RPOV

The arch of my foot moves up and down his calve. I love this time, the soft afterglow, where neither of us are asleep but there's no need to talk. His fingers move in a lazy, drunk circle on my hip, coasting to my back and sending warm tingles up my spine.

I drift and much later I untangle myself from the weight of his arm around my waist. I pull on his sweater and after I use the bathroom, I retrieve my phone from the living room.

It's not as late as I thought, barely morning.

I pad back into the bedroom and lift Natalie's book from the floor, noticing just how many pages I'd folded down at the corners. I wonder how many he'd flicked through or if that page is just where it fell open for him. I thumb to another page, glancing at his sleeping face where it's half-buried between the pillows.

It's one of the earlier chapters about intimacy and pet names, one I'd marked because I didn't understand how you gave someone a pet name. Some are more…vulgar than others. Natalie called Ralf 'baby' and 'honey' but the thought of calling Dimitri those makes me cringe. Maybe it's more about being in the moment, like most intimate things.

I crawl back into bed flipping through possible options.

His arm curls back around me and in a disgruntled voice he asks, "What are you wearing?"

"Your sweater."

"Take it off." He huffs, eyes still closed.

I laugh quietly and shimmy out of it. "Better?"

"Mhm." He grunts, pulling me tighter to him and burying his face into my neck. "Why are you laughing?"

I hold it back. "No reason, go back to sleep."

I stroke his hair, sinking into the strands to rub gently and I'm rewarded by his breaths coming heavy and shallow.

The pet names run around my head, teasing me and I bite my lip. I mean, now is an as good time as any, just to see if anything does fit. He has a variation of my name that's only his, I want something of my own too.

Come to think of it, he has a few names for me.

"Baby." I blurt and immediately cringe.

Dimitri stills against me.

Fuck.

Oh god, no.

He lifts his head so he's looking at me. "What?"

"Uh, what?"

"What did you say?" I stare at a fixed point on the curtains until he squeezes my ass and I squeak. "Roza, did you say 'baby'?"

Roza.

There it is, taunting me and yet when I try something it sounds completely ridiculous.

"Yes." I admit in a begrudging hiss.

There's a beat. "Why?"

"I wanted…to see if it was a good nickname for you."

I peek at him, and his expression is bemused, lips tugging upward and inwardly I groan. "I am not an infant."

"Yes, I know that." I say in an annoyed rush. "It was just, Natalie says it and I thought, well it just came out and you weren't supposed to hear me. You weren't supposed to grill me about it and for the record, I don't get the appeal of it either. Unless you're behaving like a child."

He's smiling at me now and bordering on laughter.

"I hate you."

"No, you don't." He says. "It's quite fresh in my memory how untrue that statement is." It's like feeling hot water trickle down from your hairline to your toes. "Are you pretending to be shy?"

"Shut. Up."

His body vibrates against mine and I roll onto my back.

"What was the next pet name on your list?"

"Doesn't matter."

He kisses my neck, trying to coerce me but I hold firm. "Should I consult the book?"

"No. I think I'll just stick with the Russian God." He groans in revulsion, and I grin because I've won, the smugness rushing through me. "Should I whisper that to you? Does the Russian God want me to –"

"Stop it. Please, enough."

And now I'm laughing and he's burying his face into the pillow. I clamber over him, throwing out more stupid phrases concerning the Russian God until he's got the pillow glued to his head and I'm trying to pull it away.

"The book says to use pet names during dirty talk, so should I call you that when I tell you what I want or –"

I squeal as he suddenly sits up and I'm flung around onto my back. My wrists are pinned above my head and nervous giggles are escaping my mouth as he braces over me.

"I would like to make one thing very clear." He says, voice low and sultry, the inflections causing my skin to pimple. "When you tell me what you want, I want you to say my name. That does more for me than I can explain."

"But you have three names for me." He cocks his head. "My love, Roza and lyubimaya – I know I said it wrong, don't laugh."

"You said it perfectly." He says softly, dipping to kiss me and I test my restraints. They tighten. "But there is nothing more intimate to me than when my name leaves your lips."

I huff, I'm not getting anywhere. "What about –"

"If this is another thing Natalie has said I can tell you now, I don't think I'll like it."

I purse my lips.

"Why the need for a name?"

Because I wanted another thing for myself. Because I wanted more between us because I'm incredibly selfish and want to hoard as much as possible. Because Natasha even had an affectionate name for him.

But it isn't something you can force.

I shrug. "I'm not sure anymore, I just don't want to lose this debate."

"We're debating?" I shrug again. "I think you're overtired and it's putting you in a funny mood, baby."

My eyes narrow. "Oh, I can think of a few things to call you now."

He chuckles, loosening his hold so my hands slide free. The heat of him is brushing against my stomach and chest, making it hard to hold onto my annoyance. His nose skims mine and my hands find his waist, ready to pull him down, wanting his weight. But I won't – I won't because he is annoying.

I feel him smirk as the challenge presents itself.

My phone vibrates from somewhere on the floor, then again, and again. It's such a demanding and irritating noise that it extinguishes the charge between us. Dimitri moves off me and I roll to the bed's edge and snatch it up.

"Is everything alright?"

"Y-yeah." I mumble, scrolling through the thread of messages. "It's another group chat. Natalie was asking Adrian to make the pool party private, and he's managed to do it." My phone vibrates again as a poorly worded message comes through. I click on my options until I figure out how to mute it and whilst I'm doing those twelve more messages come through. There are over thirty people in this conversation.

"You don't seem excited about it." He says as I lie back, my phone now silent.

I pull the covers up. "I'm…I don't like the idea of wearing a swimsuit around people. I don't like knowing the first time I'll be experiencing a pool will be in front of people either. It sounds like sharing a big bath with people I don't know whilst everyone is almost naked. I don't think I'm going to go."

Admitting that to Lissa or Natalie would make me feel so self-conscious, more so because I know they'll just reassure me and keep urging me to go and that I'll be fine. I would not be fine. I can't wear something that's skin-tight and barely covers everything it needs to cover in front of strangers. It's like walking around in underwear and it's bizarre that this is something everyone agrees with.

"What if you could experience it without an audience?" He asks, "Would that take a lot of the pressure and discomfort out of it for you?"

I think about it. "Maybe. I mean, I like the idea of being in a pool because it would be like being in a bath but I can't swim either and what if I need to? I'm probably the only person here that doesn't know how to do that either."

"You're not." He assures and then he leans up on his elbow. "But we can change that."

I frown. "What?"

He throws off the covers and I almost miss what he says, too distracted by the display.

"Get dressed."

I hadn't been to this end of the Lodge before, I wouldn't know my way back.

Dimitri had told me to wait whilst he went ahead to check the room was empty. He appears at the end of the corridor and beckons me down. It's so strange how quiet it is.

I round the end and there's an empty high desk, computer screen dark and beyond that Dimitri holding open a door. I hurry in past him only to come to a stop.

The pool floor is decorated with shimmering blues and hints of gold, the water a bowl of glass with a still surface. The surrounding floor is made of rich sandstone, faint specks reflecting the light and the air here is perfumed, warm. It's hard to believe that outside these walls is a kingdom bathed in snow.

To my right, there are wide shallow steps leading into the water and at the far end, there's a ladder to get out. I wonder how deep it is down there. I start walking along the edge, fixated on the body of water and the shimmering blue beneath. I notice that nestled in the corner at the far end there's a raised ledge that encompasses a smaller round pool.

I kneel and skim the surface with my fingertip, watching the ripples run away. I thought it would be warm but it's almost hot.

I look up to see Dimitri standing on the opposite side watching me.

Behind him, the room deepens to show a row of lockers, shower stalls and two changing rooms.

We aren't at the main pool, the one Natalie was planning her party for, we're somewhere we should not be. Somewhere where I guess students weren't permitted to go and most definitely not two sneaking Dhampirs. If I didn't already know then it was all in the details of the room, like how every other slab on the floor bears the Ivashkov family crest, embossed in gold and the two columns on my side of the room have ivy engravings. I have the childish urge to stick my finger into the grooves and follow them.

"You're sure no one will come in?" I ask in a hushed whisper because it seems wrong to raise your voice in here.

"Do you think I would risk that?"

No.

I start walking back along the edge of the pool and across the water, Dimitri reaches one hand behind his head and begins to undress. The hem of his sweater recedes, revealing lines and sharp planes that still have a disconcerting effect on me. That has to lessen at some point but…I don't want him to ever have a lesser reaction to my body. Even the idea makes me feel offended.

"You look concerned. No one's going to come in, I promise."

I round the pool edge, keeping a wary eye on it and take his waiting hand. "No, I know. I trust you."

He kisses my knuckles and leads me around to the large alcove. He tosses his sweater onto the bench and begins unfastening his pants.

I feel irrationally nervous.

"You can change in there." He gestures to the small cubicle where the doors don't reach the ground and seem to swing both ways. How is that secure? "I'll be here when you're ready."

His tone is grounding and encouraging and I take a deep breath before striding off. This was just another challenge and in front of someone who had seen every inch of me.

Rose, if you can hold your breath through a lady ripping hair off your intimate areas you can do this.

I push open the stall door and it flings closed behind me. I pull the suit out of my hoodie and start stripping off. I hear the soft spray of water that tells me Dimitri's stepped into one of the showers, which is really odd considering he's about to get into a huge bath.

I step into the suit and pull it up, ignoring the weirdness of it all and adjusting it in the mirror. It doesn't matter how I pull or stretch it, there is not enough material. The whole length of my legs is on show with the material stretching over my hips and sitting neatly on my chest. At the very least it's high at the back and the chest part is padded.

It is insane to me this is more modest than what Natalie's packed.

It is also insane that the more I look at it the more…flattering it looks.

I dump my clothes by Dimitri's and approach the shower stall he's in. My arms are folded tightly and I'm trying to tell myself there's no need to be self-conscious as I push the door open.

He's stark naked.

"You're going to make me blush." I drag my eyes up to find him grinning at me, turning his face back up to the spray. "We have to shower before getting in."

"Are you going in naked?" Even to my ears, I sound stupid, but I thought he'd keep his boxers on.

Maybe I'm so thrown because he's naked in a place that wasn't like, a bedroom with proper doors and locks, where anybody could walk in.

Again, he holds out his hand to me and I take it, allowing him to tug me in and away from the door I was half hiding behind. He takes the hair tie from his wrist and offers it to me so I can pull mine up into a knot.

"You said you're worried about feeling naked so I thought if I am then it might be of some comfort." He explains as I step under the hot spray, careful not to get my hair wet.

"Some comfort." I repeat drily and he smirks. "Well…it is distracting. I appreciate the effort considering we've discussed how shy you are."

He laughs as my suit soaks through and truly becomes a second skin. I resist adjusting it around my ass for the tenth time.

His eyelashes are spiked with water as he looks down at me, his gaze not moving beyond my face. "You're welcome."

He tips water from his cupped hand onto the back of my neck and it's either his nakedness or my brain is starting to work again but it becomes obvious why you should bathe before getting into the pool that other people share. He shuts off the water and we exit back out into the open room. The air hitting my wet skin makes me shiver and the hot pool looks even more inviting. I trail behind Dimitri and he's right, him being completely bare ass naked makes me feel modest in comparison.

A rogue giggle escapes my mouth, and he raises his eyebrows which makes me laugh harder as he takes the first steps down into the water.

"Method to the madness." I hear him murmur but my focus is wholly on the fact I am descending into a massive bath.

A memory pushes in of being small and my mother placing me in the kitchen sink, rinsing my feet and another time, splashing in the shallow water as she tells me to tilt my head back.

I grip his hand tighter as the hot water laps at my calves, then my thighs until I've taken the last step and I'm waist-deep. Dimitri wades in further and the water climbs his body. Where it had been waist-deep on me it had barely reached his hip. I let go of his fingers to stroke the water's surface with my palms and a grin stretches across my face. This…this is so much better than a bath.

It smells like lavender and chamomile.

"I have a question." I crouch, letting the water close over my shoulders in a caress.

"Naturally."

I scowl at him, and he smirks over his shoulder.

"How…besides people showering before does it stay clean? Or is it not? Is that why they pour lavender in? Does it get cleaned often?"

Okay, that was more than one.

He's waded ahead, the water lapping around his shoulder blades, and I miss the contact of him already. The tattoos on the back of his neck are peeking through the wet strands, more there now than when I'd met him.

I wonder what that needle feels like.

He turns at the waist, sinking back into the water so it climbs to his neck. "It's a natural pool of sorts. I imagine it's drained, and the tiles cleaned down often but that's why it's important to shower before getting in. The oils in the water are good for your skin."

The hot water is coaxing the tension out of my muscles and already my skin feels smoother.

"Are you staying up there?"

I shrug. "I might, it's really nice."

"It's nice down here too."

"I can stand here."

He's now at the furthest end of the pool, hands resting on the edge, and it doesn't look like he can reach the bottom, which means I definitely can't and don't care to try.

He starts back toward me and I eye him suspiciously. "Do you think I'd let you drown?"

"No, that would be another thing that would be inconvenient and hard to explain."

He chuckles, standing now and moving toward where I'm crouched. He stops when the water level is precariously draped around his hips, those sharp lines like a taunting arrow.

"Roza, eyes up."

"My eyes are level with the water!"

"Come here." He coaxes and with a huff I start moving toward him, feeling the bottom of the pool floor declining.

I reach out for his hand, and he pulls me to him with enough force the water pushes out around me and I let out a surprised yelp. His arms wind around my waist and my stomach flips as my toes find no purchase on the floor below.

I cling to his shoulders.

"I have you." He reassures, moving us deeper into the pool.

"I know."

My legs hook around him loosely and I feel so light like I would simply float if I weren't tethered to him.

That's deceptively not true.

I kick one foot lazily out, marvelling at the weight that pushes back and then how it floats up to the surface of the water. The heat has stained his neck pink, a faint glow under the tan and I slick his hair back from his face.

"This is nice." I repeat again, kissing the flushed column of his throat.

He hums. "It does have an advantage over the lake."

He'd told me the first time we walked that trial how they would swim in there during the summer but as the cold set it, it had been the furthest thing from my mind.

"I don't like the idea of lake water. Things probably live in it don't they?"

He chuckles, the vibration passing through my chest. "Yes, they do. Baby."

I pull back to look at him and I appreciate how level we are.

"I am not an infant." I recite, trying to copy his accent.

His nose skims mine, not baited. "No, in that swimsuit you certainly are not."

If I weren't already flushed, I would be now. "It's ridiculous."

"I like it."

"I wonder why."

"Red's my favourite colour."

"Is that the only reason?"

"What other reason would there be?"

"That the parts you're a fan of are nearly hanging out."

"Are they? I hadn't noticed but maybe that's because parts of me are hanging out and I'm self-conscious."

I purse my lips together and fight back my laugh, not willing to crack. "You can go and put your boxers on. You've made your point."

"Or you could take that off and my point would be proven even further."

"You…have ulterior motives."

"Besides building your confidence?"

"Yes. Although somehow…you can make me feel the most confident when I'm naked." His expression softens, a smile dawning on his face. "Do you actually feel self-conscious or are you just saying that?"

He kisses my chin. "Yes, a little. I'm only human."

"No, you're not."

I squeal and almost wrest away from him as he pinches me. "Always, such a smart ass."

"Doesn't feel so smart right now."

"I can fix that."

"No! Dimitri, stop, Dimitri!" I shriek as he pulls me over his shoulder and attempts to remedy the injury with kisses but somehow, he ends up nipping at me until I screech loud enough to wake the whole valley.

When he finally relents and I begrudgingly forgive him, he decides we should work on the other reservation I have about being in a pool with other teenagers, the fact I can't swim. It's not as hard as I thought it was going to be, the biggest obstacle had been in my mind, thinking about being dragged under and held there clawing for the surface. That's not remotely a worry as we go back to the shallow end, Dimitri leaving to retrieve his boxers and giving me a very nice view on both trips.

I can't believe it but there was a big difference in how I felt after seeing him naked that made me feel entirely covered.

I wrap my arms around his shoulder after swimming from the last point I can reach the bottom on tiptoe to where he waited.

"And back again." He instructs, drawing me around him and pushing me back the way I came.

I keep going until my knees skim the bottom and turn around to beam at him. Except he's not there.

My eyes dart around the room, "Dimitri?"

Fingers lock around my ankle and again I'm cutting through the water. He breaks through the surface in front of me, meeting my torrent of curse words.

"Do you know what? I think I like the pet name 'baby'. It's fitting."

He laughs, loud and carefree, and it's hard to pretend to be mad. "You can call me whatever you want."

"Really?" I brighten. "Because the other thing Natalie calls Ralf is 'sailor' but I don't completely understand that, although we are in the water." He's just staring at me, eyebrows creased. He opens his mouth, but nothing comes out. "Sailor."

"No."

I purse my lips again. "Sweet cheeks?"

"No, see that – that is definitely more fitting for you."

"Really? Because you were parading yours around there for a while – hey!" A jet of water interrupts my train of thought and I splash him right back, turning away from the retaliating spray and darting away from him. "Sailor, sweet cheeks! SWEETCHEEKS SAILOR!" An arm locks around my waist and yanks me out of the water. "BABY!"

I squirm across his shoulders and then opt for the tactic of trying to reach down to smack his ass but that just inspires him to do it right back.

"Okay, okay!"

"Okay, what?"

"No nicknames!"

"Good." He says simply and then I'm plunged back into the water, his expert hands ensuring I don't dunk under. "I'm glad we negotiated that fairly."

"Yeah, whatever." I mutter, winding myself around him like the ivy engraved on the columns. "No silly nicknames, not no nicknames. That's what I agreed to… moya lyubov'."

His eyes are the shade of dark chocolate, warm, rich and a little overwhelming. "Whilst I appreciate the intent, it's not the same as my saying it to you."

I frown. "I said 'my love'."

"But with the feminine inflection." He murmurs, hold flexing around me. "It's not the same in my language but it doesn't matter, I know what you mean."

Russian is so complicated if it isn't just English letters re-arranging themselves like other languages. It was a whole other set of letters in Cyrillic with different variations meaning feminine and masculine depending on the subject and it's very hard.

"It's nice that you'll make allowances but I don't want to say it wrong, it's important to me. But maybe, until I learn more, I call you it in English, my love."

He kisses me once, twice, lightly and delicately, causing everything in me to melt.

"Yes, call me that." He requests softly, moving us deeper into the pool.

Time doesn't feel like a real thing here. It's like dozing awake, lying in the hot water, lulled by the faint smell of lavender and his thumb rubbing my thigh so gently I could be imagining it. We're in the small pool and he'd found a switch to make it bubble from underneath. My cheek is on my folded hands at the tiled edge, watching his face, appreciating, whilst his eyes are closed. Not just appreciating how he looks but this moment and how I know he's feeling as calm and uncaring as I am.

The world can wait outside.

I'd learned to swim in a place likely deemed unworthy of me being here. My footprints staining a family crest as I experience and indulge in creating a new memory, something else so quietly special for me to cherish and when things get hard again, I'll know there are more moments like these to be had. To look forward to.

I can want and dream for things now.

Dimitri sighs contentedly as my finger traces the gold emblem on the floor. I doubt Adrian would care that we were here, in fact, I think the only thing he would have to say would something charmingly brazen. But Nathan, who'd ordered a Dhampir out of his restaurant in a show of power, would likely have a stronger, scathing, and higher-ranking reaction.

More and more I seem to recognise the Ozera households echoing in this place. Dimitri seems to be tuned into the direction of my thought because he shifts.

"We should go soon." He sighs, reluctance weighing on his breath.

"Okay."

He doesn't move, doesn't even open his eyes but somehow, he still knows. "You're staring."

"You're pleasing to stare at."

His lips twitch.

"I'm happy." I admit. "I keep thinking I shouldn't be but I am. That if I allow myself to be it means I won't be prepared, when something happens it'll hurt that much more. Adapting." His chin tilts, eyelashes lifting slightly. "I'm ruining a nice moment, aren't I?"

"No." His hand spans over my thigh and he moves closer to kiss my shoulder, then the faint branding on my arm that was a few shades lighter than my skin. Soaking in this ointed pool had left it feeling softer. "No, you aren't ruining anything."

I move into his lap, well, I would but then the water would be over my chin so I'm floating above it instead as his hands' lace together on my waist. I twirl a damp lock of his hair around my finger.

"There's isn't anything wrong with taking moments out to appreciate and enjoy life. No matter how…odd it feels."

"You feel it too?"

"Yes, but I'm determined to ignore it. Especially if it means I get to do this." He kisses me. "And this." My neck. The hollow of my throat.

"Okay, I get it." I feel him grin at the low neckline and I tug his head back.

"Do you know the oddest part for me?" He asks and I shake my head. "Is that the future is something I want to plan for now. Not something I'll deal with as it comes. I envision a place I'm going to be, where I'll end the day and where I'll start it. By your side. I think about the places I've been and taking you there. I think about you someday meeting my grandmother, my sisters and my nephew, the baby. I've thought about how there will need to be enough space in our home for bookshelves and the arguments we'll probably get into." I stare at him, my chest holding that vast feeling and my heart trying to beat around it.

He studies my face and his expression flickers. "They are only things I've thought, not that I expect. I just mean to say how this is new to me too."

I get caught on that one word, 'expect'. What didn't he expect?

I'm on the cusp of asking when his expression shifts. "So, tell me. How do you feel about going with your friends now?"

"You mean now that I can swim?" I quip. "Better but still not sure if I'll go."

"What' is it, specifically, that's holding you back?" His fingers slip under my bathing suit strap. "Do you still feel naked?"

No, I am very aware of how much separates us from being skin to skin.

"It's still a lot less clothes I'm used to wearing around people. Actually, it is specifically against everything I was ever taught, and I get that everyone's going to be in the same state of undress and I'm not…ashamed of how I look. It's just weird."

"You should undoubtedly not be ashamed." He says, eyes roaming my face which would make it flame if it weren't already flushed with the heat. His fingers slide out from under the strap to stroke down my arm, "The main pool is bigger, it has a slide, a waterfall feature and all your friends will be there. Is pushing past the uncomfortable worth gaining the experience?"

I mull that over. "Maybe. I'm worried I'll freak out. In front of everyone and I don't want to ruin Lissa and Natalie's nights. I'm sure it's already frustrating feeling like...they need to be careful with me here."

My voice had gotten smaller as the sentence went on. He leans forward, demanding I look at him but I'm stubborn so only when he takes my chin do I comply.

"There is nothing wrong with you." His voice encased in a fierce whisper. "You do not think that there is."

And I can't help it but the insecurity I've been suppressing in crowded rooms and among excited conversations flowing around me, demands to be heard. "I'm afraid of how easily I embarrass them. Their friend from a commune, who doesn't know half the things they're talking about. And that…" He stares at me, daring me to continue. "You. When everyone finds out it'll be –"

"Don't." He'd started shaking his head, "Don't' ever think that and if I ever make you feel that way –"

"No, you haven't but –"

"But nothing. I am so proud to be with you and we've talked about this before Roza, intelligence can't be measured by certificates and how long someone's spent in a classroom. It's in experience and life lessons, obstacles, hardships, your relationships…it's enhanced by so much more. You have more under you than most novices, you're prepared in ways they can't imagine yet." His hands encompass my face. "You were a warrior before you even knew the word."

He's right. He's right but I needed to hear it and now I needed to remember it every time there was a pause in conversation because I had nothing to contribute, when Natalie had to school her exasperated expression which she did swiftly, and when Lissa hung back to make sure I was fine.

I needed to remember it when everyone knows about us, and everyone will weigh up their opinions on it. The revered Guardian and…god, the cleaner.

No.

The survivor.

Because that's what I am.

"What argument are you having in your head?" He asks, thumbs smoothing over my temples. I close my hands over his and tug them down to hold.

"That you're right."

"It happens." I laugh and the noise bounces off the walls as he smiles, the one reserved for me. He draws our linked hands to the bottom of my back, leaning in again. "Don't you ever doubt your capability or presence. Understand? And if you do, talk to me about it." I nod but apparently, that's not good enough, "I need to hear you say it."

I roll my eyes and somehow, still holding my hands behind my back, he pinches me again. "Ow! What is your obsession with that?"

He's smirking. "Say it."

"I'll talk to you about it!"

His grip relaxes. "Or someone you trust, just don't put that on yourself continually."

"You think about something long enough you start to believe it."

"Exactly." He says it quietly, in a way that makes me bubble with questions but it's not the right time.

Instead, I duck and catch his mouth, feeling his whole body relax into it and when I break away, he looks slightly dazed.

"Come on, I want to swim again before we leave." I heave myself out or try to. "DIMITRI!" I glare at him over my shoulder, rubbing my ass again but this time he'd used his teeth instead of fingers. He attempts to look sheepish, but it's chased out by that predatory look he gets when…

I evaluate the situation.

I'm half out of the pool. Hips pressed to the edge and resting on my elbow after he bit me. His hands take my hips, and my heart falls over itself, fingers biting into the cool tiles.

He makes a contemplative noise, "I apologise."

"I don't accept."

He raises his eyebrows and his eyes away from my ass. "Oh?"

I twist at the waist and pull myself up into a sitting position, his hands not leaving me as they fall to my thighs.

"No, I don't. You bite me again and I'm going to retaliate and considering where my teeth get close to you won't like it."

He's trying not to smirk, pressing his lips together. "I won't do it again. I'll kiss it better if you want?"

"You want to kiss my ass?"

"Aren't I usually?"

My stern facade starts to crack but I lock it down and lift my chin. "Your privileges are revoked."

To emphasise the point, I lift his hands off me and stand up.

"I can't touch you?"

I start walking back to the shallow end. "Nope."

I don't look back but I'm hyperaware of his eyes on me and I try to keep my gait even, uncaring.

Let's see how he likes this challenge.

I wade back into the bigger pool, taking my hair down and I hear the rumble of the smaller one turn off. Dimitri moves back into view, coming to the ledge at the far end as I dip down to my shoulders and tilt my head back into the water to get my hair wet.

I think Natalie said once lavender is good for it.

He says something I don't hear over the water tickling my ears before he dives in. I start swimming toward the middle, keeping my chin raised and telling myself not to be nervous about the floor getting further away. He surfaces beside me and there's something about when he's wet that makes my mind shut off. It amplifies my response to him. His hair so dark it's black, slicked away from his face and the sharp planes of his face are defined, proudly accentuating how handsome he is.

For a moment I don't understand why he hasn't reached for me, circling instead until my brain starts to work again and reminds me of what I had just said. No touching.

"What did you say before you got in?"

His voice comes from my other side. "Something about sirens and irony."

I laugh and continue toward the far end, ignoring the fact that at this depth Dimitri can't touch the bottom but I'm doing it. I reach the ledge, extremely proud of myself and he comes up beside me.

"I think you'll have fun." He says. "If you go."

"Maybe." I repeat, smiling. "But it's really tiring. I think you're going to have to help me back."

"How can I do that when I can't touch you?" He asks drily and I inch toward him.

"I didn't say I couldn't touch you." I reply proudly, latching an arm around his neck and pressing against his back. "Or can't you do it?

"Your rules seem to have grey areas."

"Yeah, but they're my rules so."

"So?"

"Just, so." He chuckles, pushing off the wall and dragging me through the water with him. I lean my head against his, savouring all of this as it draws to a close. "Thank you, for bringing me here."

"It's just another example of me kissing your ass."

I grin and kiss the shell of his ear. "Thank you."

"You're welcome."

He reaches a point where he can stand, and I lock my legs around his waist. He makes a point of holding his arms out so as not to touch me and I giggle. He wades toward the shallows, the water receding down and making gravity a thing again, so I cling tighter. I look down at the water and without thought, more urged by feeling, I let go.

I crash into it, letting it close above my head and suspending there for a moment before pushing off the bottom. I surface, wiping my face and finding him hovering directly over me.

"Was that a test to your rules or?"

I shake my head, grinning and full of the same feeling I had when running around in the snow. Carefree and happy, light.

"I just wanted to try it."

"Sirena." He murmurs.

I bite my lip. "Siren?"

He hums and I place my hands on his toned stomach, his remain motionless in the water. "Teach me more words."

And he does until time presses in, demanding to be acknowledged and reluctantly we get out of the pool. He'd stuck to my no touching rule, and it was only mildly irritating because I could concentrate on reciting the word back and spelling it in English. We reach the shower cubicles and whatever I'm saying tails off.

My challenge is about to get interesting.

I gesture to the stall. He gives me a look that tells me he knows exactly what I'm doing so I suppress my smirk and make my eyes go wide.

He bends down until so his breath tickles my cheek, "I'm used to taking orders, Roza."

"I'm counting on it."

He leans back and a spark of excitement zips over my damp skin. Those dark eyes are magnetic and daring, if I were on the other side of this, I'd have given in. He opens the stall door and I step in after him.

Dimitri turns on the spray once more, eyeing me as he lifts a bottle from the metal basket at the tap. I hold out my hand for it and after hesitating he hands it over. Now I do smirk.

He takes a deep breath as I pool some gel into my hands and step toward him, the warmth of the water welcoming.

I start innocent enough, rubbing it across his chest, reaching for his shoulders and then down his arms. He leaves his palms turned up, a dramatic display of following my rule. His skin is so supple from the oils, and I find myself engrossed in running my fingers over him. When I reach his lower stomach I take extra care to be light and let my nails trials down the lines. He doesn't make a sound, his breathing stays even but it becomes obvious he's affected.

I risk glancing up and find him watching me under hooded eyes.

Good.

I hold his eye as I sink to my knees, seeing a flash of that resolve waver. My fingers hook into the waistband of his boxers and I drag them down until he steps out of them. I hold my palm up in a silent ask and after a moment he reaches for the bottle and squeezes more into my hand. I start working down his thighs, the muscle-flexing so it's hard under my touch. When I'm done with one leg I kiss the indent of his hip and move to the other, making sure to glance up again as I do.

Composure cracking.

I do the other leg, movements more administrative, kissing his hip before standing back up.

"There." I murmur.

He doesn't speak, eyes burning coals as it rains down behind his head. I place my palms on him and gently push him aside so I can get the full force of the shower. I turn my back to him and pull the heavy rope of hair over my shoulder before slipping the strap off. My suit doesn't go slack and needs to be peeled off, something I hope is obvious as I pull it down.

I hear him exhale heavily and there's a creaking noise like he's leant right up against the stall divider.

My thumbs drag it over my hips and then with a shimmy it slaps to the floor. I kick it away.

I push my hair back again and reach for the gel. I keep my front half angled away from him, lathering up my arms and shoulders before turning slowly, keeping my chest covered

"Getting very bold." He says quietly, the undertone simmering between us.

A smile cuts my mouth. "Can you pass me more?"

His eyes don't leave mine as he reaches for it, ignores my upturned palm, and tilts it toward my collarbones. He raises an eyebrow and I counter it by dropping my hands and pouring the opal liquid across my chest. I work it over my skin, gliding my hands around my breasts and not paying them the attention I know he would, that I know he'd like me to. Instead, I thoroughly rub the suds over my stomach and hips.

"Do you still like challenges?" I ask, surprised at how sultry my voice is and not as coy as I feel saying it.

"Do you?" He returns, arrogance shading his face. "I seem to remember that last time you were insistent that I do more than watch but we both know, I'm more than happy to do just that."

Damn it.

"You don't want to touch me?"

"It's not a matter of what I want. It's what you do."

My patience begins to unravel because it suddenly occurs to me that his self-control might be infallible, especially with this specific order. I can't be mad about that and yet…

I still wanted to put it to the test.

"That's true." I murmur, reaching out and trailing a finger down his torso. "I said you can't touch me, but I can still touch you, can't I?"

His jaw flexes and the length of him twitches, stretching out my smirk. I step forward and kiss his chest, lower.

"Can't I?"

He inhales before answering. "Yes."

I hum before sinking to my knees. His stance is rigid and by his sides, his fingers curl. Once again, I kiss the indentation of his hip and drawback until he's in front of my lips. His hands have fisted, and I look up at him before taking the tip of him in my mouth.

That composure crumbles, eyebrows creasing as he inhales sharply.

I swirl my tongue around him before flattening it to him and sucking hard. His hands move then and for one heart flipping moment, I think I've done it, ruined his resolve, until his hands reach above his head to grip the divider.

I take him deeper, and my original motivation falls away, instead, it's centred on the noises he makes and how it makes me feel. I take the base of him in my hand and work in unison, tongue, touch and the barest scrape of my teeth making him curse harshly. The divider creaks and I look up from under my lashes. His face is a war of desire and control – I imagine it's harder because this isn't unknown territory for us anymore, for me.

I hum around him.

His eyes close. "Blyad, Roza."

I take him quickly and his hips jerk. I was good at this and what's more, I liked this, I liked making him feel the way he made me feel. I liked being bold, free, and completely in control. The hand not on him rakes down his thigh and his hips move in a slow rise and fall. I know he's holding back, and I am being so incredibly, deliciously cruel not allowing him to touch me.

I can only imagine how frustrating that is.

My cheeks hallow as my hand twists, causing him to groan so loudly it surprises me.

"Stop." He says, voice contained in a harsh whisper.

Reluctantly I do, frowning up at him as I stand. "Did I do something wrong?"

"No."

His lips are parted as he draws in ragged breaths and one by one his hands drop from above him. He isn't looking at me as if I'd done something wrong, the way he's looking at me made me too sensitive to the droplets raining down on my skin.

He takes a deliberate, heavy step toward me and I back up until I'm pressed against the cool wall. His forearms brace on either side of my head, caging me in.

"Let me touch you, please." He was right about that last word, how it can burn molten in your ears and travel down. "Bozhe, ty mne nuzhen."

His accent makes his voice sound like rough velvet and everything in me strains toward him, so I say it before I can betray my own order.

"Touch me."

And then he's kissing me like a man starved, one arm snaking around my waist to pull me up and against him as his other hand latches to the back of my neck. He kisses me until I need to break away to breathe, his lips wandering down my neck and my knee has worked its way up to his thigh.

"I don't want to have sex here." I tell him.

"Alright." He says, proving it's that simple.

I turn him back toward me, taking his face in my hands so I can look at him. A lock of hair's fallen forward over his cheek and there's tenderness in the intensity of his gaze. We stare at each other for a moment, skin sealed together, his fingers tracing from my neck down my spine.

I urge him a few steps back, under the rainfall and look meaningfully down.

"It would be far too cruel to start something and not finish it."

"Rose." He says, sounding strained and wanting. "You don't –"

His breath hitches as I reach between us, kissing the plane of his chest. "I didn't say I didn't want to do this…and besides, you might scare someone when we're walking back."

He lets out a short laugh, fingers pressing between my shoulder blades and his chin brushing my crown. "We couldn't have that."

"No, we couldn't… my love."

He tugs at my hair, tilting my head back so he can capture my mouth.

Note:
This subchapter wasn't going to be posted here but Anne-Marie pointed out their conversations are important and it also helps pave the way for the next chapter before the ball. I also want to leverage something Dimitri says and it wouldn't make sense without this posting.

So hopefully this little chunk is enjoyable :)