Hope is a Four Letter Word - Complete

Chapter Two

They were at the gatehouse, Dimitri handing over the paperwork Alberta had signed. Rose played with her phone while Dimitri spoke with the guardian at the gate. It was two minutes to ten when he pulled onto the main road, and they were on their way. Rose watched the walls of the Academy fly past. They'd made it five minutes beyond the fenceline when Dimitri pulled into a deserted rest stop. The engine still idling, and nothing other than a snow-laden picnic table to witness their exchange, he turned to face Rose, putting his hands on either side of her face and pulling her lips to his.

"Roza," he groaned before his lips joined hers, covering her mouth in soft, needy kisses. "I've wanted to do this all day!"

"Me too," she gasped, one hand running up his chest, the other snaking behind his neck. Their kisses were heating up, and he pulled himself back, resting his forehead against hers.

"Let's keep going, milaya. The sooner we're there, the sooner we can settle in ," he said, in a clear effort to stop himself from taking things further.

"Ok," Rose said breathlessly, honestly a little overcome by his openness and the depth of the desire she could see in his soulful chocolate brown eyes. After wanting him for so long, it was a little intimidating to know in just an hour or so they might be giving themselves to one another. As if he could read her thoughts, Dimitri gave her a final reassuring peck on the lips and turned back to the wheel, pulling back out onto the carriageway.

"Lissa said Tasha is visiting this weekend," Rose said, immediately regretting introducing her as a topic of conversation.

Dimitri looked unperturbed. "Yes, I noticed on the day sheet at breakfast a guardian had been rostered to go get her from Missoula."

Rose was watching him from the corner of her eye. He seemed relaxed and comfortable with it as a topic of conversation.

"I wasn't sure if she'd told you she was coming," she probed.

He shook his head. "We haven't spoken since she left the Academy after we got back," he explained. "She hasn't contacted me, and I thought I'd give her space. She's a friend, and we'll go back to being that, but her feelings were still hurt."

Rose nodded, but the surreptitious look Dimitri gave her showed him she wasn't entirely convinced.

"I chose you, Roza," he soothed. "You're the one I couldn't live without. Don't waste time worrying about Tasha. She's no threat. I love you!"

She reached over and rested her hand on his thigh as he gave her a loving smile and switched on the sound system in the car. It was one of his 80s hits, but she kind of knew it. Dimitri hummed along, grabbing her hand and giving it a squeeze when they got to the refrain 'take my breath away.'

They were approaching a town when Dimitri asked if she was hungry.

She looked at him and rolled her eyes. "Comrade, when aren't I hungry?" she joked, and he laughed as her stomach chose that moment to make its appetite known via a loud rumble.

"Come on milaya, let's get you fed," he grinned, pulling up into the lot of a burger joint.

"I can't believe you're letting me eat junk food," Rose replied, climbing out of the car and skipping to the entry door. "Could this weekend get any better?! Away from school with the sexiest man alive and now junk food? I've died and gone to heaven, Comrade!" she laughed.

Dimitri shook his head indulgently. He'd never been able to understand Rose's fascination with junk food, but it made her happy, and he wanted this weekend to be perfect for her. Standing behind her in front of the counter, he wrapped his arms around Rose from behind.