Chapter 18
Dimitri
Rose tried to distract me by kissing me but that sure as hell didn't work. I pulled away and glared at her.
"Seriously?", I asked.
"I'm sorry, okay?", she replied and threw her hands up. "It wasn't even really my fault. I showed it to Lissa and yes, that was necessary, she is my friend and she kind of showed it to Christian and he sent it to all my contacts."
"Chris", I growled.
"Hey", Rose soothed.
She put her hands on my cheeks and made me look at her again. She pouted slightly and looked like pure innocence itself.
"Are you angry with me?", she asked.
She pouted even more, she freaking pouted with her luscious pink plump bottom lip and thought I could stay angry at her, looking at me like this. Not being able to resist I rolled my eyes and kissed her.
"No", I sighed. "I'm not."
Rose sighed in relief and smiled.
"Thank you. And anyway: It's not like I have that many contacts in my phone, it's new, remember?"
Right, I thought. She owned this phone for what? Barely two weeks? She couldn't have that many numbers in her phone, at least I hoped so. And right now, with Rose on the kitchen counter in front of me, I didn't exactly care. So instead of answering, I kissed her again.
It was weird, only this morning we avoided every physical contact with each other and now it was like we kissed every chance we got, stayed close to each other, somehow always touching each other, searching the warmth of the other body, the closeness of the other person.
After … some time, I don't know how long it was, could have been seconds or minutes, I have no idea, but we finally pulled apart breathing heavily. I didn't stop kissing Rose, I just stopped kissing her lips. But there were still her jawline, her neck, her collarbone and so on.
"Dimitri?", Rose asked a little breathless.
I only grunted in response, too occupied at the moment. I felt the rising of Rose's chest, hearing her taking a deep breath and then asking in a rush.
"Did we have sex last night?"
My lips stopped instantly and my whole body froze. Did she remember something from last night? Did she know and wanted to see if I did too? Did she wanted to test me or was she as clueless as I was? I pulled away and looked into Rose's eyes. She bit her bottom lip and looked nervous about my answer.
"I don't know, Roza", I answered truthfully.
Rose, she … I don't know how she looked at that moment. She didn't look relieved, nor angry, nor sad, nor happy, she looked … like someone I didn't recognized.
"Rose?", I asked and cupped her cheek.
"Hmm?", she asked looking a little lost.
"What are you thinking?"
I tried to search for an answer in her eyes but I couldn't find a real one, I saw emotions flicker through her beautiful brown orbs, but they were so fast and so different I wasn't able to even pin point one.
"Nothing", she said and shook her head clearing her thoughts. "It's nothing."
-o-o-o- Thrown Into His World -o-o-o-
"Dude", Ivan laughed. "You showed her your ass, like th- th- that?"
Ivan laughed uncontrollably and rolled on the floor, clutching his stomach.
"Yes, yes", I said, rolling my eyes. "Will you shut up now?"
"N- N- No", Ivan laughed. "Th- This is t- too awe- awesome!"
Best friend my ass, I thought. I mean sure, I would laugh my ass off if the rules were reversed, but being in the position I was in right now, I was just annoyed.
"Ivan seriously", I said and pinched the back of my nose. "Get up, we're going to be late."
"O- O- Okay", Ivan laughed. "J- just a a minute, p- p – please."
Chuckling Ivan started to get up, I didn't help him, guess why?
When he was finally up and got control over his laughing, he just smirked at me.
"You got it bad, man", he said.
"Shut up", I replied rolling my eyes.
"So whipped", Ivan mumbled and started walking towards my car.
I let out a frustrated breath and followed him. Why did it have to be Ivan who came with me to these fights? Well, for one he was the only one who didn't fry my ass because of it. For another he was an awesome fighter. And he knew CPR, just in case.
"You know where to?", I asked.
"Yeah", Ivan nodded. "You need to say goodbye to your wife?"
Rose, I thought. She would notice I was gone, of course, she would. I needed to tell her I was leaving or otherwise she would freak out.
"Give me a minute", I told him.
I threw the keys into his outreached hand and made my way back to the party. Rose was sitting at a round table with two of my three sister, my mother, her parents and Lissa. She was laughing about something Karolina had just said.
"Excuse me", I interrupted.
"Dimka", my sister Viktoria greeted me with a big smile. "Come sit with us."
"I'm sorry, Vika", I apologized smiling apologetically. "But I'm leaving now."
"Leaving?", Rose asked surprised.
"Yes, but you stay here", I answered. "Either I will pick you up later or I'll call a limo for you."
Rose excused herself from the table of noisy women (also known as my family), took my hand in hers and pulled me away from all the noise a little.
"Why are you leaving and why are you leaving alone?", Rose asked a little upset.
"Without me" me was hanging in the air between us.
"Roza", I said and pulled her into a hug. "I'm not leaving without you. Ivan needs me to help him with something, it's nothing big, we will be gone for two hours, three hours tops."
I pulled away and looked into the brown eyes of my wife.
"I will be back sooner than you think, you won't even notice my absence", I promised.
"Why can't I come with you?", she asked a little hurt.
I kissed her softly and caressed her soft cheek tenderly.
"Ivan wants me to handle this for him, it's a man's thing. Don't worry, I'll be back in a second."
"Promise", Rose demanded stubbornly.
I chuckled and kissed her forehead.
"I promise", I replied and kissed her again.
I no longer laughed about Christian and Lissa who seemed to kiss every second of the day, now I understood them because I myself couldn't stop myself from kissing Rose. Why did I need to attend this fight anyway?, I asked myself.
"You need to leave", Rose said between kissed.
"Do I?", I asked smiling against her lips.
Rose giggled lightly, a sound I grew addicted to way too fast but loved nonetheless and thought about recording it.
And then it hit me again. That's why I needed to go to this fight. I was growing attached to Rose, to a girl who was with me for money. Rose liked me, yes, I knew that. She was attracted to me, I wasn't dumb, but the change in me … I didn't know if I liked the new me so I needed something from the old me. Not the new soft, caring Dimitri, something from the old, tough, manly Dimitri.
So I pulled away.
"See you in a bit", I rushed out, kissed her forehead and was gone.
-o-o-o- Thrown Into His World -o-o-o-
The fight was going to be held in an old, abandoned farmhouse. It was old and looked like the ceiling could drop on our heads every second, but it was big enough and away from the city and any traffic.
Inside the farm house were all the fighters and the big fat business men who bet on our fights.
I never fought for the money, I never needed it so what was the point? But Ivan did whenever he could after he stopped fighting because he knew I always won and he didn't mind the extra cash.
"So who am I fighting today?
"Johnathan O'Ryan, 28, born and raised in Ireland, moved here with 19. Has a daughter and a fiance."
"Why is he fighting?"
"Was in the army but stays home now for wife and daughter: He misses it, so here he is."
"He doesn't do it for the money?", I made sure.
"No", Ivan chuckled. "You don't need to let him win to get his little girl a birthday present."
Ivan patted my shoulder and we began our usual warm up routine. This was me, this was what I liked, this was my home. I liked fighting, I was good at fighting, it gave me peace of mind. When I fought, I did it to train me, I had to be prepared and this way I always was.
I watched fight after fight, saw men struggling to stay on their feet, saw men leaving limping or being carried out.
"Preparing for the next fight: Dimitri Belikov and Johnathan O'Ryan!"
"Ready, man?", Ivan asked a little unsure. "It's been a while."
"That's like driving a bike, you don't forget how to do that."
"If you say so."
He grinned again and said his usual words of comfort.
"Don't die."
I smirked.
"Don't want to lose your money?", I countered like always.
He laughed and I did too. We both knew this was serious, some people had actually died in these fights. It didn't happen often, but it had happened before and sometimes people leave with only one ear or more than a broken bone.
I went over the line of the "ring". It didn't really matter that there was a ring, it didn't mean anything if you crossed the lines, so there really was no use. No idea why someone always took the time to draw these lines on the ground.
Johnathan O'Ryan had red hair and green eyes and a lot of freckles on his face, well, talk about cliche. He was muscular but had a lot less muscles than I had. He looked angry, like a wild animal with no self control. When someone shouted for us to begin, he stormed towards me and tried to punch me in the face. Why always the face?, I thought rolling my eyes. Was I so handsome these guys always had to try to ruin my good looks?
I dodged and kicked the guys thigh. He grunted barely audible and his eyes flared in anger. He went in for another punch, this time for my stomach, but I saw it coming and blocked. Johnathan now waited for me to attack but I didn't. I waited for him to strike again and lose all his energy within the first minutes.
He didn't disappoint. He was out of breath after another six minutes and that was my time to strike and send him flying to the ground. I punched his jaw, breaking it, punched his throat so he couldn't scream, kicked his knee, making him lose his footing and last, kicked his back and sent him flying to the ground. He stayed there.
"Winner: Dimitri Belikov!", someone announced.
A lot of people in the audience clapped and applauded me, others groaned disappointed and shouted at Johnathan to "get the hell up". I didn't help the guy up, he had other guys to do that for him. I left the "ring" and went to Ivan. He didn't congratulate me, he never did and I didn't expected him to. He just gave me a bottle of water which I accepted gratefully and emptied in seconds.
Ivan and I went to the small booth where a blond guy was sitting and Ivan got his money. Like most times, people stepped in our way, wanted me to fight for them, wanted me to quit fighting all together, wanted me to lose for them or wanted half the money from the Ivan because their fighter "lost because they were told to" so we could share. As if.
We always got in trouble but somehow always managed to escape. Right now, Ivan and I sprinted to my car and sprang into it.
"Go, go, go, go!", Ivan shouted.
"Yes!", I barked and started the car.
"Faster, God go!", Ivan shouted.
And I drove as fast as my car could go and when we were on the highway and far away form the guys we "owed" money, Ivan and I visibly relaxed.
"Man", Ivan laughed shaking his head. "Why the hell are we still doing this?"
"Fun", I shrugged.
"Yeah", Ivan replied shaking his head. "Right."
-o-o-o- Thrown Into His World -o-o-o-
Rose
I wanted to stay awake and wait for Dimitri. It was 3.28AM when I finally got home but Dimitri wasn't there. So I made myself a coffee to stay awake a little longer and sat on our couch. The room was clean and everything was in its place, so I guess someone was hired to get everything in order again. I sat on the couch for about half an hour when I laid down. The thing with coffee and caffeine is that it helps you to stay awake but only for a short amount of time and then you get more tired. So that's why – after 40 minutes – I fell asleep on the couch.
I was awakened when I was lifted into the air and carried upstairs. My eyes wouldn't open but my fingers could feel a soft material.
"Hmm", I murmured.
"Shh", I heard someone whisper. "Get back to sleep."
It was the strong masculine voice of my husband Dimitri. I snuggled into his chest and took a deep breath, smelling his aftershave. I smelled something else too, sweat, dirt and … animals, like cows?
"Dimitri?", I asked.
"Get back to sleep, Roza", Dimitri said kissing my forehead.
I didn't and lifted my head a little to look at Dimitri.
"Dimitri!", I shrieked.
Dimitri was so caught of guard by my shriek, he sprang a feet in the air and actually dropped me in the process which resulted in me falling on my ass.
"Ouch", I groaned.
"Oh my God, Rose! I'm so sorry!", Dimitri said frantically and crouched down beside me. "Why the hell did you scream in my ear? You scared the crap out of me."
"Sorry", I mumbled and rubbed my behind.
Damn that fall hurt. Why did Dimitri have to be so tall?
"What the hell happened to you?", I asked.
"Nothing, you just scared me", Dimitri replied.
"No", I said shaking my head and looked into his eyes again. "I mean what happened with your face?"
And then Dimitri's face changed completely and he blocked all emotions, so I couldn't see what he was thinking. It was like he just put a mask on to shield all his emotions form me.
"Don't", I said and lay a hand on his cheek, rubbing a thumb over a bruise.
"Don't what?", Dimitri answered monotone.
"Don't hide your emotions from me", I replied. "Don't wear that stupid mask that makes you look so cold."
Dimitri's face changed again and he sighed defeated, looking normal again, still on guard but normal. He had a black eye, bruises on his right cheek and along the right side of his jaw. And looking a little closer, I saw some bruises on his arms, too.
"What happened?", I asked again.
He didn't answer me. Instead he lifted me off the ground and carried me into our bedroom. He laid me down on the mattress and then went into bed beside me. We both lay on our sides, looking at each other. I lifted my hand again to his cheek and began caressing it lightly. His cheek was a little swollen and blue, it looked like it hurt real bad.
"Tell me", I asked. "Please."
"Doesn't matter, Roza", Dimitri replied in a tired whisper, snuggling into my hand. "All I care about is, is that I'm here with you."
"Someone hurt you", I said.
He didn't deny it, just heaved a heavy sigh.
"Tomorrow, okay?", Dimitri asked and kissed me before I could answer him.
"Kiss me again and we have a deal", I replied laughing.
I rather felt Dimitri's chuckle than heard it in the dark and then felt Dimitri's lips on mine again. We both smiled into the kiss and I got lost in the feeling of Dimitri's lips on mine.