opened the door.
"I know this has to be someone spec—CHRISTIAN!"

"What? What?" He bolted out of the bed, gun in hand. "What's wrong? Where's Lissa?"

"She's fine. Go back to bed." I barely contained my laughter as I shut the door. "Good choice, Liss."

She had her head in her hands, embarrassed. "I can't believe you just did that. You are so not invited to our wedding."

"Yes, I am." I told her. "Are you heading downstairs for something to eat?"

"Yeah." She jabbed a thumb in the direction of her room. "He's too lazy to get up and make me anything."

"I feel your pain, girl." I hooked my arm through hers and smiled as we headed to the kitchen. This was the most content I had felt in a very long time. I had a great career, a best friend who was more like family to me, and an amazing man that I loved in my life. It was like the missing piece to my puzzle had finally been found. I belonged here.