A month passed, and despite Lissa's multiple attempts, I refused to talk any further about what had happened at Court. I had considered telling Lissa about the conversation with Abe but couldn't bring myself to actually do it. Each time I thought about it, I got annoyed and angry again.

Before we knew it, the university's fall break had approached, and Lissa was taking a much-needed trip back to Court. The Council tried to avoid having meetings when she was away, so she had a full schedule of meetings this weekend. We had planned to leave immediately after our 10am class on Friday so she could be back at Court and somewhat rested in time for Lissa's first meeting of the vampiric day.

As soon as we arrived at Court, just after lunch, Lissa immediately retired to her apartment to sleep, and I wasn't far behind her. Since I had been on Lissa's guard for the past week, I had this weekend off, which meant I could sleep as long as I wanted today, which I was looking forward to.

It didn't take long for me to fall asleep, and when I returned to the land of the living, I wasn't surprised to see that it was halfway through the Moroi day. I rolled out of bed and went downstairs to the gym to work out. The gym was empty, which made sense, considering that most guardians were probably on duty or getting lunch.

After finishing my workout, I showered before setting out to find lunch myself. I made a mental note to stock up on some groceries while I was here, and I made the grocery store my last stop after wandering around Court aimlessly for a few hours.

As I finished at the store, I sensed through the bond that Lissa's day was finally ending.

Are you awake? she tentatively asked through the bond.

In response, I pulled out my phone and pulled up her contact from my favorites list using one hand. She answered on the third ring.

"Hey," she said. "You feel like getting drinks?"

We ended up in our usual drinking spot, sitting at the table in the corner. Lissa's guardians were in a ring around us, preventing anyone but the waitresses from reaching us.

"I'm surprised you aren't spending the night with Christian," I said as I flagged the waitress down for our first round.

"He's visiting Tasha this weekend," Lissa said. "He offered to cancel when he realized our fall break was the same weekend, but I told him not to bother. He'll be back Tuesday afternoon, human time, so he's going to come back to Lehigh with us."

I nodded and waited for the waitress to deliver our drinks before speaking. "What time are we leaving?"

"I have another full day on Tuesday, so the plan is to leave just after sunrise on Wednesday. It'll be a long day, but it'll allow me to finish up everything here and still make it to my 10am on Wednesday without having to go outside of the wards in the dark," she said.

"Are you sure you want to do that long of day? You're in class until 3pm on Wednesday. You have your afternoon lab."

Lissa sighed. "I don't have a choice."

"Why not video call into the Council meetings? Is there a law that says you have to be there in person?"

Lissa's eyes lit up. "No, there's not. Rose, you might be a genius."

I laughed. "I wouldn't go that far."

We were a few more drinks in, and our conversation had bounced between a few different topics when I saw Lissa stiffen out of the corner of my eye. I glanced up in time to see Dimitri walking up to the bar. He took a seat, and though he didn't face our table directly, something told me that he was well aware that we were in the corner.

"What is he doing here?" I groaned.

"You should go ask him." Lissa teased.

I shot her a glare. "I have nothing to say to him."

She shot me a glare this time. "Rose. Don't lie to me."

I looked down at my drink. "I'm not lying."

"Come on," she said, rolling her eyes. "Haven't you given any thought to what he told you?"

I shrugged. "A little bit. It's complicated."

Lissa signaled for another round. "You've avoided talking about it for the last month, so spill. Maybe you need another perspective."

I sighed. "He wants to try again. After everything, I just don't know if I can go through that again."

Lissa propped her chin up on her hands. "It might be worth it. You were so happy with him. I haven't seen you that happy since."

"That was years ago. I was a child," I said bitterly.

"Abe's ruined a lot," Lissa said. "Do you really want to let him continue to ruin things?"

I shot her a look.

"Go!" Lissa said, giving me a little shove before I could say anything else. "You know you want to."

I shot her another look but grabbed my drink, finished it in two sips, and crossed the bar, taking a seat next to Dimitri. He glanced over at me when I sat down but didn't say anything. He signaled for the bartender to bring another round, and a moment later, another amaretto sour was in front of me, and there was another tumbler with amber liquor in it in front of Dimitri.

The corners of his lips turned up in a smile. "You come here often enough that the bartender knows your drink of choice?"

"Lissa likes to come here; it's kind of become our spot," I said. "What are you doing here?"

He looked over at me. "Did Lissa send you over?"

I shrugged. "Answer my question, and maybe I'll answer yours."

"Tasha's boyfriend, Andrew, got the leave he had requested," Dimitri said. "With him there and Christian's guardians, I figured they'd be well-guarded. And that they could also use a little more privacy."

"So, you came back to Court?" I questioned, my tone suspicious.

"I actually came back to talk to Hans about a reassignment," he said. "I know Tasha wants Andrew to be her guardian; she wants him to be there to see their baby grow up. Maybe Hans can help with that."

"I'm sure he could," I said. I bit my lip before continuing. "I can ask Lissa to step in if you want. He can't say no to her."

"You would do that?" Dimitri questioned. "Even if it meant that I would get an assignment here?"

I nodded, not saying anything.

"I would appreciate it, Rose. Please tell Lissa thank you for me."

"What are you thanking me for?" Lissa asked, appearing behind me and Dimitri. Her guardians weren't far behind.

"Dimitri's trying to get reassigned so that Tasha's boyfriend can be assigned to Tasha. I told him that I would talk to you about it. Maybe you can put in a good word with Hans."

Lissa's eyes narrowed, and she spoke to me through the bond. You really want to risk Dimitri being assigned at Court? We both know there's no such thing as a 'good word' with Hans. He would do whatever I asked.

I nodded, again not saying anything. I saw Dimitri look between us, and I knew that he knew Lissa had used the bond to communicate.

"Consider it done," Lissa said. She turned to me. "I'm going to head out. It's been a long day."

"I'm sure," I said with a smile. "Sleep tight."

She gave me a hug before leaving the bar, her guardians following.

"Are you going with her?" Dimitri asked softly.

I shook my head. "I slept for most of the day. The night's still young."

We continued sitting at the bar together, trading off on buying rounds and, at one point, even doing a couple of rounds of shots. The conversation stayed in safe territory, neither one of us bringing up our last conversation, though every now and then, I saw something in Dimitri's eyes that seemed like he wanted to bring it up.

I wasn't sure how long we had been sitting there or how many drinks we had gone through when, impulsively, Dimitri leaned forward, kissing me. I froze for a moment before leaning into the kiss and kissing him back. I pushed down the part of my brain that said this was a bad idea as I moved closer to him, sliding off my stool. I ended up standing between his spread legs, my fingers tangled in his hair.

Dimitri was the first to break the kiss. "I've missed this," he murmured. "I've missed you."

"Shut up and kiss me," I mumbled, too intoxicated from the alcohol and the kiss to say anything else.

Dimitri listened, and I wrapped my arms around his neck, pulling us closer. I wasn't sure how long we were kissing or who suggested it, but it wasn't long before we stumbled out of the bar and towards palace housing.

We stumbled into my apartment, the door slamming behind us as I led Dimitri to my bedroom. I walked him backward and shoved him down on the bed as soon as he was close enough. I quickly tugged my shirt over my head before climbing onto the bed and straddling Dimitri's hips. I could feel him hard underneath me, and I relished hearing Dimitri's groans as I shifted my hips against his.

"Roza, please," he groaned, sitting up to kiss me again.

I wound my fingers into his hair, tugging as we continued to kiss, our hips moving frantically against each other's.

"Shirt. Off." I gasped, breaking the kiss.

He quickly tugged it over his head before kissing me again. His hands moved down to unfasten my pants, and I broke the kiss again to wiggle out of them, as he also removed his before I was straddling him again.

Effortlessly, he lifted me and flipped our positions so that he was hovering over me. He made quick work of my bra, leaving me lying there naked, except for my underwear.

"See something you like?" I teased, the words slipping out.

Dimitri nodded. "Always. I love seeing you like this, spread out before me."

I flushed, desire rushing through me. He kneeled between my spread legs, his hands gripping my thighs.

"You're beautiful, Roza," he whispered before leaning down and kissing me.

He trailed kisses along my jawline and neck before trailing them across my collarbone. I shifted; his light touches were almost overwhelming.

"Dimitri," I begged. "Please."

"Hush," Dimitri said, leaning back to look me in the eyes. "I want to take my time."

I squirmed under his gaze but nodded my consent. He grinned before continuing to trail kisses down my body. He didn't waste any time once he reached my underwear and quickly took it off me before he put my legs over his shoulders and buried his face between my legs. My fingers found purchase in his hair as he ate me out. My hips arched off the bed, and I called out Dimitri's name as pleasure surged through me.

It didn't take long for my orgasm to hit me, and he worked me through it before I was tugging him back up to me. My mouth slammed into his, and I could faintly taste myself as I kissed him. My legs came up around his waist, and I used my feet to drag his boxers off. As we kissed, I flipped our positions so that I was back on top.

Dimitri grinned up at me as I hovered above him. I reached down with one hand to hold him steady as I sank down onto his cock. We both groaned, and I took a moment to adjust before I slowly started to lift my hips. Dimitri's hands gripped my hips tightly, surely leaving bruises, as he helped me set a rhythm. We moved together effortlessly, as if we had never been apart, and there was a feeling in my chest that felt like coming home as we approached our mutual orgasm together. Dimitri was chanting my name, and with one hand, I grabbed his head, bringing his lips back to mine, while the other reached between us to rub at my clit.

I cried out Dimitri's name as my second orgasm hit me, and as my walls clenched around Dimitri, I knew that he wasn't far behind me. I didn't think it was possible, but his grip on my hips got tighter as he continued to fuck me through his orgasm.

We rested for a moment before Dimitri carefully lifted me off of him. He stood a moment later, disappearing into the bathroom for a moment before returning with a damp washcloth. He used it to clean us before crawling into the bed where I had already laid down.

"I missed that too," he whispered.

I couldn't hold in the laugh. "Glad to know your priorities are in order."

"You know what I mean," Dimitri said. "I've missed everything about you."

"I've missed you too," I whispered.

Dimitri pulled me to him so that our bodies were pressed close together. "Get some sleep. We'll work everything out in the morning."

I nodded, too tired to respond, and with the alcohol catching up to me. The last thing I heard before falling asleep was Dimitri's whispered, "I love you, Roza."

I woke to fading sunlight streaming in through the window and with a pounding headache. With a groan, I rolled over, trying to nestle further under the blankets. As I did, my leg brushed up against another leg, and I bolted upright, staring at the man in the bed next to me, not sure how he had gotten there. I vaguely remembered doing shots at the bar last night with Dimitri, and the longer that I stared at Dimitri, the more bits and pieces of last night started to come back to me.

Dimitri stirred, almost as if he could feel me watching him, and he opened his eyes a moment later. He smiled at me sleepily. "Good morning, Roza."

"What are you doing here?"

His face fell. "What? Do you not remember last night?"

"Bits and pieces. The last thing I fully remember from last night was sitting at the bar with you and taking shots."

Dimitri nodded. "Then we kissed and ended up back here. I'm not sure which one of us initiated that, to be honest. I know we were drinking, but I didn't think you had enough to blackout."

As I stared at him, I realized that I was naked underneath the blankets. Unease washed over me. "Did we sleep together?"

It was a stupid question, based on the flashes of memory and the fact that I was naked in a bed with him, but I had to ask it. Dimitri nodded. He reached out to touch me, and I recoiled instinctively.

"Roza," he said, his voice cracking. "Please don't push me away. We can work through this."

"This was a mistake," I whispered. "This wasn't supposed to happen."

Dimitri stared at me, hurt showing clearly in his eyes. "Roza—"

"Please, don't," I said, cutting him off. "You need to leave."

He stared at me for a moment longer before nodding, resigned. He climbed out of the bed and got dressed in silence. He didn't say anything or look back as he left the bedroom, and I fell back onto the bed, tears welling in my eyes.