Temptations

Chapter 41: Marry Me Roza?

I was starting to get nervous; I was much paler than usual and had lost some more weight-and what's more, Dimitri was noticing. Right now, he stood in the kitchen and had clearly decided to cook me a massive breakfast, complete with bacon, eggs, toast, pancakes, sausages, a bagel, and some waffles. I finished every last bit of everything-it was delicious. I started to get up but before I could Dimitri stopped me.

"Rose, how are you feeling? You look pale, and I've noticed the weight loss," he said, looking troubled and placing a palm on my forehead to check my temperature.

"I'm fine, Dimitri," I smiled and made a move to leave again, but Dimitri was not having it. The man was nearly more stubborn than me-there was no way I was leaving the table anytime soon.

"It's the blood, isn't it?" Dimitri asked, and then I had realized how long I had gone without his blood. But this was a different kind of sickness-usually, the side effects weren't this pronounced or violent. Still, it was a good guess, better than any of mine.

"C'mon. You need more blood" Dimitri insisted, leading me up to his room.

Once we had settled on his bed, he pulled an arm around me to bring me closer to his neck. I could smell his intoxicating aftershave, and impulsively I kissed his neck gently, feeling him shiver. My fangs ached to be plunged into his neck, and before I could register what I was doing I did it, and it felt good to be rejuvenated by Dimitri's blood. I already started to feel better, and my body return to normal. I felt Dimitri pull me more firmly against his body, but before anything could happen I let go, already content with my fill. I hadn't drank as long as I used to anymore, maybe our blood bond was becoming stronger we didn't need to share as much blood anymore. We sat for a moment, recovering, and then he turned to smile at me.

"How are you feeling?" Dimitri asked, gently stroking my hair. I nodded, still slightly breathless.

"Much better," I smiled. He looked relieved, some of the concern faded from his eyes.

"We need to start packing to leave, our flight is in four hours," Dimitri said. With a groan, he pulled me up, and together, tiredly, we began the familiar ritual of packing.

Dimitri's POV:

Roza and I were ready to leave, but I want to say one last goodbye to Mama.

"I'll meet you at the car in a minute, I'm going to say goodbye to Mama" I told Rose, who nodded. I found Mama cleaning a few dishes, when she heard me she turned and smiled.

"Leaving so soon, huh?" She said, somewhat sadly.

"I have to, Mama" I explained, and pulled her in for a gentle hug.

"I understand." Her face brightened. "Oh, here" She pulled out her precious ring from a pocket, and handed it to me.

"It's beautiful, thank you Mama" I said, and kissed her on her cheek.

"Roza is a wonderful woman, you two will be very happy together. I wish Yeva could have been here to see how happy you two are." I nodded, giving her a small smile.

"Me too, Mama" I grabbed her hands and kissed them. She grabbed the spoon from the bench, and pointed it at me.

"Now. Would it kill you to communicate a little more, Dimka? I expect you to visit me within the next six months," she warned, her eyes narrowing. "Understood?" I gulped a little, and nodded quickly.

"Yes ma'am." She beamed at me, all playful strictness gone, and shooed me out of the kitchen.

"Now go. Go to your Roza." With one last hug, I returned to the car, and she watched with a somewhat rueful smile

The journey home was quiet and quick; upon boarding the plane, Roza promptly fell asleep on my shoulder, clearly very tired. I frowned, studying her face. She still looked a little pale. I needed to make sure she fed more often, I thought to myself, as my own eyelids closed drowsily, before sleep overtook me.

Rose's POV:

Finally we were back home, and I was starved. Though Olena had stuffed us to busting point before she'd let us anywhere near the door, I immediately raided the fridge, pulling out some left over pizza, and yes, more waffles. Once I downed those, I felt much better, and decided to talk to Lissa.

I knocked on her door, because the last thing I wanted was to walk in and find Lissa and Christian together. I shuddered at the terrible visual image. She answered within seconds, looking very excited, giving me a big, quick hug.

"Hey Rose, come in," She quickly ushered me inside. Mia was sprawled out on the floor and next to her was a huge pile of bridal magazines, another pile was on Lissa's side of the bed and another pile where I assumed I would be sitting.

"Would you like to join us?" Lissa asked. I groaned.

"Do I have a choice?" She smiled impishly at me.

"No, but I thought I'd ask anyways." I trudged over to the pile, giving Mia a quick peck on the cheek. For hours Lissa, Mia and I sat down reading magazine after magazine about weddings. Mia made it a little more exciting by bring some Haribo gummy bears, and then finally Christian saved me by interrupting.

"Liss, could I speak with you for a second? Mia, Eddie needs you too. And Dimitri needs to talk to you, Rose." Christian said looking suspiciously very happy.

I frowned in confusion. This wasn't good. Whenever Christian was happy, he was either about to set something on fire, or had already done so. Nevertheless, I got up and slowly made my way to Dimitri's room.

When I got inside, I saw fairy lights covering the wall, and candles lit around the room there wasn't a place where a candle couldn't accommodate. There was also romantic violin music playing in the background, and finally I saw Dimitri across the room staring at me with such an intensity it almost knocked me down. This whole picture Dimitri had created made me feel like I was in a love scene from an old movie.

He slowly made his way towards me, looking a strange combination of confusion and excitement. I stood stock still in confusion until he got down on one knee in front of me, at which point my stomach dropped.

"Roza, I've never met anyone who makes me feel the way you do. I can't imagine a life without you. You hold me up when times are hard, and you bring me light when times are dark. I want to spend the rest of my life with you. Would you please make me the happiest man and marry me?" Dimitri spoke so softly, and with so much love. I could feel thick tears sliding down my cheeks, and took a moment to try and stem them-unsuccessfully, I might add.

"Yes!" I screamed, and threw my arms around him. "Yes, yes, yes! I want to marry you Dimitri." We hugged tightly for a moment, and then he pulled me back to show me the ring. It was stunning and unique with three ruby gems-I couldn't picture a more beautiful ring. Dimitri slipped it around my finger, where it fit perfectly, and then proceeded to show me just how much he did love me under the sheets.