A broken heart

Chapter 40

"But he's my cousin so he wouldn't really hurt me, and I am a royal after all."

"And so is he, he just doesn't know it yet... and you keep your mouth shut about it! Because I want to be the one to tell him. And if you get too close to Rose in any way shape or form. Blood or no blood he will break you into tiny little bite size pieces small enough for a baby mouse to devour in one bite. Don't you doubt, for one single moment, that he will because he loves her just as much as she loves him."

"Ohh ok. I'm sorry for bothering you Aunt Tati."

"You are not bothering me dear. Just leave them alone, you can be friends and family, in fact you should be. But don't try any of that bullshit with Rose that you do on other women. I like you just the way that you are alive, unbroken, and in one piece."

"All right, I understand, thank you."

"Good boy Adrian, thank you. Now, let me talk to Rose please."

"Yes, ma'am."

I very carefully reached through this throng of the people. All of whom looked like they wanted to have me for dinner, and definitely not in a good or fun way either. At least not fun for me. As they stood between Rose and I as I very carefully offered her my cell phone just as gentlemanly and non-threateningly as I possibly could while never taking my eyes from my cousin.

I didn't after all want any of these people misconstruing my actions and jumping me, especially not my own cousin. Because he looked like he could kill someone with just one punch, Aunt Tati was right he does look like a dark-haired Thor. And I definitely did not want to be the one to put that particular theory to the test. Let someone else be that fucking stupid, not me, my stupidity ends right here and right now. At least on this particular subject it does anyway.

The closer my hand came to Rose the darker and angrier my cousin's aura became, just as did the look on his face. Damn, if you had any sense whatsoever, you definitely did not want to get too close to Rose or get on her bad side. Because he would rip your ass to shreds, no matter who you were, of that I had absolutely no doubts of now.

(RPOV)

I took Adrian's proffered phone and put it to my ear. "Hello?"

"Rose dear, are you ok?"

I smiled. "I'm fine Aunt Tati, thank you for asking. How are you doing?" I answered as I leaned back into Dimitri's very warm, muscular, chiseled, and comfortable chest. Reaching my free arm up behind me, I wrapped it around Dimitri's neck. So that I could run my nails along his promise mark under his hair, as I tried to calm him down. And in turn he wrapped his arms back around my waist, when I had to reach for Adrian's phone Dimitris arms had fallen from my waits, lovingly and buried his face in the side of my neck. The spot between my neck and shoulder that he loves to nuzzle, nip, nibble, lick, suck, kiss, and love on soooo much. It's as if he just can't get enough of the way I tasted, ESPECIALLY right in that spot. Among several others of course.

I leaned back and placed my hand on his neck for three reasons. One, because I needed to feel him as well as the comfort, security, love, and protection that I knew was, and would always be, right there in his arms. Two, because I could feel the rage that he was trying sooo hard to repress and control as it radiated off of him in tidal waves. And I knew that being able to hold me would help to calm and center him just as holding and being held by him always has and does for me. And the third was to keep him calm enough to where he wouldn't physically attack his apparent first cousin.

Of course, I may not have ever known that the two of them are family if it weren't for my eavesdropping with my exceptionally enhanced hearing. Thanks to being shadow kissed, I can hear even better than the moroi and the strigoi can. At least I can when I try to. I can choose to use it, or not. Well, I might have known eventually because once Dimitri realized that his being related to Aunt Tati also meant that he is related to Adrian he would have told me. Of course, he would have just had to figure out the fact that he is in fact related to Aunt Tati first.