I Never Told You I Love You - Complete

Chapter 8 - A Bit Of Distance

If sleeping beside Dimitri on a cramped dorm bed had been good, sleeping next to him here should be beyond blissful Rose thought. But when the time came, she and Dimitri had awkwardly climbed into bed together under the watchful eye of her mother. In Rose's dorm room, it had been instinctive – Dimitri would get in first, and she'd step in beside him, molding herself into him as his arms pulled her close. He'd usually kiss her hair, and then she'd sleep.

This time there was enough room to stretch out, but she wasn't sure she wanted to. However, Dimitri had given her a meaningful look saying "It might be best if we just try sleeping beside each other. If you start to have a nightmare or if you're feeling upset then I'll hold you".

At first, she hadn't understood why he didn't want to pull her close against him straight away, but after her mother had mentioned three times about the door staying open and her being just outside with a book she'd understood. So they'd climbed into the large bed beside one another resting on their backs a foot or two apart. She'd pulled the blankets up to cover herself, and in the darkness had slipped her hand beneath the sheets towards him. Finding his hand, she entwined her fingers with his, and he was stroking her hand with his thumb.

Dimitri's heart soared when her small hand found his. He still wasn't one hundred percent sure how she felt about him - if she'd meant or even remembered what she'd said when he'd declared his love to her, but it seemed like this was a good start. Finally, Janine headed to the bathroom to take a shower to prepare herself for bed – and Rose immediately rolled over and pressed herself up against him.

"Comrade? I love you, and I want you to hold me" Rose whispered urgently, kissing him eagerly. He returned her kisses with excitement, thrilled to hear her words of love. Eventually, she rolled over, pushing her back against his front. Resting her neck on his outstretched arm, Dimitri wrapped his forearm firmly around her, draping his other arm across her torso. He placed feather light kisses on the back of her neck, earning the softest of moans from her. Dimitri whispered that he loved her, that he wanted to be with her, and he'd find a way for them to stay together but that they needed to be careful because he was no longer employed at St. Vladimir's, so they could ask him to leave at any time. But smiling because they were together now, Dimitri cuddled Rose close as they fell asleep.

When Rose woke up, Dimitri was on his back, one arm bent at the elbow his hand behind his head, the other arm wrapped around her shoulder as she lay on her side cuddled against him. Opening her eyes, she felt so refreshed, which made sense given a quick look at the bedside clock revealed they'd been asleep for nearly sixteen hours.

Sitting up to look around, there was no one in sight in the living room, so she bent to give Dimitri a soft kiss. His eyes opened to look at her, the softest smile on his lips.

"Good morning milaya," he whispered happily. And it was a good morning – he'd woken up with Rose beside him!

Rolling to the side of the bed, she walked on shaky legs to the bathroom urgently needing to relieve herself. Dimitri stepped in once she was done to do likewise. Then he checked the suite which was empty other than themselves. Dimitri led her to sit down beside him on the couch.

"We probably don't have a lot of time before someone comes back, milaya," Dimitri said urgently. "Your Mom and Alberta know that we care for each other, but that we haven't acted on it. I told them after I was caught in your room. I asked them to tell you that I loved you after I left, but I guess they didn't."

"No, they didn't" Rose confirmed. "It would have hurt a lot less if they had. I went through hell thinking you didn't care for me or blamed me for what happened with Mason."

"Milaya, I would never blame you. It wasn't your fault! And the week away from you was one of the most painful of my life. I never want to be away from you again."