I Never Told You I Love You - Complete

Chapter 14 - What Do I Owe You?

"I honestly don't know which one, Comrade. I'm going to look like hell either way... Which one do you like?"

Rose and Dimitri were in one of the largest fur stores trying to chose a dublyonka for her. She'd tried on numerous and finally narrowed down the selection to a black leather lined with a pale fur, or a brown leather with a tan fur. Rose wasn't exactly in love with either which seemed ridiculous given the astronomical price of each. Finally, the salesperson, sick of her vacillation, suggested she try on some pukhoviki instead. And she found it – the perfect coat!

Black leather, padded with down, knee length and fitted with a matching leather belt - it was fur trimmed at the collar and cuffs, had a detachable fur lined hood and matched perfectly with the boots, gloves and ear muffs Dimitri had insisted she'd also need. While she was no expert on Russian women's fashion, Dimitri's smoldering look when she tried on the whole ensemble suggested that she looked hot.

"You won't be as warm as with a dublyonka – but we'll be inside most of the time, and Mama has a few shuba at home you can borrow if we're going outside when it's really cold or at night," Dimitri had said. As promised, Dimitri handled all the negotiations, bartering in Russian and getting a substantial discount for paying in Euros.

"What do I owe you?" Rose asked as they headed back out to the car.

"Nothing," Dimitri said with a determined look on his face.

"Comrade? I'm still figuring out the currency conversion, but I know that all cost a bomb. You can't go around spending your money on me like that!"

"And why not?" he turned to look at her, quite serious. "Milaya – a man likes to spoil the woman he loves. Every single time you wear that jacket, those boots or gloves I'm going to get a lot of satisfaction knowing I bought them for you. We didn't get a chance to date and romance the way I would have liked to – so please let me do this for you?" Dimitri looked so earnest, Rose didn't have the heart to say no to him. So instead she threw her arms around his neck and kissed him – telling him she loved her gifts and she loved him.

"Are you hungry milaya?" he asked solicitously. It was midday, and they were preparing to leave Novosibirsk for Baia.

"Not at all – I'm still having trouble moving after breakfast," she said truthfully. Dimitri had taken her to a typical Russian canteen and ordered one of just about everything. The two of them sat there, Dimitri feeding her bits of food and explaining what each was. It was all delicious, although she'd particularly liked the dumplings.

"I can make those," Dimitri had told her with a pleased look on his face.

"Comrade if you make those for me, I'll be yours for life!"

"Deal," he'd whispered, leaning in to kiss her softly, caressing the side of her face. Although there had been a lot of food, being Dhampir they'd managed to make their way through all of it.

"I think I'm going to have to be rolled onto the plane to return home," Rose had joked.

Having determined that lunch was not going to be required, Dimitri headed to a petrol station to fill up ahead of the two-hour drive to Baia. "Petrol is cheaper in Novosibirsk, so you always fill up before you leave town," he explained. He went in to pay, coming back out with some chocolate. "This is Alenka chocolate. Every time I have it, the taste reminds me of my childhood," he laughed. "Nothing else tastes quite the same." He handed her a bar, which she promised she'd try once her stomach had stopped wanting to explode from breakfast.

Dimitri pulled out his mobile, placing a quick call Baia to tell his mother they were on their way. Speaking in English so that Rose could hear his half of the conversation, she couldn't help but notice how excited and nervous he looked.