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.

"But I don't wanna!" I pouted.

"You're doing this, Rose. We are young women and we need to learn how to defend ourselves." Lissa said sternly. "Now, come on! Let's go. We're already five minutes late."

"I am always fashionably late."

Lissa yanked on my arm and tugged me inside Brazilian Jiu jitsu Palace.

"Get started on your stretches everyone!" A deep male voice commanded, it was tinged with a faint Russian accent. It sounded yummy, and I wanted to hear more.

"Oh, my gosh. We're late, Rose. They've already started. We should slip out before they see us." Lissa said, obviously embarrassed.

"No way." I was too eager to hear that voice again. I wasn't going anywhere.

The lady at the desk signed us in and told us to join everyone on the mats.

We did.

And that's when I saw who that voice belonged to.

The man was tall. Really, really tall. Six-foot-six or six-foot-seven. His brown hair reached his shoulders and was tied into a ponytail at the nape of his neck. His face was fierce—narrow nose, sensuous lips, knife-edged cheekbones, strong jaw line, and finally...those dark, dark eyes.

My God. He was the hottest man I'd ever laid eyes on. He was a god.

I sighed dreamily.

The mans head suddenly snapped up, having heard the noise. Those bottomless eyes met mine, he raised his brows.

"Hold up everyone. We have more students joining us." The crowd groaned and all shot me a nasty look. I stuck my tongue out at them. This made with the Russian god laugh.

"Let me start with the introduction…again." he said, looking me dead in the eye. "My name is Dimitri Belikov and I am a black and red belt instructor. I'll come around during class and catch up with those I haven't seen for a while and hopefully get to meet those who are new here."

"I don't like him." I whispered to Lissa.

"Why?"

"He's got a serious attitude. I have a feeling we're going to be butting heads a lot."

This made her bust out laughing, causing everyone to turn and look our way—including Dimitri Beli-whatever.

A hand slammed to Lissa's mouth. "I'm so sorry! Okay, I'll be quiet now."

"Get started with the stretches everyone." his voice was sharp and clipped.

I stifled my laugh.

We hadn't even been here for five minutes, and we'd already managed to irritate our instructor. Oh, this night was going to be fun…

Forty-five minutes later, I was practically swimming in my own sweat and panting like a dog.

"I hate this class." I panted.

"Me too."

"Alright everyone." Dimitri, the asshole instructor who hadn't bothered to come by and say hi to me—like he said he would—grabbed some sort of pad looking thing. He pushed his right arm through two straps and held it to his chest.

"I want you all to line up. Sydney, please come and demonstrate the kick."

Sydney was a black belt and apparently Dimitri's little helper. She hadn't left his side the entire time we'd been here.

"Yes, sensei." she pressed her fists together and gave a sharp bow. "Thank you. I will not disappoint you."

"No need to brown nose him, Syd." I yelled from the back of the line.

Snickers and restrained laughter echoed throughout the room. Dimitri shot me an angry look.

I had to admit that Sydney was pretty badass. She ran full force towards Dimitri, barked out something in Korean, and landed a rough kick to the pad.

"Good job." he smiled proudly at her.

"Thank you." she dabbed the sweat from her forehead.

"Okay next." Dimtri said, bracing himself for the next kick.

Before I knew it, it was getting close to my turn. Lissa was in front of me. "I don't think I can do it." she told Dimitri.

He smiled kindly. "This is your first time. Just try your best."

Oh, she did.

And it took everything I had to keep from busting out laughing. I was supposed to support my best friend.

God bless her soul. She tried. She failed. And she fell straight on her ass. But she tried…and that was all that mattered.

"Good job. Don't be upset. You will get better in time." Dimitri gazed at Lissa.

She nodded, said thank you, and walked off towards the benches rubbing the sore spot on her bottom.

"Next." his voice was bitter and displeased.

"God, do you really hate me that much already?"

"I do not hate anyone ms…?"

"Rose," I said, crossing my arms. "My name is Rose. You would have know that had you actually came around and gave half an effort to say hi to me."

Dimitri arched a challenging brow, almost as if to say 'Watch it. You're on dangerous ground here.'

"Asshole." I muttered under my breath.

"What was that?"

"Nothing."

"I am an excellent lip reader, Rose. I know exactly what you just said." I heard a spark of amusement in Dimitri's voice.

"You can read lips?" I asked. "Then read my lips now: I do not like you." I mouthed.

"The feeling is mutual, Rose." Dimitri said, but there was a smile on his face. "The feeling is mutual…"

I gave him the finger.

"I still cannot believe you're moving in with S.O.L." Lissa's voice brought me out of the memories.

"S.O.L.?" My brows rose in confusion as I stuffed my toiletries into a small box.

"Sex on legs," Lissa explained.

I chuckled.

"You're one lucky bee-otch." My best friend disliked swearing, obviously. She either initialed them like she had done with 'S.O.L.', or she changed the curse words into funny sounding ones like: bee-otch, sheet, A-hole, and fug. It was quite funny really.

"Lucky?" I snorted. "You call moving in with Dimitri lucky?"

"Yeah." Lissa said it as if it was the most obvious thing in the world.

I rolled my eyes. She was right. I was lucky, but I was never going to admit to that fact.

"You don't have to be his maid." I pointed at her. "You're the lucky one."

"I'd be Dimitri's housekeeper any day." she winked, wiggling her blonde brows.

"Hey," I poked her ribs. "You're with Christian. You cannot talk like that."

"I meant hypothetically," she corrected herself hastily. "I meant that I would hypothetically be Dimitri's live-in housekeeper any day. I would be his hypothetical maid. In his hypothetical mansion. I'm hypothetically speaking, of course. This is all hypothetical."

"Careful Liss," I eyed her throat. "I think you're choking on your words."

This got a disdain eye roll.

I sighed tiredly and looked around my home. "Strange as this may sound, I think I'm going to miss this place."

After two whole weeks of thinking hard and debating my options, I decided to take Dimitri up on his offer. I'd called him earlier this morning to tell the news. He'd already been over to my apartment with a team of professional movers.

When I'd tried to take my furniture, Dimitri had simply shaken his head and told me he would buy all brand-new stuff. Well truth was, besides my couch, small T.V., and bed…I didn't have much.

When Dimitri realized this, he ordered the movers out, emptied handed—still promising to pay them for their troubles. Of course he would, that rich snob. He made more money in one week then the whole moving company did in a whole year.

It was sad.

After telling me to pack just the necessary items, Dimitri went out the door with a cell phone to his ear, apparently making an important business call.

I was still hesitant to move into his mansion, scared of what living with the man who owned my heart would do to me. But then I would think of what kind of crappy life I was living now….and I'd think of Uncle Victor.

Victor.

He was the only reason I was doing this.

I didn't give a damn about myself. If moving in with Dimitri meant that I could make Uncle Victor happy…then I'd bite my tongue and do it in a heartbeat. I'd do anything to make him happy.

And when I had told him he was going to have his own room and the best medical services….well, let me just say….he went apeshit.

I smiled as I thought of his brilliantly happy face. To say he was a little excited would be the understatement of the century.

"Well, that's it." I grabbed the last two boxes.

"Where's Uncle Victor?" Lissa asked curiously.

"With the Russian," I locked my apartment. "The two just can't seem to get enough of one another."

"That's good. I'm glad they're getting along."

"Uh-huh. Yeah." I made a funny sound.

We walked to Lissa's white Mercedes convertible. I threw my boxes in the backseat.

"Bye, home." I waved at my apartment. "This is our farewell. We've had a good run, but it's over between us. It's time to move onto bigger and better things. And I'd be lying if I said that I wasn't happy to be leaving your crappy ass behind."

We'd been driving for about fifteen minutes, jamming to music and bobbing our heads, when Lissa abruptly turned off the radio and ripped off her over-sized sunglasses.

"Hey!"

"I just don't get it. Why is he doing all of this?"

"Huh?"

Those jade-green eyes pierced mine. "Dimitri. Why is Dimitri doing all of this? I mean, I think it's awesome that he's helping you out. But there has to be something in it for him. True?"

"True."

"Well what is that something?"

I shrugged. "Don't know."

She cast me an 'are you stupid?' look. "That something is you Rose. You."

"Well he ain't going to get me."

"Dimitri's a genius." Lissa suddenly started laughing.

My eyes widened. "Have you gone insane? He's a manipulator! He did this so he could try and win me back."

"What you consider manipulation is considered an extremely genius plan in my eyes." she said. "Can't you see what he's trying to do?"

"Get into my pants?"

Lissa shook her head. "No. Well, I mean yes. That would be a plus for him—both of you actually." she cackled evilly. "But he's not in it just for sex. Dimitri wants more. So much more. He wants your heart."

I snickered. "Dramatic much?"

"It's soooo true though! Don't you get it?" she squealed. "Oh, my gosh! It's soooo romantic!"

I rolled my eyes. "You've lost your mind."

"Let me explain." Lissa grunted, making a sharp right turn. "Dimitri is spending thousands upon thousands-"

"Thousands of dollars isn't anything to him. A cup of water in the ocean."

"Let me finish." she snapped. "He is spending tons of money to have you and Uncle Victor stay there. He is providing you with everything you could possibly want: Food, Cars, Money...everything."

"I don't see where you're going with this..."

Lissa growled. "Shut the trap and don't interrupt."

I pursed my lips.

"As I was saying..." My best friend continued. "Dimitri is trying to win you back. By bringing you into his home, means the two of you will have to spend a lot of time together. And what does that mean, Rose?"

I kept my mouth shut.

"ROSE!" Lissa said with clear impatience.

"What? You specifically told me to let you finish."

"I'm finished. Now answer my question."

"What question?"

"What will happen when the two of you are around each other a lot?"

I shrugged. "I don't know. I'm not psychic. Can't tell the future."

Lissa rolled her eyes, placed her glasses back on her face, and concentrated on driving. "For one minute, Rose. Just be serious."

"Fine." I huffed. "By spending a lot of time with Dimitri…I think it may make me…I don't know…start falling in love with him again?"

"Exactly," she said. "And how do you feel about the possibility of developing feelings for him...again?"

"I'm scared." I breathed. Those words stung my throat because I knew they were the truth. "I'm scared that if I give him my heart again, he'll run off with it and destroy me. But most of all, I'm scared that he'll leave me again. I don't want to be alone, Liss."

"You're not." One of Lissa's hands rubbed my shoulder soothingly. "You never will be. You've always got me."

I smiled slightly. "Thanks."

"I'm about to say something that's not going to please you. So I'm asking that keep an open mind here, okay?"

I groaned. "Fine."

"What Dimitri is doing for you and Victor is very generous...to say the least. And all I ask of you is that you try and give half an effort to be polite to him."

I pursed my lips and pondered the thought for a moment. "Okay, deal. I'll try to be nice. But if he asks me to wear a French maid costume while I clean, I'm going to punch him square in the mouth."

We laughed as Lissa pulled her car up to the Mansion's massive iron gates.

"What's the code again?" Lissa asked.

"It's twenty-one digits, you ready?"

"Twenty-one digits? Holy Moley! Who is he trying to keep out?"

"Are you ready?" I held the paper in my hands.

"Yeah, go ahead."

"556321007954438800134."

"I got the first seven; can you repeat the rest again?"

After four more unsuccessful attempts, the buttons finally lit green and beeped. The gates slowly opened.

Once they shut behind us, we drove up a long dirt path.

"Wow." I gaped. "It's unlike anything I have ever seen before."

"It's beautiful."

Everything was green. Green grass, green bushes, green trees, and some sort of cool twisting green plants.

My eyes flickered up to the mansion about half a mile ahead. I gasped.

It was humongous. And it was all made out of glass, allowing you to see everything inside. Dimitri's home was…indescribable. I'd only seen mansions like that in magazines and movies.

"Oh, come on. He's got cars, too. I'm jealous." Lissa huffed.

A red and black Lamborghini Reventon, gray McLaren F1, orange Ferrari Enzo, and a blue Porsche Carrera were all parked beside each other in the massive driveway.

I knew all of the cars by name because of Dimitri. He had been entirely obsessed and fascinated with fast and expensive cars when we'd dated, and that obviously hadn't changed one bit…it had only gotten worse.

"That bastard has got everything." I muttered as Lissa pulled her Mercedes next to the Lamborghini.

She shut off the car and pointed. "Oh, lookey, lookey at the water fountain!"

My gaze flickered to where she was pointing. There was a colossal wall water fountain. The water gushed down black bricks and spilled into the clear rocks below. It was tasteful…and so Dimitri. He liked to go all out and show off.

I got out of the car and shut the door. Lissa's heels clinked as she came over to stand beside me.

"Smell the air, Rose." she inhaled deeply. "Smells good, doesn't it?"

I nodded and let the fresh, cool air fill my lungs. "Like pine trees, rain, and…imprisonment."

She rolled her jade-green eyes. "This is not going to be like prison."

"Says you," I grabbed the boxes out of the back. "You don't have to live with him."

I heard her soft, frightened gasp.

I turned around to see what was wrong and dropped the boxes. "Holy shit."

There was a dog standing five feet away from us.

I think it was called a Siberian Husky…yeah, yeah that's what it was. The thing kind of looked like a wolf. It had a ton of black fur; its face and chest were snow-white. The dog's eyes were hauntingly beautiful and equally terrifying. They practically glowed with an electrifying silver color.

And that's when the dog barked, low and rough and powerful.

Lissa screamed. I froze with fear.

"What do we do?" My best friend whimpered.

I searched my brain for answers. "I-I-I…do not run. And don't be scared, they can smell your fear."

"How the fuck am I not supposed to be scared? There's a vicious beast standing right in front of us." Lissa spoke through gritted teeth. It was the first time I'd ever heard her use the F-bomb.

I gulped and met the husky's mesmerizing eyes. It barked again.

A sweat broke out all over my skin, the terror pumped through my veins. Shit. How bad did a dog bite hurt? I had to imagine it was painful. What if I distracted the dog and let it bite me while Lissa ran for safety?

I could do that.

But…Oh, god. What if it went for my throat?

"Don't make eye contact." Lissa hissed.

I averted my eyes.

A loud whistle rung through the air, stabbing my ears. I cringed. Dimitri stood there with two fingers in his mouth. He whistled again.

"Roza! Come here, baby!" he patted his thighs. "Don't scare the nice ladies."

The dog wagged its tail as it ran over and jumped on Dimitri. He laughed and patted the husky's head. "That's a good girl."

Dimitri leaned down and picked up a tennis ball. He pulled his arm back and threw it across the field, in the opposite direction. "Go get it Roza!" The dog let out an excited yelp and tore off.

Lissa and I let out relieved breaths, our bodies sagged. A hand flung to her chest. "Oh, my gosh…that was so scary! My heart is still beating so fast."

I held out my hand. "And I can't stop shaking."

Dimitri was busy picking fur off his impeccable black Armani suit as he walked up to us. "I apologize for that. I can assure you that Roza is not a danger to you, she wouldn't harm a fly." he let a throaty chuckle that was music to my ears. "She's just very curious and you two seemed to intrigue her."

"You named your dog after me?"

"No, your mother named you after my dog."

I narrowed my eyes.

"Kidding, Roza." he held up his hands and busted out laughing. "Just trying to lighten up the mood. Come. Come inside."

"Are you speaking to me or the pooch?" I asked. "It's kind of hard to tell with both of us having the same name and all."

"I am speaking to you."

Lissa elbowed me in the ribs. "Be nice."

"Come in, come in. Welcome to your new home." he smiled at me. That one gesture took my breath away...he was so beautiful when he did that.

Dimitri led us inside. I watched his back muscles ripple through his suit with each step he took. There was a reason I called him a god—he had the body of one.

I glanced over at Lissa. Those eyes were glazed over and she was gnawing on her bottom lip.

Hmmm...

My eyes followed to where she was looking.

Right at Dimitri's backside.

I didn't blame her for her perversion...he did have a yummy ass. It was even better without the pants.

I purposely bumped her shoulder. "Eyes up. Eyes up!"

Lissa shook her head, swallowed hard, and nodded. "Y-y-y-yeah sorry. I-uh...never mind." she stumbled over her words, flustered.

I smirked. I guess I wasn't the only girl nearly hypnotized by Dimitri.

We stepped inside and were immediately met with two grand staircases with black Victorian railings. A glowing, see-through piano was in the middle of the floor. The place already screamed money!

"This is the living room."

The living room was just as magnificent as the outside. It was all white. Ivory marble floors, snow-white couches, eggshell walls, curtains that reached the mile long ceiling, and expensive looking Greek gods and goddesses statues that made me not want to walk by them because I was afraid I'd tip them over and break them. The sun seeping through the windows gave the place an almost dreamlike feeling. It was what I imagined heaven to be like.

A glass table was in the middle of the floor with a white vase and...red roses. I somehow didn't believe that was coincidental.

"It's...wonderful." Lissa commented.

"Wow." I gaped, at loss for words.

"Do you like it?" Dimitri's voice instantly soured my mood.

I shrugged. "It's alright. I guess."

His face fell slightly. Regret twisted in my chest.

"Anyways," Dimitri quickly regained his composure. "Wait until you see the rest of the house. Come on, I will show you."

On our way to the dining room, we passed at least several people. None of which Dimitri introduced us to. He'd simply nod and smile at them. They all went by with smiles and respect—mixed with a little bit of fear—in their eyes. They all said the same thing...'Hello, Mr. Belikov.' short and polite, I liked that.

But that's when I realized, with thick dread, that they were all employees of his.

I let out a long sigh. What had I gotten myself into?

The dining room was elegant and beautiful...and took my breath away—much like the other parts of the house had. The gold curtains were closed, hiding the massive glass windows that I knew were on the other side. There was a long, rectangular shaped cherry-wood table. It was smooth, glossy, and smelled lemony, as if someone had just polished it. Two white candles sat on each side, placed in silver, intricately designed holders. A gleaming crystal chandelier hanging above the table gave the room an intimate glow. I glanced at the brown walls, straight at a Madonna and child painting. I stared at it for awhile, thinking of how my mother abandoned me when I was seventeen, when Dimitri's deep voice shook me out of my reverie. "Kitchen?"

Lissa nodded and grabbed my hand. "Come on."

"Hey, Dimitri?" I asked.

"Yes?"

"What exactly do you do?"

"What?"

"What do you do for a living? What kind of business are you in? How do you make all of that money?"

He brought his hands together. "I buy hotels."

"Is that all? That doesn't sound very hard."

Dimitri outright laughed. "You make is seem so simplistic. What I do is so much more complicated than you could imagine. But it pays well."

"Obviously." I muttered.

"You have a beautiful home, Dimitri." My best friend chimed in.

"Come on, Liss. There's no need to kiss his ass. He's already got plenty of people doing that."

"Rose!"

His full lips twisted in amusement, he decided to ignore my comment and kept walking. "Thank you, Lissa. I highly appreciate your compliment."

I snorted. "Do you always talk like that?"

"Like what?" Dimitri stopped and spun around. His voice was challenging with a tinge of mock, almost as if he knew what I was about to say.

I made a funny face and tried my best to imitate his Russian accent. "I highly appreciate you compliment, Lissa! What century were you born in? People do not talk like that these days."

"What can I say? I'm different." Dimitri shrugged. He didn't seem bothered by my insult at all.

Damn it.

He slammed open two doors.

They swung shut behind us.

The kitchen was enormous—the biggest one I'd ever seen—with blue tiling, stainless steel appliances, black granite counter tops, and cool little light thingys that hung from the ceiling.

"Cool." I nodded. "This has to be my favorite room so far."

A lady suddenly burst through another set of doors, wearing a white chef's outfit. She was pretty...really, really pretty. Her hair was the color of the sun and her ocean-blue eyes sparkled as she smiled at Dimitri. He smiled back.

I felt an unwelcome stab of jealousy. "Bitch." I muttered softly under my breath.

"Bonjour, Dimitri." she greeted with a heavy French accent. Great, just great...I think she just got even hotter. If that was possible.

"Opal." He nodded, his smile getting wider. From the way he looked at her, and the way she looked at him...I could tell they were close. Very, very close.

Why did I have the sudden urge to commit murder?

The two conversed in French, laughing and smiling and touching arms at certain times.

"I'm going to rip her head off." I growled to Lissa. Dimitri and Opal were still chatting away.

"Relax, Rose. Take it easy. Just breathe." Lissa instructed.

"I don't want to breathe; I want to shove a knife through her heart."

"Yikes," she laughed a little uneasily. "That's...harsh. Come on. You don't know her. You haven't even met her. Give the girl a chance before you be a complete bitch to her."

I inhaled angrily through my nose, like a raging bull. "No promises."

"This is Vasilisa and Rosemarie." Dimitri switched to English. Opal shook Lissa's hand.

"Rosemarie is moving into the mansion. Rose, this is Opal. She is my head chef and she makes the best pancakes, isn't that true?" he smiled at her.

Opal snorted. "Oh, come on, Dimitri. You give me way too much credit." she stuck out her hand. "It is so very nice to meet you, Rosemarie."

"It's Rose," I corrected sharply, taking her petite hand in mine. "And yeah, it's nice to meet you too."

Opal seemed thrown off by my harsh tone. She stared at me a moment longer before nodding and glancing up at Dimitri. "Well...uh, I better get back in there. The food won't cook itself."

Shrilling giggles filled the room. I couldn't believe she actually thought her joke was funny.

With one last smile at Dimitri, she disappeared into the other room.

Anger burned in his dark eyes. "I have offered you to live in my home, to stay here for free, show a little respect and do not treat my employees like that."

I huffed. "But-"

"I don't want to hear it. Let's finish touring. I have meetings to attend."

I suddenly felt really sad. I hated when Dimitri was mad at me…it made me feel strangely empty inside, as weird as that may sound.

By the time Dimitri was done showing us his multimillion dollar mansion, my feet were killing me and I felt like I'd run a marathon.

The house was bigger than I could ever dream of. There was a lounge room, a cinema complete with a giant projector screen, a library, a meeting room, Dimitri's office, bowling lanes, two giant pools…each with their own hot tub, and a game room.

The game room was my favorite spot in the whole house; it was located in the basement. It had everything from pool tables to a refrigerator stuffed with snacks and drinks.

I was definitely going to be spending most of my time in there.

"Are we done yettttttttttttt?" I whined, dramatically dragging my feet across the floor.

"How old are you?" Dimitri asked. I could tell that he was irritated.

I narrowed my eyes. "Well you left me when I was seventeen, and that was six years ago. Seventeen plus six is twenty-three. So, yeah. That would make me twenty-three years old."

I heard Dimitri growl at the same time Lissa stomped on my foot.

"You act as if you are half that age," he said coldly. "You need to grow up."

I crossed my arms. "You're an asshole."

Dimitri shrugged. "That's probably true."

We were walking down a narrow hallway, on our way to my bedroom, when a door opened and a man walked out in front of us.

My god.

I think my drool just dribbled onto the floor.

The man was dressed in all black, and he was built like a tank—bulging arms wider than my thighs, broad shoulders, narrow hips, strong legs. He was around six-foot-eight or six-foot-nine. That hair of his was jet-black and looked thick, soft. It went all the way down his back in long waves. The man's facial features were severe, like a fighter's. And his blue eyes seemed to glow.

But that's not what caught my attention.

It was the scar that started at his forehead, went across his nose and cheek, and down his throat that did. He looked scary, dangerous, powerful…menacing.

He was nothing compared to Dimitri, though. No one would ever even come close. I guess love really was blind.

"Dimitri." The man had a thick Italian accent.

"Darius." The two shared a manly hug with hard pats on the back.

"How is the party coming along? Are the caterers here yet?" The man, apparently named 'Darius' said.

"According to Opal, yes. Everything is going as planned."

"Party?" I asked. "What party?"

Dimitri glanced back at the same time Darius's head snapped up, noticing Lissa and I standing there for the very first time.

"Who are these cuties?" Darius asked, smiling brilliantly, staring right at me.

"These cuties are Lissa and Rose," Dimitri shot him a real look. "And they are completely off limits, understand?"

"Oh, come on, D…have a little fun. Besides, you know I never follow the rules." his tone was light and teasing.

Dimitri rolled his eyes. "I mean it, Darius. Off limits."

"Fine, fine. Whatever you say, boss." Darius walked over and gently shook my hand. "It is nice to meet you, Rose."

I pulled away. "Yeah, you too."

Darius gave Lissa a brief handshake to be polite. Clearly he wasn't interested in her. It was me that he'd taken a liking to.

"This is my partner." Dimitri explained.

My eyes widened. I looked at Dimitri. "I…uh…I uh, didn't know you swung for that team, Comrade. You really have changed these past couple of years."

The two shared a glance before they busted up laughing.

"Business partner. Dimitri is my business partner. I am his financial advisor." Darius said around his roaring later.

"Oh." I blushed. "Sorry. My bad."

"Ah, well. I got to get back to work." Aftershocks still wracked through Darius's intimidating body. "It was very nice to meet you two. See you around ladies."

After patting Dimitri on the back once, he sauntered off in the opposite direction.

"He's cute." Lissa giggled like a schoolgirl.

"He's hot." I agreed.

From the corner of my eye, I saw Dimitri stiffen.

Moments later, he stopped in front of an oak door. "This is it."

Lissa squealed excitedly.

Dimitri wrapped his hand around the knob and twisted. The door opened silently until it banged lightly against the wall.

"Wow." My jaw hit the floor for the hundredth time today. "It's fabulous. And yes, I just said fabulous."

There was a massive bed in the middle of the hardwood floor. The duvet was the color of snow. I ran my hands along it. Silk. "Nice." I breathed. So many red and blood-red pillows were on the bed that I could swim through them.

The canopy casting a shadow over my bed was blood-red and matched the curtains. The two white couches were in the corner with the same pillows that were on my bed. A nightstand with a lamp and a vase with a single red rose completed my bedroom.

"Do you like it?" Dimitri was staring at me, gauging my reaction.

I couldn't help it.

I ran over and threw myself on him. "Thank you, thank you, thank you, thank you!"

Dimitri laughed and wrapped his arms around me. He felt like home. "You are welcome, Roza."

I looked into his eyes and melted. They were so intense and so brown. I smiled and brushed my fingertips along his jaw.

But then I realized what I was doing. I was in the arms of the man who'd broken my heart.

"I-I-I'm sorry." I jumped down and smoothed down my shirt. The air around us was thick with awkward tension.

"Well, I must go." Dimitri casually shoved his hands into the pockets of his suit. "What you are to wear tonight is in the closet."

"What do you mean what I am to wear tonight?"

"For the party, of course. See you then, Roza." he said. "Goodbye, Lissa."

"Bye!" she waved enthusiastically. "Thank you for everything. I had lots of fun!"

"Hey, Dimitri?" I called after him.

"Yes?"

"Where's Uncle Victor?"

A slow grin spread across his face. "Enjoying his bedroom."

Happiness swelled in my chest. I smiled. "Uh...thank you. Thank you for everything."

Dimitri nodded. The door shut softly.

Lissa plopped down on the bed and flipped open her cell phone, she smiled and giggled as she stared at the screen.

"Text from Christian?" I guessed, lying beside her.

"Yep. Gotta go." Excitement was evident in her face, she stood up. Her thumbs danced across the buttons as she replied to him. "Wish I could stay, but..." Lissa waved her phone. "I have plans with a certain someone."

I rolled my eyes and gave her a quick hug and kiss on the cheek. "I cannot believe you are leaving me here to face the devil alone. Love you."

"Love you, too." Lissa jumped in the air, squealed, and took off.

I just laid there for a moment, lost in my thoughts.

I couldn't believe how much my life had changed in the past few weeks. Dimitri had come into my life and turned my world upside down. He'd taken everything I'd ever believed in and changed it, just like that, with a snap of his fingers. He'd brought me alive again. He'd lit my whole world on fire.

And I loved it.

But I would never admit that to him. Hell, I hated admitting it to myself.

I sighed, went into my bathroom and turned on the shower. I peeled my clothes off as I waited for the water to heat up.

That's when I noticed a radio in the bathroom.

"Bingo." I turned it on and twisted the knob until I found the first rock station. Bad reputation by Joan Jett spilled in the room. I started dancing and singing along to the beat.

Steam drifted around me, I hopped in. The searing water licked my back and helped loosen up some of the painful kinks in my muscles. I instantly felt myself relaxing.

After scrubbing some lavender shampoo into my hair and shaving my legs, I turned off the water and wrapped a plush white towel around my body.

Curious to see what I had to wear to the party, I trotted over to the closet and slid open the massive doors.

"Wow."

Clothes. Clothes. Clothes. And more clothes.

All brand-new clothes.

Dolce and Gabbana, Gucci, Prada, Dior, Versace...

"Damn." I nodded my head approvingly. Dimitri had good taste.

I found what I was supposed to wear to tonight's party immediately, the packaging stuck out like a sore thumb. I read the note that was tapped to the front.

Be ready at 6:30,

Don't be late.

-D. Belikov

I glanced at the clock on my nightstand and cursed. I had thirty minutes to get myself looking half decent and get down there.

I ran to my bathroom and tore the brush through my hair. Figuring I didn't have enough time to style it, I pulled it into a tight ponytail at the top of my head and yanked a few strands out, allowing them to frame my face.

I glanced at the clock. Five minutes had gone by.

I threw on some blush, mascara, and strawberry flavored lip gloss. My reflection smiled. I looked good, even when I was in a hurry.

I hopped around my room like a bunny rabbit trying to put on my underwear and bra. Once that was done, I slipped into tonight's party outfit—a skin-tight black strapless dress. I didn't have time to appreciate how good I looked in it because I was already shoving my feet into the black heels.

There was a small, paper bag on a hanger next to where my dress had been. Curious to know what was inside, I picked it up and dumped the contents onto the floor.

Everything sparkled.

Diamonds.

I picked up the bracelet and tied it on my wrist…the diamond necklace and earrings followed.

One glance in the mirror gave me all of the confidence and attitude I needed, plus more. I ran out of my room, heading downstairs.

"Are you serious?" I groaned, staring at the roll of nametags. "Do I really need to wear one?"

"Yes." Dimitri said sternly, leaving no room for an argument.

"Fine." I scribbled my name down, and stuck it to my chest. "Hey," I noticed there wasn't one on him. "Why aren't you wearing one?"

"This is my party, Rose." Dimitri's eyes gleamed with amusement. "It is not necessary for me to have one."

"Oh, that's right." I snorted. "Everyone already knows who you are. Of course they do. You're the billionaire and they all have to kiss your ass."

"Rose." he warned, shooting me a cruel look. "That sort of language will not be tolerated. This is a very important party with very important people. Do not mess this up."

"Fine, fine." I waved my hands.

He walked towards the doors. "Are you coming?"

"Yeah, I am. Just got to take a piss first."

"Such a lady." he mocked, disappearing into the night air. People surrounded him instantly, like moths attracted to the light. I guess he really was the star of the show.

After a quick bathroom break, I stared in the mirror at the nametag that read: Hello, my name is Rose.

My reflection grinned mischievously. "Time to have a little fun."

The roll of nametags sat on the table; I ripped one off and quickly scribbled on it with a sharpie. I stuck it to my dress.

I returned to the mirror, laughed, and read the nametag out loud, "Hello, my name is Dimitri's Bitch."

I bet the guests were going to get a real kick out of that.

I grabbed a champagne glass from a passing caterer and headed outside to face the crowd.

It didn't take long for me to get busted.

I tried to mingle with people at the party, but they'd take one look at my nametag, become appalled, and walk away.

"Stupid rich snobs," I muttered, downing a shot of vodka. "They think they're better than everyone else."

Everyone pretty much steered clear of me the rest of the night. They stared at me. Talked about me. Called me harsh names. But honestly, I didn't give a damn.

Apparently, Dimitri had heard the buzz and the gossip that spread like wild fire at the party because he stomped right up to me.

"What is the meaning of this?" he sneered, ripping the nametag from my chest. Fire was burning in his eyes.

"What are you talking about?" My words were slightly slurred—I guess I'd drunk a little more than I originally thought. "That's my name, isn't it? Dimitri's bitch."

Dimitri's hand shot out and gripped my arm. "Don't try anything like this again. Do you understand me?"

"Yep." I hiccupped.

With one last absolutely livid look, he disappeared.

I laughed. "Like that's going to stop me."

I skipped on into the mansion and had a little more fun with the nametags.

Dimitri wasn't happy with me when he found out that I'd used three other names.

Ones like: Money hungry whore, Dimitri's slave, and my personal favorite…Belikov's #1 hoe.

The last one seemed to really piss him off because he threw me over his shoulder, in front of everyone, and took me to my room. I pounded my fists angrily against his back.

Dimitri shut my bedroom door behind us and set me down.

"What is your problem!" he shoved me against the wall.

"Just trying to have some fun." I hiccupped and broke out in a fit of laughter. "The food and drinks and music may have been great, but I'm sorry…the people were brutal."

"You're drunk." he rubbed his temples.

"And you just figured that out?"

"Listen, Rose. I have to get back to the party. People are waiting for me." Dimitri said. "You just stay here, lay down, relax, and get some rest…okay? Stay here."

Dimitri started walking to the door.

"Wait," I called out to him. "Don't leave me. Just stay with me. I don't want to be alone right now."

"I can't, Roza." his voice was strained. "I have to get back down there."

"Can you just lay with me for a little while? Play with my hair." I hiccupped again. "Just stay with me until I fall asleep. Then you can go."

Dimitri stopped and thought about it for a moment. He looked back and nodded." Okay." he whispered.

He helped me into bed. I closed my eyes. I felt his fingers brush down my legs. My heels came off a moment later.

"Ah," I sighed. "That feels so much better. Thank you."

"You're…you're welcome."

He took of my jewelry, placed it on the nightstand, and released my hair from its ponytail.

Dimitri's fingers were pure magic as they wove their way into my hair.

I moaned in approval.

That's when I realized he was still in a sitting position.

"Lay with me." I whispered.

"What?" he seemed startled.

"Lay with me, please." I patted the silk duvet. "Please."

The bed dipped down as it took in his weight. A moment later, I felt him press against me from behind. The warmth of his body enveloped me, better than any blanket in the world.

When Dimitri wrapped an arm around my waist while his other hand stroked my hair, I instantly felt myself drifting off. I pulled him closer to me and closed my eyes. And I was out like a light.

I slept better that night than I had in years.