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.
3 weeks later…
RPOV:
"Hey, doll face. What's up?"
My head snapped up. The person standing there instantly made me smile. Mia. She was wearing a gorgeous summer dress, the color a vibrant peach, making her pale skin radiate. Her brilliant blond hair was down and wavy today, hanging just past her slender shoulders.
"Hey, shorty." My limp was barely noticeable as I ran around the desk to squeeze her in a fierce hug, thanks to my rapidly healing injuries. The bullet wounds were just little pink flesh circles on my thigh now. "What are you doing here?"
Though Mia and I had our differences in high school—her starting nasty rumors about me being extremely promiscuous, me lighting her car on fire before dumping it into a river—we'd actually become great friends after we graduated. She wasn't half bad once you got past her plastic walls and got to really know her. Plus, she was fiercely loyal and protective of the people she loved…and the girl had eternal style.
What more could you ask for in a friend?
Mia slid the white over-sized sunglasses from her nose, up to the top of her head. "I'm taking you out to lunch-"
"No. You're not."
At the sound of Dimitri's deep voice, both of our heads snapped up. My Russian God was standing in the hallway of his office, along with his financial advisor Darius, and his best friend/business partner Ivan.
"Who the hell are you?" Mia demanded. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to interrupt someone while they're talking?"
I nearly laughed. The girl had guts. That's why I adored her so much.
Darius took a step forward, crossing his incredibly thick arms over his broad chest. "Didn't your mother ever tell you to shut up when it's not your place to speak up?"
Mia growled, her tiny hands balling into fists. "Didn't your mother ever tell you it was rude to treat a lady like you are treating me right now?"
"I'd hardly call you a lady."
We should have done something to stop the two of them. Really. We should have. But it was like watching a car crash…you just couldn't peel your eyes away. With amused expressions, Dimitri, Ivan, Sydney, and I watched the two of them go at it like a ping pong match.
"Excuse me? What is your name?"
Darius didn't say anything.
"I asked you what your name was! Answer me!"
"You can call me Big D."
"Big D?" Mia's delicate face scrunched up. "What the hell kind of name is that?"
"Would you like to find out?"
Her cheeks flushed red with anger. "You! You! You bastard!"
Darius clucked his tongue and whistled. "Great comeback. I'm going to give you an A in originality."
"You want to hear something original?" Mia asked.
Mockingly, he leaned forward with his ear perked up; pretending to be very interested in what she had to say. "What is it, Little Firecracker? I'm just jumping in my pants to hear! Yippee!"
"That hair of yours…" Mia took a few steps forward, pointing at the black mane that fell all the way to the small of his back. "It…it…you look like Rapunzel!"
Darius took a step forward and the two were just inches away. At six-foot-nine, he towered over her five-foot-one body. I gave Mia props, she was either really brave or really stupid to challenge a guy who's nipples were above the top of her head. Not to mention Darius was all muscles and had a hundred and eighty pounds on her.
Yeah…there was quite a difference in their sizes.
"I bet you'd like me to let my hair down so you could get in to my castle, wouldn't you?"
"I'd rather have someone stab me in the eye with a fork."
"That can be arranged."
"Alright, that's enough." Dimitri cleared his throat. "I am her boss. Rose isn't allowed to leave the mansion right now."
Mia glanced back at me, mouth agape. "What? You can't be serious."
"It's true," I said. "I'd usually object to this whole prisoner thing, but after getting shot…well, I'd like to not have that happen again. This is the safest place for me to be. Besides, what's in the outside world that's not in this mansion? This place is fucking packed with entertainment. 'Scuse my French."
"Fine. That would be fine with me." Mia said, breaking eye contact with Darius and walking back over to me. Her cheeks were like two red apples and she was breathing heavily. It was amusing seeing her all worked up. "Can we go eat down stairs or something?" Can we get away from him? Is what she really meant to say.
"Sure. Let me just file the rest of these papers and then we're outta here."
"It's about our time for lunch too…mind if we join you?" Darius asked.
I said no at the same time Mia hollered yes.
She hit me with a blazing glare.
"I mean…if you have to," I cleared my throat. "Then I guess you can, I don't know, eat with us…if you have to."
"This belly isn't patient," Ivan laughed as he patted Darius's rumbling abdomen. "So we do have to eat with you."
I finished slipping the last paper in the X file, slammed the cabinet shut with my foot, and stood from my chair, hiking up my jeans.
Dimitri had been awesome to me ever since the parking lot incident three weeks ago. Not only was working optional, but I got to wear whatever I wanted to. Sure, he probably wasn't happy about all the old jeans and faded T-shirts I wore—considering I had a closet full of brand new designer clothes in my room—but he kept the mouth shut and dealt with it, even though I'd caught him glaring at the holes in my attire a few times today.
Minutes later, we'd all made our way down stairs to the polished, cherry-wood dining table. The two white candles were on each side in their oriental designed silver holders. The gleaming chandelier hung above our heads, and though it wasn't lit, it sparkled brilliantly from the sun seeping through the massive glass windows.
Ivan came out of the kitchen with a bottle of white wine and glasses. He set them all around the table and poured.
After tucking in my chair like the gentleman that he was, Dimitri took a seat beside me. Mia slid in on my right and across from her was…Darius. On each side of him, was Sydney and Ivan with his signature Armani suit and shoulder-length blond hair pulled into a ponytail at the nape of his neck.
Looking around to make sure no one noticed, I slipped my arm under the table and grabbed Dimitri's hand.
From the corner of my eye, I saw his lips twist into a small smile. I couldn't help but grin as I set his palm on my good thigh, probably a little higher than it needed to be. He hissed under his breath and I put my hand over his.
"What's Opal making us to eat?" I asked, rubbing my leg against his.
"I'm off today, actually." Came a voice behind us with a thick lick of a French accent. "Sorry…but no cooking for me."
There was a chorus of groans around the table.
"Oh, come on, O. You can't let us down like that." Darius said. "You're the only one who knows how to make a decent meal around here."
"It's true." Ivan agreed. "Plus…the big boy wants some food. Now."
Darius nodded. "You don't want to see me when I'm hungry."
"Sorry, boys." Opal came in to my line of sight and my jaw nearly hit the floor. She was out of her Chef uniform and wearing a flowing lavender gown that gave a lot of attention to her butt area and did things for her blue eyes that hypnotized you. Her golden hair was pinned up into chignon with a few pearl clips. Chunky gold earrings hung from her lobes. Yeah, she looked…beautiful. Okay, beautiful didn't even begin to cover it. She was magnificent.
I really wished she had on that baggy, greasy Chef top and unflattering hat.
When Opal sat down beside Dimitri, I yanked my hand and leg away from his, a surge of jealousy boiling in my veins.
Feeling very self-conscious and ugly in my jeans and raggedy T-shirt, I did the first thing that came to mind.
Reaching forward, I pretended to go for my glass but accidentally knocked it over. The white wine spilled all over the cherry wood and dripped straight into my lap. I faked a surprised gasp. "Oh, my!"
Dimitri grinned as he helped me wipe the liquid from the table with napkins. I had a feeling he knew what I was up to.
After it was all cleaned up, I glanced down at my jeans. There was a big wet spot in the crotch area, like I'd pissed my pants. Perfect. "Woops! Well, it looks like I gotta go change."
Time to find the sluttiest thing in your closet, I thought. My feet zoomed up the stairs and I burst into my bedroom.
Fifteen minutes later, I walked back into the dining room. "Okay, sorry bout that. Just couldn't stand the thought of being in those sticky jeans. Ready to eat everyone? I'm starved."
There was a collection of gasps around the table and Opal's eyes practically bulged out of her head. I had a childish urge to point my finger in her face and laugh, you ain't hotter than me, bitch!
Tapping into my mature side, I cleared my throat, smiled, and took the seat I'd been in earlier.
The blood-red dress I was wearing was so tight that I found it hard to breathe, and the skimpy spaghetti straps bit into my shoulders. But on the bright side, it did give some great boob and ass action, which is exactly what I was going for.
Purposely, I flipped my dark hair over my shoulder.
"You little devil," Dimitri growled in my ear. "You are breathtaking."
I bit my lip to keep from smiling.
"You should go make lunch for everyone." Ivan said to Darius, who nodded and stood up.
"Any special orders, princess?" Darius's massive body leaned over the table. "Half a jelly bean and a celery stick? Or is that too much for you?"
"I'll have what everyone else is having." With the tone she was using, Mia might as well have told him to fuck off.
God, I was beginning to like her more and more…
Darius muttered something in Italian and strode out of the room, disappearing behind the kitchen's doors.
I felt something warm on my knee and realized it was Dimitri's hand. Without the jeans in our way, it was straight skin-to-skin contact. I shivered as his touch went a little higher, my body rising in goose bumps.
"So how's the new hotel in Redwood?" Opal asked, completely unaware of what was happening under the table, right next to her.
"Fine. It's actually going quite well." Dimitri's voice was all business and I wanted to laugh.
"Oh, really. How are the critics rating it?"
His hand slid up higher and I squeezed my eyes shut. "Good, very good. All five stars so far." His voice had become a little rougher, but anyone not paying attention wouldn't notice it.
"Hopefully it will stay that way." Opal took a sip of her wine.
"I am confident that it will." Dimitri said. I felt him slip fingers under my dress and hook one beneath my underwear, rubbing the satin back and forth, working it against my skin.
Darius burst through the door, a pizza box in one hand and plates in the other. "Hey man, can you grab the fries?" He asked Ivan as he set the marvelous smelling food on the table. The man nodded and stood up.
"Silverware, too. Please." Mia called out, earning a strange look from everyone at the table. Well everyone except Dimitri. He was busy massaging my hip and lower stomach…the skin that was dangerously close to another dangerous area. My eyes rolled back into my head and I had to scoot my chair back away from him before I did something...bad.
I did hook our legs together, though. That was nice. Really nice.
Darius set out the plates and napkins, then began to place two slices of pepperoni pizza on each plate.
A moment later, Ivan came out of the kitchen with a plate piled high with French fries, a bottle of ketchup, and a roll of silverware for Mia. He paused and stared at Darius getting everyone ready for lunch, his lips lifting into a smile. "You would make a great housewife, my brother."
"Thank you very much. That's what the ladies tell me." Darius sat down, piled three triangles of cheese and pepperoni on top of one another, and bit in.
From across the table, Mia made a sound of disgust. "Can I have my silverware, please?"
Ivan gave it to her.
"Thank you."
"You're welcome."
I bit in to my own slice. It was hot and cheesy and greasy. Just the way I liked it.
Beside me, I watched Mia use a fork to spear the triangle on her plate. Then, as if it was a thick steak, she cut the edge of the pizza off using the knife and brought it to her mouth. She continued to do this. Piece after piece. She scooped some fries on to her plate and used the fork to eat those too. The girl had amazing table manners.
I noticed that Darius was staring at her, too. He was on his god-only-knows slice of pizza when he abruptly busted out laughing.
Mia's head snapped up. "What's your problem?"
"You."
She patted her mouth with a napkin, folded the cloth and set it in her lap. "What do you mean you?"
"You are my problem, Little Firecracker. That's what I mean." Darius downed the rest of his white wine. "These are finger foods. Do you know what that means? You eat them with your fingers."
"I don't want to get messy."
"That's the fun of it," he said. "Don't you like to get down and dirty sometimes?"
Her eyes narrowed into slits. "Buzz off. You're like a bee that's bugging the F out of me."
"Got a problem saying fuck, Princess?" Darius's body rumbled with laughter, his tone mocking. "That word too good for your tongue?"
"D. Lay off." Dimitri warned.
"I will. I will. I promise, Boss." Darius held up his hands. "I just want to see the lady eat her food with her hands first. It would amuse me."
"Go jump off a cliff," Mia muttered. "That ought to keep you entertained."
"One bite, Princess. One bite and I'll leave you alone."
"Just one bite?"
"That's correct."
"With my fingers?"
"Yup."
"Fine," With angry and rough movements, Mia manhandled her pizza and tore in to its doughy flesh with her teeth. She chewed slowly. "Happy?"
Darius smiled brilliantly. "Like a kid on Christmas morning."
"Good," She wiped her hands and mouth with the napkin, took a gentle sip of wine. "Now leave me alone."
"Glad to."
During the rest of the meal, Mia and I got caught up on each others lives, Darius and Ivan and Sydney chatted up a storm, and Opal couldn't stop fucking flirting with Dimitri. She'd do little things that really pissed me off, like touch his arm to emphasis something, smile and laugh at everything he said as if Dimitri was a goddamn comedian, and that flaunting of her breasts…the way she leaned forward, drawing attention to that graceful slit of cleavage.
God, I really had the urge to murder her. He was mine. And she needed to back off.
Wait…mine? In what fucking universe?
I was really beginning to loose it.
Towards the end of lunch, Mia excused herself to go to the restroom and Darius jumped up to get more wine.
About fifteen minutes later, I wondered…"What's taking them so long?"
"Don't know." Sydney shrugged.
"I'm gonna go see." I stood up and headed for the nearest, luxurious bathroom.
As I turned the corner, I stopped dead in my tracks. I definitely found them. In the hallway outside the bathroom.
Mia was there with Darius…and the two were in a heavy make out session. Her small body was cradled in his thick arms, his large body crushing her against the wall, hands the size of bear paws riding up her dress.
Blushing, I tiptoed away and settled back in my seat.
"Where are they?" Opal asked.
"They're busy."
I was helping Ivan clear the table when Mia walked out of the hallway, lips swollen, hair tangled, dress a little out of place. Funny thing was, I don't think she realized it. Her eyes were glassy, her steps a little clumsy…her mind was still back with Darius.
"Hey." I smiled.
No response.
"M, you okay?"
Her head jerked up. "What? I'm sorry. Did you call me?" She bit her elegant nails.
"Just seeing how you were doing."
"Fine," she said, a little breathless. "I'm fine. Why do you ask?"
"No reason."
Darius strolled out of the kitchen a moment later with a bottle of wine, expression cool and clam, as if he didn't have a care in the world. I had to stifle a laugh. If that wasn't rehearsed, I didn't know what was.
Yeah, just pretend that nothing happened, I thought as I stared at the two culprits. But I know better.
Hours later, I opened the door to Victor's bedroom.
"Hey, honey," He said, genuinely pleased to see me. "How are you? I've missed you."
"Sorry, Uncle V." I rubbed my eyes as I took flopped onto his bed, utterly exhausted. "Just been so busy, and lately I haven't been sleeping very well. I've been meaning to come and see you—"
"Don't apologize," Victor waved his hand dismissively. "You're here now. That's what matters."
I smiled. "So what's on the T.V.?" I grabbed one of the pillows and propped my head on it.
"Fast and the Furious."
"Oh, goodie." I noticed a plate on the bed with a few cookies. I grabbed one. "Vin Diesel is hot."
"Although I am a heterosexual male that loves beautiful women, I'd have to agree with you on that one, dear."
We both laughed.
As I watched the movie with Victor, the only family I had left, I thought back to my mother Janine and that awful phone call I'd received from the police just a few years back. They told me that she'd died of heroine overdose and they'd found her body in an old abandoned warehouse.
How fucking ironic, considering that she'd left me in one at sixteen years old and disappeared. Living on my own was tough, but I managed to get by. Barely.
I wondered if my father cared that she was no longer walking this earth. Probably not. It wasn't like he cared back then, when I was an infant and he walked out on my mother and me, leaving us homeless.
I guess I'd always had problems with abandonment. Maybe that's why I was so cruel and nasty towards Dimitri at times. I had a hard time opening my heart up.
The movie ended and I noticed that Victor was asleep. After covering him with a blanket and pressing a kiss to his forehead, I softly shut the door and headed for Dimitri's room.
I found him in his bed, leaning over stacks of paperwork. God, did the man ever take a break?
I knocked lightly on the open door. His brown eyes lifted.
I smiled. "Hi, stranger."
Immediately, he stood from the bed and came towards me. "Where were you?"
"Downstairs. Spending some quality time with the uncle." Unable to help myself, I pulled him to me, pressing my chest to his, wrapping my arms around his neck. "I missed you."
Our lips brushed for a couple of seconds. Dimitri pressed his forehead to mine. "Are you okay? Something was bothering you at lunch."
My blood ran cold and I abruptly pulled back from him, wrapping my arms around myself. "Nothing's wrong."
His voice was a deep growl. "Don't lie to me."
"Do you like Opal?"
Dimitri seemed thrown off by my question for a moment, but then realization settled into his dark eyes. "She works for me Rose. That's about as far as our relationship goes. I have no choice but to be polite to her when she speaks to me."
"You were flirting with her at lunch."
"I was not." he said. "Were you even listening to anything we said? It was all business. All about the new hotels I recently bought. Nothing else. Hell, to be brutally honest, I didn't get a word in. The woman likes to talk. A lot."
"But she's beautiful." I said. "Like really, really beautiful."
"Of course she is," Dimitri said. "Anyone with eyes can see that."
"True." A hand went to my tight throat. I massaged it. "So do you love Opal?"
His eyes went so wide that they were white all around. He cleared his throat harshly. "No, Rose." The bastard actually had the nerve to laugh. "Absolutely not."
"But she's beautiful."
"You say that likes it's the answer to everything in the world." Dimitri smiled. "Just because a woman is attractive, doesn't mean that I love her. I. Do. Not. Love. Opal."
"Are you sure about that?" I smiled. "Because she's really beautiful. You may want to rethink your answer, Mr. Belikov."
"Roza," Strong arms wrapped around me, mouthwatering aftershave invaded my nose. "You are the woman I love. There has never been another. Never will be."
"Really?" There were a billion butterflies in my stomach. I'd never felt so happy and special before.
"Yes. From the bottom of my heart, Yes." Dimitri's eyes held mine. Those bottomless pits lighting my insides on fire. Awakening all of my senses.
"Prove it."
He inclined his head to the massive, canopied bed. "Come with me. I will prove it to you all night long. Just give me one chance."
I shook my head. "No, I didn't mean sex—"
His eyes flared with anger, cutting off my words. "With us, it would never be just sex." His words were sharper than a blade.
"I want you to prove it in another way." I said. "Make me believe that you really love me and not Opal."
"Seriously? Opal? She is still in our conversation. Why?" Dimitri said.
I just stared at him and repeated myself, "Make me believe that you really love me and not Opal."
"Hmm…how can I explain this in a simplistic way?" He paused, hungry eyes trained on my neck. He lowered his head, leaving a blazing trail of kisses, licks, bites. "You are my 72 inch HD plasma screen and she is one of those 1950 T.V.'s with the huge antennas and bad reception. You are a five course meal and she is an item off the dollar menu at McDonald's. You are the worlds most expensive hotel and she's one of those crappy ones in the middle of nowhere with cockroaches. You are a soft bed with silk sheets and tons of pillows; she is the cold and hard ground that provides me with no comfort."
I had to giggle at that one. "Okay…I get it."
"You feel me?" His lips lifted crookedly. One of those careless, boyish smiles that made my heart jump into my throat.
"I feel you. I just…it's just…I can't stand the thought of you being with so many other women." I rubbed my face.
"I am very sorry that I hurt you. I wish I could erase the past…but I can't. What's done is done." His voice was sincere. I laid my head against his hard chest, hugging him.
"Do you love any of them?" I asked.
"God, no. Never." His hand ran up and down my back softly, soothingly. "It was just a release, Roza. After all…I am a man. And after you'd been gone all those years, I gave up hope that I'd ever see you again. So I…uh…I made a lot of mistakes. I was just trying to get over you…but it never worked."
I nodded, feeling the sting of tears. Blinking them away, I asked, "And you used protection?"
"Always." That answer was like whiskey to my wounds, it made everything better, but it still stung like hell.
"Okay." I whispered.
"May I ask you one question?"
"Of course."
He cleared his throat and sounded hesitant, like he didn't want to hear my answer but had to. "How many lovers…have you had? Aside from me?"
"Well you were my first, you know that right?" I craned my neck to look up at him.
Dimitri nodded. "Yes."
"Well after we broke up…I had this one night fling with Andre. That's all it was." I said. "And then I started dating Adrian for a few months…and um. We had…well, you know."
The grip he had on my arms tightened, he squeezed his eyes shut in agony. A moment later he opened them, nodded, and embraced me. "Thank you for telling me that."
"I'm sorry if it hurt you."
"Don't be. I needed to know."
After giving him a tender kiss, I eyed the bed longingly.
Dimitri smiled. "Are you tired?"
Yawing and nodding, I said, "A little bit."
He picked me up effortlessly and walked to the silk duvet. He lay down and brought me with him, cradling me over his body.
"Hey, Comrade?"
"Hmm." He stroked my hair as I felt his heartbeat beneath his chest.
"Do you ever think about making love to me?"
I felt his sharp intake of breath, his ribs lowering, stomach falling. "Yes. I wish I could right now."
I pressed my lips to his skin and smiled, just so he could feel it. "Good."
"Do you ever think about making love to me?" Dimitri asked.
"Always. I want you so badly sometimes that it drives me mad—whoa. Whoa. Is that a gun in your pocket, or are you just happy to see me?"
He kicked his head back and laughed. "My gun is in the top drawer of the nightstand, Roza."
Biting my lip and grinning, I said, "So you are just happy to see me?"
Dimitri rolled us on to our sides, kissing me. "I'm always happy to see you."
"I love you." I blurted.
Shit. Shit. Shit. Shit. Given the way his whole body stiffened like it was set in concrete, I'd say he wasn't expecting that.
"I just want you to know that," I cursed, wanting to punch my own damn self in the face. "Okay. I'm sorry. I really shouldn't have said that. It kind of killed the moment. Just forget-"
He cupped my face and planted his mouth hard on mine. "God, I love to hear you say that. It's been so long. I love you too, Roza. So much."