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.

"Why are you dancing in my office?"

"Because I want to. And I'm happy." I did a few twirls like a ballerina, swung my arms around, jumped in the air.

Dimitri shook his head, but he was smiling. "And you're barefoot."

I glanced down at my feet, and then continued to dance, gradually making my way towards the oak desk, to him. "Yeah, those heels were four inches of sheer torture. I like this better. Besides, I'm wearing a pencil skirt and a nice dress top, aren't you happy?"

"Yes, very happy. Now can I have the papers John faxed over?" Dimitri held out his hand.

I put the papers in his hand, but kept my grip. "Only if you say please."

"Please."

"Please what?"

"Please, Rose."

"Please Rose what?"

Those dark eyes narrowed. "Please Rose, can I have the papers?"

"Good," I said. "Now beg for it."

I laughed at the look he shot me. "Kidding, Comrade. Relax. We'll save the begging for later...when you put on that thing. Oh, yeah. You know what I'm talking about. That little red ball that straps onto your mouth when I'm spanking you hard and calling you dirty names."

From the corner of the room, Ivan and Darius coughed to cover up their laughter. The strains on their faces were amusing.

I pecked Dimitri on the cheek once and sauntered out of the room. "I'll talk to Opal and have her make you boys some lunch. Food'll be here in forty-five minutes."

Plopping down on the comfy and cushioned chair, I stared at my desk. My desk. I loved it. "God, this beats scrubbing toilets any day."

On the other side of the room, at a desk of her own, Sydney chuckled as she munched on her Caesar salad. "That's for sure. Ugh. How did you even handle that? I hate sweat!"

I rolled my eyes inwardly. It was going to take some time getting used to Blondie. I still remembered her from her days as Dimitri's assistant at the Brazilian Jiu Jitsu Palace. She annoyed me then and things hadn't changed much over the past years.

"I'll make you love sweat, baby. Just give me one chance."

My head snapped up. "Adrian?"

"Hey Little Waitress, how are you doing?"

I ran over and tackled him in a hug. "Good! I'm doing good!"

He laughed in surprise as he wrapped his arms around me. "Whoa, I like the way you greet me."

I pulled back. "What are you doing here?" Why was I so damn excited to see him? He bugged the hell out of me at times.

"I'm here to take you out for lunch." Adrian handed me a single red rose, which had been hidden behind his back. "For you, my lady."

After grabbing my purse and sunglasses, I paused at my desk for a moment. "Hey Sydney, this is Adrian."

"Oh, yes. I remember. The sweaty guy." She tossed her salad and plastic fork in the garbage, her face pinched, as if she was disgusted. "Nice to meet you."

Adrian's emerald-green eyes gleamed with amusement. "Not sweaty all the time. Just in bed."

"Judging by the looks of you, I'm going to assume that you really mean sweaty all the time."

"Are you calling me a whore? Because I take that very offensively." Adrian put his hands on his hips, smirking like a fool. "You know, I'm going to let that comment slide because you're so cute and I want you in my bed. With your clothes off."

Sydney raised her eyebrows. "You couldn't handle all of this."

"Maybe not. But I sure as hell would like to try."

"Sorry. You're not my type." She went back to typing.

"Ouch." I laughed and patted Adrian's back. "Rejection is the biggest bitch, ain't it?"

His eyes were trained on Sydney, and his expression was determined. Oh boy. Adrian on the prowl. She had turned him down and that turned him on. He wasn't going to stop until he had her. I knew from experience.

Adrian walked over to her desk, reached in his back pocket for his wallet, and pulled out a card. "You are fire. And you've got the prettiest eyes I have ever seen, they're like melted caramel mixed with fresh honey."

When she blushed and smiled shyly, it boosted his confidence up about a million notches. Which was so not necessary, the guy was arrogant enough as it was.

"I want you to call me," Adrian placed the card on the desk, slid it over to her. "And I will take you out on a romantic date and treat you like a real lady. We'll go wherever you want."

Sydney picked it up, studied it, eyes sparkling. "Really?"

"Of course, Angel." He reached over the desk, grabbed her slender hand, and placed a lingering kiss to her knuckles.

"Well that's too bad." Abruptly, she ripped the card into little pieces and blew them in his face. "Get off your high horse, asshole. I. Don't. Want. You. Now scram. I've got work to do."

"I like you." I gave her a high-five. "You are remarkable. I have a feeling we're going to be great friends."

Sydney smiled, and it was sincere. "I like you too."

I pulled on Adrian's arm. "Come on," He looked stunned as he stared at Sydney. It wasn't often that girls rejected him.

"You haven't seen the last of me." He pointed at her. "I am going to melt you like ice and have you dripping all over my feet. I'm going to make you want me—no, need me. Just watch, Angel."

She responded by sticking out her tongue.

"Where do you think you're going?" I cringed as Dimitri's harsh voice cut through the air like a knife. Holding onto Adrian's arm tightly for strength and protection, I turned around and faced him.

"Just going out for lunch, Comrade." I plastered a Barbie smile on my face.

"I thought we had plans to eat together."

Beside me, Adrian snickered and I elbowed him in the ribs. "Change of plans, buddy. Sorry. I'm stealing your eating partner for the day. Sydney looks open, though. Why don't you go after her?"

Sydney and I shot him a glare. Stomping on his foot, I hoped to silence him.

"Ouch! Rose, what the hell?"

Dimitri eyed where our bodies connected, and then his gaze flicked up to meet mine. "Alright, I'll see you when you get back then. Rose, I want you in my office the instant you step foot in this mansion." His voice was awesomely calm and controlled, telling me that what he was anything but. The calmer Dimitri became, the angrier he was. I knew his insides were on fire with barely contained rage right now. "Have a good lunch." With smooth and seemingly careless movements, he turned around and disappeared inside his office.

I grabbed Adrian's arm and yanked. Once we were outside in the fresh and crisp evergreen air, I asked him for one of his Cloves.

"You smokin' again?" He patted his leather coat until he found the pack, pulled two ivory sticks out and handed me one.

I shook my head. "Just nerves, that's all. This helps me calm down, kind of." With trembling hands, I stuck the cigarette between my lips and waited as Adrian lit his and then mine.

The cherry flared red as I sucked in the familiar Clove smoke. The muscles in my back and neck sagged and I closed my eyes for a split second.

"You're letting that Russian get to you again, ain't you?" Adrian asked as we made our way to his Bentley. Envy spiked in my veins. Damn, he was one lucky and rich son of a bitch.

But it wasn't like he deserved it. All Adrian did with his life was drink, smoke, party, and womanize. Last time I had asked, he hadn't had a job. He was sucking the life out of his parent's bank accounts. Dimitri may be a rich snob, but at least he had worked hard for his money and earned it.

"I don't know what you're talking about," I slid in the car at the same time Adrian did.

"I see that look in your eyes," He said as he backed the Bentley out of the massive driveway and onto the gravel road. "And your aura is fucking bright as hell. Both of yours, actually. Hold on, let me put my sunglasses on."

After a pretty nasty car accident a few years back, Adrian had been pronounced clinically dead at the hospital for over an hour. When he came back around, he said that he didn't remember the accident or anything after that, but claimed that all this weird shit started happening to him, like he was seeing ghosts and colors around people. These days, he believed that he past over to the other side during that hour of being clinically dead, and when he came back, he'd possessed clairvoyant gifts.

I believed Adrian, I really did. But the whole situation was hard for me to grasp at times.

I rolled my eyes, but I was intrigued. "What do you mean both of yours?"

"Ha! You're such a bitch until you want something. It's funny really." Adrian punched in the security code and sped out onto the smooth black roads surrounded by the insanely green forest. "And you and Dimitri. That's what I meant when I said both. Your auras glow like no other when you're in each others presence."

"Is that a bad thing?"

He shrugged. "It can be."

"Care to explain?"

"In simple terms, uh, there are two very strong emotions—"

"What are they in Dimitri's?" God, why was I even asking all of this? It's not like I cared! Okay…maybe I did. A small part of me was extremely curious.

"Love and hurt."

I cringed. "Love?"

"Honestly, yes. It's a very strong emotion in him when you're around. Nearly overwhelming."

"And hurt? Why hurt?"

"Probably because you dumped the poor fellow," Adrian chuckled humorlessly. "That has to be difficult to get over, ya know. But…oh well. I'm not very good with all this romantic stuff."

"What about my aura? What's in mine?"

"Yours is the one that…disturbs me. Uh, well, it's a mix between love and hate. Mostly hate when you're around him."

I cringed again. "That's not true! I don't hate anyone."

"Maybe you don't hate Dimitri, but you hate what he's done to you…or at least what you think he did to you."

My gaze narrowed. "What?"

"Nothing. Just voicing my opinion. Don't be mad at me."

"Why don't you just be quiet?" I turned on the radio. "Your voice is giving me a headache and I'm absolutely starved. Not a good combination."

He shrugged. "Whatever. It's your world, I just live in it."

On the drive to Classic Chubby Burgers, I thought of what Adrian had said. Did I really hate Dimitri for the heartache he'd caused me? Was my mind actually that sick and twisted that I blamed him for everything? Sure he might have packed up his bags and left for Russia, but I'd been the one to end it. Over a lousy text message.

What was wrong with me? This was my entire fault! And all I'd been doing these past months was point the finger at Dimitri.

I groaned and rested my head on the seat, having the absurd urge to cry.

God, I'd made a mess of my life. Screwed things up real badly.

Now all I wanted to do was fix things, and I hoped it wasn't already too late for that…

"Hey, Mason," I gave him a quick hug before sliding into the booth with Adrian. "How you doing with the skates?"

Those baby-blue eyes flickered down to his feet and then back up. He smiled widely. "Just the other day I tripped and knocked a tray of drinks all over this old lady. Besides that, they're great. They make me look tall, don't they?"

"Yup," I nodded. "Not to mention those long legs. You must be driving ladies wild."

"Always," He chuckled and pulled out his pad and pen. "A coke for Rose."

I smiled. "You know me too well."

"And what would you like to drink?" Mason asked Adrian, that fond and friendly tone he used with me was gone.

"Gin and Tonic."

I narrowed my eyes. "If you drink, I'm driving. I won't get in that car with a drunken fool."

"Too late for that, Little Waitress," Adrian flashed me his silver flask. "I've been drinking since eight this morning."

Gritting my teeth, I snatched the flask out of his hand and stuffed it into my purse. "No more alcohol for you. And I'm driving. End of story."

"That's okay. There is nothing sexier than when a woman tells me what she wants. I just love when you're in control—"

"Shut up before I punch you in the gut for being so stupid as to risk both of our lives when you got into that Bentley and drove us here. Idiot!"

Adrian huffed. "Fine."

Turning back to Mason, I smiled. "He'll have a coke, too."

After taking our food orders, Mason nodded and skated off.

Adrian knotted his fingers together and settled back in the booth. "So tell me more about this Sydney chick. She's kind of…beautiful."

"Beautiful? Did I just hear you call a girl beautiful?" I skimmed through the menu. "Usually it's hot or sexy or fuckable, sometimes weekend worthy…but never beautiful. That's a first."

"I don't know," Adrian shrugged, looking uncomfortable. "Sydney is just…different. I guess."

I grinned. "You like her."

"I want her in my bed."

"Ha! It's more than that." I said. "She's caught your eye and held it, hasn't she? Wow. You're hooked."

"Not hooked, just intrigued. Really, really intrigued. She's feisty and wild and untamable…I like that." Adrian leaned forward, bracing his elbows on the red table. "So when are you going to get me her number?"

I laughed. "I don't think so, buddy."

"Come on! Please!"

Mason brought the food, after thanking him, he grinned and disappeared.

"Why not?" Adrian drawled. "It's just a phone number."

"Because the girl is nice and I kind of like her." I said. "With a mansion full of greedy and fake people, I'm not screwing that up. If I give you her number, Sydney's going to hate me. You're on your own with this one."

"Fine," Adrian sipped on his soda. "This'll be easy. Sydney's like a big glacier, I've got my ice pick and I just need to chip away at her one piece at a time. She'll learn to love me."

I snorted as I bit into my burger, nearly choking on the damn thing. "Good luck with that one."

We had to hurry up and eat lunch quickly because unfortunately I had to get back to work.

Fifteen minutes later, I pulled the Bentley into the Mansion's driveway and jumped out of the vehicle. "Drive safe," I gave Adrian a chaste kiss on the cheek. "Thanks for paying this time!"

Dimitri was upstairs in his office, waiting for me like he'd said he would.

"Hey, Comrade,"

"How was lunch?"

"Good," I plopped down on the seat in front of his desk, noticing we were completely alone. "I had a cheeseburger…in case you were wondering."

"A healthy food choice." He said dryly.

"Meh. Not really. I'm two French fries away from being on an operating table." Unexpectedly, I burped loudly and then laughed. "Woops. Too much coke. 'Scuse me. What did you wanna talk about?"

"Just wanted to tell you that you're doing a great job on your first day. The coffee is a little watered down, but that's fine." He took a sip of his mug.

My eyes narrowed. "Are you mad at me?"

"Why would I be mad at you?"

"Because I ditched you and went out with Adrian."

Dimitri shrugged and his jaw clenched tight. "It bothered me a little because I was looking forward to eating with you." he shrugged. "But there's always tomorrow. Or the next day. Or the day thereafter."

I smiled. "Are you asking me out to lunch, Belikov?"

Dimitri put his hands together. "I guess I am. Would you accept my offer?"

"Maybe." I crossed my legs, loving the way his dark eyes tracked the movement. "But I don't wanna wait until tomorrow to spend time with you."

He beamed. "What are you proposing we do?"

I stood up, walked over behind him, and placed my hands on his broad shoulders, feeling the thick and hard muscle underneath his Armani suit. "I don't know…maybe we could have dinner tonight. In your room. Alone."

Dimitri squeezed his eyes closed. "I think I can make that happen."

"Good," I spun the chair around so that he could face me and mesmerized every feature of him…that thick throat, hard jaw, full lips, knife-edged cheekbones, narrow nose, and those eyes...they were so dark and intense that it felt like my insides were on fire. Somehow, I managed to find my voice, "I'll have dinner with you under one condition."

"Okay. Anything you want."

"You shouldn't have agreed until you knew what the condition was. Too late to go back now, though." I chuckled. "I wanna make dinner."

He grimaced. "That's the condition?"

"Yes," I said sternly. "And I don't want any help from Opal either. I'm on my own with this one."

"What are you going to make for us to eat?"

"Oh, don't look so disgusted! And I don't know what I'm gonna make yet. It's a surprise. I'll go to the supermarket after work and figure it out."

"May I come with you?"

"No."

"I don't want you alone."

"And I don't want you to be so overprotective. My mother died years ago and I don't need someone bossing me around. Okay?"

Dimitri's handsome face went grim. "I am sorry. I am just worried, that's all. I hate the thought of you getting hurt."

"I'll be fine, Comrade. Relax."

"I am very calm. You're the one who looks tense."

"Maybe you can give me a massage, that way I'll feel better."

Dimitri sat up in his chair and grabbed my waist, turning my body around. "You are too much, you know that? But I can't resist touching you." He pulled me into his lap and I settled into the cradle of his hips.

My heartbeat and breathing went wild.

"How does this feel?" His hands massaged pure magic into my shoulders. My head dropped, eyes closed, I moaned.

"I'm guessing that you like it." Dimitri chuckled as he started massaging my neck. His fingers were light and warm and soft.

The pressure increased and it was heaven. My abdomen surged forward, my bottom smashed hard against his hips. He hissed.

"Oh, my god! I'm so sorry—"

Before I knew what was happening, Dimitri shot to his feet and slammed me down on his oak desk. A nanosecond later, his lips were crushed against mine. My surprised gasp was followed by a very feminine sigh.

I threw my arms around his neck as a slippery tongue penetrated my mouth. "Oh, Dimitri." My legs wrapped themselves around his waist on their own accord.

He pulled back and gasped for air. "God, you are so damn beautiful." With a hungry expression, he fisted his hands at the top of my shirt and pulled. Buttons popped and flew everywhere as he ripped the fabric all the way down the middle.

A moment later my back was flat against the desk with Dimitri's hands all over my body, I dragged one leg up, not caring that my heel was making scratches in the polished oak.

His name escaped my lips in a scream as he leaned against the desk and settled between my legs, his mouth going to my navel, kissing and licking and sucking and biting.

My legs hooked around his neck and I yanked on his hair—

"Holy shit."

My head snapped up. Darius and Ivan were standing in the doorway completely stunned.

"Damn. That's hot." Darius said, and then cleared his throat uncomfortably, like he'd realized what he said was extremely inappropriate. "Look, I'm sorry. We didn't mean to barge in."

I scrambled off the desk at the same time Dimitri growled, "Don't look at her! Turn around. Now!"

They quickly did as they were told.

I wrenched my shirt closed, which didn't really help cover me up because the buttons were all over the ground and chair and desk…

Oh, god. That desk. Now every time I see it the memories are going to flood back into my mind.

I couldn't decide if that was a really, really bad thing. Or a really, really good thing.

Dimitri came over to me. "I can't go out there like this!" I whisper yelled. "It's embarrassing."

"Take my coat."

"That's too big. Everyone will know what we did in here."

"Then take my shirt." Dimitri quickly pulled off his jacket, tossed it on the leather chair, and then went to work at unbuttoning his black shirt.

I hissed as I stared at his naked abdomen. "God, this is torture. Why do you do this to me?"

He put his shirt around my shoulders and carefully helped fasten it. "She is for my eyes only. So help me God if either of you are looking—"

"We're not, Boss. Swear." Darius said urgently. They had their backs turned to us with their hands up in the air, as if they were criminals surrendering to cops with weapons drawn.

I nearly laughed.

Dimitri tucked the shirt into my skirt. It was baggy and a little heavy on my shoulders, but other than that, it was fine.

"You look beautiful in my clothes."

"I bet I look even better out of them."

He licked his swollen lips. "So true, Roza. So true."

"I, uh, I better get out of here."

"Are we still having dinner tonight?"

"Of course." I gave him a quick kiss and quickly walked out of the room, embarrassed like hell and blushing until I was the color of a lobster.

Right before the door shut behind me, I heard Darius say, "So Boss, where's that red ball?"

I pushed the cart through the supermarket, staring at the colorful sea of vegetables. "Where the hell are the tomatoes?"

"Right here." Lissa grabbed a plastic bag from the roller, grabbed a bunch of shiny red tomatoes, dropped them into the bag, and tied it. "What are you making anyways?"

"Pizza." I said proudly.

"Pizza?"

"Yeah. I wanna make some homemade food, ya know. I really don't know how to make pizza but I figured I'd give it a shot. Get some dough and cheese and pepperoni…stuff like that."

"Whatever you say."

"Don't give me that look." I wheeled the cart into the dairy section and grabbed four blocks of mozzarella cheese because I wasn't sure how much I needed. Better to be safe than sorry.

"What look?" Lissa asked.

"That look that says you know I'm going to fail."

"I never gave you that look."

"Yes, you did."

"I think you are mistaking if for my look that says I know you're going to succeed."

I snorted, grabbed a Slim Jim from a shelf as we passed by, and whacked her in the back of the head.

"Ouch! What the hell?" Lissa rubbed the sore spot.

"You loved it."

"It felt like a whip!"

"I rest my case."

Fifteen minutes later, we'd gone through the check out stands and were pushing the cart towards Lissa's white Mercedes convertible in the back of the parking lot.

"Thanks for coming with me," I said as she popped the truck and helped me start loading the grocery bags.

"No problem," she smiled. "It was good to spend some girl time with you. I needed it."

"Me too—"

Lissa suddenly screamed as she looked over my shoulder.

"What is it?" I spun around and froze.

There was a man standing there in all black with a ski mask covering his face.

He leveled a gun at me.

And pulled the trigger.